5150 Plugin Shootout - Which is the best?

[@GeneralTHC]

I think they all sounded pretty darn good. Some sound like they have a little more mid and some sound slightly scooped. I would think that could be adjusted for. The fact is the modern guitarist has some pretty awesome tools at his disposal even on a budget. Great video, dude! Glad to have found this channel!

[@DuFFuL]

For sure we do. I would have been in heaven if I had some of this stuff in my 20s. Home production has come so far in the last 5 years especially. Not sure where it can go from here because we are kind of feeling like we are at the overflow point to a flooded market but, there is still some great stuff coming out for sure. This is a great example of that.

[@victorkovalchuk]

Really nice comparison can be good only with same IRs

[@DuFFuL]

Thank you.

[@MaximusAdonicus]

First off, that riff was wicked!! 🔥🤘 Second, I think it was a grave mistake to have same settings on all, when the amps can react differently to knobs and sound different on default 🙉 The obvious outlier here being Audio Assault's AHM, which has once been called one of their best plugins... here it sounded the worst 😬😥 I'm sure it could have been tweaked to sound closer to the others, 'cos for some reason it sounded way darker than all! Would be a good idea to ask AA about it and maybe send them this video? Maybe they had a super dark version of 5150 that they modeled or maybe they actually modeled the Stealth version, which was just reviewed by Resington (ML Blackout, which sounded very much like this!) 🤷‍♂ Actually, I just checked that the AHM is supposed to be modeled after EVH III, but they also have the lesser known 5650+, which might have been much closer to 5150 🤔 Also the audio levels seemed to vary - especially ML Icon in the beginning was much quieter, thus making it sound seemingly weaker 😥 I don't know how a real 5150 should sound, but based on pure sound the first one, STL, sounded the best as it ripped thru the air! 🔥 Amplitube 5 sounded like a toy. Vadim's 4950 sounded (un)surprisingly good compared to others! NAM rocked as expected. The good ol' TSE X50 was the main thing missing here, it's free (the old version) and often in top3 in these comparisons.

[@DuFFuL]

@@MaximusAdonicus well thank you for the mad feedback mate. Yeh it’s a hard thing to do comparisons between plugins and amps in general. That’s why I simply chose to have one can and the same settings across the board. I know it’s not ideal but I felt it gives people a better example of what you are getting straight out of the box. I could have matched the tone to get them closer to each other but which one would I choose as the base? What might be my favourite may not be others. The tone I like, you may not like. So if I match them all to a tone I like, you may hate them all haha. I hope I’m making sense here. Personally I wanted to hear them all back to back with the same settings and then share that with you guys. I hope this helps you you understand my thoughts when making the vid 😀😀

[@ZultyBoi]

Great test! Surprised to find I liked Gojira the most.

[@DuFFuL]

@@ZultyBoi Gojira is solid. I would’ve changed the tone slightly to sit in the mix better but I wanted to keep the comparison and setting as close as I could. I think all these plugins have their place. It just depends on the song and style.

[@ZultyBoi]

@@DuFFuL I thought it sat in your mix best despite the settings restrictions. I also liked Amped Icon because it sounded the heaviest. You did a good test.

[@DuFFuL]

@@ZultyBoi Thank you. Maybe your ear leans towards the bit more mid scooped sound which I find both of those are, compared to the others that is.

[@MusicPlayingPeon]

I liked the positive grid sound

[@DuFFuL]

@@MusicPlayingPeon Personally I'm not a huge fan of any of the amps in BiasFX 2. They all sound so digital and unnatural to my ears. I used to use it all the time and now I just can't seem to get a good tone out of it. I'm talking about heavy tones though. It really does have some fantastic clean tones!!

[@CormacTunstead]

Great test vid / breakdown that's straight to the point & great riffing also! 🔥🎸 My personal favorite is the Gojira plugin & may go to out of many plugins that I own. The distortion & grit seem very responsive but pleasing to the ears over the others contenders. Also agree that the Josh Middleton's STl & Neural Amp Modeler sound fantastic & would be my choice over the others too!

[@DuFFuL]

@@CormacTunstead I love gojira. It is probably the easiest to get a good tone out of. And the presets are so usable. I think tonality Josh Middleton just beats it out for me though. Or it could be that it’s new to me and I love new stuff lol. Keeps it fresh!

[@tomix1970pl1]

Super riff man.I had a good time.

[@DuFFuL]

Glad you enjoyed it my friend!!!

[@minigka]

Thanks! For me NUM the best.

[@DuFFuL]

@@minigka I’m guessing you meant NAM haha. It is amazing. I can’t believe how many great tones you can get out of it for free.

[@minigka]

​@@DuFFuLYou are right!) Do you test Amperium NNM? I guess it's like NAM.

[@DuFFuL]

@@minigka no I haven’t but I will now. Thank you for the suggestion!!!

[@NickLeonard]

In this mix at least, Gojira, ML, and NAM take the cake for me. I like the AA one a lot, but it didn't work as well how it was dialed in here, but I see you kept the knob positions all the same to be fair!

[@DuFFuL]

I tried to keep the comparison very even. I think with a little time, you could probably get all these sounding pretty close. Personally, my favorite is the Tonality josh Middleton. Solid AF!

[@krailanuar]

Sound nice... my Favorite STL JM n NAM when hard Panning left n right super duper Icon 5150

[@DuFFuL]

Thank you. I think it fairly clear that most people prefer either JM or Gojira with Nam being a close third. I really want to do a Mesa Rectifier comparison next.

[@krailanuar]

@@DuFFuL Mesa Next Ok... We waiting bro

[@erkmenesen]

Great work man, I really appreciated your effort on this one! You already know but for the viewers who want to grab and go with NAM; NAM is an open-source modelling technology; it's not directly an amp/cab sim software. It could be much better than every other product, or it could be worse. It all depends on the capture. So in this context he is actually comparing the capture not the NAM's itself.

[@DuFFuL]

Exactly. Its why at the end I explained that the guy who captured it had the same setting that I was using which was really great for this demo. It is the problem with Nam though that it can take a lot of time sifting through the crappy captures to find the good ones. When you find a good one, they can be damn amazing but unfortunately like most open-source free stuff there is a lot of bad stuff filling in the gaps. Some people need to realize that just because you can make a capture, doesn't mean you should.

[@Andersrain]

good video, I use a lot of 5150 plugins, and I notice when I turn up the input/output level of the plugin, they really wake up. in most cases.

[@DuFFuL]

@@Andersrain yeh they have the best drive of all the amps. Especially with high gain pickups in your guitar. Pushing up the input gain achieves pretty much the same result. 5150 is probably my favourite guitar tone ever!!

[@resington]

STL might be the best here.

[@DuFFuL]

@@resington 100%. They sound the most real and have a really tight tone. I think that plugin actually might replace NDSP slo100 as my favourite

[@scharrface]

For real. Tonality Josh Middleton is one of my favorite plugins of all time, and I always come back to it no matter what hot new plugins I end up trying for a while

[@DuFFuL]

@@scharrface I can’t believe I waited so long to try it. I still love the neural dsp stuff as well but this is definitely in my top 3 now.

[@OliverDungey]

The Emissary is absolutely brilliant, love it

[@DuFFuL]

@@OliverDungey for sure

[@mariocaneva7519]

where you get that NAME file? from ToneHunt? I don't have it, can you put a link to the file instead the plugin? or both, sounds great by the way

[@DuFFuL]

@@mariocaneva7519 I’ll see if I can find it on tonehunt as soon as I get home from work mate. Sorry I always forget to link things.

[@DuFFuL]

Hey bud. It was this profile here. tonehunt.org/Peter_Ny/c6867874-a898-40c6-9685-f2e1cd9318f4 Hope this helps

[@21stcenturymetal31]

Nam and Ampknob BDH III are my goto

[@DuFFuL]

@@21stcenturymetal31 I did like the BDH when I tried it but the lack of control over the tone turned me off from the purchase after trying the demo. Even though it sounds amazing it kind of a one trick pony.

[@21stcenturymetal31]

@@DuFFuL Yeah I see your point then again im a one trick pony kinda guy. I just throw a EQ in the loop for a bit more control and of coarse change out IRs. Ill be honest its more of a play it and forget it deal. I tend to use nam mainly and use a ssl eq after the amp plug lol

[@DuFFuL]

@@21stcenturymetal31 I really did like the sound of it. It could also be the price for me. You don't get a lot for your money in my opinion. No effects or overdrives. I like a bit of variety in my plugins. I did think it was great for just picking up the guitar and instantly getting good tone to play with while I was just jamming out but in recording, I found it a bit limiting. As for Nam, I think there are great tones to be had but trying to sift through all the uploads to find good ones can be a bit annoying. Some are not very good. It's the problem where anyone can upload and some people probably shouldn't lol.

[@21stcenturymetal31]

Yeah man I run real pedals so the effects part I have covered with analog gear. I know what you mean about the uploads on nam. I have about 5 I use the most and they sound amazing. I was early when before nam got big. So I sorted out the bad ones early on. lol

[@DuFFuL]

@@21stcenturymetal31 I’m the same. Although every now and then I will have a browse through the stuff and see if I get lucky with a nice new tone!!

[@DwayneCreates]

Josh Middleton's plugin sounds great. I think Archetype Gojira takes the crown here, but only when you hear them not in a mix. I think otherwise, Josh Middleton and Gojira in a mix sound basically identical.

[@DuFFuL]

@@DwayneCreates while I love Gojira, I still think JM takes the crown for me. Although I feel you could get them to sound identical as you said.

[@bong-skot6706]

which exact nam profile is that? Im on tone hunt now trying to find the exact capture you used.

[@DuFFuL]

@@bong-skot6706 I’m at work right now mate but as soon as I get home and check, I will let you know!!

[@DuFFuL]

Hey mate. The profile was called..... EVH 5150 LBX (mk1) v2.0 Hope this helps

[@bong-skot6706]

@@DuFFuL thanks man! Love the chanel and all the cool riffs! That last riff was fuggin badass! Cool to see someone around the same age still into it all! Cheers🍻

[@DuFFuL]

@@bong-skot6706 Hahaha hell yeh man!!! My parents always thought metal was just a phase and I would grow out of it like my older brother. Not a damn chance. I've always loved it!!!

[@bong-skot6706]

Haha fuk yeah !!! Down for life brother!!🤘

[@scottwhitlow8468]

STL sounds best to me as well. Wish you could do a NDSP Nolly vs STL here. Good video! 👍🏻

[@DuFFuL]

Perhaps I will pick up Nolly in the next sale and do just that. I too would be curious to see how they stack up! Thank you!!