Well, the only variable in this comparison was axe as preamp vs diezel vhx preamp modes.
I am pretty familiar with diezels (played them for ca. 10 years) and have fractal products for 7-8 years.
I went through all solutions including FRFR systems, fryette ps-2/matrix gt1000 with 2 different 4x12, everything except in-ears
I woud say I know how to hook things up and do this test properly
again, that´s just IMHO, but out of dozen or so axe diezel models, those 2 (dizzy silver v3 and herbie 3) sounds/feels better than the real deal.
The rest of the model sounds subjectively worse that those inside vhx.
What´s better on dizzy silver v3 and herbie 3 you may ask ?
Again, IMHO, the sound of those axe models is :
- more homogenic, tone is morphed or somehow glued together better
- feels better under the fingers
- tighter response
- has better clarity
- it´s not so cold (it´s possible to make it colder like real amp with advanced settings ..bias etc.)
- gain structure stays together a lot better, it´s somehow more compact (some may say that it´s more compressed and if that´s the thing, I like it that way)
- the frequency is not all over the place, like wall of sound but precise (so the vhx might sound a bit bigger, but not for better IMO)
- those 2 fractal models has a lot more gain available, the vhx is a lot drier.
- volume wise, I played both at 75-80dbs and around 105db (diezels are known for sounding pretty good at bedroom levels)
If somebody prefer bigger, wall of sound, more raw type of a sound, I can clearly see that the VHX would be winner here...BUT...you can tweak AXE to sound it like that, while the VHX to sound other way around ? ...not so much.