GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
This pedal costs $800. But it's not just a pedal. It's really a tube amp stuffed in to a form that will fit on your pedal board. These types of "Pedal/Heads"have been gaining traction for a while. This one does sound pretty darn good imho. What do you guys think? The built in fan never stops running which evidently gets in the way of recording, just a bit. Still, the price seems a pinch high to me? Then again, it is a boutique tube amp stuffed in to a pedal. Basically a 100 watt tube amp that will fit on your pedal board, so it's got a LOT of tone stuffed in there. The power amp is class D, so they did skimp a bit in order to get it to fit in that tiny box.
What's your verdict? VICTORY or DEFEAT?
The new bit of gear from NEURAL DSP is a pedalboard type of thing that's meant to be a "KEMPER KLLER". It steps in to kemper land and does a sort of profile of a given amp. These can be sahred etc. So, one could take a profile of the VICTORY amp or any amp, and use this handy thing. The draw of course, just like the kemper, is that it's every amp ever built in one little box.
QUESTION: Is it a Kemper Killer? Would you still rather have a tube amp?
Learning Tone Master Posts: 326
Joined: 28-March 20
From: Cyprus
All the Victory preamps that I heard sound great, but they are priced at the same range as some really good heads!
I understand they are useful for live situations since they are in pedal-size, but there are plenty of other cheaper options for preamps if space/weight is of your concern.
Mooer has some pretty good and cheap preamps.
Bands like Cradle of Filth use them as their main setup!!
The Neural capture, will cost €1599 (including VAT) plus shipping.
Mooer has created the tone capture thing with the Micro Preamp Live (€359) some years ago, and it sounds great and also, it has been tested by many individual players, so we have a fairly unbiased opinion.
I am willing to pay extra IF a new product is better or has something new to offer compared to older equipment. These products you mentioned, in live situation, won't give me anything more than the older/cheaper options. Except extra stress/fear that someone will steal them or break them by accidentally spilling beer during a mosh-pit And I doubt anybody in the audience will notice if the sound comes from an expensive or a cheap equipment.
Sorry for the long post, but I fear that more and more companies are trying to manipulate and make guitar players spend more and more money on equipment they either don't really need, or that has the exact same circuit but looks better and costs 10 times the price of the old one.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
I have to agree with you. The VICTORY stuff sounds great, but they do charge an arm and a leg for their gear and the products from mooer sound great seem to have wads of features. VICTORY is a boutique shop making boutique gear at boutique prices and since they have great exposure on youtube, and you can get their stuff in ANDERTONS (they have guaranteed shelf space) they seem to feel free to charge a premium.
I've not had the chance to test out a victory amp as I've never seen one in a music shop. I'm guessing they are more common in Europe maybe. They don't seem to be very common over here.
There is another vendor called BLUGUITAR that makes an amp/pedal rig. (tubes in the preamp/solid state power amp) but these run $800 or so. They are all nowhere near what one might call "cheap". Putting a power amp and tubes in a small box is handy, but it's pricey. The mooer preamp box still needs a power amp. So it's only half way home. Then again, one could just run in to the P.A. for live gigs. Still, some folks hate running in to the P.A. and trusting the monitors which is why folks lug amps around for shows, even if they have a kemper, folks will still drag a 4x12 to a club show, which I do get, having played clubs and had very bad experiences with some sound guys. Here is a vid about the BLUGUITAR amp/pedal. It's a very spiff device.
QUOTE (Steve Gilfield @ Sep 15 2020, 04:09 PM)
All the Victory preamps that I heard sound great, but they are priced at the same range as some really good heads!
I understand they are useful for live situations since they are in pedal-size, but there are plenty of other cheaper options for preamps if space/weight is of your concern.
Mooer has some pretty good and cheap preamps.
Bands like Cradle of Filth use them as their main setup!!
The Neural capture, will cost €1599 (including VAT) plus shipping.
Mooer has created the tone capture thing with the Micro Preamp Live (€359) some years ago, and it sounds great and also, it has been tested by many individual players, so we have a fairly unbiased opinion.
I am willing to pay extra IF a new product is better or has something new to offer compared to older equipment. These products you mentioned, in live situation, won't give me anything more than the older/cheaper options. Except extra stress/fear that someone will steal them or break them by accidentally spilling beer during a mosh-pit And I doubt anybody in the audience will notice if the sound comes from an expensive or a cheap equipment.
Sorry for the long post, but I fear that more and more companies are trying to manipulate and make guitar players spend more and more money on equipment they either don't really need, or that has the exact same circuit but looks better and costs 10 times the price of the old one.
Learning Tone Master Posts: 326
Joined: 28-March 20
From: Cyprus
Pair the mooer preamps with the mooer radar and you are good to go. No need to bring any cabinets to the show
I heard of Bluguitar before. Sounds great too! Haven't checked its price up until now. Similar price to a Line6 but you only get one amp with 4 channels.
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
The BLUGUITAR has a built in power amp which could be handy if one wanted to plug in to a guitar cabinet for a live gig/recording. But yeah, as you say, just like in the cradle of filth vid, just a preamp pedal and a IR loader and you are mostly good to go. Using a multi fx pedal straight to the P.A. seems to be gaining traction on various tours since the multi fx are so good these days. The AXE FX and or Heix/POD etc., do everything in one handy box and make a travel rig fit in a gig bag complete with amps/fx/ir. It's a great time to be a guitar player
QUOTE (Steve Gilfield @ Sep 16 2020, 02:05 PM)
Pair the mooer preamps with the mooer radar and you are good to go. No need to bring any cabinets to the show
I heard of Bluguitar before. Sounds great too! Haven't checked its price up until now. Similar price to a Line6 but you only get one amp with 4 channels.
Learning Tone Master Posts: 326
Joined: 28-March 20
From: Cyprus
When all the band members are playing, I can't listen to any difference between amps or multi-fx units; they became that good!
It is truly such an amazing time to play music; so many easily accessible (and free) resources and so many stuff you can get with just one click!
But I sometimes miss the days when I only had a guitar, a small amp, and a couple of pedals, and it sounded good to me because I couldn't compare it with a boutique amp online
There was no option paralysis, and you got to see a guitar player play live only on the TV once in a while or during a concert, and you tried to check his fingers' position when he reached a point in a song you couldn't figure out on your own
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Well said! Never before has it been easier for a guitar player to create great sounding music. We can do amazing things with a laptop and some plugins. it was not that long ago that none of this existed. Back in the day, one had to book studio time to record a DEMO TAPE. Yes, it was recorded on magnetic tape. It seems like the stone age.
A great sounding live guitar rig can now fit in a gig back. It has made touring life a bit easier for many musicians as well. No longer does a band have to carry a truck load of heavy/expensive amps. Still, some folks want to carry amps on gigs/tours whic is fine as well. But, one at least has a choice these days.
I can't wait to see what the next advances in technology will bring in terms of tools for making great music.
We are starting to see things like ZOOM COLLABS and other things that nobody really expected, but that are changing how music is created and enjoyed. The future of music and being a musician is bright imho
QUOTE (Steve Gilfield @ Sep 16 2020, 05:03 PM)
When all the band members are playing, I can't listen to any difference between amps or multi-fx units; they became that good!
It is truly such an amazing time to play music; so many easily accessible (and free) resources and so many stuff you can get with just one click!
But I sometimes miss the days when I only had a guitar, a small amp, and a couple of pedals, and it sounded good to me because I couldn't compare it with a boutique amp online
There was no option paralysis, and you got to see a guitar player play live only on the TV once in a while or during a concert, and you tried to check his fingers' position when he reached a point in a song you couldn't figure out on your own
GMC:er Posts: 25.297
Joined: 23-December 09
From: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
I know right It was unthnkable not that long ago, that a player could have an entire studio stuffed in a laptop, also a bit crazy not too long ago to think about global collaboration. God bless the interwebs!!! Technology has democratized everything, well just about everything, some bits still to go
Here is a vid about setting ZOOM to be optimized for real time music performance. Anyone had a zoom jam?
QUOTE (Steve Gilfield @ Sep 17 2020, 03:45 AM)
I would never be able to jam with people from all around the world while sitting at home hehe
Here is a vid about the BLUGUITAR amp/pedal. It's a very spiff device. 
Using a multi fx pedal straight to the P.A. seems to be gaining traction on various tours since the multi fx are so good these days. The AXE FX and or Heix/POD etc., do everything in one handy box and make a travel rig fit in a gig bag complete with amps/fx/ir. It's a great time to be a guitar player 
