Got a request that will make the tube die-hards think....can you do a demo video?

W

woodbutcher65

Inspired
I keep hearing this over and over and over again from the die-hard tube lovers: "No modeller can match the insane roar of a cranked Marshall stack!"

We know that's not true. Yes, it CAN. If set up right, sure it can. So let's prove it.

So I want someone to prove it. Someone who can play well, that's not me, and can do a demo video of a Fractal driving a 100 watt (or more) power amp and at least one, preferrably two, 4x12s, turned up to something in the 123 dB range, comparing it side by side with a good Marshall stack. To demonstrate that power is power,
tone is tone, digital or tube doesn't matter when it's done right. A Fractal running a Plexi or JCM800 model, in that setup, will rattle your pant legs every bit as effectively as the "real deal" and I'd like to see someone make the demo video that proves it.
 
The diehards will just shift the goalposts. "It doesn't feel the same", "You can't perceive how it feels to play in a YT video", "Well that poweramp was doing the hard lifting", "Who cares, it will never have the vibe of my vintage Marshall" etc.

They are not the kind to change their opinion even when presented with proof.
 
woodbutcher65 said:
turned up to something in the 123 dB range, comparing it side by side with a good Marshall stack. To demonstrate that power is power,
tone is tone, digital or tube doesn't matter when it's done right. A Fractal running a Plexi or JCM800 model, in that setup, will rattle your pant legs every bit as effectively as the "real deal" and I'd like to see someone make the demo video that proves it.
Click to expand...
Are you practicing at 120+ dB?
 
I would have considered myself a tube die-hard before I got my Axe III. A buddy of mine got his and kept sending me clips, but I never really considered it for myself. The Fractal stuff has had a stigma of being only high gain amps, and only for hard-core metal players.

Well, my buddy was using all low-gain, edge of breakup amps. That really changed my perspective! And, when you're my age and your favorite amp weighs almost 100lbs (Matchless HC30), and I was running stereo with my HC30 and a Kemper toaster, something I could rack mount and carry like a backpack was appealing.

Never thought it would fully replace my amp(s), though. Wasn't ever really thrilled with the Kemper either, felt too spongy, but it served a purpose.

Grabbed an Axe III at my buddy's prodding. When I got it, and plugged in, it was eye opening! It was the first modeler I'd used that had the "stiffness" or push back of my real HC30. What a pleasure to play! Touch and dynamics were back, and it took pedals exactly like my real amp.

All that to say, most Tube Die-hards will dismiss videos and tracks, because feel is a huge component of playing a tube amp, and you just can't convey that on a video or track.
 
I recorded my last album with splitter: guitar goes into a loud Marshall and Axe3. This way I get the nasty feedbackstuff, and clean DI and Axe sounds of the same situation. For whatever reason, even though the signal was the same into both setups, the Axe side did not squeal and have the maddest explosive feedback danger moments. So part of the tone and feel did not happen in the guitar but somewhere else, perhaps the cables themselves squeal with enough volume. Normal feedback that moves the guitar strings of course got captured in both setups.
 
woodbutcher65 said:
I keep hearing this over and over and over again from the die-hard tube lovers: "No modeller can match the insane roar of a cranked Marshall stack!"
Click to expand...
No modeler can replicate the physical phenomena that happens called "amp in the room" and 99% of the time that is what we experience with cranked amps in general.

So, using headphones or studio monitors you can't experience the true feel of an amp cranked.
 
Can we agree, that the critical component for this is the power amp?

Question is: Are the Matrix amps good enough for this? If not, what power amp is?
 
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