Can Digital Guitar Pedals Really Simulate Analog Sound?

There are literally tens of thousands of guitar effect pedals
available out there, and the number grows every year. Some of the
pedals coming out on the market rival the greatest pedals of all time,
and many effect pedals can do things today that were never possible in
the past.
Acoustic simulators can make an electric guitar sound (something)
like an acoustic guitar. Loop machines can provide upwards of twenty
minutes of live delay, and they keep things affordable for the average
gigging guitarist. In other words, it's a really cool time to play the
guitar.

However, many guitarists claim that today's pedals don't really stack
up to the pedals of the '60s or '70s. They claim that older pedals
were able to get awesome tones that digital pedals will never come
close to replicating. So, can digital guitar pedals simulate analog
pedal sound?

Well, no. Not yet, anyways.

To understand why, it's helpful to understand the difference between
digital and analog sound. Analog sound was recorded directly onto tape
back in the day (some studios still use analog equipment), and analog
pedals directly altered the signal being fed through them. The
introduction of digital sound provided sound waves that sounded
crystal clear--but actually, they weren't complete representations of
sound. Digital products take samples of sound waves at tens of
thousands of points over the course of a second, and those samples are
strung together to create a full sound that resembles what was
recorded or played. However, unlike analog sound, it's not a complete
reproduction. Make sense?

The argument you'll hear a lot from audiophiles and vintage gear heads
is that analog pedals and equipment simply provides better sound. If
you're basing your idea of "better sound" off of whether something's a
complete reproduction, or whether all of an original sound wave is
used through a foot pedal to create a new tone, they're right.

But in the modern musical world, it's really hard to tell the
difference. Digital pedals use such accurate technology to reproduce
and change sound that they're practically at analog levels, and if you
meet someone who can tell the difference, they tend to be few and far
between.
Certainly the fans who show up to most rock shows won't notice the
minute differences between digital and analog pedals, as far as
straight sound quality goes.

Analog foot pedals can also have variables that digital pedals don't
have. For instance, if a pedal has a tube or older circuitry,
something might go wrong to make a much cooler sound. With digital
pedals, something breaking tends to mean...well, the pedal breaking.
Many newer digital pedals have controls that allow them to simulate
these inconsistencies in analog pedal controls, however.

The reality is that the gap between digital and analog guitar effects
pedals is gradually being eliminated, and newer pedals are getting
close and closer to accurately simulating the old analog pedals
without any of the old analog problems. Like I said--it's a great time
to be a guitarist.

Do you think digital guitar pedals can ever simulate analog guitar
effects? Post in the comments section below.