You don't NEED a Guitar amp!

How I replaced my vintage Gibson with a $400 Guitar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIQiWfeWLA4&list=PLWYuNvZPqqcEwAohz-BibDOYyuTuv376R&index=1

In fact, you don't even need a guitar.

Honestly, I’ve come to the point where I don’t really believe in amps anymore. I don’t think they exist.

it's really refreshing to see your take on this Jens. Really a virtual amp, or a plugin makes things much easier, effects are so much more easier to tweak and it's more budget friendly for guitarists

Truly one of the most intelligent, nuanced descriptions of the journey every good musician makes. What is particularly of interest is your willingness to think outside of the box. That is not an easy thing to do. Thanks so much!

Excellent video. I love how your pacing and clarity deliver the information in a way that is engaging, well supported, and never boring. The world would be a better place if all YT videos were this well done. Many thanks.

I've got a fender reverb deluxe, added 4 little wheels to the bottom of it. And now the amp follows me everywhere like a good dog.

to have never felt the vibration and air move of a cranked up amp is to miss the visceral joy.

You're a great storyteller, Jens. My sound has nothing to do with jazz, but I really appreciate your content.

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I'm an acoustic player working on going electric and getting amps into the show is a hassle but I got an HXStomp and I'm enjoying the flexibility and convenience. Cheers Jens!

Love this! Much needed discussion in 2022. Find the solution that works for you.. and more importantly finding things that inspire you. Well said! 🙌

I'll never give up my Mark IV. It not only sounds great but it feels great.

Hi Jens. Thank you for the video explaining your use of modelling units in recording and live work. It was informative and useful. Your relating issues that you experienced, both at live gigs and in the studio, was especially compelling. Regards.

Thanks for your take on this sound issue. I've personally been thru numerous effects pedal boards and always come back to my 4 Roland Cube 80 XL system, daisy chained together, with different effects dialled into each. They have awesome effects built into them. This system sounds huge.

Craziest part is that now the sound guys LOVE a direct out! I have the Line 6 Helix and it is an absolute freelance workhorse for almost any genre.

I'm just working up towards playing live again after many years' lay-off, so your video was very timely and useful. By way of preparation, I blocked out a track for a long-time friend on drums to work with, and he straight off commented on how good the guitar sound was. That was very encouraging, because I hadn't used any of my conventional amps and had instead tried the UAD Dream '65. I'll be delighted if it allows me to get reliably good results while travelling ultra-light!

Great video Jens! I recently had to make some tough decisions about upgrading my setup, because I'm not getting any younger and am getting sick of hauling heavy amps around. I almost went with modeling, but was intimidated by the new ecosystem I'd have to learn (FRFR speakers, endless menus, etc).  Plus, I live in a small area and was uncertain about the reliability of house sounds. Just yesterday I received a Blackstar St. James tube amp, which is only 24 lbs (11 kg)! I'm excited to try it out when I have time, but I will say that I still hear the siren's call of ampless rigs. At the end of the day, all options bubbled up to the same price point, and I just wanted to go with baby steps here :) Really enjoy your channel!

I went for years of pop cover gigs using either just an acoustic guitar through a PA, or my Godin Multiac Jazz SA with a handful of effects into a PA; so I am used to dialing in PA EQ on channels. In that time I have also gotten into multi-effects, specifically the TC Helicon line of products which give processing attention focus to vocals and also allow you some modicum of guitar/instrument treatment. The TCH stuff has never left my rig, but all kinds of guitar effects (including 13pin synth/MIDI gear) has come and gone and come back again. In the last 3-4 yrs I have added a Strymon Iridium and slowly learned to enjoy simulated amp tones again. I prefer mostly clean tones, but have also discovered that adding tweed amp overdrive effects pleases my ear as well. My trick on utilizing all the aforementioned tonal options is to run parallel signal paths. The Godin allows me to run separate outputs for its humbucker, bridge/piezo outputs and 13pin divided pickup synth output; so each of those has it's own channel on my mixer. I blend the piezo output the highest/hottest, and then the sometimes heavily effected humbucker tone path (which is where the Iridium comes in) and underneath all of that are the ethereal or sub-modulated synth tones. It makes for a huge soundscape for me to sing atop. My system will undoubtedly cycle back down at times to just a single guitar tone and vocal track. But for now I am enjoying my sonic death star. Love your tones and channel!

Thank you for posting this. I completely understand. About ten years ago I started doing as many gigs as I could with my pedals and a DI. You're completely right - good sound engineers "got it" and basically gave me the sound I wanted, as loud as I needed it, and even the looping worked most of the time. Then, sadly, I'd get a bad sound person and they'd take liberties with the sound and it felt like two steps back. I also started using the Boss octave for bass sounds and I felt they "needed" a true bass amp on stage to really get the effect and help the house system "handle" the low end. I split the difference now - I now often bring out TWO amps though the bass amp has an XLR out and the guitar amps (Roland Cube 60s) have line outs that I run to a DI. To your point I make a point to make sure I'm giving the sound people DIs and not microphones. Especially on large stages and outdoor stages those crappy microphones pick up wind, noise, and other weird artifacts and while I realize so many musicians still use tube amps that don't have line out or DIs I still just can't fathom the idea of taking the very heavy yet beloved amp sound and making it sound far away and out of context several feet behind you on a weird stage. Anyway, I appreciate this - I'm still happy with my Roland Cubes and I assume they'll last for years. I'm also thinking about getting a Katana head of some sort for backline situations... though real talk one day I hope I get my hands on an AX FX ULTRA as so many of my favorite guitarists of all genres have used them. Anyway, thank you for your videos - always appreciate your perspective, Jens.

I haven't thought much about this amp issue at all (as I'm still focused on which notes to play), but you explain it so well and the historic perspective with JP and john Mc, is a pursuasive inclusion. Really appreciate the specific comments re pick sound. Stories of your personal journey are quite empowering for us students. Thank you, jens!