I did some more testing with 4CM and my EVH 50w Stealth. I used two presets like Leon described in his 4CM video (again, I used XLR to TS;
not XLR to TRS). Basically you setup one preset that uses the real amp’s preamp, and another preset that bypasses the real preamp and uses an amp block into the real amp’s FX loop.
The presets are very basic—just a drive block in front of the amp, delay and reverb after. This makes it super easy to a/b the real amp vs a Fractal model.
I wasn’t trying to exactly replicate the
tone of the Stealth. I was trying to determine if the feel is there (actually more of a confirmation as I’ve kinda done this a bit before). The feel is definitely in there. I did tweak a few things that helped (input trim, power amp sag, maybe something else I’m forgetting) but overall it was pretty simple.
With the comfort of knowing I wasn’t sacrificing anything in terms of feel, I turned my attention to tone. I compared clean, crunch, and lead FM3 models to the amp’s green, blue, and red channels on the respectively.
The FM3’s versatility in terms of amp models, and even scratching the surface of its tweakability, actually make it superior to the Stealth’s channels. For example I really like all three channels on the Stealth but when I compare its clean channel to the Double Verb model I can get the model sounding better to me because I can more easily tweak exactly what I want even just using the amp block.
I experimented with the blue channel (which is awesome) vs the Dizzy VH4 Silver Ch 3 model and after a few minutes I was definitely liking the model more. At similar gain levels the model even cleaned up better (and the amp ain’t bad). Same result with the Plexi 100 and HBE models. Additional bonus using models—I’m not limited by the shared EQ between the green and blue channels.
I also experimented with the red channel vs some models. 5153 red, VH4, 6160 block, Recto. Same results as with the other channels. I can easily get the models sounding at least as good if not better.
Keep in mind, I
love the Stealth. It’s a phenomenal amp and I could be happy with it and a few pedals. The FM3/Stealth combo is just making me happier
I’m now fully on board with the manual which states, “the 4CM is fairly intricate and has questionable benefits compared to the setup called “”Traditional Guitar Power Amp & Speakers.””
I’ll be just running a 2 cable method: guitar into FM3, Output 1 to the FX loop. Actually, that’s a lie. I’ll be using a 3 cable method. Output 1 will also go to the FX loop of my EVH 50w EL34. Because stereo.
