So, I finally got a Modeler

[Harley Hexxe]

Yeah, there's definitely a difference there.

The low mids are definitely scooped a bit, and some of the highs seem to be cut as well.

So my question now would be: can you tweak the EQ in the Ampero to put back what seems to be missing?

If it does that, then it's a good modeling alternative for a fly-rig. Not a perfect one by any stretch of the imagination, but still a good one.

[Dante]

I don't think anything is missing in the Tone Catch, I think it sounds better than the actual preamp. A bit different, sure, but better in the overall 'girth' of the tone. The Scooped mids are in the real preamp! haha

I can, of course, assign an EQ to the Catch and make it sound like the preamp. I also have the ability to turn UP or DOWN the gain amount...which is nice. See the screenshot below for all the adjustments I have. It was flatlined for the recording

It's close, not exact, but I can totally get some useable tones out of this thing, so I guess that part is a success. I gotta say, the Tone Catch of the MP1 Classic sounds better than the models of amps in there, the saturation is smoother, like a tube.

[Harley Hexxe]

Now that's very useful

With that EQ option, you can take out anything extra or add anything missing to make it sound like what it does out of the actual machine.

I think I see what you were talking about with the capture bank. It looks like you can save your captures in banks of 10. That would be a great way to capture all the ADA preamps and save them in their own groupings, and I would imagine that includes the MB-1 as well.

This tool is starting to gain some traction with me 

[Harley Hexxe]

Well folks, I'm at a crossroads.

I like what the Ampero here can do, but I'm still on the fence about what to get for an amp-less rig.

It seems to be between this and the Fender Tone Master Pro.

I know the Tone Master Pro can't do captures, but then again, I can write presets with it from the ground up which is typically what I do with any modeler. I know that with my ADA gear, I'm basically writing presets that start by using a very well-known amp, and I add whatever effects I want with it to suit my needs for a particular song. So, that's where my dilemma lies, do I get something that can capture my ADA preamp tones, or, do I just get something that I can write presets from the tones I'm emulating with my ADAs?

Talk about option paralysis

[Dante]

Welcome to First World Problems ;)

You can't go wrong with either one. I really like that Fender unit too - it was high on my list too.

From my experience with the Ampero; it can be finniky. It likes other Ampero pedals, switches....Boss switches, not so much. If you get the Ampero, be prepared to buy an Ampero Press for your Wah, unless you just run an external wah.

Writing patches in the Ampero is quick and easy, but you can spend a lot of time trying out amps/cabs/etc. It can be a time suck. However, many of the models sound great as soon as you add them.

I have no experience with the Fender, but it looks very cool.

[Harley Hexxe]

I appreciate the heads-up on the potential rabbit holes with the Ampero, and the finicky part. I think anything like this can seem finicky until you understand the programming flow of it well enough. Case in point, my experience with the MP-2s and how long they sat in a closet until I made time to figure out the programming and the quirks of the preamp, then it became a breeze after that.

Even with the Tone Master Pro, I would need to get the Mission expression pedal for the wah tones in that. The reason I don't already have one of those is because when it first came out many of the amp models were really disappointing. The Marshall models sounded shrill and scratchy, the 5150 was dark and obscure, the Bogner model was seriously too dark and muddy, etc.

Fender has been listening to the feedback and has been working hard to correct these things and now, so many of those are sounding really close to the original amps. (Even my Cyber-Twin SE had a better sounding model of the 5150 than the TMP). For the money Fender is asking for that modeler, they'd better be listening.