I picked up my guitar three months ago after a 15 year hiatus(!), and could use some advice on what gear fits me. I’m a bedroom guitarist who does not record. I don’t want to buy an amp because they’re big, heavy, take up space, are loud, are expensive, and provide a singular tone; I need something instead of an amp. I have no intentions to play live or to be a professional. I also don’t want to go down in the weeds of crafting a polished tone - I want to play. I play rock and metal, I may branch out into lower gain melodic/soulful things at some point.
I’ve been using NeuralDSP plugins, which I LOVE. I recently got an Axe FM3 thinking a hardware unit would be a “level up”, but I’m thinking it may be overkill. I considered the QC of course but atm they’re going for more than twice the FM3.
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Is my FM3 overkill for bedroom playing? I’m wondering if it was designed for a bigger venue or a recording situation, so perhaps I’m not getting all the benefits given my volume levels and application.
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Does dedicated hardware with a DSP always sound better than a plugin running through my Macbook?
My ears cannot tell the difference between say Archetype: Nolly and my FM3, going through my Rokit 7 studio monitors. Compared to the FM3, I was expecting that plugins would sound more… robotic? The sound equivalent of a pixelated image. However, if there is a difference, I’d like to get my ears accustomed to the best of the best from the beginning, even if I can’t detect it yet (cause I will at some point).
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I don’t want to deal with latency ever. Plugins seem fine but again I want to use the best my budget can buy, even I can’t tell the difference yet.
What would you suggest? Given my modest use and requirements, would you say an FM3 is overkill and I should stick with my Neural plugins (which I love)?