“We were like, ‘What’s the difference between the POD Farm and the Axe-Fx?’ You realize it’s all about whoever is behind it, not the product itself”: Polyphia share their top tips for entering the daunting digital modeler world
Having experienced a lot of “user error” while trying to wrap their heads around amp modelers, Tim Henson and Scott LePage offer some sage advice to fellow amp sim-strugglers
(Image credit: Fishman)
Even some of the most steadfast tube amp traditionalists have made the switch from real amps to digital alternatives in recent years – The Edge and Jim Root, we’re looking at you – but for many making the leap, it can be a daunting experience.
Neural DSP's Quad Cortex, for instance, hinges its sales pitch on the prospect of “limitless sound design possibilities”, with 90+ amps, 100+ effects, and an IR count comfortably into the thousands.
For guitarists who are used to a two-channel tube amp at most, it's easy to get lost in those endless realms of tonal choice.
Speaking to retailer Thomann, Polyphia virtuosos Tim Henson and Scott LePage helpfully revealed their cheat sheet for navigating these extremely versatile machines.
“We were children getting the [Line 6] POD Farm,” Henson recalls. “It's pretty user-friendly and it goes hard, but going from the POD Farm to the [Fractal] Axe-Fx Ultra – you can change the tubes of the amp. There were so many details you could change that you really needed to know what the hell you were doing.”
LePage underscores that the “moral of the story is, 'Don't overthink it,'” as both electric guitar maestros learned to trust presets and the boffins who took the time to make them.
“User error is what happened when we tried to get in there and do all the details... [but] they already did that for us – that's why they made presets,” says Henson.
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“So many of our songs [use presets]. Like G.O.A.T, I think it was recorded on preset 41 [of the Axe-Fx Ultra]. It was just called ‘Boutique.’ That's all it is; that tone is just the preset. Sometimes you just need a preset, you don't need to press any buttons – if it sounds good, it sounds good.
POLYPHIA's Tim Henson and Scott LePage on Pickups, Tube Amps, Modellers and Writing Music - YouTube
“We were like, ‘What’s the difference between the POD Farm and the Axe-Fx? This one's $200 and this one's $2,000 so clearly this one has to be 10 times better.’” he expands. “That was the logic. Then you do the thing and you realize it’s all about whoever is behind it, not the product itself.”
“I've learned so much about these things, and I still know so little,” LePage says of the vast variables that modeling amps boast. That’s why he feels presets shouldn’t be ignored.
“If you have a modeler or a plugin and you don't know what to do with it, I would say the presets are presets for a reason. They sounded good to someone somewhere.”
Polyphia | G.O.A.T. (Official Music Video) - YouTube
However, he adds one more thing players should be aware of: “Some presets are specifically designed to go through an amp, and some are specifically designed to mock an amp,” meaning guitarists should figure out what each preset's intention is in order to get the best out of it.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
