I had a friend who plays and gigs in Texas come bye he played all my tube amps, sss 150, odsr, ultra phonic Dumble and plexi as well some other clone amps.
I then had him play the axe fx II this was before 17 more like 13.4 v.
He plays blues and some rock but mostly Blues purist and we went though each fender amp id dialed in,
super reverb, twin, deluxe, bassman/s tweed and black face vibroverb as well and my buddy who refuses to play without a plexi clone and a bassman for 2nd amp
said every one of those amps sounded exactly like the ones he had owned.
I owned several of those amps as well so I know how they sounded when I dialed them up by ear...
Since then with 17 and latest at that, the sounds were even better of course..
Now his comment was it sounded exactly like a and then stopped himself
I said what ???
He said a real amp...
I said Ah Ha then you state here and now it sounds the same ? He said he had owned a vibroverb and
twin and played many supers owns the bassman and owned black face and played tweeds
as well and he thought they were spot on..
Since that day everything has improved for the better and he has no idea how much better they sound.
I have matched the sss and odsr by ear and phonic sounds very much like trainwreck to me..
I voiced all the internal trainwreck patches using my ears, monitors and the 3 trainwrecks online, they recorded
and have on you tube. One being Ken's personal amp and dialed in the better of the 3 Kens being one of the 3.
Compared too the Dumble Phonic I own which is 100% the real deal, it sounds much like that Trainwreck that Billy got
direct from Ken.
The amp I own does 3 sounds very well David Lindley , early Billy Gibbons and Michael Landau.
The difference between the Trainwreck/s on you tube and Dumble I own
would be the clean channel on Dumble is the winner..
The Lead side of the Dumble straight in does the Trainwreck in spades alone....!
In my opinion..
So you get 3 amazing sounds on lead side and many clean sounds as well rhythm and lead from the clean side.
With Trainwreck its more volume knob control between clean and lead sound.
Now while the gigging musician was here he played the Dumble and I recorded that
somewhere I have recordings of him playing the sss 150 style amp here as well and
after he left I got on the axe and dialed up the Trainwreck patch.
Using jbl studio monitors for playback of his live playing here I compared and played along with
his pre recorded samples..
Before I even tone matched the Dumble, I was convinced there was no need because Cliffs Trainwreck patch
even in 13.4 v sounded about the same....
No need to tone match if you have them sitting side by side and can dial them in by ear so well you cant tell the difference..
I just adjusted the amps internally to the recordings saved those as is.
Now if I do play anywhere live I can take the axe fx II and have those amps with me in spirit.
I have all the efx on top of those amp sounds to boot which is mixed and sounds better then the
actual pedals and lexicon reverb or 2290 delays in person as I had those to compare.
The axe is the better mix there as well..
Still like my tube amps sold many already kept a few.
But Ive surpassed them and the mix of efx to get something better..
almost in every circumstance or amp I get the same as or better tone out of the axe fx II.
Im not playing live at the moment but the blues guy confirmed every one of the amps he tried
sounded exactly like the original amps he had owned ....
@ The last Romantic your Dad is likely my age and he is not the only one that said OH !
I asked if the axe moved any air..
The guy helping me plays 8 string and he brought his ev speaker in flat response and proceeded to shake my spine
I said a few more things at that time like HOLY FING SHIT and WOAHHHHH.
I had a touring bassist here during that visit and he was blown out of his socks by the bass sounds and John
dialed up bass sounds for us to use while Jim is here..
Completely floored 2 touring gigging players who are seeped in the blues and rock very seasoned players and
they were both shaking their heads smiling about it.
Since that visit I have grown leaps and bounds surpassing all those amps and then some
and they have not heard amything yet.
I know the volumes these guys play at around here in North Texas and the guy with marshall clone
has to use an attenuator or he gets bitched to turn it down.
No clubs around here will let you play marshall stacks or half stacks in them at top volumes
the owners would say turn it down.
But the axe fx II would fill any size place and you still have the tone you demand at any of the volumes they might demand.
The greatest invention for guitar or bass in my lifetime and I bought into all that tube snobbery went as far as one can go
in each of the better tube amps I own and grew up around Srv and EJ living about 4 blocks from Eric in Austin.
Ive known Eric since 1978... heard him live as well Srv many many times and at soundcheck or rehearsal
rooms you know the sound when it hits you..
I hit store enter enter when all my hairs are standing on end and I cant stop playing it for hours.
comparing to original recordings.
This is the future and it is the single most amazing advancement in tone and mix for sound in my life time for guitar.
Ive chased most of the tube amps down I wanted and found I can do that same thing side by side with the axe fx...
That only matters to me really I am not famous nor do I play in any bands currently its just about making me happy.
If I can get past those sounds in my head and know they are as close as I can get too the recordings or actual amp
efx cab speakers mic ect in person then the only thing in my way is me.
The axe makes me play better it puts you on your fingertips and when you start digging in you want more more more.
Wonderful invention and creation I am in complete awe and wonder over it..
I wish I had this 30 years ago id be alot better player and musician then I am now..
Rusty from turning knobs and chasing hype.. This time though the chase was completely worth it..
Its the grail of sounds for me..
Im just Joe Q. public speaking from the heart..
