Anyone use one of these and what are people's thoughts? My Blackstar HT5 while a nice little amp isn't giving me that huge and wide distortion that I crave, however before I decide to end my relationship with my neighbours and get a 50 watter I thought I'd get my feedback on this unit.

Guitar Rig and Pod Farm don't cut it when it comes to digital modelling so was wondering if this bit of hardware cuts the mustard!

I have one.

For the money I think they are pretty good.

I am not a high gain player though.

Have you thought about the Kemper, that is a step up from the 11R but is twice the price!

Cheers

Andy.

For me, it didn't seem to make the mark as to where I'd ditch tube. This box has other merits, but I wouldn't buy it for mid or high gain sounds. The closest I've heard modeling get to analog is in the Vox Tonelab line.

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www.descentintomadness.com

Does pod farm have the hd level of modelling or is it the previous generation?

To my ears the HD stuff is a definite step up in quality from previous pods.
Up to now I'd felt that the tonelab was the best modeller, (although hi gain stuff is not so good on the Vox), but the HD seems better then the tonelab to me and might be worth auditioning for your needs.

Also are you not getting the sound you want from the HT5 in the room, or in the recording? Does it sound how you want when you play, but is lacking when played back, or is it lacking to begin with?

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I've never liked a solo violin, you need at least five for a proper fire.

A little more power in your amp might make a big difference. I recently had a religious experience with a Vox Night Train, which is top of the shopping list for my next own-birthday present. It is 7.5 watts when you flip the 'emasculate' switch, which might be OK for your neighbours.

I tried the HT5 at the same time, and thought it was good. After all the interweb fuss about it, I was expecting to have to get my credit card out after the first minute, but it didn't grab me as firmly as that. Dave from Blackstar suggested that the HT-20 is a fairer competitor for the Night Train, so he is probably right. That's next weekend's mission :-)

You could always buy a 100W stack, and simply turn it up very loud. That way you won't hear your neighbours' frantic banging and screaming, so they won't disturb you.

Another way to get neighbours out of the way is to wait for the summer when their windows are open, then record them in the act of love. Playing this back at high volume should keep their heads down for a while (a bloke I used to work with actually did this as revenge for some imagined slight, and he never heard a sound from them ever again).

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Instant gratification is actually pretty good. It's fast as well.

Hi Imran,

I've owned an 11R for the last two years, and very happy with the tones. The EXP pack Avid released really helped to get the high-gain tones you are after.

Not plugging my stuff, but all guitars recorded on my S/cloud page in my link have been done with the Eleven. Using a parametric eq you can get any tone you want in the box.

It feels and reacts just like a proper amp should. But, I do miss the interaction between the player, guitar and amp. For home use, recording and FRFR playback - it's an awesome piece of kit.

But, for jamming and normal use, an Eleven, Power amp and cab gets quite pricey - and heavy! I'm bagging something like the Engl Tubemaster 15 with a 2x12 for jamming and band use.

If you know somewhere where you can play the Eleven through some nice monitors, give it a whirl - it's a great piece of kit.

Hope that helps!

-Riff

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-The Power Of The Riff Compels Me-
http://soundcloud.com/the-good-dr

Yeah cheers for that but what I'm gonna do is get a 50 watt head and a 4x12!!!

I will only ever blast it when recording so it will be loud for very limited periods, I've also got so many nice pedals I'd rather not get rid of them and incorporate them into my new setup.

Quote Imran500:

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it will be loud for very limited periods

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I hope that you're neighbours see it the same way.

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http://www.random-thought.co.uk/

I went to Andertons and tried out the Eleven Rack - I have to say it sounded way better than I thought it would. I think I might just get it, it's significantly better than Guitar Rig or Pod Farm for heavy distortions

Hi,

Pod Farm is still on the orignal 'modelling' code from the 'GearBox' plugin. Over the versions since, more amps, speaker cabinets and FX have been added.

I've used Gearbox many times for guitars, as well as Guitar Rig. I always found that there's a certain brute harshness missing from heavy guitars (like you say - especially the top end) that I couldn't capture via re-amping. Believe it or not, I've had better results miking a Line6 Spider IV than using Line 6's gearbox!

All this changed when I started getting more 'in depth'. Try looking into 'impulse responses' - they are a more convincing/acurate 'modelling' of the tonal characteristics of an cabinet/mic combination in a room - http://www.redwirez.com do some free ones and some fantastic products.

Ultimately , I settled on using a 're-amp' VST by TH2 called 'Overloud'. It's awesome for distored rock/metal guitars and it also allows you to use custom 'impulse reponses' - this is equivelant to using an 'amp' from gearbox with a much better 'cab' simulation by someone else.

I used the above on my band's new EP, which can be heard here:

http://ropewalk.bandcamp.com/album/ep-may-2012

I have a Pod XT - The problem with hardware (mainly) is it's limited to physical channels, whereas plugins are not. I'm not sure if this is the case with the Eleven Rack though.

Ant.

Quote Imran500:

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I went to Andertons and tried out the Eleven Rack - I have to say it sounded way better than I thought it would. I think I might just get it, it's significantly better than Guitar Rig or Pod Farm for heavy distortions

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You should try a Kemper as well, its a step up from the 11R thats for sure.

But a lot more expensive

The Kemper is way too expensive, if I was going to be spending that kind of cash I'd want a proper tube head + stack. I've tried TH2's Overloud as well - (I've tried all amp sims at some point) and it doesn't really do the distortion sounds I require.

Ultimately distortions are what set's digital and tube apart - I've been perfectly happy with the Blackstar HT5 clean sounds they are really nice.

Quote Imran500:

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The Kemper is way too expensive, if I was going to be spending that kind of cash I'd want a proper tube head + stack. I've tried TH2's Overloud as well - (I've tried all amp sims at some point) and it doesn't really do the distortion sounds I require.

Ultimately distortions are what set's digital and tube apart - I've been perfectly happy with the Blackstar HT5 clean sounds they are really nice.

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Does this distortion sound digital?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrk2PcWevQ&t=5m28s

Quote BobTheDog:

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Does this distortion sound digital?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrk2PcWevQ&t=5m28s

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Extremely...

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www.descentintomadness.com

Quote 4TrackMadman:

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Quote BobTheDog:

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Does this distortion sound digital?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrk2PcWevQ&t=5m28s

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Extremely...

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Including the real amp? You can tell the difference between the two?

Quote Imran500:

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Yeah cheers for that but what I'm gonna do is get a 50 watt head and a 4x12!!!

I will only ever blast it when recording so it will be loud for very limited periods, I've also got so many nice pedals I'd rather not get rid of them and incorporate them into my new setup.

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More power and volume doesn't necessarily translate into a bigger sound. It'll only read 0VU on the meters anyway.

I'd have a play with effects and mic placement before I dropped a fortune on a new rig.

Quote _ Six _:

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Quote Imran500:

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Yeah cheers for that but what I'm gonna do is get a 50 watt head and a 4x12!!!

I will only ever blast it when recording so it will be loud for very limited periods, I've also got so many nice pedals I'd rather not get rid of them and incorporate them into my new setup.

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More power and volume doesn't necessarily translate into a bigger sound. It'll only read 0VU on the meters anyway.

I'd have a play with effects and mic placement before I dropped a fortune on a new rig.

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I've been experimenting with it for months and I'm still not satisfied with the distorted sound, I think a 50 watt stack would simply be a bad idea for recording at home so I'm gonna sell my stuff and plump for the Avid

Quote BobTheDog:

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Quote 4TrackMadman:

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Quote BobTheDog:

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Does this distortion sound digital?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSrk2PcWevQ&t=5m28s

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Extremely...

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Including the real amp? You can tell the difference between the two?

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The problem is they've manage to sample an amp which sounds digital!!!

Can you give us an artist whose recorded sound is similar to what you want?

For home recording, I usually DI from the line out on my valve amp into Redwirez impulses; because it has a wide variety of cabinet impulses mic'd up at a huge amount of distances with a wide variety of mics you can really shape the sound very nicely. You get the advantage of the sound and feel of your own amp flat out whilst not flattening walls. I've not tried the 11 rack to compare but I've seen my fair share of pods, guitar rig, ToneLab etc. All have pros and cons but my favourite 'vanilla' guitar tones I can get at home are real amp into impulses. I lack the range of cabs, mics and experience to do a fabulous job at home. I've had decent results but I've preferred the impulses with my skill set / gear. Yes, I could chuck more time at perfect mic technique but for the odd occasions where I could could socially let the cabinet off the lead it just isn't worth it - I can now record at any time without disturbing anyone and know it will sound like me through my amp

They have a Marshall cab as a free download so what's to lose? You might just discover the sound you want with the gear you already own. You will, of course, need a line out from your amp. The Blackstar you have already monkeys with this with its own cabinet sim but Dave on here recons you can squirt the fx send to your DAW for an actual line out (if I've understood it correctly Dave???)

Yes the FX Send should give you a clean enough signal to pre.

Personally I'd go the Axe-FX 2. Route.

If I was gonna spend Axe FX kinda cash I may as well save up a bit more and get one of these!

Amen to that brother

Mesa all the way!

Have you looked at the small, Mini rectifier?
Test drove one of these few months ago and it was amazing:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MiniRectHD/

If you're not strictly looking at metal tones the Egnater Tweaker is also very nice as there is a 40 watt option which is loud enough to gig with.

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www.descentintomadness.com

The mini rectifier looks killer - all the reports suggest that you can get the recitifier sound without destroying your lugholes!

That said I've just ordered the Eleven Rack and it shall arrive on Monday

I've been playing round with this thing for a couple of weeks and I have to say it's really good - I'd still say a good quality tube amp is better, there's a thickness to the sound especially solos and single picked stuff that's missing from digital at the moment. High gain - definately does it better than Guitar Rig though, once again tube is superior for distorted phatness.

I think it is overpriced at £600 however, while it makes recording easier and allows you to get some really good quality tracks down I reckon for what you get £400 would be a fairer price. I had no interest in using Pro Tools either and the fact you cannot use it as a plugin with any other DAW is very limiting.

Overall 7/10 - it's a classy bit of gear but not as good as a nice amp.

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...the fact you cannot use it as a plugin with any other DAW is very limiting. ...

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Not quite true. You could use it as an 'outboard plug in' - As far as I'm aware, all major DAWs allow you to use hardware i/o as a plug in - just use a spare pair of inputs and outputs on your interface (if you have them, of course).

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www.sda-audio.co.uk

I send it into an RME Babyface via SPDIF, but the actual VST plugin window to edit the unit on PC/ Mac is only available in Pro Tools - you also cannot upload or back up presets either without Pro Tools.