Which is the real JCM 800????

Which is the real JCM 800?

  • The first one, JCM800Compare1

    Votes: 44 44.4%
  • The second one, JCM800Compare2

    Votes: 55 55.6%

  • Total voters
    99

sarge

Power User
Which is the real JCM 800???? EDIT Compare 1 is the real JCM 800

[EDIT] The first clip is the real JCM 800. At that time that I revealed the answer it was 22 guessing the second clip, 7 the first clip. [/EDIT]

After receiving my Carvin DCM1540L the other day, I decided to AB the JCM 800 sim going through the Carvin into a guitar cab versus a real 1989 2204 going into the same cab.

I was pretty shocked at how close these two sounded. In the room, you hear almost no difference. They are as close as any two Marshalls of the same model you could put next to each other IMO.

So I decided to do a recording of the two.

The recording setup is this

In one of the recordings (for now I am not saying which one), you have the Axe FX (Power amp sims ON, cab sims off, nothing but the amp in the preset is active) going into the Carvin power amp.

In the other you have a 1989 JCM 800 2204.

Both are going into the same Splawn 2x12 cab loaded with Celestion G12-75T's. The cab is mic'd with an SM57 (what else) going into a presonus tube pre, going into a Tascam DP01.

The only caveat is that I slightly bumped the mic switching amps. Don't think it moved that much if at all.

Anyway, the setting on both the 2204 and the Axe FX are pretty close. On the Axe FX there are no parametric EQ or graphic EQ changes. I only allowed my self to use the settings that are on the real JCM 800. I really just tweaked them to get the sound I liked. Was not trying to make one sound identical to the other. Figured if I sat there tweaking to taste I would come up with roughly the same sound.

Slight reverb was added in Reaper. Same to both recordings.

All I can say is IMO, the Axe FX II NAILS the JCM 800.

But don't take my word for it.

Which one is the real JCM 800, Which one is the Axe FX II



or this one

 
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Wow. Close. I guess that the second one is the real amp. First one sounds a bit more compressed and more gain. But I don't know. Either one could be it. And that's all that matters. Awesome!
 
Wow. Close. I guess that the second one is the real amp. First one sounds a bit more compressed and more gain. But I don't know. Either one could be it. And that's all that matters. Awesome!

Was suprised how close they sounded with almost the same settings. Two months ago at the place we jam, there was a 2204 in the room where I brought mine. They sounded considerably different. Both good mind you. But the Axe FX II definitely sounds closer to mine then the one at the practice place.
 
Worth noting as well. In the clean part, neither the real jcm800 nor the Axe FX II settings were touched.

In both cases I went to the neck pickup and turned the guitar volume down.

That a modeler can react like that simply amazes me.
 
That's with no tone matching or anything like that?

No tone matching.

When I recorded the JCM 800 I simply plugged into it, set it up to where I liked the sound and recorded.

Plugged in the Axe FX and Carvin, used only the basic knobs you would find on a real JCM 800 to dial it in to a sound I liked and recorded roughly the same thing.
 
I'll voted for the first soundclip as the real 800 simply due to the compression. Pretty darn close nonetheless.
 
i'm guessing the first is the axe fx and the second the JCM because the axe fx somehow always sounds better than the original haha!
 
i voted #2.but damn,that is really close.

#1 had extra fizziness in the high end and the bottom sounded more compressed.

in that case #1 would prob. sound better in a mix.
 
#2 is a little more open. Probably the real amp. If I'm correct a lower Xformer match setting would open #1 up.

Too close to call though.....
 
Are you sure that you didn't simply post twice the real JCM800? I can't hear ANY difference ;)
Great job !!!
But now that you have made us so curious - could you please post the patch?
I also want a real JCM 800 in my living room ;)

Greating from Nuremberg
 
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