Preamp Comp: My Peavey 5150 Vs Axe Fx II 6505 Model! (Prepare to be blown away!)

Which Clip Is the Real Amp?

  • Clip 1

    Votes: 29 46.0%

  • Clip 2

    Votes: 34 54.0%
  • Total voters
    63
I voted for the clip #2 to be the real pre. While listening to the clips I was not able to explain the differences I was hearing in terms of 'modeling vs. tubing'. What made me decide was the final fading (last seconds): the real pre was more 'dirty', to say so. I just guessed Axe would be more consistent and coherent.
 
well i got i right ... i heard the same thing when comparing the axe fx II to my egnater m4 ....the axe fx II gets close but there's a difference in the low end and round tone that the real tube has that the axe fx II just does'nt copy well ....for recording i think the axe fx II works great but for live with a band i still have to use my egnater m4 ... everytime i use the axe fx II with a band all i do is tweak and i'm never happy ... i always feel something is missing but when i plug in the egnater all i do is smile and play ... i still use the axe fx II for effects with the egnater
 
ehm the differences are so subtle that at least in a live situation i wouldnt hear any difference at all .. in the studio hearing the guitar track solo .. maybe but not really ;)

the thing for me is: with a good IR your live sound will be better than using a real amp .. mic the cab up in a hurry and so on .. played to many festivals and know the changeover times :p (even at some venue gig with long time to soundcheck the soundguy really has to know what he is doing to get a better sound than with the axe going direct)
 
kickatch said:
well i got i right ... i heard the same thing when comparing the axe fx II to my egnater m4 ....the axe fx II gets close but there's a difference in the low end and round tone that the real tube has that the axe fx II just does'nt copy well ....for recording i think the axe fx II works great but for live with a band i still have to use my egnater m4 ... everytime i use the axe fx II with a band all i do is tweak and i'm never happy ... i always feel something is missing but when i plug in the egnater all i do is smile and play ... i still use the axe fx II for effects with the egnater
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This is what I'm a "little" concerned with. I too am playing an M4 and I'm hoping the AXE can replace it, but if not, I'll still use it for effects and recording etc... However I'm curious if you're still running the AXE through your power amp (which one by the way?) and your cabs, or did you try using the AXE FRFR? I'm just wondering if the difference your hearing (which you're not quite happy with) could be the sonic difference between tube power amp/cabs vs. FRFR in itself?
 
strat714 said:
Looking @ the vote sez it all! So good that a taste test is evenly split!
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I'm sure that by "taste test" you probably just meant comparison, but I would emphasize that this was not a test of preference. I correctly guessed that amp 2 was the real amp, but I preferred amp 1. To my ears, some aspects of the tone sounded slightly more coherent/focused in clip 1 and more dispersed/unfocused/noisy in clip 2.
 
honestly hard to say. I think I hear a bit of thickness (not necessarily a good or bad attribute, just sayin) in the second that I might normally attribute to a tube amp. They both sound very good and wouldn't kick one or the other out for eatin crackers in bed.


Edit: I just saw that the answer was revealed. None the less... my vote was just a guess. I would have just as easy thought the other was the real deal. None the less, these sounds are SO close... honestly on their own without a reference there is NO way you'd know the difference. I mean, I had to go on a gut feeling and not anything I could point to.

Awesome job getting it so close. I was seriously listening back and forth between them. I was listening for the higher notes as that would tell the tale a bit more... and even then... the difference was SO slight...... I mean... for all intents and purposes... the differences between these two was probably smaller than the difference between two actual 5150's of the same year.
 
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The difference is even closer since 4.01 and adding a little extra input trim. Cant wait to get some clips up for you tomorrow. The big thing left is a certain punch from the lower mids and if there is a way to get that it will be like christmas day as a 10 year old.
 
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themaidenmaniac said:
The difference is even closer since 4.01 and adding a little extra input trim. Cant wait to get some clips up for you tomorrow. The big thing left is a certain punch from the lower mids and if there is a way to get that it will be like christmas day as a 10 year old.
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I remedied that on my old 5150 halfstack by getting rid of the 5150 412 and getting another Peavey 412 that had 75w Sheffields in it. There it was!
 
This is awesome.

Somewhat different, but it reminds me of this time I saw someone post on a Marshall forum about how sick his new JCM was and posted a clip. A bunch of guys weighed in about how the tone just dripped with Marshall epicness. Then the guy dropped the bomb that is was modelled. I forget what modeller it was, but suffice to say, it would have been even closer if it were the Axe.
 
nater said:
This is what I'm a "little" concerned with. I too am playing an M4 and I'm hoping the AXE can replace it, but if not, I'll still use it for effects and recording etc... However I'm curious if you're still running the AXE through your power amp (which one by the way?) and your cabs, or did you try using the AXE FRFR? I'm just wondering if the difference your hearing (which you're not quite happy with) could be the sonic difference between tube power amp/cabs vs. FRFR in itself?
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I tried frfr and cab, solid state amp and tube amp ....i like a real guitar cab best and a tube amp...i use a mesa 50/50 ... All i know is when i used the axe fx live i always felt something is missing ...it's not warm enough for me and i end up tweaking all the time trying to get what i want but soon as i plug in the m4 and use it i hear what's missing and i'm happy and i stop tweaking ....i used the axe fx ultra for over a year live and always felt this way and the axe fx II has'nt changed my mind ...it's easier to dial in but the m4 sounds bigger and more fuller and it's seems to be more dynamic ...my cabs are loaded with g12h30's and celestion gold speakers
 
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