FM9 Firmware 8.00b1 vs 7.00

[Ka'Pa]

Blind test. A and B are the two different firmwares. Same clip was reamped, played on a Gibosn SG.

Clips 1 and 2 are a preset that combines Silver Jubilee and Dirty Shirley amps

Clips 3 and 4 are the Plexi 6CA7, played on a mix of both pickups with tone knobs rolled off a bit

Clips A2 and B2 are interesting because they feature what maybe I could call a "note flip" thing? I think I'll eventually do a specific thread about that
All clips were played through headphones, so no feedback involved.

Differences are very minute, I have an opinion on what changes sonically, will share a bit later to not affect your own opinions!

A1 B1
A2 B2
A3 B3
A4 B4

 

[hblu2002]

To me there is something less controlled or wilder about the A examples compared to the B. It’s not as simple as more or less gain but the gain appears to be ‘hairier’ and “wider”. Sorry for the poor descriptions but that was my observation.

 

[peaceonu]

I prefer A

 

[Maurice van Wijk]

It might just be old age (52) or standing beside loud drum kits (Of course it is never my own amp volume at fault here, hehehe...) on live stages too much which brought me to "I don't hear any difference"

 

[AlexMania]

B1 seems to have a slightly thinner nasal quality than A1, but they're all so close that I could easily forget about or EQ out any difference. Feels like whatever bass player / other intrument / drummer in the room would dictate the EQ'ing much more than the difference that I could hear in the examples. Then again, I never got points for my ear and...we're already starting with excellence.

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

Differences are very minute

Agreed. I don't hear anything that matters to me.

 

[Cainer]

B is maybe a touch thinner / more top-end than A but man it's pretty darn close

 

[Ka'Pa]

Mostly I can hear a difference on clip 1 (A1/B1):
B has a tad bit more low/mids on the "chug" part. Also less top-end generally, a bit more mid-focused maybe?
Then again very small differences, I almost felt I was going crazy and was "listening with my eyes" . I could spot small differences on a spectrum analyzer though.

Agreed. I don't hear anything that matters to me.

That's the important thing, I don't think anyone should worry that new firmware will "mess their sound"


Tomorrow I'll unveil which is which!

 

[Karl Houseknecht]

I don't think anyone should worry that new firmware will "mess their sound"

My Mark V's sound used to change more than this on a moment by moment basis, depending on how the power was coming in.

 

[Ka'Pa]

A was firmware 7.00
B was firmware 8.00b1

Really minute differences. I think I couldn't even discern them myself on a blind test

Next time I'll try to use better presets for comparison, with less reverb, delay etc... I just played some parts on the presets that I use the most!
I could have compared the specific amps that were updated or amps with cranked master volume to test the updates on the Power Amp modeling. I guess on the next firmware update!