Which is the real amp vs Axe fx

[JimmyBlind]

I'm not sure there's any dispute of the Axe-FX's recording ability. Even if it couldn't perfectly replicate the sound of a tube amp, it's definitely good enough for laying down decent guitar tracks. Especially given today's production & tone-shaping ability in the studio.

The debate for me is whether it feels like a tube amp in the room & when you play it. I've owned both & I feel much more at home playing through a purpose built tube amp that is driving a speaker. That 3 dimensional sound & unforgiving is what inspires me & there's something reliable about using equipment that doesn't pretend to be anything other than itself.

The guitar's signal takes a pretty cool journey through a tube amp. That purist philosophy is a bit lost on people who don't care for or understand the roots & evolution of electric guitar tone or how those tones are even synonymous with the electric guitar.

 

[RG955TT]

My POD made 20 years ago or more was/is decent enough to lay down a guitar track and it cost under $200.00 Just sayin...

 

[Anonymous]

All three sound like I'm listening to an MP3 being played through the 1/2 inch speaker on my iPad.

This. These guess the clips while fun for the OP are useless. Modelers are great for recording and getting consistent tones. With clips you have no gage for the feel of playing... that's when it becomes very easy to tell the difference.

Actually more than a few people on here who rag on the axe fx say they can hear the difference in clips(it sounds digital etc etc) This is for those people. These were recorded straight,no post processing etc. Im more than curious at the guys who say they can hear the difference

My experience is they can only hear the "digitulz" if you tell them it's the Axe or whatever first...

Steve

Thats what makes it all the funnier dude ,grown men back peddling .

Not one except the iPad guy ,did say that tone is all fake and sucks.

It's amazing the responses when the golden ears are threatened.

Thats kind of the point Im getting at. You have all these great Axe Fx clips that other people post and are up front with them being done with the axe fx and 50% of people say it sounds great and 50% of people say it sounds good but they can tell its digital. They go into it knowing its an axe fx clip and are already biased as to how it sounds.
People hear what they want to hear. Not one person picked up that there was no amp in this small experiment, maybe iPad guy but he didn't come right out and say it.

People hear with their eyes and not with their ears. However, if you tell people one is a real amp, they have no choice but to say one is a real amp...

Steve

 

[DADA]

Maybe some one need to do a second round and asks which one is the snax and secretly only use the Line 6 Pod from 92 or an Kemper.
Same fun

 

[blackba]

I listened before reading the thread and thought 1 was the axe, 2 the yamaha, and 3 the amp. I chose 3 as the amp because it sounded more live to me and present and was my favorite. Followed by 1 and then 2. I picked one as an amp because I was forced to, but did not really love the tones.

 

[voodooradio1]

1. Axe 2. Yamaha 3. Amp

The first one was believable as the amp and had a real clean audio quality.
Second one was pretty good but had some digital crunch on the chugs.
Third one was definitely the amp. There was a little SM57 fizz in the intro. And you can hear that low resonant cabinet clunk.

So this is just wow
1 is in fact the Axe Fx, 2 is the little thr10x and 3 is....the Axe Fx with m57's added to the cab sims but the same patch as 1 otherwise!
Nice ears man.
I know I know, playing a trick on everyone but I wanted to see which one most people thought was the real amp. Im also surprised some liked the thr10x lol.

I sold my AXE 2, but it wasn't because it didn't sound great. I just like the simplicity of head-cab-pedalboard for band stuff. I have been thinking about getting another strictly for my home studio, but I'm getting some great milage out of my THR10X for a lot less coin. I wish they would make a new version of it with a programmable foot controller. I would be all over that.
Out of the clips, I thought 3 was the real amp, but 2 sounded the best to me. Nice playing too.

 

[lessthan12]

1. Axe 2. Yamaha 3. Amp

The first one was believable as the amp and had a real clean audio quality.
Second one was pretty good but had some digital crunch on the chugs.
Third one was definitely the amp. There was a little SM57 fizz in the intro. And you can hear that low resonant cabinet clunk.

So this is just wow
1 is in fact the Axe Fx, 2 is the little thr10x and 3 is....the Axe Fx with m57's added to the cab sims but the same patch as 1 otherwise!
Nice ears man.
I know I know, playing a trick on everyone but I wanted to see which one most people thought was the real amp. Im also surprised some liked the thr10x lol.

I sold my AXE 2, but it wasn't because it didn't sound great. I just like the simplicity of head-cab-pedalboard for band stuff. I have been thinking about getting another strictly for my home studio, but I'm getting some great milage out of my THR10X for a lot less coin. I wish they would make a new version of it with a programmable foot controller. I would be all over that.

Out of the clips, I thought 3 was the real amp, but 2 sounded the best to me. Nice playing too.

I love my thr10x and it still gets plenty of play when I don't feel like wearing my cans. In all honesty if yamaha put more into it they could be a nice contender in the modeling market. Its definitely a little beast. Thanks for the nice words, my playing is crap though lol. Too many years of constant gas but Im finally ACTUALLY practicing and seems to be progressing nicely. Soon I might be able to do a full cover and feel confident about it

 

[thiswaythatway]

1. Axe 2. Yamaha 3. Amp

The first one was believable as the amp and had a real clean audio quality.
Second one was pretty good but had some digital crunch on the chugs.
Third one was definitely the amp. There was a little SM57 fizz in the intro. And you can hear that low resonant cabinet clunk.

So this is just wow
1 is in fact the Axe Fx, 2 is the little thr10x and 3 is....the Axe Fx with m57's added to the cab sims but the same patch as 1 otherwise!
Nice ears man.
I know I know, playing a trick on everyone but I wanted to see which one most people thought was the real amp. Im also surprised some liked the thr10x lol.

I sold my AXE 2, but it wasn't because it didn't sound great. I just like the simplicity of head-cab-pedalboard for band stuff. I have been thinking about getting another strictly for my home studio, but I'm getting some great milage out of my THR10X for a lot less coin. I wish they would make a new version of it with a programmable foot controller. I would be all over that.

Out of the clips, I thought 3 was the real amp, but 2 sounded the best to me. Nice playing too.

I love my thr10x and it still gets plenty of play when I don't feel like wearing my cans. In all honesty if yamaha put more into it they could be a nice contender in the modeling market. Its definitely a little beast. Thanks for the nice words, my playing is crap though lol. Too many years of constant gas but Im finally ACTUALLY practicing and seems to be progressing nicely. Soon I might be able to do a full cover and feel confident about it

How does that thr10x compare with the Line 6 HD's?

 

[mentoneman]

after owning the ultra i saw the potential and really likes it but it did not give me the enjoyment and satisfaction of a real dynamic tube amp

i now run speakerless and a direct in ear rig with a holdsworth juice extractor loaded down amp and old tech rocktron cab simulation in a rocktron rack interface, pcm80/gforce/korg dl8000r and even though it's much more gear to carry im really happy

 

[dallasb]

1. Axe 2. Yamaha 3. Amp

The first one was believable as the amp and had a real clean audio quality.
Second one was pretty good but had some digital crunch on the chugs.
Third one was definitely the amp. There was a little SM57 fizz in the intro. And you can hear that low resonant cabinet clunk.

So this is just wow
1 is in fact the Axe Fx, 2 is the little thr10x and 3 is....the Axe Fx with m57's added to the cab sims but the same patch as 1 otherwise!
Nice ears man.
I know I know, playing a trick on everyone but I wanted to see which one most people thought was the real amp. Im also surprised some liked the thr10x lol.

I sold my AXE 2, but it wasn't because it didn't sound great. I just like the simplicity of head-cab-pedalboard for band stuff. I have been thinking about getting another strictly for my home studio, but I'm getting some great milage out of my THR10X for a lot less coin. I wish they would make a new version of it with a programmable foot controller. I would be all over that.
Out of the clips, I thought 3 was the real amp, but 2 sounded the best to me. Nice playing too.

Clips never tell much of a story. Put these units through the same amplification in the same room and the differences are major.

I always laugh at people that call digital modeling an "amp" when it's just a preamp. they are not powered and that powering of the preamp is where 2/3 of the battle will be. which amplification and speakers to use, deciding to go frfr which is not even close to being "amplike"

I had a guy argue that crap to death. We met at a guitar get together deal. So he had his Axe2 and CLR he spent about 4k on that stuff, and I had a basic JVM410 and 412 cab.

He swore up and down the A2 would easily get the same Marshall sound. I said go for it. He cranks his out through that CLR, then I crank through the 412 and head. LOL not even close

Funny part was some guys there had a GSP1101, and POD HD500x and we ran that through the same rigs for amplification. Those units were decent enough too but didn't touch the real thing. There just was no comparison.

Modeling is cool, but comparing them to real amps with real cabs is just ludicrous. They don't sound the same at all. Many think these units provide 50 or more amps and cabs but it's just not true. They are not amps and cabs. They are digital emulations of those units. Comparing any to the real tube amp and cab makes no sense.

Clips is another thing. That's just taking an equiv miked amp sound and comparing to modeled versions. Even LE Pou and other free emulations are as close as the top dollar units like Axe and Kemper when comparing mic'd up sounds to digital.

 

[thiswaythatway]

1. Axe 2. Yamaha 3. Amp

The first one was believable as the amp and had a real clean audio quality.
Second one was pretty good but had some digital crunch on the chugs.
Third one was definitely the amp. There was a little SM57 fizz in the intro. And you can hear that low resonant cabinet clunk.

So this is just wow
1 is in fact the Axe Fx, 2 is the little thr10x and 3 is....the Axe Fx with m57's added to the cab sims but the same patch as 1 otherwise!
Nice ears man.
I know I know, playing a trick on everyone but I wanted to see which one most people thought was the real amp. Im also surprised some liked the thr10x lol.

I sold my AXE 2, but it wasn't because it didn't sound great. I just like the simplicity of head-cab-pedalboard for band stuff. I have been thinking about getting another strictly for my home studio, but I'm getting some great milage out of my THR10X for a lot less coin. I wish they would make a new version of it with a programmable foot controller. I would be all over that.
Out of the clips, I thought 3 was the real amp, but 2 sounded the best to me. Nice playing too.

Clips never tell much of a story. Put these units through the same amplification in the same room and the differences are major.

I always laugh at people that call digital modeling an "amp" when it's just a preamp. they are not powered and that powering of the preamp is where 2/3 of the battle will be. which amplification and speakers to use, deciding to go frfr which is not even close to being "amplike"

I had a guy argue that crap to death. We met at a guitar get together deal. So he had his Axe2 and CLR he spent about 4k on that stuff, and I had a basic JVM410 and 412 cab.

He swore up and down the A2 would easily get the same Marshall sound. I said go for it. He cranks his out through that CLR, then I crank through the 412 and head. LOL not even close

Funny part was some guys there had a GSP1101, and POD HD500x and we ran that through the same rigs for amplification. Those units were decent enough too but didn't touch the real thing. There just was no comparison.

Modeling is cool, but comparing them to real amps with real cabs is just ludicrous. They don't sound the same at all. Many think these units provide 50 or more amps and cabs but it's just not true. They are not amps and cabs. They are digital emulations of those units. Comparing any to the real tube amp and cab makes no sense.

Clips is another thing. That's just taking an equiv miked amp sound and comparing to modeled versions. Even LE Pou and other free emulations are as close as the top dollar units like Axe and Kemper when comparing mic'd up sounds to digital.

Yup, I've tried the Axe on a FRFR system which was setup by the Fractal guys at the NY ampshows and I was never crazy about it. I liked the Axe-Fx better on a Tube Power amp and real cabinets. But in that setup a lot of the amp sims sound similar but that's to be expected since you're on the same cab. But then at that point what's the point of dishing out 2K. BUT, recording direct is where you can hear the different amp sims shine.

 

[Steinmetzify]

I don't know man....for me, it's easier to get good tones out of the Axe than it was to do it out of the VSTs like the LePou stuff....I can't mic a JVM 410 here, certainly not with a 4x12 cab. This just makes more sense for me where I'm at financially and location wise.

I know it's not the same as a tube amp, but it's good enough for me at the moment.

 

[lessthan12]

I don't know man....for me, it's easier to get good tones out of the Axe than it was to do it out of the VSTs like the LePou stuff....I can't mic a JVM 410 here, certainly not with a 4x12 cab. This just makes more sense for me where I'm at financially and location wise.

I know it's not the same as a tube amp, but it's good enough for me at the moment.

Yea, I like the people who compare it to VSTs, they're not even close. I have a few too and they don't come close,even bought Bias and while it sounds cool it doesn't sound and feel like the Axe FX. To each their own though, some people like real amps and some people like the ease of digital. Like you, the Axe FX is a better solution for me at the moment and actually gets me practicing everyday.
I saw you popped up on the fractal forum,Those guys are a huge help. There is a giant learning curve with the Axe Fx and theres always tons of people over there looking to help.