Speaker simulation

Circuitry or software that imitates the sound of a guitar speaker and cabinet so a signal can be sent direct without a microphone in front of a real one.

A guitar speaker is not a full-range device: it rolls off sharply above a few kilohertz and has a pronounced upper-midrange peak, and that filtering is a huge part of why an amplified guitar sounds like a guitar. Simulation reproduces that filtering, either with a simple analogue filter network or a digital cabinet impulse response, and the more detailed versions also capture the microphone position. Without it a direct signal sounds harsh and thin.

Example: a distorted signal sent straight to a mixing desk without speaker simulation sounds fizzy and unpleasant until a cabinet filter is applied.

Speaker simulation

See also