Speaker Simulator Options for Guitarists

Along with my busy guitar lesson studio, I am a fairly busy schedule as a professional session and live player. I used to have a big rack system with preamps, power amps, rack-effects and cabs, with flight cases and the sore back that went along with the whole rig.

For the last 5 years I have worked in all the same situations without the amp, rack and cabs. My rig consists of a pedalboard that can fit into a common briefcase; along with a speaker simulator and some in-ear monitors. I can pack my entire rig into a gig in one easy trip.

The positives of the setup are easy to see and feel: less stuff to pack; less stuff to maintain; less stuff to go wrong; less volume to contend with; less setup time; and certainly more flexibility in each different room situation.

I am not opposed to having amps and cabs; rather I'm choosing a strategy that makes sense given the musical situations I am generally playing in.

Here are some excellent options if you want to try gigging without a traditional guitar amp setup. Just put some pedals or a pedal preamp infront of one of these speaker simulators and you'll be surprised at how good the sound is through studio speakers, a PA or in-ear monitors.

Neunaber Iconoclast

BluGuitar Blubox

Lodigy EPSi

Digitech CabDryVR

Yes. Nothing else can completely replace a great tube amp cranked up, but

as a second backup rig, or flyrig, or just a lightweight alternative to the big amp

that you can't turn up anyway (because the room is too small); these small

cab simulators really do deliver a realistic tone and feel that can

even fool experienced guitarists in the audience.