TUBE AMP vs LAPTOP | 3500$ vs 59$ | Surprising Tone Insight!!

Play some metal, stop being so gay

What exactly costs 59 Dollars? I searched for the Interface and its like 1000 dollars.

Analog is always better but for an average guy like me? Amplitube 5 all the way. I’ve had physical gear and slowly collected physical gear but now that I realized how expensive my virtual gear would be in real life I could care less of the difference between analog and digital. I love running 1176 and LA2A compressors, equalizers, splitting my signal to two different amps like mixing an orange and a Marshall into two separate 4 x 12 cabinets. I also love just being able to plug and play different amps like mesa boogie or ENGLs which are amps I absolutely love but never would have tried or buyed IRL. When I get discovered then I can get the real shit but let’s be real it’s all for the love of the music and I’m loving it!

Connor mc gregor on guitar

Please @PaulDavids, what Klon Plugin are you using?

both sound great! but...what do they FEEL like haha

Both sound great my problem with amp sims is the latency...

I decided to go all digital 6 years ago, first with BIAS FX (with Apogee audio interface) and now with GTRS guitar by Mooer. I still have to struggle every rehearsals only on this issue: my band does not understand technology evolution, and they give for granted that without valve amps and massive expensive, heavy and huge gear you cannot have a good quality sound. Your video proved it wrong. Do you have any advice or strategy to adopt in order to make them understand it and keep playing with them instead of finding a more innovating band?

Don't forget that 2000$ interface and the $$$ software.

I think it really depends on the context and what you're trying to achieve. VST plug-ins are great if you want to tweak your sound and avoid the hassle of having to mic your amp when recording. Also, you don't have to be loud, which enables you to play or record stuff late at night without annoying the neighbors or your partner. And in a full mix, if you do it well, it will fit in the song and nobody will be able to really tell that you used a piece of software instead of an amp. So yes, VST plug-ins are very usable and often pretty convincing these days.

But then there is the organic pleasure of playing through a high-quality tube amp. Music is more than sound. With a good amp, the stuff you play has a different vibration to it and inspires you to play different stuff and spend more time on your instrument, either practicing or creating.

I've used plug-ins for a while and I've enjoyed their usefulness, reliability and flexibility. But a real tube amp will make you love your guitar a thousand times more. It's a totally different experience. You'll get the sound, and more importantly, you'll get the soul of your guitar.

Watched it ; sorry that's my personal marker on this topic so that I don't rewatch it

Guitar Sims have saved my hobby and playing guitar!

What is the name and where can I get the Klon plugin? Thanks and keep up the great work

I think the whole "tube vs sim" debate is silly. It's ALL electronics.

In the old days, I had a Line 6 monster with two 12's. It would NOT cut through the band's sound and come anywhere close to a band members little tube amp. It got SO lost and I was surprised and demoralized. Things have changed since then.

However, once you plug in a pedal before a tube amp, it's a mute point. You're changing a tube amps sound by a "pedal". Of course it's ALL subjective. Take Jack Whites guitar sounds in his early days. They were shit pickups, shit amps and shit guitars. Yet people seemed to love that sound.

I don't care if it's an amp, a pedal, (and yes some of the identical effects sounds better than others), a modeling amp or a SIM on a laptop. You can ALWAYS get great sounds and bad sounds. It's a "hunt" no matter what the device, pedal or amp.

I know few people that aren't "Boston" fans. That was some new sounds created by new electronics that weren't "purest".

Bottom line? OWN EVERTHING. LOL!

Just my thoughts and opinions. Peace out!

Hi Paul. I know this video isn’t a tutorial but I wanted to ask. How are you getting such clean tones in bias fx? I looked at your settings and you have the gain fairly high on your clean tones. I’m struggling to get cleaner tones with bias fx. And I can’t seem to figure out how to start from scratch and make my own preset. Wondering if you can shed some light on this at all

why 59$? Laptops are far more expensive. And is the software you used free?

So what do you need in order to connect the guitar to the laptop and have an output from it ?forgive my stupidity 😭

This is an old video but still very relevant, particularly with newer players (Walrus, SD, etc.). One thing remains, the Tone King Imperial is still king (and I still cannot afford it even used). My challenge with the laptop is how to set all the components optimally to achieve a good sound. Very few reviewers, like yourself, provide detail. I guess as you assume some advance knowledge from the audience addressing that critical step. For amateurs like me that is the weak link in the chain that lead to frustration and eventually abandoning the approach.

Buy the new Klon Laptop with windows 11.

Indonesian see u..🙏😊Nice bro..thank and succes for your channel..always👍👍👍

Tube sounds a bit better.
The things you can do on laptop are amazing.
I started playing guitar 2 yrs ago to get away from technology
However, I just bought a cheap jnteface and Mic. I'm learning to use reaper and am learning what vsts are .

Paul thanks for your videos. I can't afford a tube amp so I have to learn this technology

A bit of EQing and I'm sure you can make them sound close to equal

wheres the first riff you do w laptop from? especially the ending part omg ..

Imo the amp-sim sounds really flat and lacks dynamic compared to the tube amp. Does someone feel the same and do you think this is due to a compressor or something similar on the digital end or is the dynamic a real tube amp brings to the table just not achievable digitally right now?

I hate digital amd yes you can tell.

I would have liked to see this test with tube amp vs. Neural DSP!

Yeah it's all roses and daisies until you started going dirtier and using crunch, then the VST started to sound like crap. After I bought a tube amp everything else sounds much worse in comparison tbh...

I preferred the vst

It all has to do with some kind of software just cut to the chase

Just mix that 2 options and boom, a more powerfull sound

You hit the nail on the head. Plug in sound "plastic" . Maybe I am spoiled because the tech was "Analogue," 95% of the time when I was a youth. I still think a small valve amp and dynamic mic will please your ears , a tape 4 track and the bung it onto your laptop recording software. We are all getting too lazy to experiment with the basis tools we already have.

Eyes closed, listening; tube amp sounds more rich/buttery/better on its own imho when I open eyes and rewind to see which was which.

In a mix however, I think both are equal in their own right.

Very good comparison. Thanks!

No idea why this popped up in my recommended feed now 4 years later, but since Neural DSP just has released a Tone King Imperial MKII amp sim it would be cool to see a remake of this video but with the Neural DSP plug-in :)

If you're a good guitar player, it doesn't matter if it's through a plugin or tube amp. The difference in quality is so minimal to most ears that it's almost not worth investing in a real stack. The flexibility you get with plugins is worth more. Sorry purists, the future is here.

Great video! Leaning towards using some of these virtual amps and plug ins over the stress of getting the right sound on my tube amp. Any tips on micing a tube amp to sound like this??

vst has a eaten attack, a broken bottom with an unpleasant crunch and yes, the top is more aggressive

There's a lot to consider here, but mainly we have to think about how a guitar sits in a mix with other instruments, vocals, etc. Then when you factor in space, cost, loudness, and the fact that a lot of people are listening to music on smartphones or Bluetooth speakers.... amp sims seem to have an advantage.

I like how the tube amp sounds but i'll be honest, it can ruin your day if you practice quietly with a tone you like, then when u have a gig u turn that volume up and it sounds very different and often very disappointing. If i was just playing for my own pleasure i'd use the amp, but if i was seriously practicing for a job i'd use the laptop, consinstency is much more important

It’s hard to hear much difference over ipad speakers. They both sound fairly similar to me, although I’d say the amp does sound fuller and rounder.

Hi, is latency okay if you connect RME with usb?

yeah ngl turning any amp up past 12 makes you feel like theres too much bass even when there isnt

Yea i felt like a lot of that high frequency sound from the plug in could have been dealt with in eq and slight changes.

I can hear a clear difference between the two even when listening on the iPhone. The amp sounded so much better, each notes were so much clearer. As if I the soundstage was much wider and each notes had space to spread and develop

i still like the feel of tube amp sound even the l plug in not bad ..tube amp feel likes its what it is

I've tried everything, but the kemper is easily the best for me.

The amp just has the edge... Laptop sounds amazing too.

I have a question. Do you really get the max out of your tube amp with that low volume? People on reddit and ultimate guitar seems to have very strong opinion about how you do not get full sound out of a valve amp at low volume. Is this true?