ALL ROADS LEAD TO TONE

However you like to make your sound, there’s a method for you

Of all the trends in gear swirling around NAMM this year, the most striking – and perhaps revolutionary – is how many ways there are to generate a great electric guitar sound, each method with its own fervent band of acolytes. Firstly, there are good old valve amps (nuff said), now joined by modelling amps designed to sound exactly like specific valve amps, such as Fender’s Tone Master Twin. Then there are amps such as Boss’s excellent Katana range that have an analogue, solid-state power stage that’s designed to operate and sound like a valve amp but with digital effects onboard and more besides. Then there are modelling multi-effects such as Line 6’s Helix, that do… well, everything, from amp and cabinet simulation to effects modelling and more.

Over at Kemper, the brand has its own proprietary process called ‘Profiling’ that runs a test signal through a real valve amp and “captures its tonal DNA”. In fact, why bother with a standalone device at all? Strymon’s Iridium puts compellingly authentic amp models and cab sims in a compact pedal that’ll fit right on your pedalboard. Too digital? Try Victory’s V4, a real amp with valves at its heart that’ll also fit on a large-ish ’board.

You get the idea. The routes into getting great tone are expanding by the minute. But this proliferation of tech is not just about tone. In fact, it’s a trend, we think, that is actually about practicality: giving guitarists the tools to help them work in exactly the way they like to work, be that flying into gigs with an ultralightweight rig or revelling in the massive choice offered by modelling devices – or simply getting happy with a really sorted boutique valve amp. It’s horses for courses, not a purity test, so get out there and try it all and find what unlocks the most music in you.