I think shootouts such as this and my own personal experience have really proven the point that the cabinet/IR is the biggest factor in how a guitar tone differs. I can certainly tell you having used quite a number of different impulse responses, my favorites are the Kristian Kohle Eminence IRs. I usually blend the Angry and Fat DV-77s and get a nice tone that way.
I think if progress has been made over the last decade, it's on understanding the importance of IRs and developing really, REALLY high quality IRs. I'm a huge fan of Ownhammer but York Audio has some good ones out now too.
@@rimantasbudriunas4411 Totally. And something you can make up for with EQ in front of the amp and after the amp. Probably change the tone over 50% that way.
This was fascinating. When I wasn’t paying attention A, B, and C sounded almost identical. Especially A and B. E was my favorite all the way through, which is the neural amp, but B, which I think the other was one of my least favorite favorite. But E was so close to F and F is free. I'll have to check out the ignite.
Thank you for this video. Here is my preference: 1. B: The clear standout. It sags like a real amp, responses fast, sounds huge and full with depth. There’s so much gain in mid-range, while the articulation, transient and harmonics are still very clear. It sounds the most aggressive even though it is not as presence-forward as the others. 2. E: Not as impressive as B, but this one is the close second. 3. C: There’s too much presence and treble. The lower mid-range is missing as well. I hear the realistic sagging from it though. Overall it sounds weightless and fatiguing, but it’s more lively, more organic and richer than A. 4. A: It’s the tightest one which I really like, but the shrillness should be tamed by EQ. When comparing to B, there are many details (noise, harmonics, sagging…etc) are missing, that makes it much less realistic. 5. F: Fizzy and boxy. I dislike the frequency response the most among all. 6. D: It’s the least authentic one. The gain structure is poor to me as well. There is too much gain in low end sub but not enough in mid-range. The dynamic response in higher mid-range is far from ideal as the other five. All these above result in a dry, stiff and sterile sound. I find it unusable from tightest modern metal to loose-bass sounding genre (like stoner rock, post-metal) and anything between.
My likes sorta moved with the riffs, at first it was A & E sometimes drifting to C & D. Felt like F was consistently darker but you did a great job of matching these. If someone held a gun to my head and made me pick the paid plugins, I'd be dead.
In general you have right. They are all very close to each other cause the principle of creation is the same everywhere, the most important for a guitarist will be the difference of IRs used for creating the sound. It is necessary to know and tell everyone that digital sound depends most on different IRs and less on similar amps. You'll hear the difference more clearly in a full mix with a playing band than with several solo amps on the same IR. My personal taste of the amplifiers themselves is Ignite Emissary and Neural. Thanx for great shoutout Nick
My fav was the C because the bottom end was a little more oomphy, like air was actually beong moved, and the highs were crisp and nicely saturated. The B was the most lifeless and synthetic to me. As a huge AA fan boy and a Sigma user since the V1, I'm very happy with the result, and I was really feeling that it was the C indeed.
They all sounded very similar, minor frequency and response differences between them to my ear. Great video, i discovered this channel by seeing a post by Audio Assault on FB. Subbed and looking forward to seeing more, well done!
amps C and D are my favourites! such girth! edit after the reveal: ironically enough i quite like Emissary, but it is my least favourite here! Gonna go get Sigma, it's the only AA plugin i don't have!
Thanks for making these comparisons. I feel that people are starting to realize more and more that the biggest difference comes from the IR/cab+mic, and the distortion is... well just distortion. Same thing happens with real amps plugged in the same cab+mic.
First off, thank you for the thorough video and detailed tips on using the amps. Now, my _"honest to god"_ analysis: A - Straight up disgusting top end. Too harsh, trying to tame it with post EQ would ruin the rest of the spectrum (that also is, unfortunately, subpar) B - Even though it might not sound _"digital"_ per se, I would not call everything from the upper-mids _"controlled"_ . With that being said, very usable tone. C - Super, super pleasent sound overall. It's agressive, but warm and even without playing it, I can almost tell that's a super dynamic amp. Truly impressive. D - Flabby and unnatural bass. Sounds like it has an _"baked-in"_ , super unnecessary, post power amp EQ. It absolutely ruins it, maybe could be good otherwise, given that the rest of the signal isn't as offensive as the bass is. E - Balanced and pleasing, maybe just the tiniest bit overdone at the top end. It doesn't sound harsh, but might as well easily get so. F - Very mid forward... Maybe perfect if you have a specific use case in mind, but I wouldn't point it as plain great. My rating: 1. C - Audio Assault Sigma 2. E - NDSP Gojira Rust 3. B - NDSP Gojira Hot 4. F - Ignite Emissary 5. A - Poulin Legion 6. D - Poulin LE456 Conclusion: As a free software advocate, it hurts me to admit the Poulin LE456 and Poulin Legion are the only ones I think I'd be able to point as digital in a mix. And for 7.50 bucks with a discount code...? It's a no-brainer deal, I'm buying the AA's Sigma *right now* .
Good thorough analysis! I agree that Audio Assault makes fantastic amps that punch so far above their weight in terms of price. The new Sigma EX version has some nice features that weren't in this earlier model. I'd also recommend checking out The Crown, their latest amp. I'm really liking the tone and feel of it so far!
I's guess A is Poulin Engl, because it sounds so familiar to me. I bet C Neural DSP Gojira Hot amp. Neural DSP sound mostly like straight in your face. Let's see if I got those 2 right. Maybe F is the other Poulin amp, but I could be wrong. Edit: Okay, I got at least I got the brand right 😅 Very good video man 💪 You got a new subcriber!
Amp A seems like a solid middle of the road, good at a most things, choice. Amp D is my favorite because it has a certain resonance that sounds unique and interesting to me. Amp F is dark like a couple of the others, bit with less articulation. My least favorite, but still good enough to use on a track. All are usable tones imo.
C is my favourite. Edit: Wow that's surprising. Honestly thought I would've gone for the Rust but it was 2nd to the Sigma for me. Surprised as well by how decent the Emissary sounds. All of this shows how much of the FR is determined by the IR too, it's kind of insane. Also good job on getting them to sound similar.
Awesome, video! I loved this comparison. I really preferred C and D over the rest, but they’re all very similar. I literally laughed out loud at the reveal! Glad I’ve only spent money on impulse responses!
The dead giveaway for the Gojira sims are the pick attack bloom but the sustain is very similar among all the amps. One big thing I took away from this is how much of a difference an IR can make.
Excellent video! Well spoken and demonstrated! I liked A and C overall, but some examples they were a little too harsh for me. I think I liked B and E the least. I had no idea which was which. I'm curious if they all feel different and which feel the best.
I recorded all the riffs one one amp (can't remember which) and then dialed in the final tones to each other, but if you have them set up to sound so close, they should all feel very similar. Some are a little tighter in the low end, which will make them feel a little faster, but all within close margin.
Great video, thanks. Had a feeling F would be the Emissary since there's something I never liked about that amp sim and I liked F the least here. The Sigma sounded slightly more scooped and fizzy (not in a bad way), but the other four sounded very similar.
I agree, there was something boxy and flat sounding about the Emissary I couldn't totally dial out. I spent a lot of time on the Sigma trying to get the midrange right and it still stuck out to me. It just has a particular eq curve and some unique controls.
Great stuff. I could hear differences of course, but not huge ones. As others have stated the IR is most of the end tone you hear. Great point about the master vol on these sims. It pays to experiment with this kinda thing and figure out what works for each sim. Not related to this vid specifically, but another test I like to do is play some harmonics and see how the sim responds. Are they shiny and "clean" sounding, or do they get all kinds of nasty and have tons of overtones? The Neural stuff has that going for it. Something like LE456 is a smoother shinier harmonic. Just something I've noticed when doing comparisons. And Audio Assault is great. They have been on a roll lately. Cheers
Excellent video; clear, informative and a very pleasant and no-nonsense presentation. Theme is great; judging VST FX sound by actually listening. Subscribed.
C and E were really good, other amps are realy not balanced by frequences, even Gojira hot, which was dark and moody, but it probably could be fixed with their own knobs.
I was trying to match them to each other to compare, but yes, they could certainly be made to sound better for a final mix. I was mostly interested in comparing the gain texture or any other big difference that jumped out, which ended up being very minor
Just to add to the sense that it's all the same - I did a very similar test between a real EVH5150 (captured through a Torpedo Captor) and NDSP Gojira. Both ran through the same IR. The difference was about at the same level as between the ampsims in this test :)) so basically it's quite fair to say that LE456 sounds some 96.5% like a real 5150 (which it's not supposed to!! but whatever :D). I'm more and more convinced it's either about the IRs or about the raw guitar DI signal, and less and less about the actual "amp", be it a real one or a simulated one.
Always good to test on your own equipment! Most high gain tube amps have pretty much the same or very similar tubes and a simple EQ. Different eq circuits can be better suited to different tones, but they can mostly be matched very closely to anything else.
I am so glad that I was able to test out the neural DSP sims instead of buying it outright. In my opinion I feel I dodged a bullet. Lol. The Otto audio plugin is my go to. I've got no reason to even waste hard drive space on any other guitar amp sims.
C was the only one that really stood out.. Seemed shimmery and tight (or maybe it's my 11k tinnitus jiving with it :P ). I don't know if that's good or bad tho. A was probably 2nd. the last 2 always seemed the muddiest. They were all so close.. breathing on an EQ and they all sound the same.
I liked the Emissary and Gojira Hot the least, but still they were close. Gojira Rust was great but so was the Sigma and free Poulin stuff. I think the biggest takeaway here is that *impulse response is key*
well, the results didn`t shock me lol, nice Shootout , subbed! mind if I ask, I shaved my head a while back and the skin doesn`t look as smooth and even as yours, so I wonder if you use some products for the head?
Thanks! I don't have any magic dome sauce. I use a little moisturizer after shaving, that's it. I first shaved it back around 2014, it did take a few months for the scalp to get less pale and toughen up some. Just stick with it!
Interesting, C was my favorite, but I also like the A. The least one for me was the F one. It has less definition in the notes. Just saw the results, I'm pretty impressed with the free ones, and more so with the AA one. I think the Audio Assault plugins are really amazing. I discover them pretty much last week or so and now I'll probably gonna buy all of them (I already bought the 5050 one, but was waiting for a black friday deal, or a promo code). Got the 5050 for 3 bucks and right now they are sending a promo code for more 55% off, so, I'm gonna get the amps for like 5 dollars, which is a steal. There is something in AA plugins that sounds better when playing live than the Neural stuff. I do not know what it is, but usually, I just don't get a good tone jamming with neural plugins, besides Nameless, which I think was the best Neural Plugin.
Hey NIck, thanks for the video, it definitely helped shape my current view. There was really only one fo these that I got correct, and even then it was sort of not. I could only pick 100% that amp E was Neural, but I thought it was the hot amp, not the rust model, outside of that I was lost. Again, awesome video and I appreciate it!
I recently bought the Audio Assault AHM and RVXX plugins (as well as a couple of other and a channel stripe etc) I also Bought the ML Sound lab Amped Super Duper. All 3 plugins are very good. I think the Super Duper is the best. It cost me £20 ($25) and can do pretty much any sound (it even does clean pretty well , although I would still use another sim for cleans instead). The RVXX is a close 2nd and actually does better cleans than the Super Duper , and similar level Hi gain and Crunch. The Super Duper is very easy to dial in fast, and the RVXX takes a little more tweaking, but probably has more sounds in it, and they both have a lot.. The AHM has killer crunch and hi gain sounds, but its clean is pretty shite IMO, flat dead sounding to me, but the other channels are great , good emulation of an EVH 5150 tone. The Super Duper really is the quickest way to budget great tones, but the Audio Assault plugins can get there with a little more tweaking. Also bought the Audio Assault Bulldog. Very dry amp needs the boost section for metal, but is also another great amp sim. Very unforgiving though. If you are a shit hot tight this is an amp sim that will show that off, but if you are not it will pull ya pants down. I can use it, but I have to really nail parts to get it to work, but it really can work great. The Super Duper, RVXX, and AHM are all more forgiving The Audio Assault plugins cost £5(6 or 7 $) each and the ML Super Duper £20 ($25) You cannot go wrong with any of these Anyone reading who is looking to make a good choice with their cash on an amp sim: If I was on a really tight budget , get the RVXX, its the best value, it really does do everything If you are on a budget but its not that deep, get the Super Duper, plugin in and you are pretty much good to go If you are not on a budget, get the Super Duper and ALL the Audio Assault , they are worth it (except the Blacksun I don't rate that amp, muffled rubbish IMO) You could get the ML Super Duper and all the Audio Assault amp sims AND their channel strip and EQ plugins for the same price as 1 Neural DSP
What an essay! I agree. My gripe with ML is lack of stereo. Some people won't care, but I always prefer to mix with one stereo amp rather than 2. Good stuff though. Only tried some IRs and the free amps from ML. I have pretty much every AA plugin and most the IRs. I buy them on sale with discounts and it's hard to stop. All good amps for different stuff, though any one can do most tones you'd need. RVXX did really impress me with the cleans and edge of breakup tones, that was my first from them
One thing that is a big part of playing through a real amp and cab, is that physical feedback pull between the guitar pickups and speakers. I've yet to experience this with a modeling plugin, and playing a great solo often uses this push / pull relationship between guitar and cab to control the tone and sustain, and the energy etc.
Are you talking about actual feedback? If so, you could achieve that by recording with loud monitors. Other than that, I don't think there's any other type of feedback that would have an effect on the tone. Of course, it's not the same experience in the room, but as far as recording goes, IR's have been tested every which way against speakers and there's no real difference there and there are certainly amp sims that are capable of rivaling a good tube head if everything is set up properly.
@@NickLeonard Yeah for everything else, the speaker emulation is fine in the plugins. For studio recording I do not need to have the guitar cab loud to achieve the feedback required for more nuanced sounds, e.g. not talking over the top volume and "pull". However guitar speakers are made differently to control room monitors, and behave completely differently too. Since everything went digital in the mid-1990s, that more natural guitar sound in studio recording has disappeared and a sterile produced sound put in its place. The whole Djent scene seemed to make this worse IMHO. I must say that your thoughts and ideas when using convolution reverb impulses, is in some ways a step in the right direction towards a less predictable and more unique and human sound.
@@EgoShredder I think a big part of that is just recording becoming more standardized because the best producers figured out what worked best, made hit records, then everyone chases that, and with modelers and amp sims, it's that much easier to dial in a very similar sound. Someone like Steve Albini does the opposite and likes distance mic'ing in a reverberant room - great for some things, not gonna be the best metal tone and way easier to get wrong than a close mic'd SM57. I'm all for experimentation and pushing the boundaries, though I'd much rather listen to a good if "generic" tone than a creative but not very well done tone. The other aspect is what the artist likes and helps them perform their best. I really like using amp sims and record with them way more often, but someone who's been playing cabs in the room their whole life is likely to not enjoy the digital experience so much. Amp sims can also be tighter and less noisy than tube amps, which is great for modern metal stuff, maybe not so much for a classic rock player though!
Audio assult are my go to amp sims. I also have the Gojira, which is sick! But audio assult plays and sound so good especially for the price. They are on par with neural dsp imo. Give thier Reamp Studio a try.
I liked F in solo but possibly not the best in a mix I thought D was odds on Neural , and it was Le456 ,which surprised me because I thought the Sigma was the Le456. I did not get any right at all. Just goes to show the Neural Hype is real
When I first started hearing about the Nameless from Neural DSP, my initial response to the insane hype was something like "why is everyone acting like amp sims don't already sound good?" Then I tried it and my response was something like "cool, less to tweak out of the box. My tone is sounding about the same as my old free plugins though."
Exactly, that's one of the best things they offer: great default tones. That doesn't mean you can't get the same results for much cheaper. They also have some great art/gui that makes people think it must sound better because it looks better. They do have great looking plugins, but sadly art doesn't impact sound.
In my opinion the impulses that I use today are far superior to what I used in those days. What has become way better is low to mid gain crunch sound. Metal sound for me always sounded a bit extreme to synthetic. Not that it is bad, I like it how it is
Interesting comparison. Picked B and E (in that order) because of that extra oomph in the chugging sound (especially in riff 2). But yeah, not that much difference.
@@NickLeonard It was said we listen with our eyes and i think there is some truth to that. When blind most cannot tell the high end stuff from the cheaper. People tend to be biased when they see what gear is being played.
I mostly liked C, D and E, also A stood out as very good. I think I have to pick D as my winner, with F one I least liked in litterally every example. ---- Wow! Pulin Le456 for me then! And apparently I can just delete the Emissary! Question though, what cab IR did you use for this?
All the fanboys that believe spending more money equates to a superior sound needs to watch this video now. It has really created most independent metal/djent genre artist to all sound stale. It's a shame because I use to enjoy those bands that really worked for their "sound". There is hope though, for instance, the Aurora Rhino plugin is a signal chain to sculpt a completely unique sound. I honestly hope more innovative companies like these become successful . I mean how many times are we going to make simulations of the 5150 or Dual Rectifier?
I don't know that the Rhino isn't modeled on existing stuff, but the UI is unique and I agree that it will be cool to see companies coming up with new digital only amps. The Emissary was an original design that started as an amp sim and was custom built later. Not sure what other amps the design is most similar to, but to be fair, tube amps are very old and fairly simple circuits
@@NickLeonard So it appears the "preamp module" of the Rhino is modeled after 4 different models. Those are the Rivera Knucklehead, Cornford Roadhouse 30, a modded Mesa Roadster, and Victory Kraken... still all these preamp models are new to the digital era. I just love these kind of companies pushing innovation, especially the IR section where you can blend 4 cab tones at once. And I do agree, about the older tube amp circuits being simple, shoot some hardware compressors are shocking simple and extremely sought after. Thanks for chatting this is the 1st time I've come across your channel and appreciate what your doing!
@@JaZZMAste08 one of the coolest looking IR loaders that I haven't tried is the STL Libra which allows up to 8 but with a cool gui for blending, rather than faders like others. It's a bit pricey for just an IR loader, though. And you're very right about accurate analog models being difficult, though we've come a long way in the last few years!
Order of favourites: E, A, C, F, D, B Gueses: A - Ignite Emissary B - Poulin Legion C - Gojira Rust D - Gojira Hot E - AA Sigma F - Poulin LE456 How did I do? :P
@@NickLeonard I really don't like the NDSP plugins so I'm surprised that was the first choice but it is what it is. Always a fantastic test of the ears with blind shootouts 🤘
@@KPGuitarStudios Despite the youtuber hype train around Neural, I see a lot of people that aren't impressed too. Maybe they just set the expectations (or price) too high. Even though NDSP still has the edge in my book, I'm more excited about what Audio Assault and Audiority are doing given the price to performance ratio
@@NickLeonard ML Sound Labs seems to be the leader to my ear. Realistically they can all do the job with a bit of careful attention to the final product and knowhow 👍
I have the free Roots and it's alright, not a big fan of the cab. Main reason I don't own any from them is lack of stereo processing, which even the old Poulin's did!
By the way, would you mind sharing the exact IRs and blend you used ? I've got almost every Seacow library and I'm intrigued to try out those sets... :)
@@MaKeXiuShi I agree, my main question was "is there something that makes one amps distortion better or more realistic" and in the end I think the answer is pretty much no, so it comes down to eq tone stack which is very simple to modify. Almost all amps use very similar tube configurations, and modeling a tube is not rocket science
Normally, I'd agree, but here I feel like even more of the detail would get lost and they would all so extremely similar in a mix. The purpose of putting it in a mix is more to shape the guitar around the other instruments to show how it sits.
Personally, I found B, D to sound the worst (i.e. less complex or harmonically rich) and I thought they were the LePou amps. Maybe it's because they were dialed in darker than the rest. F sounded transistor-y and I wasn't surprised that it was the Emissary (I really don't like that amp sim). The other 3 sounded perfectly fine. The one that surprised me the most was the Legion because it sounded much more "advanced" than what I remember the other LePou amps to sound. I'm gonna have to try it out again. I never liked the popularity of the NeuralDSP stuff. It's all built on marketing, pretty graphics and RUclips shills. More recent free amp sims from NaLex and VTar (Vadim Taranov) sound just as good if not better.
@@NickLeonard That is true. IR capturing techniques have advanced a lot, especially for the long ones (500ms), but I have heard other people play the LeCto and the Le456 with more recent IRs and I still didn't think they could go up against newer, more CPU-intensive free amp sims.
@@ErebosGR I guess the one "issue" I had with them was they tended to be a little tighter than the others, which isn't necessarily bad, but can be a little artificial. pushing the power amps thickened them up though
Have you done any tests to prove that? High gain guitars are very compressed by nature, that makes them feel tight and responsive. Different sims can behave different, but as someone who uses their amps a lot, I don't agree that they have bad dynamics. Happy to see your proof though!
I do agree I liked it the least of these, no matter what I did it had a certain boxy tone I wasn't a fan of. That being said, it's not bad, I do like its cleans if you want something that does get really clean, which some don't. The other thing is with a different IR, I would have to tweak all these to get them to match again, so sometimes just picking an IR that works well with a certain amp is all it takes. Some IR's might be a little too thin and scooped in the low mids and may work better with an amp like Emissary...
In a lot of ways, yes. I'm no developer, so I'm sure there are some improvements out there, but they may not have much effect on the tone. One big improvement is the interface and user experience. There's more competition to deliver the complete package now, which is good. Poulin was also likely ahead of his time, and it's sad he stopped putting new stuff out years ago.
@@MrBeen992 it's $129 right now, I'm sure there are sales, and I don't know how frequently, but that is on the upper end for software, there are more expensive options too, but a lot of great options that are way cheaper. The interface looks fine and functional, but it does look dated compared to Neural plugins that are around the same price, and I think for what you pay for those, looks are a big factor. From this test, I don't really think the Neural plugins were really better or the favorites from the comments. I also think the IR's are the most important thing, and many great IR sets aren't too expensive and can make even free sims come to life. I see they partnered with RedWirez who does good work and so that's nice. There are some other companies that do white box modeling too, like Audiority and DiBiQuadro (who I haven't tried) who allows you to actually modify the circuit too, which I like.
One thing for sure, the guitar is not a strat. 😀 But there's something wrong here. You tweaked very accurately all those sims to sound exactly the same through the same IR, to prove that they all sound the same? This only prove that you have a very good ear and you are very good at setting the knobs of the sims. But no one assure that you are not limiting the possibilities of some of them to make all sound the same. For example, if you set the target with the ten years old plugin you only prove the the newer ones can get the job done the same way. You did not tell which one you used first to set the reference tone in the beginning of the process. Then I think the fact that when you only change the IR they sound different is totally logical. You realized you needed different settings of the different sims to sound equal through the same IR, so you carved their frequencies spectrum using their diversely reacting respective controls. But when you "filter" that sculpted frequency design through a dissimilar eq line (you can see IR that way) your work should start again. If say at 6455 hertz your settings caused -1.5db for one sim and +1 for the other to sound the same, and then the new IR is different in that 6Kh point , the result will mathematically be different by two unequal amounts, and the sound will vary. The first two results could have been 0-1.5=-1.5db and 0+1=1db to get the same sound (IR imagined equal zero in said frequence) and the second 2-1.5=0.5db and 2+1=3db (new IR imagined at 2 in said point). The difference between 1.5 and 1 (first two results) and between 0.5 and 3 decibels (second result) is not proportional and leads to diverse perceived sound. I liked your video and I wish I had your ability in tweaking the controls to get the sound I want, but I was surprised that no comment raised objections, above all my first one.
You're very right, and I did notice that in testing. I didn't end up going into that in this video because I didn't want to get too into the weeds, but it's true that using a different IR means you have to set all the amps again to sound the same through the new IR. My goal here was to examine how the gain structure reacts, and if there's a big improvement in newer sims, since it should be a given that they all have slightly different EQ and range. I don't think all amps are "the same", but rather, that any good one is capable of achieving the same goal - within reason, this is a high gain test. You can see my more recent follow up with a real tube amp and more gain range, though the result is similar. My main takeaway is to not worry too much about what the amp is, but about what tone you need and if the tool is up for the job, which most are.
@@NickLeonard thanks a lot for taking the time to answer. I get your point. Great use of amp sims and great ear for tones (I repeat). And you are totally right in stressing the importance of good IR's over anything else. The right IR can make sound great also a digital multiFX unit of the 90's (say Digitech RP line or the likes). I'll look your more recent follow up, thanks. Keep up the good work and having a blast with your music :)
Plenty of ways, here I routed all the amps into the same instance of NadIR loaded with some SeaCow impulses. Neural and AA plugins (and pretty much every other modern amp sim) have a built in cab (IR) section you can customize. For the Poulin plugins, those are all just amps with no cab. I usually use NadIR with those, or any other free IR loader than can do stereo
Be sure to comment below your favorite(s) before the reveal!
Oh man. What a way to be brought right down to earth again. Great stuff man.
My man, Resington
I think shootouts such as this and my own personal experience have really proven the point that the cabinet/IR is the biggest factor in how a guitar tone differs. I can certainly tell you having used quite a number of different impulse responses, my favorites are the Kristian Kohle Eminence IRs. I usually blend the Angry and Fat DV-77s and get a nice tone that way.
I think if progress has been made over the last decade, it's on understanding the importance of IRs and developing really, REALLY high quality IRs. I'm a huge fan of Ownhammer but York Audio has some good ones out now too.
Literally 5% difference between all of them. Great shootout!
indeed, there is very little differences between them
And whatever 5% difference there is, it's probably not "5% better", but just... 5% different
@@rimantasbudriunas4411 Totally. And something you can make up for with EQ in front of the amp and after the amp. Probably change the tone over 50% that way.
This again shows that cabinet+speaker+mic+mic placement makes a much bigger difference than changing amp heads. Cool video
This was fascinating.
When I wasn’t paying attention A, B, and C sounded almost identical.
Especially A and B.
E was my favorite all the way through, which is the neural amp, but B, which I think the other was one of my least favorite favorite. But E was so close to F and F is free.
I'll have to check out the ignite.
Thank you for this video. Here is my preference:
1. B: The clear standout. It sags like a real amp, responses fast, sounds huge and full with depth. There’s so much gain in mid-range, while the articulation, transient and harmonics are still very clear. It sounds the most aggressive even though it is not as presence-forward as the others.
2. E: Not as impressive as B, but this one is the close second.
3. C: There’s too much presence and treble. The lower mid-range is missing as well. I hear the realistic sagging from it though. Overall it sounds weightless and fatiguing, but it’s more lively, more organic and richer than A.
4. A: It’s the tightest one which I really like, but the shrillness should be tamed by EQ. When comparing to B, there are many details (noise, harmonics, sagging…etc) are missing, that makes it much less realistic.
5. F: Fizzy and boxy. I dislike the frequency response the most among all.
6. D: It’s the least authentic one. The gain structure is poor to me as well. There is too much gain in low end sub but not enough in mid-range. The dynamic response in higher mid-range is far from ideal as the other five. All these above result in a dry, stiff and sterile sound. I find it unusable from tightest modern metal to loose-bass sounding genre (like stoner rock, post-metal) and anything between.
My likes sorta moved with the riffs, at first it was A & E sometimes drifting to C & D. Felt like F was consistently darker but you did a great job of matching these. If someone held a gun to my head and made me pick the paid plugins, I'd be dead.
In general you have right. They are all very close to each other cause the principle of creation is the same everywhere, the most important for a guitarist will be the difference of IRs used for creating the sound. It is necessary to know and tell everyone that digital sound depends most on different IRs and less on similar amps. You'll hear the difference more clearly in a full mix with a playing band than with several solo amps on the same IR. My personal taste of the amplifiers themselves is Ignite Emissary and Neural. Thanx for great shoutout Nick
Full mix huh? I feel like disproving this.
My fav was the C because the bottom end was a little more oomphy, like air was actually beong moved, and the highs were crisp and nicely saturated. The B was the most lifeless and synthetic to me. As a huge AA fan boy and a Sigma user since the V1, I'm very happy with the result, and I was really feeling that it was the C indeed.
They all sounded very similar, minor frequency and response differences between them to my ear.
Great video, i discovered this channel by seeing a post by Audio Assault on FB. Subbed and looking forward to seeing more, well done!
Thanks, Mike! Your channel is great, too!
Awesome vid! Was wanting to do something very similar. Keep putting out the great videos!
amps C and D are my favourites! such girth!
edit after the reveal: ironically enough i quite like Emissary, but it is my least favourite here! Gonna go get Sigma, it's the only AA plugin i don't have!
Thanks for making these comparisons. I feel that people are starting to realize more and more that the biggest difference comes from the IR/cab+mic, and the distortion is... well just distortion. Same thing happens with real amps plugged in the same cab+mic.
First off, thank you for the thorough video and detailed tips on using the amps. Now, my _"honest to god"_ analysis:
A - Straight up disgusting top end. Too harsh, trying to tame it with post EQ would ruin the rest of the spectrum (that also is, unfortunately, subpar)
B - Even though it might not sound _"digital"_ per se, I would not call everything from the upper-mids _"controlled"_ . With that being said, very usable tone.
C - Super, super pleasent sound overall. It's agressive, but warm and even without playing it, I can almost tell that's a super dynamic amp. Truly impressive.
D - Flabby and unnatural bass. Sounds like it has an _"baked-in"_ , super unnecessary, post power amp EQ. It absolutely ruins it, maybe could be good otherwise, given that the rest of the signal isn't as offensive as the bass is.
E - Balanced and pleasing, maybe just the tiniest bit overdone at the top end. It doesn't sound harsh, but might as well easily get so.
F - Very mid forward... Maybe perfect if you have a specific use case in mind, but I wouldn't point it as plain great.
My rating:
1. C - Audio Assault Sigma
2. E - NDSP Gojira Rust
3. B - NDSP Gojira Hot
4. F - Ignite Emissary
5. A - Poulin Legion
6. D - Poulin LE456
Conclusion:
As a free software advocate, it hurts me to admit the Poulin LE456 and Poulin Legion are the only ones I think I'd be able to point as digital in a mix.
And for 7.50 bucks with a discount code...? It's a no-brainer deal, I'm buying the AA's Sigma *right now* .
Good thorough analysis! I agree that Audio Assault makes fantastic amps that punch so far above their weight in terms of price. The new Sigma EX version has some nice features that weren't in this earlier model. I'd also recommend checking out The Crown, their latest amp. I'm really liking the tone and feel of it so far!
I's guess A is Poulin Engl, because it sounds so familiar to me. I bet C Neural DSP Gojira Hot amp. Neural DSP sound mostly like straight in your face. Let's see if I got those 2 right. Maybe F is the other Poulin amp, but I could be wrong.
Edit: Okay, I got at least I got the brand right 😅
Very good video man 💪 You got a new subcriber!
Amp A seems like a solid middle of the road, good at a most things, choice.
Amp D is my favorite because it has a certain resonance that sounds unique and interesting to me.
Amp F is dark like a couple of the others, bit with less articulation. My least favorite, but still good enough to use on a track. All are usable tones imo.
C is my favourite. Edit: Wow that's surprising. Honestly thought I would've gone for the Rust but it was 2nd to the Sigma for me. Surprised as well by how decent the Emissary sounds. All of this shows how much of the FR is determined by the IR too, it's kind of insane. Also good job on getting them to sound similar.
amazing demo man
Thanks for the support too
the 456 wins for me, also the emisary in the chugs parts! what a cool video man.. blind test are awesome, thanks a lot for this
Awesome, video! I loved this comparison. I really preferred C and D over the rest, but they’re all very similar. I literally laughed out loud at the reveal! Glad I’ve only spent money on impulse responses!
Wise spender here
The dead giveaway for the Gojira sims are the pick attack bloom but the sustain is very similar among all the amps. One big thing I took away from this is how much of a difference an IR can make.
C and E for me, but all of them are great! Thanks so much for this video, I'm sure it took a ton of work, great job!!
Excellent video! Well spoken and demonstrated! I liked A and C overall, but some examples they were a little too harsh for me. I think I liked B and E the least. I had no idea which was which. I'm curious if they all feel different and which feel the best.
I recorded all the riffs one one amp (can't remember which) and then dialed in the final tones to each other, but if you have them set up to sound so close, they should all feel very similar. Some are a little tighter in the low end, which will make them feel a little faster, but all within close margin.
Great video, thanks. Had a feeling F would be the Emissary since there's something I never liked about that amp sim and I liked F the least here. The Sigma sounded slightly more scooped and fizzy (not in a bad way), but the other four sounded very similar.
I agree, there was something boxy and flat sounding about the Emissary I couldn't totally dial out. I spent a lot of time on the Sigma trying to get the midrange right and it still stuck out to me. It just has a particular eq curve and some unique controls.
Great stuff. I could hear differences of course, but not huge ones. As others have stated the IR is most of the end tone you hear.
Great point about the master vol on these sims. It pays to experiment with this kinda thing and figure out what works for each sim.
Not related to this vid specifically, but another test I like to do is play some harmonics and see how the sim responds. Are they shiny and "clean" sounding, or do they get all kinds of nasty and have tons of overtones? The Neural stuff has that going for it. Something like LE456 is a smoother shinier harmonic. Just something I've noticed when doing comparisons.
And Audio Assault is great. They have been on a roll lately.
Cheers
That's a good point, I've been thinking of doing some more testing, comparing lower gain settings to see if there's a bigger difference there
Excellent video; clear, informative and a very pleasant and no-nonsense presentation. Theme is great; judging VST FX sound by actually listening. Subscribed.
Thank you!
C and E were really good, other amps are realy not balanced by frequences, even Gojira hot, which was dark and moody, but it probably could be fixed with their own knobs.
I was trying to match them to each other to compare, but yes, they could certainly be made to sound better for a final mix. I was mostly interested in comparing the gain texture or any other big difference that jumped out, which ended up being very minor
Just to add to the sense that it's all the same - I did a very similar test between a real EVH5150 (captured through a Torpedo Captor) and NDSP Gojira. Both ran through the same IR. The difference was about at the same level as between the ampsims in this test :)) so basically it's quite fair to say that LE456 sounds some 96.5% like a real 5150 (which it's not supposed to!! but whatever :D).
I'm more and more convinced it's either about the IRs or about the raw guitar DI signal, and less and less about the actual "amp", be it a real one or a simulated one.
Always good to test on your own equipment! Most high gain tube amps have pretty much the same or very similar tubes and a simple EQ. Different eq circuits can be better suited to different tones, but they can mostly be matched very closely to anything else.
I am so glad that I was able to test out the neural DSP sims instead of buying it outright. In my opinion I feel I dodged a bullet. Lol. The Otto audio plugin is my go to. I've got no reason to even waste hard drive space on any other guitar amp sims.
C was the only one that really stood out.. Seemed shimmery and tight (or maybe it's my 11k tinnitus jiving with it :P ). I don't know if that's good or bad tho. A was probably 2nd. the last 2 always seemed the muddiest. They were all so close.. breathing on an EQ and they all sound the same.
I liked the Emissary and Gojira Hot the least, but still they were close. Gojira Rust was great but so was the Sigma and free Poulin stuff. I think the biggest takeaway here is that *impulse response is key*
All these are awesome. I've used all of them for different things, and my favorite from the bunch were B and D.
well, the results didn`t shock me lol, nice Shootout , subbed!
mind if I ask, I shaved my head a while back and the skin doesn`t look as smooth and even as yours, so I wonder if you use some products for the head?
Thanks! I don't have any magic dome sauce. I use a little moisturizer after shaving, that's it. I first shaved it back around 2014, it did take a few months for the scalp to get less pale and toughen up some. Just stick with it!
@@NickLeonard understood thanks!
Interesting, C was my favorite, but I also like the A. The least one for me was the F one. It has less definition in the notes.
Just saw the results, I'm pretty impressed with the free ones, and more so with the AA one. I think the Audio Assault plugins are really amazing. I discover them pretty much last week or so and now I'll probably gonna buy all of them (I already bought the 5050 one, but was waiting for a black friday deal, or a promo code). Got the 5050 for 3 bucks and right now they are sending a promo code for more 55% off, so, I'm gonna get the amps for like 5 dollars, which is a steal. There is something in AA plugins that sounds better when playing live than the Neural stuff. I do not know what it is, but usually, I just don't get a good tone jamming with neural plugins, besides Nameless, which I think was the best Neural Plugin.
I'm a very big fan of AA and have done a number of reviews on their amps. Definitely my favorite sims right now and I own all of them!
I had this playing in the background while doing other computer stuff and literally never noticed when you changed amps...lol
Especially in a mix, you would never know...
Hey NIck, thanks for the video, it definitely helped shape my current view. There was really only one fo these that I got correct, and even then it was sort of not. I could only pick 100% that amp E was Neural, but I thought it was the hot amp, not the rust model, outside of that I was lost. Again, awesome video and I appreciate it!
Glad you enjoyed it, it was a surprise to me too!
I recently bought the Audio Assault AHM and RVXX plugins (as well as a couple of other and a channel stripe etc) I also Bought the ML Sound lab Amped Super Duper. All 3 plugins are very good. I think the Super Duper is the best. It cost me £20 ($25) and can do pretty much any sound (it even does clean pretty well , although I would still use another sim for cleans instead). The RVXX is a close 2nd and actually does better cleans than the Super Duper , and similar level Hi gain and Crunch. The Super Duper is very easy to dial in fast, and the RVXX takes a little more tweaking, but probably has more sounds in it, and they both have a lot..
The AHM has killer crunch and hi gain sounds, but its clean is pretty shite IMO, flat dead sounding to me, but the other channels are great , good emulation of an EVH 5150 tone.
The Super Duper really is the quickest way to budget great tones, but the Audio Assault plugins can get there with a little more tweaking.
Also bought the Audio Assault Bulldog. Very dry amp needs the boost section for metal, but is also another great amp sim. Very unforgiving though. If you are a shit hot tight this is an amp sim that will show that off, but if you are not it will pull ya pants down. I can use it, but I have to really nail parts to get it to work, but it really can work great. The Super Duper, RVXX, and AHM are all more forgiving
The Audio Assault plugins cost £5(6 or 7 $) each and the ML Super Duper £20 ($25) You cannot go wrong with any of these
Anyone reading who is looking to make a good choice with their cash on an amp sim:
If I was on a really tight budget , get the RVXX, its the best value, it really does do everything
If you are on a budget but its not that deep, get the Super Duper, plugin in and you are pretty much good to go
If you are not on a budget, get the Super Duper and ALL the Audio Assault , they are worth it (except the Blacksun I don't rate that amp, muffled rubbish IMO) You could get the ML Super Duper and all the Audio Assault amp sims AND their channel strip and EQ plugins for the same price as 1 Neural DSP
What an essay! I agree. My gripe with ML is lack of stereo. Some people won't care, but I always prefer to mix with one stereo amp rather than 2. Good stuff though. Only tried some IRs and the free amps from ML.
I have pretty much every AA plugin and most the IRs. I buy them on sale with discounts and it's hard to stop. All good amps for different stuff, though any one can do most tones you'd need. RVXX did really impress me with the cleans and edge of breakup tones, that was my first from them
One thing that is a big part of playing through a real amp and cab, is that physical feedback pull between the guitar pickups and speakers. I've yet to experience this with a modeling plugin, and playing a great solo often uses this push / pull relationship between guitar and cab to control the tone and sustain, and the energy etc.
Are you talking about actual feedback? If so, you could achieve that by recording with loud monitors. Other than that, I don't think there's any other type of feedback that would have an effect on the tone. Of course, it's not the same experience in the room, but as far as recording goes, IR's have been tested every which way against speakers and there's no real difference there and there are certainly amp sims that are capable of rivaling a good tube head if everything is set up properly.
@@NickLeonard Yeah for everything else, the speaker emulation is fine in the plugins. For studio recording I do not need to have the guitar cab loud to achieve the feedback required for more nuanced sounds, e.g. not talking over the top volume and "pull". However guitar speakers are made differently to control room monitors, and behave completely differently too.
Since everything went digital in the mid-1990s, that more natural guitar sound in studio recording has disappeared and a sterile produced sound put in its place. The whole Djent scene seemed to make this worse IMHO. I must say that your thoughts and ideas when using convolution reverb impulses, is in some ways a step in the right direction towards a less predictable and more unique and human sound.
@@EgoShredder I think a big part of that is just recording becoming more standardized because the best producers figured out what worked best, made hit records, then everyone chases that, and with modelers and amp sims, it's that much easier to dial in a very similar sound. Someone like Steve Albini does the opposite and likes distance mic'ing in a reverberant room - great for some things, not gonna be the best metal tone and way easier to get wrong than a close mic'd SM57. I'm all for experimentation and pushing the boundaries, though I'd much rather listen to a good if "generic" tone than a creative but not very well done tone. The other aspect is what the artist likes and helps them perform their best. I really like using amp sims and record with them way more often, but someone who's been playing cabs in the room their whole life is likely to not enjoy the digital experience so much. Amp sims can also be tighter and less noisy than tube amps, which is great for modern metal stuff, maybe not so much for a classic rock player though!
@@NickLeonard Great reply! Not much I can add to that.
awesome man! Legion / Sigma for my taste
From beginning to the end my favorites ones have been B and E, pretty surprising toe considering I never liked the Neural sims when trying them!
That's crazy. I actually liked C best, followed by E, and D. Didn't care much for A, B and F.
Audio assult are my go to amp sims. I also have the Gojira, which is sick! But audio assult plays and sound so good especially for the price. They are on par with neural dsp imo. Give thier Reamp Studio a try.
I liked F in solo but possibly not the best in a mix I thought D was odds on Neural , and it was Le456 ,which surprised me because I thought the Sigma was the Le456. I did not get any right at all. Just goes to show the Neural Hype is real
That's sooo clooose! Still, if I had to choose One...
It'd be A....
and C...
and.... 🤔🙄🤘
When I first started hearing about the Nameless from Neural DSP, my initial response to the insane hype was something like "why is everyone acting like amp sims don't already sound good?" Then I tried it and my response was something like "cool, less to tweak out of the box. My tone is sounding about the same as my old free plugins though."
Exactly, that's one of the best things they offer: great default tones. That doesn't mean you can't get the same results for much cheaper.
They also have some great art/gui that makes people think it must sound better because it looks better. They do have great looking plugins, but sadly art doesn't impact sound.
Appreciate the comparison - this is extremely helpful! Keep up the awesome work! 🤙
Great video A and C sounded the best to me
In my opinion the impulses that I use today are far superior to what I used in those days. What has become way better is low to mid gain crunch sound. Metal sound for me always sounded a bit extreme to synthetic. Not that it is bad, I like it how it is
I had no idea what is what. Great job!
Great video man, congrats!
Amp D man , that was interesting 👌
I didn't like A and F, the rest sounded reaalllyyy close, when I closed my eyes, I could barely notice that you even changed the amp 😁
Interesting! I thought the A was best and F the worst and the rest in between! :D
Amp C for me!
Interesting comparison. Picked B and E (in that order) because of that extra oomph in the chugging sound (especially in riff 2). But yeah, not that much difference.
I picked amp A which turned out to be the legion.😂 I laugh because I swore I went with the neural.
No one has guessed correctly yet 😂
@@NickLeonard It was said we listen with our eyes and i think there is some truth to that. When blind most cannot tell the high end stuff from the cheaper.
People tend to be biased when they see what gear is being played.
I mostly liked C, D and E, also A stood out as very good. I think I have to pick D as my winner, with F one I least liked in litterally every example.
----
Wow! Pulin Le456 for me then! And apparently I can just delete the Emissary!
Question though, what cab IR did you use for this?
The IR's here are SeaCow's Mesa Oversize. DV-77 SM57 - Balanced and MBV30 SM57 - Balanced, 68% DV-77
All the fanboys that believe spending more money equates to a superior sound needs to watch this video now. It has really created most independent metal/djent genre artist to all sound stale. It's a shame because I use to enjoy those bands that really worked for their "sound". There is hope though, for instance, the Aurora Rhino plugin is a signal chain to sculpt a completely unique sound. I honestly hope more innovative companies like these become successful . I mean how many times are we going to make simulations of the 5150 or Dual Rectifier?
I don't know that the Rhino isn't modeled on existing stuff, but the UI is unique and I agree that it will be cool to see companies coming up with new digital only amps. The Emissary was an original design that started as an amp sim and was custom built later. Not sure what other amps the design is most similar to, but to be fair, tube amps are very old and fairly simple circuits
@@NickLeonard So it appears the "preamp module" of the Rhino is modeled after 4 different models. Those are the Rivera Knucklehead, Cornford Roadhouse 30, a modded Mesa Roadster, and Victory Kraken... still all these preamp models are new to the digital era. I just love these kind of companies pushing innovation, especially the IR section where you can blend 4 cab tones at once. And I do agree, about the older tube amp circuits being simple, shoot some hardware compressors are shocking simple and extremely sought after. Thanks for chatting this is the 1st time I've come across your channel and appreciate what your doing!
@@JaZZMAste08 one of the coolest looking IR loaders that I haven't tried is the STL Libra which allows up to 8 but with a cool gui for blending, rather than faders like others. It's a bit pricey for just an IR loader, though. And you're very right about accurate analog models being difficult, though we've come a long way in the last few years!
Preferred B followed by E.
Don't know which is which, but I like B a lot, and D as well.
Lol, when the test started, I didn't even notice that the sample C was already playing, I expected a bigger "switch" in sound...
😂
I really liked C and D, somewhat liked A. B and E was meh, and I didn't like F, which was surprising to me after the "reveal"
C was my favourite for all examples very tight and crisp on its own but may not sit as well in a mix as the others 🤔
I had the hardest time dialing that one in to the rest. I don't know if that's a good thing, but it's something!
I preferred C the most in this shootout.
I liked C and F.
A and B sounded kind of the same to me.
I didnt like the E much
The D was fine, not good or bad, I would use it maybe.
Order of favourites: E, A, C, F, D, B
Gueses:
A - Ignite Emissary
B - Poulin Legion
C - Gojira Rust
D - Gojira Hot
E - AA Sigma
F - Poulin LE456
How did I do? :P
0/6 lol. Don't take it personally though haha
@@NickLeonard I really don't like the NDSP plugins so I'm surprised that was the first choice but it is what it is. Always a fantastic test of the ears with blind shootouts 🤘
@@KPGuitarStudios Despite the youtuber hype train around Neural, I see a lot of people that aren't impressed too. Maybe they just set the expectations (or price) too high. Even though NDSP still has the edge in my book, I'm more excited about what Audio Assault and Audiority are doing given the price to performance ratio
@@NickLeonard ML Sound Labs seems to be the leader to my ear. Realistically they can all do the job with a bit of careful attention to the final product and knowhow 👍
I have the free Roots and it's alright, not a big fan of the cab. Main reason I don't own any from them is lack of stereo processing, which even the old Poulin's did!
i chose E, which enede up being my current favorite amp sim, yess!
You win!
My favorite was the free ones lol
By the way, would you mind sharing the exact IRs and blend you used ? I've got almost every Seacow library and I'm intrigued to try out those sets... :)
I'm using the SC Mesa OS. DV77-57-Balanced and MBV30-57-Balanced (68% DV77).
HP 88hz LP 17.2khz
@@NickLeonard Thank you so much!
I actually prefered the E & F.
I liked D and F
the legion is still the king of amp simulators in my opinion... neural dsp is great but has rough resonances
Very cool video.
I think my favourite is E. I dislike C...
Thanks for this
I like D the most
It felt like the most "in your face" amp. The differences could be less if use some EQ, so seems there is no need to spend $$$
@@MaKeXiuShi I agree, my main question was "is there something that makes one amps distortion better or more realistic" and in the end I think the answer is pretty much no, so it comes down to eq tone stack which is very simple to modify. Almost all amps use very similar tube configurations, and modeling a tube is not rocket science
@@NickLeonard yes!
Half way through the comparisons and I've picked C as favorite, F as least favorite.
The only way to hear diference is in the context of a mix...
Normally, I'd agree, but here I feel like even more of the detail would get lost and they would all so extremely similar in a mix. The purpose of putting it in a mix is more to shape the guitar around the other instruments to show how it sits.
Personally, I found B, D to sound the worst (i.e. less complex or harmonically rich) and I thought they were the LePou amps. Maybe it's because they were dialed in darker than the rest. F sounded transistor-y and I wasn't surprised that it was the Emissary (I really don't like that amp sim). The other 3 sounded perfectly fine.
The one that surprised me the most was the Legion because it sounded much more "advanced" than what I remember the other LePou amps to sound. I'm gonna have to try it out again.
I never liked the popularity of the NeuralDSP stuff. It's all built on marketing, pretty graphics and RUclips shills. More recent free amp sims from NaLex and VTar (Vadim Taranov) sound just as good if not better.
I remembered the poulin amps not sounding great back in the day, but I think that was just the ancient IRs I used (and cheap monitors)
@@NickLeonard That is true. IR capturing techniques have advanced a lot, especially for the long ones (500ms), but I have heard other people play the LeCto and the Le456 with more recent IRs and I still didn't think they could go up against newer, more CPU-intensive free amp sims.
@@ErebosGR I guess the one "issue" I had with them was they tended to be a little tighter than the others, which isn't necessarily bad, but can be a little artificial. pushing the power amps thickened them up though
Audio Assault doesn't have good dynamics. It's not always about sound. It's about feel and response too
Have you done any tests to prove that? High gain guitars are very compressed by nature, that makes them feel tight and responsive. Different sims can behave different, but as someone who uses their amps a lot, I don't agree that they have bad dynamics. Happy to see your proof though!
I recognized Emissary) Yahoo! The worst out of those six) I had been using it for some time. Never going back to it, especially after this comparison.
I do agree I liked it the least of these, no matter what I did it had a certain boxy tone I wasn't a fan of. That being said, it's not bad, I do like its cleans if you want something that does get really clean, which some don't. The other thing is with a different IR, I would have to tweak all these to get them to match again, so sometimes just picking an IR that works well with a certain amp is all it takes. Some IR's might be a little too thin and scooped in the low mids and may work better with an amp like Emissary...
Sigma wins for me.
So, amp sim modelling has not really progressed much at all but the IRs have gotten better.
In a lot of ways, yes. I'm no developer, so I'm sure there are some improvements out there, but they may not have much effect on the tone. One big improvement is the interface and user experience. There's more competition to deliver the complete package now, which is good. Poulin was also likely ahead of his time, and it's sad he stopped putting new stuff out years ago.
Have you tried Scuffham S-gear ?
I haven't tried it. I like that it's all "white box" modeling but it's a pretty expensive set and dated interface
@@NickLeonard $99 expensive ? What do you mean by dated ? It just released the v3.0.0 some months ago.
@@MrBeen992 it's $129 right now, I'm sure there are sales, and I don't know how frequently, but that is on the upper end for software, there are more expensive options too, but a lot of great options that are way cheaper. The interface looks fine and functional, but it does look dated compared to Neural plugins that are around the same price, and I think for what you pay for those, looks are a big factor.
From this test, I don't really think the Neural plugins were really better or the favorites from the comments.
I also think the IR's are the most important thing, and many great IR sets aren't too expensive and can make even free sims come to life. I see they partnered with RedWirez who does good work and so that's nice.
There are some other companies that do white box modeling too, like Audiority and DiBiQuadro (who I haven't tried) who allows you to actually modify the circuit too, which I like.
One thing for sure, the guitar is not a strat. 😀
But there's something wrong here. You tweaked very accurately all those sims to sound exactly the same through the same IR, to prove that they all sound the same? This only prove that you have a very good ear and you are very good at setting the knobs of the sims. But no one assure that you are not limiting the possibilities of some of them to make all sound the same. For example, if you set the target with the ten years old plugin you only prove the the newer ones can get the job done the same way. You did not tell which one you used first to set the reference tone in the beginning of the process.
Then I think the fact that when you only change the IR they sound different is totally logical. You realized you needed different settings of the different sims to sound equal through the same IR, so you carved their frequencies spectrum using their diversely reacting respective controls. But when you "filter" that sculpted frequency design through a dissimilar eq line (you can see IR that way) your work should start again. If say at 6455 hertz your settings caused -1.5db for one sim and +1 for the other to sound the same, and then the new IR is different in that 6Kh point , the result will mathematically be different by two unequal amounts, and the sound will vary. The first two results could have been 0-1.5=-1.5db and 0+1=1db to get the same sound (IR imagined equal zero in said frequence) and the second 2-1.5=0.5db and 2+1=3db (new IR imagined at 2 in said point). The difference between 1.5 and 1 (first two results) and between 0.5 and 3 decibels (second result) is not proportional and leads to diverse perceived sound.
I liked your video and I wish I had your ability in tweaking the controls to get the sound I want, but I was surprised that no comment raised objections, above all my first one.
You're very right, and I did notice that in testing. I didn't end up going into that in this video because I didn't want to get too into the weeds, but it's true that using a different IR means you have to set all the amps again to sound the same through the new IR. My goal here was to examine how the gain structure reacts, and if there's a big improvement in newer sims, since it should be a given that they all have slightly different EQ and range. I don't think all amps are "the same", but rather, that any good one is capable of achieving the same goal - within reason, this is a high gain test. You can see my more recent follow up with a real tube amp and more gain range, though the result is similar. My main takeaway is to not worry too much about what the amp is, but about what tone you need and if the tool is up for the job, which most are.
@@NickLeonard thanks a lot for taking the time to answer. I get your point. Great use of amp sims and great ear for tones (I repeat). And you are totally right in stressing the importance of good IR's over anything else. The right IR can make sound great also a digital multiFX unit of the 90's (say Digitech RP line or the likes). I'll look your more recent follow up, thanks. Keep up the good work and having a blast with your music :)
How do you link an IR with the digital amp ?
Plenty of ways, here I routed all the amps into the same instance of NadIR loaded with some SeaCow impulses.
Neural and AA plugins (and pretty much every other modern amp sim) have a built in cab (IR) section you can customize.
For the Poulin plugins, those are all just amps with no cab. I usually use NadIR with those, or any other free IR loader than can do stereo
1 d
2 c
3 e
4 a
5 F
Also seacow Cabs a poor quality
Who do you like?
can't pick a favorite as I can't stand the sound of the riffs anyway, they are terrible, especially at 6:30
Thanks, Steve! 😂