Guess the Real Marshall Amp! - Pedals vs Real Amp Blindfold Challenge!

[@soccerman127]

“Now that I can see them, the real amp sounds the best” 😂

[@josearjona3728]

The sentence itself says it all

[@sgt.grinch3299]

Makes perfect sense.

[@wilker374]

That's so true though 😂😭 In Pete's defense I also thought No.5 was the real thing

[@soccerman127]

@@wilker374 Me too. I thought number 5 was the real deal, and number 6 was the best "fake"

[@briietsai1997]

We truly hear with our eyes 😂

[@coryclarksounds]

I cant get enough of these blindfold comparison videos

[@aronfebles]

The Friedman sounds really good on this comparison!

[@dbeff]

Not only in this comparison. I have one and it's really really good. Sounds and feels amazing.

[@darrenofdrivers]

When I heard the Strymon, I knew straight away which one it was. That pedal absolutely slaps. Great tool for practice/recording/live back up.

[@mundane_in_the_membrane]

The Marshall SC20H ladies and gentlemen. Only valves can get that digital flubiness!

[@Unfunny_Username_389]

😆

[@mbrothers123]

It was actually an SV20H (plexi), the SC20H is a studio classic (JCM800)

[@Riverking1]

😅😅😅

[@akasgsvirgil9503]

The valve amp is the SV20, not the SC20. The SC20 only has two inputs whereas the SV20 has 4, just like the original Plexi.

[@robertbrown1627]

People talk themselves into believing what they want to believe ?

[@HighLifeWorkout]

Do a fender amp next please 🙏🏾

[@FilipArlet]

Maybe even add Tonemaster version in

[@Schmendinger]

@@FilipArlet I'd dig that

[@HighLifeWorkout]

@@FilipArlet I have a tonemaster amp, and I need them to justify my purchase for me 🤣🤣🤣

[@johnnyway8667]

@@HighLifeWorkout Nothing beats Tube amps Brandon :D I'd suggest looking into Magnatone twilighter or Milkman amps, but it's hard to justify the price...

[@HighLifeWorkout]

@@johnnyway8667 I’m a bedroom / home study player. I never had a real tube amp in my live. I have played them, but never owed one lol

[@pieve5516]

The honesty keeps me loyal to your channel.

[@Yakushev15]

This is such good fun!! How can you not love Anderton's videos??!🤣

[@flixbert]

EXACTLY THE VIDEO I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!! THANKS GUYS!! THIS IS GREAT!!

[@MarcCoteMusic]

I thought number 5 might have been the real amp and I also thought it sounded best. After the reveal... I still think 5 sounded best. Props to Strymon.

[@rskirk22]

Same here!

[@TheMrfuzzyface]

I also liked 5 and 2 the best.

[@Mommythief0069]

Same, the strymon kicked ass

[@Silber7]

I didn’t actually play along - but when 5 started I thought 'that has"something"'

[@waltuhhimself]

As a strymon iridium user, i don't like #5. It sounds a little bit fuzzy. Same reason i don't really like the marshall mode in the iridium. I successfully picked the real one because it sounds like the rhett shull's plexi demo. The drive is open and not fuzzy.

[@OXXOI77777]

I actually agreed with Pete's assessments. The actual amp just seems to sound harsher compared to the nicer pedals.

[@godbyone]

Seems like it was clipping in the red. Something was off. Not gain but harsh

[@miquelmarti6537]

2 and 5 sounded awesome, especially 5

[@rabbittoothstudio8371]

I liked two and five also but I preferred two

[@BananaManPL]

Look at the jazz dudes only liking 2-5...

[@mrcoatsworth429]

Don't forget that at least some of these have power amp sims built in. Running a tube power amp sim into a real tube power amp can sound and feel strange, especially if it's a low wattage power amp that doesn't have lots of head room. Didn't seem to make a tone of difference here, but it may explain the Nux being a bit weird and the Lion sounding "broken".

[@planzed.2]

Good point… That’ll also make the low-end flubby & affect feel

[@mrcoatsworth429]

@@planzed.2 yeah, absolutely. I ran my HX Stomp into my Orange Rocker 15, and the power section just couldn't handle it at a decent volume. It worked way better with a 100 W solid state poweramp.

[@shanetx81]

@mrcoatsworth429this is very useful information. Thank you.

[@anthonyward8587]

Love how Honest pete is about products. Keep up the good work guys. Cheers from Sunny Oz. :)

[@topnug7626]

Here's my guess 1. Nux 2. Strymon 3. DSM simplifier 4. UAFX 5. Real amp 6. Friedman 3 out of 6, not bad

[@adriaanmuller4493]

I love the new way of doing these blindfold stuff! I can participate in the “blindfold” experience but actually watch the video and see Pete playing as well. Great job guys

[@adriaanmuller4493]

My favourite amps btw were: Amp 2 Amp 6 Amp 5 The rest I didn’t like.

[@adriaanmuller4493]

In hindsight, I am really surprised (and slightly angry🤣)

[@sonikku997]

Absolutely agree

[@3J_Music]

The Friedman IR-X has been my go to since it came out. And i went through the whole video thinking that sounded the best. That said, I was also really impressed with the Strymon. Great video

[@HeadHondo]

Did you perform the recent IR-X firmware update?

[@Ottophil]

@@HeadHondoit didnt do much. But it does feel like my clean and distorted volumes are closer to each other now.

[@3J_Music]

@@HeadHondo i did do the update. I just put out a video about how I'm still happy with the IR-X one year later. It's a great piece of gear and I feel like it shined in this video

[@brianmersmann76]

@@3J_Musicmay I ask how do you have this Friedman IR-X hooked up. i would like to hook it up using two combo amplifiers to get that stereo sound with of course some delay and reverb pedals. Do you have any hook up videos or direct to any good youtube videos? Thank you

[@MartinMalmsten]

"Offensive Pete" needs (1) to be a recurring character and (2) a sign a'la "Digital John" when he appears

[@allanhalberg5635]

I was sure #6 was the amp, I do still prefer the sound of #6

[@zeevshaff]

Thank you for tuning that G!!

[@dsmnoisemaker101]

Wow! It is terrifying to see the simplifier X being compared with a real amp and with high end digital modelers, but hey!! Not too shabby, not too shabby at all!! 😅 Considering that the X was the only analog solid state unit, I'm impressed with my own stuff, LOL

[@BISHAMONT3N]

The Simplifier X is exceptional, and this demo shows it off nicely. I played along and picked #2 and #5 as my top choices.. I have the Simplifier X though I don't typically use it on the Marshall settings, it's awesome to see how it compares to this lineup 👍👍👍

[@RickMcCargar]

i've owned three different models starting with the first, and enjoyed them all.

[@eternalcustomchannel]

Man, the simplifier gets my vote because of how good it is and yet all analog. Can''t wait to be able to grab one!

[@theBejourn]

Chiming in here because I love my Simplifier X!

[@drgonzorevival]

Peter absolutely loved the Lion when he used the built in cabs. The Pedal Show loved the Lion into a real cabinet. Tastes are different. The Lion is my main amp at the moment but I’m setting it to a very different sound. On a Tele you need a darker cabinet and raise Volume 2 a bit. Bright cab off might be another option. Seems like that particular setting and the cab combination didn’t work.

[@ayeapprove]

Would've loved to see a budget friendly preamp like Tonecity or Mooer micro preamps

[@fantomas9240]

So happy to see the purple Tele back !

[@stefan_hauk]

The issue I have with this test is that a lot of these digital products have power amp emulation that is still active, then is being run into another tube power amp. A level playing field would be to run the tube amp into a reactive load box and then run everything through the same IR or transparent power amp (Fryette PS or similar) in a cab.

[@fishypaw]

Interesting comparison. I would like to have seen a Wampler Plexi Drive thrown into the mix. For a relatively cheep and simple "Marshall in a box", I think Brian did an amazing job. If I am plugging into a clean-ish amp, that's not a Marshall, then the Plexi Drive will always be in my pedal chain.

[@ThePlanarchist]

Brilliant to have done this way at last"! Nice one. Am a big digital sim fan and could have sworn #2 was the real amp.

[@treishtrei]

I like the Star Trek clothes. Pete is in the engine room and Lee is The Captain

[@Brave-yx5tm]

Good thing they aren't wearing red, because they would be sugar cubed by now

[@bogdanniculescu4941]

@@Brave-yx5tm yep

[@alexparxy]

I was about to say it would be the other way around, but then I remembered The Next Generation was a thing. Sincerely, a TOS fan

[@PorchBass]

Lolol

[@mylogify]

Everyone loves the Friedman tone, I do as well, but to me it has it's own tight mid rangey tone to it, it's not like a Marshall.

[@caydespliff181]

I agree I was able to pick it out for this same reason surprisingly

[@mylogify]

@@caydespliff181 awwww so cute cat btw. ❤️

[@ClaburP]

I thought number 2, Simplifier X, was the amp and it was my favourite. 6 and 5 also sounded great. I liked them in this order: 2, 6, 5, 3, 4, 1.

[@DangerousOne326]

This was my order, too

[@Mr.Goldbar]

the IRX is by far my favorite piece of gear to use for my tones! Bought mine earlier this year and I use it for everything :)

[@zaxzumu4605]

I got the IR-D and feel the same way. It's awesome.

[@mylogify]

How is the headphone output quality? How good does it sound thru headphones?

[@Mr.Goldbar]

@@mylogify just incredible

[@mylogify]

@@Mr.Goldbar Yeah don’t have any Friedman but from the videos I love it. And tonrs on Tonex. The Be-Od pedal also sounds soo tight good!

[@Mr.Goldbar]

@@mylogify I considered getting the ToneX after I really loved the plugin version, but I fell in love with the Friedman when I tried it :)

[@RisitasKEKW]

Literally the best series on KZbin

[@Dunewar]

What this really shows is how important a great speaker is.

[@marcandrenobert3097]

😊 Had it from the intro and stuck with it all the way through, on my cheap cellphone speaker. But its the amp i use at home, i knew one of them sounded familiar. Please more of these videos in the future, it's fun to participate.

[@skilstuckpliutsxiv9319]

I think sometimes it would be better to have someone who is not that good on guitar demoing effects, amps etc and see if it makes them sound better cause that guy is great

[@AlienPizzaZombie]

The Captain & Danish Pete, best demo dup ever, you guys rule!

[@thedondeluxe6941]

This has been my experience too. Real amps tend to sound a bit harsh with impulse responses compared to the real thing miced up.

[@MaxBeck]

You could very well redo all you blindfold challenges in this "play along" version, I'd watch them :D !

[@augustorodrigues6685]

The pass through the power section of a real amp and a real cabinet makes a big difference

[@nicksburson1]

Slightly related... In the weekend I was in the studio with a band. I used a ua ruby and dream for tracking. Then switched to my amps (ac15hw and a Princeton) for overdubs. In isolation the pedals actually sounded better it was insane. The difference for me was all about the playing experience (amps felt nicer.)

[@I.M.Guitar-Nerd]

Blind all around, I like it!

[@garysalgado9709]

I gig the Iridium using that sound its so good!

[@khalifwailinwalter8719]

I am in the market right now for the Marshall Plexi Tone. Best comparison!!!!

[@Jeremya74]

Shocking how they sound so close to tube amps!..come a long way

[@mikeg3754]

Couldn't focus on the Les Paul, Marshall amp or the Captain's words due to Pete's colorful footwear.🤣🤣🤣

[@TR-uw2sp]

Keep making these blindfold tests they kick ass.

[@mariodriessen9740]

I didn’t know which one was the amp, but the best sound in my opinion came from the DSM & Humboldt Simplifier X. Literally EVERY TIME I hear their stuff, beginning with the first Simplifier, it sounds more natural and just more pleasing to the ears than anything else.

[@markconger8049]

This is an awesome video. Better than the Chapman blindfolds and those are good too. I watched this while eating breakfast and had a blast. Strymon for the win!

[@LuísJoel-s7k]

I own an Iridium and every time I mess around with the controls it doesn't sound right but as soon as I hit one of the presets it comes alive.

[@derekf1111]

This was hard! 2 and 5 were my fav sounding, but maybe because they were so well defined in headphones.. Great video, thank you!

[@smashmash]

Bravo! Impressed you stumped up and did a full on blind fold test - excellent! Who cares if it was a wrong guess, if it sounds good it is good, thats it!

[@Southern_Solventless]

I mean, at the end of the day, blind fold and pick the best. Too many musicians shop with eyes and not ears. I bought an iridium to use for my “wet” channel for a Wet/Dry setup. Had an original (Jan) 1965 Bassman used with an Ox Box for the dry side. One sound check I didn’t realize my bassman side was muted and couldn’t get over how amazing my guitar sounded. I was shocked to see I was only hearing the iridium. I quit taking an amp after that. Also, I love my Big Sky after the iridium. Makes a mono rig sound wet/dry in the mix imo.

[@dtmateo]

You haven’t started the comparison yet but I clicked LIKE already. This is gonna be awesome 😊😊😊

[@myarrington]

This was perfectly done, Lee and team!!!

[@houseofshred3725]

The big shock for me is that there we so many that actually sounded like amps! And one was even digital! Really good stuff. The Friedman is definitely top of my list if I ever find myself needing a direct solution.

[@iPhoneeditor]

I actually got it! Love my Marshall DSL40c and I've always been a fan of Marshal amps. Gotta say though, I really liked the sounds from The Strymon Iridum and the Friedman IR-X. If I was looking for an amp pedal to simulate a Marshall sound, those would definitely be my first picks to look at! Great work guys :)

[@valendis]

Whatever numbr 2 is, I love it!

[@abdulazizrehan]

You guys should also include 2-3 actual amps, as they can sound different to each other too, to make things even more interesting

[@rustyl.6358]

Always fun and well done! Entertaining too. I'm a Marshall guy through and through. I generally just use a Preamp pedal and/or the Deco Saturation to push my Marshall's into that sweet sound, without having to go to 110 db's.

[@Youngster543210]

Ive had everything except the NUX. The Lion stomps the Iridium and edges the IRX imo. Its a little difficult to dial in though.

[@compucorder64]

I liked the Friedman the most, by a good margin. Before I watched this, I had been thinking of getting an SV20, to go alongside my ST20H JTM. But after this, I'm thinking I could save a little money, and a lot of space by getting the Friedman IR-X, and would be great for recording, or live. Can always just use the ST20H JTM or Orange Rocker 30 as the power amp.

[@7692Flash]

Love the Knopfler quote at 10:25

[@justwinclassic]

I’m very happy the simplifier and the Friedman sounded excellent. It really sells me on the Friedman though!

[@jlambox]

I thought the Friedman was the real one 😅 Sounds sooo goood

[@lostinpa-dadenduro7555]

I can’t wait for tomorrow’s release of the Friedman IR-J Jake E Lee model. 😀

[@RyanKorea]

The Simplifier was my favourite. The Lion and Nux both sounded quite horrible to me

[@ngronlund]

Why does the simplifier look the most complicated, haha

[@TechyTimM]

Fun comparison! I found myself rooting for the Friedman. That makes total sense because I tend to reach for that as a Marshall anyway. (Though I didn't have the same experience when playing that pedal myself.) it would have been fair after the reveal to hear each one with their own cab simulation to get each pedal at their best. Some didn't sound quite as close to this specific amp, but if you like the sound of the pedal, it's great all the same.

[@MikelBluni]

Best video ever on that topic. I picked amp 3 (😊), but to be honest all pedals had their charme, it all sounded cool ✌️

[@RobertFisher1969]

In this case, the Simplifier sounded the best to me, and the Friedman was a close second. I had no illusions that I'd be able to tell which was the real amp.

[@ElectroConductress]

Nice shootout!

[@dejct]

I thought 6 was the real amp, and It did sounded gruntier, I liked it. Friendman ftw imo!

[@robdownes5159]

My main takeaway from this is that i like the driven marshall sound less than i thought. I love the just starting to break up/pushed clean, but once it's overdriving its definitely not my favourite.

[@Nicolae8607]

This is to funny ..is killing me😂 Love you guys🤘

[@NotAnotherSatchFan]

Yes tube amps will always sound better (given with right setting)... but Strymon Iridium and Friedman are no slouch and this video proved it great sonically and the feel through the speakers. Here I am was planning to grab Nux Amp Academy... this vid changed my mind

[@youbecha64]

I use an Iridium to run from my pedal board directly to the mixer to capture guitar audio...it sounds better than my tiny Mustang amp.

[@B_Wolfen]

Well, I'm happily continuing to play the Iridium; however, I mainly use the Fender model as pedal platform 🙂

[@yvandewever6518]

Was missing the Victory V4 sheriff. For me the lion 68 still comes the closest to a real vintage plexi.

[@nandoholgado3050]

Loving the vid! It's incredible!! I would have choosen the 6 as the real because of that natural hair and response that both treble and bass frecs has, but only because it's the sound of the Marshalls that i've always loved. I think this kind of test can slowly and easily turn into "i like this more" and you know, maybe if you push more the sv20 or maybe using a 50/100w head, you get more the tone... IDK. At the end, what really matters is that you want gear that makes the noises you want!

[@tanguydelooz2881]

Now do the same with the respective cab sims !! Please :) (and the real amp miced in another room)

[@SomeDudeDan]

That SV20 sounds really good! I need to pick one up, then I don’t have to worry about damaging my old 1959T. 🤘🎩

[@JVMC_ZR1]

The best sounding ones were 6,5, and 2 in that order. Considering 5 and 2 aren't one trick ponys, they both seem tempting.

[@professor_prte]

Pete is a great guitar player, and seems to know what he's talking about... until he's blindfolded! But the playing never gets worse, bravo el maestro !

[@ArvidNielsen]

The differences are minuscule. That’s what we can safely conclude. The feel while playing, the inspiration it sets off is where it’s at. That is also down to each one of us.

[@augustorodrigues6685]

Very good..my Iridium never sounded like this

[@MrUmandMrEr]

I find double stops are usually the giveaway...thought 5 might have been the Friedman, but liked 6 also...didn't spot the Marshall!

[@lockharthorsburgh8601]

For me, the more interesting part was how different they sounded when Pete changed guitars. A clear message of finding the pedals/amp which suit your favourite guitar, rather than choosing gear on reputation . . .

[@CinemaPuree]

haha so funny the psychology of knowing it's an amp makes you want to like it! Great comparison vid thanks! This gave me an idea... as part of Marshall rebooting they should create a new product that's just the power amp section from a plexi or jcm0800, would be awesome to have something like a portable 50w Plexi power section that you could plug your modeler into and out to a cab. Now that modeling and capturing are getting huge there's going to be a lot of demand for power amps and the marshall power section has the cred and rep to be a major player!

[@dkijc]

I can't believe I guessed the strymon. I was choosing between 5 & 6. I got to try the Friedman at my gc... It's a great piece of gear! But one thing I still can't get is the dynamics of a real amp, which AxeFxII seems to be able to do!

[@Mr.Nabil.Belhaj]

This is very odd, I liked the simplifier the best, I was willing to bet my life on it being the real amp !! Thank God I didn't 😅 Very dynamic thou !!

[@TarenLeitzke]

3 and 4 sounded most amp-like from the intro. They seemed to have the most presence, I think. Guessing the order as I go along: 1) NuX (based off of the toy comments, as well) 2) Strymon 3) Thought maybe this was the Simplifier until hearing 4) (which definitely had DSM Humboldt's usual fuzziness in their drives) - so I think 3) is the UAFX 4) Simplifier - I have their Silver Linings pedal and have listened to quite a few of their things and they tend to have a fuzziness in them (note: the broken comments are funny, since I've been going back and forth between the Silver Linings and my Bogner Ecstasy Red (big version) for a couple years and have recently been preferring the Bogner since the distortion is smoother and sounds more "dense" somehow) 5) Thought this was the Friedman IR-X (sounded pretty compressed like the higher-gain Friedmans) until hearing 6) - so 5) is the Plexi 6) Sounds more compressed than 5) with more gain, so thinking this is actually the IR-X, making 5) the Plexi by elimination - sticking with 5) Plexi and 6) IR-X, but after the re-listen with 2, 5, and 6, 5) and 6) sounded really close. Of course channel 1 on the IR-X is based on a Plexi, so if I'm right about 5) and 6) being the Plexi and IR-X at least and if channel 1 IR-X is being used, then Friedman did an incredible job making it sound like a Plexi! Changes from Telecaster: 5) and 6) sounded more different, with 6) sounding a bit darker. Would think IR-X would be a bit brighter, so 5) and 6) could be reversed. Also, I think 2) is the better digital model between the first 3) (assuming they are all digital models as suspected), and I would think the quality of the digital models would be UAFX, Strymon, and lastly NuX - so I think UAFX is 2) and Strymon 3). Final guess order: 1) NuX, 2) UAFX, 3) Strymon, 4) Simplifier, 5) IR-X, 6) Plexi Well, apparently I don't know my Plexis at all! Also, I guess the IR-X and Strymon are pretty similar for some reason - makes me wonder if Strymon was looking at a Friedman when they made their model.

[@BlackTonearm]

Liked 2-4 & 5 before the revealing, nux is the 1st, Iridium 3rd, UAD 4th Friedman 6th, so then Amp head is 2nd and Bluesbreaker 5th.

[@ricardofarinha8922]

I totally agree with Pete on the Lion. The distortion on it sounds cheap digital (very easy to ear), it is undeniable the second worst sounding after the nux. It was fun to see Lee getting uncofortable with that assessment. 😂 which got it is hard to tell an expensive piece of gear doesn't sound that great when compared to other cheaper/similar priced options, particularly coming from a brand that hypes the shit out of their products when they come out. Other then that, Friedman and Simplifier X for the win in my ears! Thefact that Simplifier X even gives the user other type of amp options make it even better.

[@JimijaymesProductions]

A lot of these pedals I think emulate the power sag of a plexi and that's being fed into another power amp, whereas the real amp probably isn't getting that amount of double power amp because it isn't louder than the pedals. I think the strymon and the real amp sounds the most real.

[@JPiattelli]

As soon as he played those first few chords with number 3 I said “wow that sounds good” I knew it was the amp

[@johnpauloaguas8402]

I think that impulse response really makes a difference when using amp modeller pedal. Whether you use a cheap or an expensive amp modeller pedal, decent IR's are good sounding IR's.

[@Alphyddan]

I honestly voted for nr.3 directly. A bit proud! ;)

[@Dug6666666]

Thanks for the purchase validation. I don't think the Stryman would do so well in a Fender comparison though. My favourite is the AC30 sound but I have no idea if it sounds "real". Guess it doesn't matter if you like it.

[@Hulkhoagie1]

Wish you could have included the Pedalpal Pal 800. It's the best JCM800 style pedal I've ever heard or played.

[@MrMoneyHelper]

This was really enjoyable. I agreed that 2, 5 and 6 sounded the best. I did keep in mind that Marshall amps often need a drive pedal to sound the best. When Pete commented that 6 sounded more Marshall than Marshall, it was a good clue that it wasn't the amp. Several of the Friedman amps and pedal videos always showed that they had more gain than a stock Marshall amp. Between 2 and 5, 2 sounded more like a Marshall amp because it had less bass. Number 2 also had a really smooth overdrive, more like an older well used amp. I disagree with Pete that 3 sounded the best with his blindfold off. This is because I really like the smooth tight type of overdrive. I hate fuzz. Which is the opposite. Over all this was a great video, because I intended to by the newer version of the Simplifier X. This just solidified my decision. I bet that if the Pedal Pal were in this mix, it would have been even harder to know which was the amp. They don't sell through stores. So Anderton's had no reason to feature something that they don't sell. If I only wanted a Marshall sound, I would get one of those instead of the DSM Simplifier X.

[@jamesfd94]

It would have been a more fair comparison if they used a Marshall 1987x instead of the SCH20.

[@aliZoso]

Possibly true but to get the sound/tone it would have probably blown Pete's head of.