High Gain Amp Shootout!

  • Thread starter Thread starter severinsteel
  • Start date Start date
S

severinsteel

New member
Disclaimer! I realize that no matter what method or approach I took to do this shootout, I am going to get people telling me that my approach was incorrect. So, I did this video exactly how I wanted to. It is more of a reference for me to see how my amps sound in the context of a track, and also soloed. I hope you guys can also benefit from it!

Here are the details:

This is a high gain amp shootout. I am choosing one channel per amp. The style is hard rock. The music is a portion of my band Atma Weapon’s song, ‘Clear Blue Skies’. I literally took the two original DI tracks from the album sessions, and re-amped each track though each amp.

Initially, you will hear the amp in the context of the song. That is, double-tracked guitars panned hard left and right. Towards the end of the clip, the drums and 2nd guitar track cut out, leaving a single centered guitar track. I want to show how the amp sounds in context of a recording, and how the amp sounds miked by itself. This will show you guys both ways.

Aside from the high gain amps. I'm also including a few lower gain amps like my Marshall 2203, 2204, and Soldano Aromic 16. ‘But you said this was a ‘high gain’ shootout!?’ Yes, it is! Back in the 80’s people boosted their Marshalls to get a high gain tones! That was the original high gain tone. Plus, I wanted to do a shootout with ALL of my amps, so there. For the low gain amps, I'm adding an Ibanez TS-9 Tubescreamer to boost them. Why a TS9? Because almost everyone knows about the TS-9, and they are easy to get a hold of. And aside from the Boss DS-1, this was the way it was done.

I'm setting every amp to how I like it. You will be able to see exactly how I set up each amp in the video. Just look at the pics of each amp while the demo rolls.

To mike the amp, I'm using a single Shure SM57 on a Celestion Vintage 30 for each track. Industry standard. The cab is a Mesa Boogie Traditional 4x12.

Anyway, let me know which amp was your favorite!

Music by: Atma Weapon
http://www.atmaweaponnc.bandcamp.com
 
Nice. To me in my PC speakers, they kind of sounded the same. But my ears probably suck.
 
For this track I preferred the boosted amps. They all had size and bite, the latter of which was missing from the unboosted amps. For the unboosted, the Orange was my favorite just edging out the Mesa (needed that extra bite). The Peavey was kinda boring and I didn't care for the VH4 at all.

In the context of a different song this could all change, though. Thanks for the shootout!
 
Love the Diezel, Mesa, Friedman mod sounds. All of them sound great. I liked the Peavey the least. Interesting how similar they sound in a mix. Nice job.
 
:rock: Sounds great! Thanks! Hard to pick a favorite, The boosted Marshalls are sweet. The one that surprised me was the Soldano, :thumbsup: .. My only complaint ( I know.. BOOO!! :thumbsdown: ) is turn that Peavey up man! They sound way better ( to me) with the gain around noon and the volume 10:30 and up.. Other than that, great job and killer riffage!

You also taught me something about recording, I'm always fussing about my tone, but this shows I'm on the right track, because my guitar tone alone, sounds similar to yours. I'm taking that you demonstrated guitar tone should come later, after drums and bass. Because it sounds waaaay different in the mix. Just an observation. :rock:
 
They all sound great! Thanks for posting. Of course, being a Marshall guy I liked the stock Marshalls with a TS9 best. But all sounded very good. 5150 was my least favorite.
 
All good, all usable sounds. Liked Peavey the least, MArshalls and Soldano best, Mesa has it's own sound.

What type of V30 is that? really liked the sound you got out of it.
 
all sound the same, just buy the one that costs less...most ears beyond this board can't tell the difference.
 
Great shootout!!!!
I don't think they sound alike... matter of fact, I think they sound completely different.
And they all sound great, and I could use each one of them here at my studio!
A great amp selection!
 
I preferred the Orange, Soldano and Diezel... possibly but not necessarily in that order.
 
mdc1mdc11":f4xktd25 said:
all sound the same, just buy the one that costs less...most ears beyond this board can't tell the difference.

Put your ear closer to the laptop speaker.
 
Bob Savage":1a7op2sa said:
mdc1mdc11":1a7op2sa said:
all sound the same, just buy the one that costs less...most ears beyond this board can't tell the difference.

Put your ear closer to the laptop speaker.

put a wizard mcII in there and I will.
 
I guess im no the only one that thinks they sounded almost indistinguishable. No pc speakers Jbl l100's here
 
Thanks guys!

On first listen, especially with the backing track, they do sound similar. After a few listens, I think the differences come across a lot more. To be honest, I think any one of the amps works for the song. It's all just personal preference. Some big differences I hear, are the compression in the VH4, the midrange immediacy in the Friedman modded Marshall, and the fatness of the Orange.
 
f550maranello2":2gyra7br said:
I guess im no the only one that thinks they sounded almost indistinguishable. No pc speakers Jbl l100's here

Probably because the independent variable for the hypothesis is largely the same guitar, pickups, mic's, and player. Hence repeatable to the ear and extremely close, hence my cost comment. You hear the other differences because the TS was added as another independent variable to bring to high gain, hypothesis variable manipulation.

As the original poster commented, its not possible to do unique testing for every amp to produce a winner. I guess there is value in hiring a Rick Rubin, Mutt Lange, etc to tune a players choice of gear or recommend the right combination of gear for a sound that is desired. Hence Steve Vai's comment about "tone is in the players head".
 
That was super cool to hear. Diezel & Orange were both great and very similar. The Marshalls sounded very good as well.
What I found most interesting is that one low, complex chord that fell during the solo'd part of the track really revealed a lot about the amp tones. What was that? Like a B5 chord with the open E on top?
 

Similar threads

Smash
Replies
32
Views
1K
MadAsAHatter
MadAsAHatter
J
Replies
28
Views
2K
Techdeth
Techdeth
tia_project
Replies
15
Views
579
RedB4Black
RedB4Black
Back
Top