“I hate modeling, I think it’s wack. You can hear it right away”: IDLES explain why recording with an amp modeler risks messing with your tone, your head – and probably your dog

Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan, guitarists in UK punk heroes IDLES, have weighed in on the debate around amp modelers – with Bowen insisting he’s particularly against under-educated players using them for recording purposes.

As the shift to amp modeler technology continues to gather pace, the days of the mass market tube amp are truly looking numbered, but in a new interview with Guitarist the IDLES duo maintain they’re firmly among the hold-outs when it comes to modelers.

“I hate modelling, I think it’s wack,” says Bowen. “You can hear it right away.” 

Bowen’s main gripe is less ideological – though both Bowen and Kiernan also endorse the well-worn ‘feel’ argument – and more that the ubiquity of digital signal chains, coupled with a lack of engineering knowledge among some players, has led to an explosion of awful-sounding recordings and tones.

“One of the big things on [IDLES’ latest album] Tangk is that we recorded a lot of it to tape,” explains Bowen.

“Obviously, it goes into digital at points, so there’s going to be some form of dither or issues around the distortion and what occurs above the frequency range. 

“But with an amp, and with tape, that is blunted because of the mechanics of it. And the distortion and what happens above the frequency range, that is taken care of.”

Bowen argues that, despite the limitations involved in tape recording, the end results are in some ways more idiot-proof. Crucially, they’re less likely to lead to the sort of weird frequency fragments and digital feedback associated with an-all digital signal chain and recording process.

“If you’re not aware of that with modelling and using DAWs, you can get into scenarios where you’ve created something great, but it fucks with your head and sounds horrible,” continues Bowen. 

“You’re looking at the waveform on your EQ and it’s like, ‘There’s nothing horrible here.’ But it’s all the [near-inaudible] information that’s happening above that is really fucking with your head... and probably your dog!”

For his part, Kiernan is more measured in his opinions on modelers, but shares Bowen’s stance on recording – remaining satisfied with the combination of Hiwatt and Peavey Deuce amps (“both big valve boys”) he used on Tangk.

“I love real amps,” adds Kiernan. “I love the way a note feels. If you take that away from the speakers, it just starts feeling sterile to me. Like, I completely understand the usage of profiling, I think it’s incredible. But I have to think of them as two separate things.

“For me, modeling is something you can use as a fail-safe for touring. But when it comes to sound, recording, writing – it has to be amps.”

Nonetheless, the prevailing wind seems to be blowing increasingly towards modeling, with the arrival of the Fender Tone Master Pro seemingly opening up the tech to a mass market audience – and, as we discussed recently, winning the first digital licence from the “very protective” tube devotees at EVH Gear.

To read the full conversation with the IDLES guitarists, plus interviews with Molly Tuttle and Tommy Emmanuel and an in-depth dive into the rise, fall and remarkable resurgence of Fender’s offset designs, pick up Guitarist issue 509 from Magazines Direct.