vandal and fractal fx

C

cporro

Member
has anyone done a comparison of the 2? i'd like to hear it. as it stands the fractal is the only thing that sounds like a real amp to me.
 
I have never heard of Vandal before but googled it and it seems to be a German software modeller, like Guitar Rig, Amplitube, ReValver,...
Is it better then those products?
I have used Software/Plugin Modelling in the past, but they always have a bit of latency and I simply don't like plugging my guitar into software. Nothing beats a standalone box.
 
I don't remember what it's called.. but sometime ago (a few months maybe?) I saw what I remember as being a German "learning" amp modeling. It was pretty impressive when it came down to what it was doing... but by comparison to the Axe it still sounded like garbage.

A pretty cool exercise in technology and digital modeling nonetheless.
 
Yeah that was it.

I don't like how it sounds from what I have heard of it so far. I'm sure there is plenty of room for improvement just like with the Axe.
 
I used the Vandal software before I got my Ultra last year.
I liked it a lot better than Guitar Rig (which was always terrible, no matter the version) and Amplitube (meh).
It's a good product, on the same level as the Overloud stuff.

The Ultra is in a completely different league. No IMO or YMMV, you can get by with Vandal if you know how to tweak and use some (a lot) of post processing on the recorded audio (tape saturation, 'soft' Pultec style eq and radical 'Oxford' type eq etc etc etc.)
The Ultra sounds, feels and reacts perfectly out of the box.

no comparison possible.
 
Bass sounds decent. Not too crazy about the guitar tone though. Too nasally for my tastes.
 
DLM said:
Bass sounds decent. Not too crazy about the guitar tone though. Too nasally for my tastes.
Click to expand...

Yes - my settings are REALLY middly - I require a very forward, focussed midrange & do not like mid-dipped tones at all.
However, that's the way I tweak, not a product of Vandal.

Bob.
 
Also - each song has a different sound - to be fair to both Vandal & the Axe, you might want to listen to bits of all of them for reference. Some are more or less middly than others. In general, they kinda loosely/vaguely follow the original British bands they're nicked from - this is, after all, simply a "for fun" band. My "original band" touring days are long gone.

Bear in mind that I grew up on Australian/British stuff which is very mid heavy. I also use a curly cable & have a Stellartone on at some level at all times. I like this sound - please understand that this is an explanation of the pronounced mids, not an apology for it.

Ta,
Bob.
 
Killer vocals!! What a great natural singing tone! Wish I was tenor like that.
Without a second guitar player filling in tonal space around yours, I'd recommend the axe-fx II big time. It's so fat and detailed, it's perfect for a single-guitar situation like yours and would really shine.
onebaldbloke said:
This is all Vandal (guitar & bass).
The Ultra in the rack was not used at all in the mix - I had it there for backup purposes only.

Bob's Band Raw Brit

No additional fx whatsoever were employed - it's 100% Vandal.

Regards,
Bob.
Click to expand...
 
hoss said:
That's the Kemper Profiling Amplifier which is coming out in June for about €1.400,-
It's Hardware, not Software.
I am going to get one as soon as I have sold my Ultra.
Click to expand...

My god, that thing is hideous. It looks like the UI designers must have been Martians from a 60's B movie.
 
chapelizod said:
My god, that thing is hideous. It looks like the UI designers must have been Martians from a 60's B movie.
Click to expand...

or Joel Robinson...
joelrobinson.jpg

same thing, really :D
 
onebaldbloke said:
Yes - my settings are REALLY middly - I require a very forward, focussed midrange & do not like mid-dipped tones at all.
However, that's the way I tweak, not a product of Vandal.

Bob.
Click to expand...

Great playing and sounds. Band sounds great. I nearly always turn the mid control all the way up!
 
hoss said:
That's the Kemper Profiling Amplifier which is coming out in June for about €1.400,-
It's Hardware, not Software.
I am going to get one as soon as I have sold my Ultra.
Click to expand...

Even if you sell your Ultra - it'll take some time until the Kemper is for sale - ordered one myself ;)
 
Armin said:
Even if you sell your Ultra - it'll take some time until the Kemper is for sale - ordered one myself ;)
Click to expand...
Just emailed them, they say I can get it in June.

I think it was a really bad design choice to go with the "lunchbox" look. They should have done a rack unit, which is coming in the future what I heard.

It looks a bit like this old German Dynacord tube amp

$(KGrHqZ,!l4E1F3z1RIuBNeLvdkpCQ~~_12.JPG
 
Yes - my settings are REALLY middly - I require a very forward, focussed midrange & do not like mid-dipped tones at all. However, that's the way I tweak, not a product of Vandal.
Click to expand...

Ah ok. To my ears it sounded like it had too much EQ in the 2k range, and then a little scoop in the 4k and then another bump in 8k or above. Not sure how you have the EQ set, but I think it's mostly that 2k range that's making it sound nasally to me. That and a lack of lows to counter balance it. I'm definitely not being critical, so please don't take it that way. Just trying to explain my reaction to the tone and why I thought it sounded nasally. You can never really tell the true tone from videos like that anyway. It always sounds totally different in person.

Great playing and vocals though. The song itself sounded great! :)
 
hoss said:
Just emailed them, they say I can get it in June.

I think it was a really bad design choice to go with the "lunchbox" look. They should have done a rack unit, which is coming in the future what I heard.
Click to expand...

The look is ok - and I care only about the sound ;)
 
DonPetersen said:
The Ultra sounds, feels and reacts perfectly out of the box.

no comparison possible.
Click to expand...

that's where i'm at right now. i must be because i'm debating spending at least 1500 for the fx...maybe the more expensive units. not sure if they would have more usable sounds or not. where did that comparison chart go?

to date i haven't heard any software that sounds like a real amp. fractal is the first stuff that could fool me.

vandal is a sim that comes with samplitude. samplitude is a high end and deep DAW made by a german company Magix. samplitude is generally regarded as a good sounding and very "pro" DAW. it's the little brother to Sequoia the mastering DAW. they have a bundle of native stuff (eqs, compressors) that sound great imo. and samp is kinda unique in it's approach...for example it supports objects.

vandal as far as i can tell is in the top tier for sims.

if i end up getting a fractal unit i'll do some A/Bs and post to my blog. that way i can figure out if the 2k was worth it.
 
solo-act said:
It's so fat and detailed, it's perfect for a single-guitar situation like yours and would really shine.
Click to expand...

Hi solo-act.
Actually, I had an Ultra for a long while & sold it - now only using Vandal.
I'm interested to hear whether the Axe v2 addresses my concerns.

Yes, Mick is not a bad singer for an old bloke!

Ta,
Bob.
 
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