“I'd advise new guitarists to play with an amplifier”: Sheryl Crow guitarist says beginners should steer clear of amp modellers

The debate between traditional tube amplifiers and digital amp modellers rages on.

Image: Harmony Gerber / Getty Images

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2024 has seen the rise of digital amp modellers like never before, with even die-hard tube loyalists like Slipknot’s Jim Root admitting to making the “blasphemous” switch to digital at times.

Despite the impressive strides in amp modelling technology, many musicians remain steadfast in their loyalty to traditional tube amplifiers. Former Deep Purple axeman Steve Morse, for one, still swears by his ENGL tube amp for live shows.

And now, Sheryl Crow guitarist Peter Stroud has urged beginners to steer clear of amp modellers, arguing that using a ‘real’ amplifier helps players better understand their instrument.

“I’ve been noticing that a lot of younger players are going direct into consoles with amp modellers,” Stroud notes in a recent interview with Guitar Player. “Even when performing live, there are people in Nashville who aren’t using amps anymore.”

“Don’t get me wrong – there are great amp modellers. But the way I came up, I learned that the amplifier was 50 percent of your sound. I’d advise new guitarists to play with the amplifier. Learn how to interact with it and how to use feedback. Learn how to get a clean sound with an amp.”

According to the guitarist, “the way you touch your guitar and pick notes” is very different when using an amp modeller compared to when you go through an amp: “To put it simply, you’re not moving air,” he says.

To emphasise his point, Stroud shared a story about a talented guitarist friend of his: “A friend of mine – a really great guitarist – was playing with an artist in Nashville. The people he was working with wanted him to go direct into the console, and he was struggling with it. He came over for a visit and told me, ‘I just can’t do it.’ It didn’t sound or feel right to him. But when I had him plug into my Marshall ‘Plexi,’ he was like, ‘Oh, my god. There it is!’ There’s just nothing like that real amp sound. It can make all the difference in how you respond to the sound you’re getting.”