Ultimate Guitar recently caught up with Stone Sour guitarist Josh Rand, who offered his thoughts on classic tube amps versus digital amps and effects. Following is an excerpt:

Rand: "I own a Fractal and I own a Kemper and when we were making this record ['Hydrograd'], we recorded it so fast that we only had two weeks to kind of have fun and try things out, which from the guitar aspect of it was trying out the Fractal and the Kemper and then comparing them to the real amps in the studio environment.

We used all different iso cabs and speaker simulators and when it was all said and done, the reality is that nothing tops the real stuff. When you're in a world-class studio, and you can compare them side by side, that's what we discovered. I'm not taking anything away from those units because in certain situations they make sense. Obviously from a touring standpoint, they're so compact and you're able to carry it around - especially in countries where it's not easy to rent gear, I understand it.

Another thing we found out is that when one of us was using a simulator and the other guitarist isn't, it just disappears and vanishes in the mix and whoever has the actual real amp is the dominant sound. At the end of the day, there's just something about having real tubes and pushing air. I think maybe in five more years they might be there."

Read the complete interview here.

Stone Sour has announced new North American tour dates for early 2018. The new dates include a co-headline tour with Halestorm and special guests The Dead Deads set to commence on January 27th in Abbotsford, British Columbia, followed by a string of headline shows with support from Red Sun Rising and The Dead Deads which get underway February 16th in Grand Rapids, MI (see attached itinerary).

January (with Halestorm and The Dead Deads)
27 - Abbotsford, BC - Abbotsford Centre
29 - Dawson Creek, BC - Encana Events Centre

February (with Halestorm and The Dead Deads)
1 - Lethbridge, AB - Enmax Centre
2 - Calgary, AB - Grey Eagle Casino
4 - Saskatoon, SK - Sasktel Center (lower Bowl)
5 - Winnipeg, SK - Burton Cummings Theatre
7 - Bemidji, MN - Sanford Center
8 - Brookings, SD - Swiftel Center
10 - Ypsilanti, MI - Convocation Center
11 - Rochester, NY - Armory

February (with Red Sun Rising and The Dead Deads)
16 - Grand Rapids, MI - 20 Monroe
17 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
18 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Ballroom

April
28 - Jacksonville, FL - Welcome To Rockville

June
1-3 - Nürburg, Germany - Rock am Ring
1-3 - Nuremberg, Germany - Rock im Park
14-17 - Nickelsdorf, Austria - Nova Rock