Best Amp Sim? SansAmp PSA-1? POD Rack? etc...

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I need a very believable amp simulator. I've been looking at the SansAmp PSA-1 VERY closely, but still need some opinions. I hear the new POD rackmount is very good as well. Considering they are both very similar in price, I was wondering which you people prefered? I'm also wondering how the new Johnson simulator compares as well. I'm looking for a very thick distortion and a good vintage distortion...and of course wonderfull clean tones. These will be used for direct recording. Thanks for your time.
 
I've never had the chance to use the PSA-1 but I do use the GT2 and Bass DI. I love these tube emulators, they sound great especialy on the Tweed (Fender) setting. Though I have not been pleased with the distortion. I think the PSA-1 gives you more options as far as tweaking the sound and EQ's and such, but I've found that I have to run a distortion pedal to the GT2 (with clean tube settings) to get a good tube distortion sound. I've never used POD's but I think the new Digitech 2000 has tube amp emulators along with the many effects, distortions and reverbs that it's known for..
 
I absolutely LOVE the old Morley JD-10 pedals, preferring it to the POD or the SansAmp GT2, which I also own. Unlike the POD, the JD-10 sounds great through a guitar amp and sounds WAYYY better for recording than the SansAmps that I've tried. Morley has discontinued them. Look around and you can find one used for the $75-$90 price range. Cheers! Trag.
 
Tubes

If you can find a used one someplace where you can try it out before buying,you might like the Digitech GSP2101.It's got 2 12AX7 tubes in it and a pretty good speaker emulator as well,plus good delay and reverb FX.I've had one for 5 years and still use it sometimes for recording.It can be a bear to program though if you want to make up your own sounds.I've seen used ones around these parts for $400 or so.Cheers!
 
I recently shopped extensively for an amp sim, and found that many seem to offer particular advantages that address particular needs.
For example, I currently use a Roland VS1680 to record, and play guitar and bass live frequently, so a plug-in was not going to be the best fit for my needs. I went to Mars and tried the Johnson J-Station, the POD, and the Tone Works (Korg) AX1000G. I was actually very impressed with all three.
The Korg has, in my opinion, some very nice vintage amp sounds. It is warm and "natural," and responds well to volume changes without getting cheesey. And for vintage effects, it is a fine machine. It also has a controller pedal, so it lends itself well to live performances. However, the bulk of my live playing is on bass, so I turned my attention to the other two.
The sounds of the POD and J-Station really knocked me out. I went back and forth for a while. They are both fairly easy to program, and have a lot of sweet presets. Ultimately, I chose the J-Station, because it also has a few bass rig simulators and a couple of acoustic sims (I actually found that the "SWR bass rig" yields a very nice acoustic guitar sound as well, with a little tweaking). For a nice fat distortion, I love the "J Crunch" setting. Best of all, the J-Station was $50.00 cheaper than the POD.
As far as reps are concerned, both get a lot of respect. It's hard to read an interview in "Guitar Player" magazine these days without seeing constant references to the POD, and it was reviewed by GP in the May '99 issue. There is also a very favorable gear review on the J-Station in the Sept. 2000 issue.
I would suggest you try to find a place where you can try them out, if possible, and get the one that works best for your situation and style. For direct recording of guitars, though, I think that you can't go wrong with the J-Station or POD.
 
You can't go wrong with either the Pod or J-Station , I got the J-Station also because of the extra bass and acoustic sims ,and because it was cheaper . I like almost all the pre-sets on the tweed setting . With my single coils it can sound exactly like the first Hendrix album sounds . Also you can get rid of or change the effects so you wind up with a real dry signal that you can run through you other favorite toys . The distortion is real good on most of the settings particularly the brit stack ,J-crunch ,J-solo,hot rod and blues .The trouble with asking a question like this on this forum is that you wind up with a lot of different opinions which can tend to confuse or mislead the asker , the real answer for you that is , is to sit down with the rig or rigs in question and and give it a workout , playing with all the knobs and settings and let your ears decide what is realy best for you .
 
I love the SansAmp PSA-1. It might be 5-6 year old technology but it is so convincing and it has knobs to tweak the sounds. Go to a store and listen to them all....and follow your instincts. Remember that good guitar sounds are timeless, they never go out of style....that's why people pay big bucks for vintage gear. I think of the Sansamp PSA-1 as a classic....whereas a POD's effects will sound dated in a few years, like most multi-effects boxes. I plan on buying another amp sim. someday and doing this.....Split my guitar signal with my Behringer direct box and have one input go into the SansAmp and the other into another box and then pan them left and right. Could make for an interesting, complex sound. I still think that tube amps are better than simulations but it's sometimes frustrating to properly mic an amp while you're trying to write or improvise a song. Good luck.
 
As much as they cost just go get a good tube head.

I've had the PSA1 and the POD and I think the POD is suited to recording and the PSA1 has massive sound but not much warmth..

The POD couldnt ever handle real touring . Even the rack version is poorly made.
 
Well, I just got myself a POD Pro a few weeks ago, and it's very well made and would surely stand up to touring as well as any other rack mounted units. I've been reading alot about POD and other simulators for years. The consensus seems to be that POD is BEST for direct recording. It can also be best for playing Live, but that really depends a lot on the amp/P.A./speaker cabs it's running thru.
 
For DI I myself swear by the POD. I have attended recording schools and learned all about proper techniques for miking amps, placement, eq, ect.. And having played for 34+ years I have been involved in alot of recording (too much!)I wasnt that interested in the POD to begin with, myself being a die-hard Marshall and Mesa freak. IMO if it aint got tubes it aint got nothin! Till I borrowed a POD and ran it into my VS840EX...first take made a believer out of me. Since then I have purchased a POD and recorded using many different simulations and have been more than pleased. Im not saying its any better than a J-Station or the other Brands that you guys use, Im just stating that it fits my situation perfectly....JAKE
 
Mesa

Speaking of Mesa,they make a couple of products intended for the same application as the Pod & J-station,direct recording.The expensive one is called the Formula Pre and the cheaper,stompbox style one is called the V-Twin,which now that I think of it may be discontinued.Anyway,they both have tubes in 'em and a speaker simulator.
 
I've tried every amp simulator listed here, and while the J-Station has a bit more versatility as far as bass and acoustic goes, there's just something about the POD that makes it the bitch of the batch.
It just captures that "real" feel better and more naturally than the rest. When I first bought my POD, I loved it so much that I played for 5 hours non-stop, until my fingers couldn't take anymore. It's a beautiful thing! :)
My vote goes for the POD.
 
hate to break it to y'all... but there is no such thing as a "good" amp simulator. :) Thats like saying ice-cream-like frozen yogurt.

xpxoxox
 
First of all, I own a Pod Pro, and use it strictly in the studio, so this does not apply to live usage. I also have worked on "both" sides of the board, as an engineer for others, and as a "player"...while I always chose to use a real amp in the studio, I recently decided to give the Pro a whirl, and here is what I found...the guitar tracks I have recorded "sit" perfectly in the mix with this product, absolutely "no" giveaway that this is not a mic'd amp "in the mix"...I stress that point, "in the mix"...and that's the sole reason I bought it. "If" you have not recorded with this product, and listened back to those tracks in the context of the mix, you really cannot comment on its performance in this application, which happens to be its forté...if you use it for other applications, it may or may not be suitable, but it does excel as an amp sim, and while I do own a Deluxe Rev, and numerous tube,condenser and dynamic mics, this product gives me "way" too many choices to ignore...in closing, I'm not saying these sims exactly match anything, but they do get you "in the ballpark" and,
as stated, provide realism "within" your recorded work, at a fraction of the cost of the alternative! And anyway, the first time the engineer/mastering house/radio broadcaster compresses the snot out of your "pure" tube tone, you may not be quite so "anal" about it in the future :>)

This is only my perception of course, and loud music may have already irreparably damaged my ears but, how would I know, things always sounded "fuzzy".....:>(

Best of luck, whatever you choose,

BW
 
I got a POD pro, I tried many units but bought the POD-enough said.
 
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