Recording in 2024

mnewb1

mnewb1

HC Refugee
I exclusively play and record as a hobby. Slowly been building skills over the years and feel like I am ready to expand. I have not had a physical amp in about 15 years now.

So the question does it make any sense to invest in a tube amp for recording in 2024.
 
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I love an excellent tube amp micced up and recorded well. That said, I don’t use them when I record and haven’t owned a tube amp in a few years as it’s just so much easier to record direct—not too mention you can record at all hours and in random locations without the hassle.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use a tube amp in a pro or project studio. But for home recording it seems like the cons outweigh the pros.
 
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For hobby recording absolutely not. Everything Peen Said about it is true. If I was recording a big professional project I'd probably still record 75% of the guitars direct.
 
I think for what you're doing, a modeler would do the job. You're not worried about authentic rock cred or anything.
 
I recorded a couple of demos at home this week. I layered 5 guitar tracks on each one and the tones were pedals into one of three tube amps mic’d with a Sennheiser e609. None of the amps were above 3 on the volume. Modelers are cool and all that I guess but mic’d tube amps are where it’s at for me. If you do that and throw a quality compressor plug-in on it you will achieve the highly coveted “tone for days.”
 
In 2025, I still enjoy playing through my tube amps. But, for recording, I have not miked up an amp in years.

Digital modeling is so much more convenient for recording. And, the results sound more professional to me.

I will say that using a microphone with an amp can create a more raw sound, if that’s what you want. It’s particularly obvious that the real deal is being used with distance miking. IMO the raw thing sounds more amateur. Although, my results always have plenty of amateur vibe even through modeling. :embarrassed:
 
There isn't really a perfect answer to this imo. Whatever you're happy playing through I suppose.

Modellers/plugns are great these days, and I do use them for initial song ideas and the odd overdub. But these days both live and most studio recordings it's amp and mics for me. It's more inspring for me, and I play better through them. And I get to use the mics I want :wink:
Also, I find I get songs done quicker that way, as I commit to a sound and work with that rather than endlessly tweaking plugins after the fact (this can be a giant pain in the ass when you're trying to mix a song) - I'm the same with virtual synth plugins as well, I freeze those tracks as soon as I have the sound that I want and never go back. There's something to having fewer options for sure.

Fortunately I have access to our rehearsal space so I can crank my tube amps up quite a bit when recording though. Not everyone can do that.
 
Originally I started with IKMultimedia Tonex and then Amplitude...all fine, but then got my first amp in years, and pedals, and now...
 
It’s interesting that opinions run the gamut in terms of what’s better for recording, modeling vs mic’d amps. Even among big name professionals, opinions vary. For example, Joe Satriani has said he likes using digital modeling for recording sessions, but he prefers using tube amps live, on stage. Meanwhile, Guthrie Govan has recently switched from using tube amps live, to Fractal Audio, Axe-FX modeling on stage, because of the versatility it gives him. Yet, he says he prefers to track his band recordings with real tube amps.

I guess the bottom line is, whatever works for you is right for you. But, that could always change in the future.
 
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