Guitarists- Will mic'ing a cab be a thing of the past?

[JonWormwood]

With impulses, AxeFX, Kazrog's Recabinet project etc. Do you think micing up a cab for recording/playing live will be around much longer (5+ years)I personally love playing through a cranked amp and how everything reacts to your playing.

I never have had that feeling with impulses (though Kazrog has told me his impulses destroy the ones floating around and include that 'feel') and I hate tracking through ReValver or something because of it. In fact I think impulses really limit the dynamic nature of high gain guitars or something.

I know a few large bands today are mixing a direct + cab sim with a mic'd signal for shows. Cranked tube amps hardly even go through the FOH sometimes.

Guitar > pre amp > impulses > FOH would be a dream for the sound guy, especially in smaller venues. If I can get within 90% of a real mic'd tube amp with impulses, you'll fucking bet I'll be bringing a small rack and cheap laptop to shows.

 

[TravisW]

No, I don't think it will be a thing of the past. There's a physical quality that simulations can't quite match.

 

[beyond dead]

hopefully not, or else we would never get any new sounds! ( how would we make new impulses? )

 

[colonel kurtz]

not a chance

yesterday i tossed a 57 in front of my avatar cab, cranked my rev jr, and recorded a track off of the FX send with my fav. impulse(s) loaded

and you know what? the track with the hastily placed 57 in my un-treated bedroom, with the cab sitting in a corner, sounded better than the impulsed DI track, and not just by a little bit.

 

[Torniojaws]

It's not a one-or-the-other situation. Just record your DI-tracks with a "live amp" setup, and then reamp after the performance and slap the impulse to the preamp signal. Best of both worlds.

 

[Metaltastic]

not a chance

yesterday i tossed a 57 in front of my avatar cab, cranked my rev jr, and recorded a track off of the FX send with my fav. impulse(s) loaded

and you know what? the track with the hastily placed 57 in my un-treated bedroom, with the cab sitting in a corner, sounded better than the impulsed DI track, and not just by a little bit.

Prove it I wanna hear what that little guy can do!

 

[006]

Hardware amps and cabs will never disappear.

But, software simulations will continue to get better and better.

~006

 

[Keiffer]

are tube amps a thing of the past since SS arrived...

 

[beyond dead]

are tube amps a thing of the past since SS arrived...

good analogy!!

 

[devouredremains]

Besides the fact that impulses do not have the physical qualities of a mic'd cab, slapping a couple plugins on a DI track isn't nearly as fun as finding a good sound the old fashioned way.

 

[JBroll]

If you want them to.

Jeff

 

[colonel kurtz]

Prove it I wanna hear what that little guy can do!

i will soon enough...i've only stuck a mic in front of it a couple times, and haven't been 100% satisfied yet - at least not to the point that i'd post it on here

i just ordered a radial proRMP today though, so i'll be doing a serious session with 4 tracks being reamped when it shows up, and i'll definitely share the results then

 

[JeffTD]

This is sortof like asking if DFHS would make drummers a thing of the past. For some people, it will.

For most people, not a chance in hell.

 

[Allu83]

even if plugins are getting better and better i wish that amp & cabs will never disappear...

anyway it will be really funny to see a wall of laptops on stage instead a wall of cabs..

cheers!
allu

 

[beyond dead]

anyway it will be really funny to see a wall of laptops on stage instead a wall of cabs..

haha i was thinking the same thing buddy!

 

[KeithTidd]

nostalgia rules the recording industry. People still love the sound of tape, vintage gear, and marshall stacks.

 

[FIXXXER]

as a AXE-FX owner...for the authentic sound miking is not necesarry anymore IMHO!

for the feeling...it still feels strange to play/record and use studio monitors for monitoring
but i am geting used to it day by day.

for the heart () with the axe i got the sound i always wantet, but it's still nice
to mic a amp, to turn the effect pedal knobs and to place the mic till it "fits" best.

guitarists always like to "have their thing"
if i would mic a box, but tell someone it was recorded using IR's it surely would sound like a IR's
even if it is a "real" cab recording

 

[Kazrog]

It's a thing of the past for me as far as music production. I obviously am miking up a lot of cabs these days for Recabinet.

My goal with Recabinet is to provide a truly viable solution for people who either don't have the luxury of miking up a cab, or who need more options in the studio. I think this could replace miked up cabs for a lot of people, as it has for me, but I know that a lot of producers pride themselves on their cab miking skills - after all, it's something they're getting PAID to do - so I don't see that going away. At the end of the day, the hands-on aspect of miking your own cabs, drums, etc. is rewarding and many people will seek it out - even if the results aren't "better," just different.

 

[devouredremains]

It's a thing of the past for me as far as music production. I obviously am miking up a lot of cabs these days for Recabinet.

My goal with Recabinet is to provide a truly viable solution for people who either don't have the luxury of miking up a cab, or who need more options in the studio. I think this could replace miked up cabs for a lot of people, as it has for me, but I know that a lot of producers pride themselves on their cab miking skills - after all, it's something they're getting PAID to do - so I don't see that going away. At the end of the day, the hands-on aspect of miking your own cabs, drums, etc. is rewarding and many people will seek it out - even if the results aren't "better," just different.

I feel that impulses sound correct tonally but lack in depth. I just can't get that 3D feel using them. That said amp modeling and impulses are indispensable to me during tracking and count me in on a recabinet purchase if they are universal to most impulse plugins.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

You asked "for playing live"?

I don't think so.

Recording? Maybe, they might get there. Do I think we are there now? Nope, we are close though.