Side-by-side recordings of Axe II and tube amp(s) it emulates?

T

tabqwerty

Inspired
You could tell the difference (not a massive one) when this was done with the previous models. I'm not here to antagonize, just curious to know how much more authentic the tube processing is now.

I was skeptical of some of the recordings I heard, thinking that they could have been real tube amps said to be the Axe II.
 
Funeral said:
haha!!
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No joke.



You can definitely hear the difference here; the AFX sounds lo-fi compared to the real amp. It shows in mixes, too (Standard and Ultra).


I know settings and how you're rigging it up matters, but I don't think it could have gotten that much better.
 
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tabqwerty said:
Why do mods keep moving my threads? It won't be seen by many if any current Axe-Fx II users here.



I'm assuming you're American. You should know what the First Amendment is by now.
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First amendment does not apply to every person in every situation. In this case Fractal and those who operate under their authority are one's with the rights. This site is owned by Fractal, not you. Deciding where your post should be placed is their right, not yours. If you want free reign, you can go make your own site and put your posts wherever you want. ;)
 
I'm assuming you're American. You should know what the First Amendment is by now.
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duh...is that the one about the right to government provided health care?

signed,

Dumb American
 
tabqwerty said:
You can definitely hear the difference here; the AFX sounds lo-fi compared to the real amp. It shows in mixes, too (Standard and Ultra).
I know settings and how you're rigging it up matters, but I don't think it could have gotten that much better.
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Don't forget you're comparing a tube amp + real mic with an AxeFX + cab impulse. I don't think this is a fair comparison. IMO, a lot of the negative comments about the AxeFX's sound is because of that. If this video were presented as a comparison of micing techniques against the same amp and cab, you'd believe it.
 
The best comparison I remember was someone that had a real JTM-45 (if I remember right) and recorded their rig with a cab and mic. They then made an impulse of the cab/room and used that for the Axe-Fx and tweaked the knobs so that it was close. End result was that it was really hard for me to tell which was which and in a blind test I don't think I would have known. I'll try and do a quick search for it and see if I can find it.

IMO, cab/mic/room makes a HUGE difference in tone. Generally I prefer mic'd/Youtube clips of the Axe-Fx over stock direct tones...even with the II so far. Direct almost sounds too direct a lot of the time and that's what creates the disconnect, IMO.


Edit: Here it is...I think: http://forum.fractalaudio.com/axe-f...generic-axe-fx-vs-real-amp-clips-joy-irs.html And from looking at that post again, it seems I was completely fooled in my guess of which was which.
 
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With those few clips above in mind, I think Javajunkie (correct me if I'm wrong) did another comparison clip just recently in the exact same way between the Axe-Fx Ultra and the II. The forum was completely split on which was the II and which was the Ultra...and Javajunkie never told which was which because that was his point: If you can't tell the difference or if the majority of people can't tell the difference, then there's no point in comparing them. Seeing as those clips above are done with the Standard/Ultra and sound so close to the real deal amps and people were completely split on which was the II and which was the Ultra....you can probably draw your own conclusion of what side-by-side recordings would sound like. And if that ENGL clip was done similar to those that I gave above, I'd guess they would sound quite similar as well.

One thing's for sure: Cliff has really nailed the amp models if you can do tests like these that take the cab/mic/room out of the equation and have them sound so close!!
 
tabqwerty said:
Why do mods keep moving my threads? It won't be seen by many if any current Axe-Fx II users here. I'm assuming you're American. You should know what the First Amendment is by now.
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For someone who's admonishing others for their implied lack of constitutional knowledge, you're exhibiting very little of it yourself.
 
BlueLotus said:
Here's Pete Thorn's comparison:

http://dl.mp3lizard.com/peterthorn/Marsha_fake_vs._real.mp3 from here: Axe FX 10.0 Marsha Vs. the real deal poll! - The Gear Page

Pretty close, I'd say. Again, the technique used here was using the same cab impulse for both. I'd guess that if this was done with the Axe-Fx II, one would be hard pressed to notice any difference whatsoever...and this clip was done with v10.0. As Nigel would say, "My firmware goes to 11".
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I remember this comparison and the way I guessed which one was the actual amp was by listening to the sound of the power chords as they decayed. Check out the first power chord that Pete allows to hang for a couple of beats on both (very close to the start on each). The ringing power chord is fuller in the real amp. You can easily hear it. While he is picking there is very little difference, but when in the gaps when he stops picking you can hear the difference pretty easily. It will be interesting to see if the AxeII does better in this regard. It would be cool if Pete can repeat this test when he gets off tour. But, it's a simple test for anyone with both an AxeII and a previous model to do.
 
banjoze said:
I remember this comparison and the way I guessed which one was the actual amp was by listening to the sound of the power chords as they decayed. Check out the first power chord that Pete allows to hang for a couple of beats on both (very close to the start on each). The ringing power chord is fuller in the real amp. You can easily hear it. While he is picking there is very little difference, but when in the gaps when he stops picking you can hear the difference pretty easily. It will be interesting to see if the AxeII does better in this regard. It would be cool if Pete can repeat this test when he gets off tour. But, it's a simple test for anyone with both an AxeII and a previous model to do.
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don't forget that you'd also get some variation between two amps of the same model and make, even if they had successive serial numbers.

meaning: the only real test would be Axe against the exact amp that was used to 'extract' the sim.
I'm sceptical of the motivation of this thread (and any other like it), seems OCD-ish.
 
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