We Need To Revisit The Helix 5150! (vs 6505)

Thanks for watching this video on the Line 6 Helix Panama amp model. Is this "old" amp model really outdated or does it still hold up? Let's compare it to my real Peavey 6505 1992 Original and find out what the definitive answer is!
Gear used in this video:
Schecter E1 Apocalypse Red Reign
Peavey 6505 1992 Original tube amp
RedSeven Amplification Amp Central reactive load
Line 6 Helix
Line 6 Helix Native
OwnHammer 412 Rect Essentials
Cubase 13 Pro
Steven Slate Drums 5.5
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#line6helix #peavey5150 #comparison

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Is the Helix PV Panama model really outdated? Let me know your thoughts...

[@metelway]

You have great ear and skills to make them sound exactly the same. Hats off to the man and the Helix too

[@Mark_of_the_Bear_Studios]

What this reinforces for me is that as long as you are getting usable tones, that make you want to play more, who gives a rat’s fuzzy behind what model or even technology you’re using? I’ve chased a single tone - one tone - for the better part of 30 years, and I missed out on so much of the joy of just playing. I ended up spending a lot of money, selling a lot of gear, and twiddling instead of playing. I have both an HX Stomp and an old, “outdated” POD X3, as well as Marshall and Orange amps, and I’ve finally settled on the fact that the joy for me is in finding things that sound good together, and make me want to play enough to completely lose track of time. Use what you have, enjoy it, and don’t let anyone take that joy away, and for the love of God don’t pee on someone else’s joy.

[@TeslaChad]

If any of you Helix users are looking for a 5150 type tone with a bit more aggression and tight response, the Revv Gen Purple is the way to go. My main amp model in the Helix has always been the 5150 but I switched over and I’m loving it. It’s now my go to amp model. Great video btw!

[@SkylerMills]

Sweet going to try that

[@crsantin]

Try the Revv Gen Red for something closer to the modern 5150III. They are both great Helix amps.

[@mgnanheim2282]

I also switched to the Revv. For me it is easier to get the sound i want with the Revv.

[@UseTheSupeRsonic]

Regardless of accuracy, the Revv purple is awesome on the Helix. I’m not much of a 5150 guy, but a good model is a good model! I’m always using the Mark IV, Uber, Recto and Fatality. Sometimes I crank up the gain on the SLO crunch

[@kmw5100]

yup, the Revv purple model has been the one i've leaned towards for my lower tuned stuff. But the Panama still holds up really well and is actually my favorite if i'm in Drop B or above.

[@MR-wp5dz]

Well yes, the difference is very, very subtle, but what really shines is just how many cool riffs you've churned out over the years, my guy. Several albums worth, if i'm not mistaken. Awesome creativity!

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks so much!

[@rangerdoc1029]

Absolutely. I totally dig John's Style

[@noodlegts]

I'm listening to the A / B test on my normal speaker setup (not studio monitors or anything), and when I really pay attention, I can definitely tell there's a *small* shift in sound - but I can't tell which is which at all, and they both sound great - Edit - Line 6 Helix owner here :)

[@TonyLaMarca2manygadgets]

I couldn’t even tell a difference when you switched from one to the other. I’m impressed by how good it sounded. Great video as always Jon!

[@ktfoat]

My notes were: A sounded more polished/refined, some stiffness in the mids. Sits better in the mix 🤩 B sounded more raw, and more airy in the mids, softer highs. But does that 0.1% of difference matter? No it does not matter AT ALL. Greate content as usual! Appreciate the comparison and thoroughly enjoyed the vid.

[@gabrielavanzi9652]

I'm a Helix user and heard differences between A and B, but nothing that would allow me to distinguish which is the modeler and which is the real amp. This video is great because it confirms my experience using Helix - by dialing by ear, you can achieve tones as good as real amps and captures. I see comments online all the time saying that captures (or modelers like those two) are more organic, light-years ahead, and so on, but sonically, this seems not to make sense, even with the 'outdated' models in Helix, especially the 5150 and the Rectifier.

[@Powermad-bu4em]

I use a Boss GT1000 and I've been mixing it with my actual 6505+ panned hard left and right. Nobody, I mean NOBODY, knows what is what in a mix. People have gotten seriously ridiculous about all of this. Hell, I've almost exclusively been using the Fluff plugin lately and it sounds kick ass.

[@bangdude5630]

Not everyone can dial helix by ear. Helix r very capable dialed to almost any amp model

[@nik_elektrik]

Love how this utterly crushes the odd GAS reflex or subconsciously preferring more recent technology just because it’s newer.

[@michael1]

Maybe it's visual? When I see the A and B with a picture of the helix interface the picture with the amp sounds better. It's like servicing your wife and you close your eyes and think of Donald Trump vs Margot Robbie. Tell me you don't experience and feel a real difference (unless your wife looks like Donald Trump) - yet the plugin you're interfacing with is exactly the same in both cases. Oops, your wife doesn't look very happy now though.If she's asking why you called her Donald or Margot tell her it was about amp modelling. And yet some people like the Helix - well when Donald Trump did the experiment he preferred the one where he was imagining himself too. But you can't say the difference isn't real because your perception is real. If you feel cold then you do - you might say "It's not cold, it's 23 degrees" and point at a thermometer as though that has some objective measure of reality because your feelings and perceptions are still going to be real to you - you don't look at the temperature when you're cold and suddenly feel warmer do you?

[@rangerdoc1029]

The latest update absolutely nailed the jcm 800

[@timolebeck6405]

That’s why I still use Helix Native for all my guitar tones. That Helix platform is just great and sounds so good!

[@averagemike7554]

Wow I was wrong haha. Going through the helix models, I feel like the stock Panama amp/cab is one of the better sounding amps in the helix family, at least with little to no tweaking.

[@KeithShelley1]

I think B is the real Peavey. Something about the high strings sounded slightly smoother. But, honestly, I think they sound identical and I'm stoked to revisit the Panama myself!

[@DarkSkarStudio]

My favorite In the mix was A, and I assumed it was the helix (cause I know you are quite good making ampsims sound really good). Then hearing the isolated versions I like how open the real one sounds, like it´s more alive. This makes my hearing the mix versions again, and in the mix I still prefer the helix version, it seens as it cuts better in the mix, with more presence. But yeah, this is hearing with my better headphones, hearing this in another contest would be almost indistinguishable. Great work!

[@400_billion_suns]

I wish you’d have given us the isolated tracks before the reveal. It’s fairly obvious in them-the real amp has more high frequency “openness” and also noticeably different bass thump transients. These are traits that are fairly consistent across Helix models and are indeed modeling shortcomings IMO. The high frequency stuff especially seems like it’s hard for modelers to nail, and might be related to the anti aliasing techniques they have to use for digital distortion. That said, they are very close overall and those differences disappear in a mix. FWIW, I own a Helix Floor and a Fractal FM9. The Fractal is a bit better in this regard.

[@carlwhittle2877]

Great video as always! I thought tone B was tighter and let the bass guitar through the mix clearer, so preferred it personally, and assumed that was the real amp on this occasion. That said, its so close, its another great example of how modellers can achieve an incredible tone all the same. Perhaps some post EQ could have made them similar, but prefer that wasn't applied for a straight comparison like this. Great job!

[@picksalot1]

I could definitely hear there was almost no difference between the two. 😁 They were crazy close, and my initial impression of the first clip was that must be a real Amp. The only difference I could discern was slightly more clarity in the top end of the "real" Amp. That could possibly be compensated for in the Helix by turning up the Presence Parameter. I use an HX Stomp. That awesome sounding comparison is testament to how good the Helix Modelers can sound, particularly in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing. Thanks 👍

[@SkylerMills]

Dude i totally agree with you!! the real amp transients jump out more for sure. For my test i wrote A as the Model and B as the Amp... i wrote that i liked A more in the mix but B more alone. listening on Focal MG pros. Thanks for the vid

[@holgerreinke]

Love the comparison! Great job, as always! I am glad to have one of the best molders out there - even though I often seem to enjoy playing through a “real“ tube amp more. But the molders sure have their place.

[@GeeForceQ17]

Excellent video, killer riffs, and you've made me appreciate my Helix even more than I already do! I could not tell which was real or Helix. Also I never cared for the Panama model but, I'm sure gonna give it another try!

[@Lundawg180]

I thought it was the other way around. They sounded the same. The real amp sounded a bit thinner in the EQ and had a wider stereo separation, and as you said, the Helix was slightly more compressed, but none of this was noticeable in a band mix.

[@brianloughlin2340]

Idk how people are saying it’s a small difference. It stuck out to me straight away: sims always have softer top end and upper mids than the real amp. There’s an “oomph” that the real amp has to it that the Helix is missing, too. I think a lot of sims can’t quite get the OG 5150 right, but as a former Helix owner and current 6505 1992 and Quad Cortex owner, there are definitely sims that get closer to it than the Helix.

[@catch33000]

Line 6 HX stuff is so good. Even the plugin is great and doesn’t need hardware. Any devs/software eng out there want to mod the firmware to load NAM captures??? Imagine an HX stomp with 2 NAM captures in stereo with a mimiq wow LOL

[@mil182]

I guessed correctly but I didn’t think it was because one sounded better or worse, I just went based off of my experience with my 6505+ and the PV Panama model… the 92 original sounded like it had more low end but the tone overall was very close and both sounded good. Great playing and tones! I love your channel, please keep it up!

[@GearStuffandThings]

You manage to get some spectacular tones with these comparisons.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks!

[@DownDeepFishing]

The 6505 is an awesome high gain amp for the working man. That's why I own one. Doesn't break the bank. And you get killer tone. 👍

[@AnimalJohn85]

Main difference for me was B was a little bit more in your face but they both sound stellar. After playing through a helix last month i really want to get me mitts on one. Awesome vid sir as ever *** really wouldn't have guessed the amp was B, still a bloody good sound on both.

[@guitarsbunch347]

The giveaway is the low end in the guitars. Amp sims always seem to have less low end than my real amps. Even when I crank the bass and reso knobs. Hard to tell in a mix because the low end of the guitars mixes with the bass guitar, but once you solo them, you can tell instantly.

[@nunoximenes]

The B amp is the 6505 1992 because there is an eq diference not much but is there. All along is minimal and you´re absolute right , what it matters is: if the amp sounds good use it and have fun . Thanks.

[@kmw5100]

I struggled to get this model to sound right for me for a while, but basically to do so I had to throw out everything I knew about how I would EQ the real amp. At least with my setup, I have to turn the treble and presence down a bit lower than I otherwise would to get it in that ball park, and I have to run the drive a little lower on the slider too.

[@dannyd.8860]

The audible differences to my ears were just variations in EQ response. I preferred amp A because it was slightly darker. To be honest, if you didn't preface this shootout between a modeler vs a tube amp, I wouldn't have known. Well done!

[@LonelyRocker]

Well if this video doesn’t put the argument to rest I don’t know what will. Differences are negligible. Full stop!

[@stiman1]

Awesome video! I'm a Helix user (Native & HX Stomp) as well as a 5150 owner, so this was right up my alley. Curious, I'd love for you to do a comparison of the 5153 and 6505 with the 5150 Iconic. I absolutely love the Iconic. I think James Brown (the designer of the Iconic and the original 5150) really nailed the Iconic. Would love your take on it.

[@Powermad-bu4em]

My Iconic is my main amp with my band. It took me a bit to tweak it but now I've got it to the point that I get nothing but compliments on how it sounds. I love that amp.

[@TechyTimM]

Nice comparison. That's why I still use the Helix, even with other modelers at my fingertips. I also appreciate the continual updates from Line 6, like the new amp models and effects - that's why it's still relevant and current. I did think that the B samples had a touch more 3-dimensionality to them, perhaps that's the transients as you pointed out. But they're amazingly close, and in a real world gigging situation, I doubt anyone could tell a difference, especially considering the acoustics of most of the places I play. Great video!

[@paulabernethy8396]

I guessed the amp over the modeller correctly. To my ears, the amps high end range had a more fuller rounder tone compared to the Helix having a slightly harsher, biting tone. Both sounded great and I really had to listen carefully to pick the differences. As you said the differences were very subtle and in a full recorded mix it is hard to pick them apart. Another great video!!!

[@rangerdoc1029]

Most important distinction is do you feel a difference when you're playing the two? I know is when I'm playing real amps it feels effortless and easy I feel like I'm playing the guitar. When I played digital I feel like I'm having to wrestle the music out of the instrument. I feel like I'm playing the amp instead of the guitar. I think it has to do with Dynamics. I really like to play The Sweet Spot between cleaning Overdrive, using pic attack. Real amps are extremely responsive to picking Dynamics. Or I think with digital modelers I end up setting them cleaner and then having to really dig in to overdrive them. I think they're just not quite as touch sensitive yet

[@crsantin]

Helix is terrific. I use mine way more often than my tube amps these days.

[@clearplasticity]

Have you ever done a vid comparing IRs? It might be a massive topic, comparing brands/mics/positions, but there's tons to be learned there.

[@ekincn]

I heard A has a little bit tighter low end than B, but it's crazy close! I'm a HX Stomp XL user and I'm really love it's amp models. Recently a friend of mine and I compared an analog preamp pedal with my HX because he was claiming processors are not sounding natural and he wanted to try it, at the end he was very surprized about it's performance!

[@DownDeepFishing]

I'm impressed how close they were. I did guess correctly but it took some real concentration to hear the subtle differences. 👍

[@AVeelcheck]

Both recordings are super close to each other in the mix and differences are so minute (two same amps often may differs way more because of component tolerances etc.) A: Line6 Helix B: Real Amp - more dynamic, more low-mid punch and clarity, asymmetric upper harmonics. EDIT: Yeah, I'm glad I guessed it but I can be biased becase of owning a Helix 😅

[@CorrosiveMatter]

In a mix I could not hear anything on monitors or headphones, isolated I think I can tell but if I just listen and don't see the queues I don't hear a difference even isolated.

[@adnanpek3825]

I thought A was real and B was model amp. It is impossible for me to distinguish in the mix.Thanks for content

[@davidfite1978]

I think a good test would be to A/B these in a demo song, but don't tell us when you switch from A to B, and see if anyone can tell when the signal is switched. When I listen with my eyes closed it just sounds like a continuous song. Sounds great to me

[@Aaron-vf5xm]

Love my helix with ownhammer IR’s. All I’ll ever need

[@andysoul]

They sound quite similar. And Im sure that what’s really important for guitar tone perception is rhythm section (bass&drums) and cab IR. So same performance, same bass tone, same drum track, same IR => same guitar tone

[@carloscancino649]

These tones are exceptional, but man the bass tone is really good, it adds a lot of power to the mix. The 6505 is a little brighter, however, I like them both, I couldn't choose just one. When I play a tube amp, I feel the guitar reacts better to my fingers. It all depends on taste. Good job!

[@ianlahaye9476]

Good tone, is good tone! Ill always choose tubes if i can, but at the end of the day if the tone is inspiring, thats what matters!

[@misterringer]

I use helix native and kind of thought it was outdated. I always had trouble getting the low end to play nice. As usual, you've proved me wrong. I couldn't hear a difference.

[@addictivetackleco]

B or the real amp has more low end. Which modelers have had issues getting the low end response but they are getting better and better every year. Great comparison👍

[@IvanMancic-Mancha]

I did guess it right, but mainly due to slight "flatness" of Helix that is a result of baked in impendence curve. Sims that have loadable curves (STL AmpHub, Fractal) have solved this. If Line6 added that in a future update, Helix would be good for many more years as-is.

[@louisburley1597]

The riff is killer and I don’t care which is which. They both sound great.

[@harmonicseries6582]

Yeah I think you can make the amp sound like the helix using loadbox, IRs etc. Takes effort but well done 👍

[@Orion28296]

I can confirm the fact of the squirrels. I used to be one trapped in a Helix but took a Badonk to the knee 😂

[@flips220]

I think these days, for recording purposes, it's practically the same and comes down to the skill of the person producing the audio. There's still a difference in person when you're playing in the room with a traditional amp/cab vs. a modeller running through studio monitors, but if we're just talking about recording and tracking, the gap has essentially been closed. I think it's amazing where we're at these days with this stuff. I grew up with a Digitech RP200, trying to make music in Goldwave. Everything was terrible. Now we've got high quality amp modelling, realistic plugins for everything at your fingertips, and DAWs that are super powerful and user friendly.

[@michaelhickson4317]

Couldn’t tell much of a difference in mix for most segments this was eye opening 👁️

[@lylaznboi01]

What I feel why people think that the Helix is outdated is because they don't know how to EQ their tone. Both the Helix and real amp sounds great and wouldn't mind either or. If people want it to sound as great as the real amp, learn how to push or pull back the EQ on the amp itself. Having the knobs at noon on the real amp vs amp sim will be different.

[@nobodyimportant76467]

This is a great demo that shows that the Helix is a fantastic tool in the right hands

[@scentia_est]

Couldn't hear a difference on the earphones. Quite impressive.

[@nikolasnavarro4161]

I think B is the real amp and A is the Helix. I'm saying that because I feel like the top end of B is a little more "open", which is something I usually hear in tube amps. Didn't see the reveal yet. Let's see how I did!

[@nikolasnavarro4161]

Turns out I was right 😁

[@RobCowie]

Anyone complaining about how the Helix tones sound are just doing so for the sake of complaining. Nobody cares if you don't like the Helix....seriously, nobody cares. I own a bunch of tube and SS amps, but I use Helix and Helix Native more than any of them...again, who cares.

[@vitnemec8365]

I had it right, the difference was much more obvious in isolated track comparison. The model is okay, even though it takes a lot of counter-intuitive tweaking to get that sexy tone I love from all the Gorguts and Ulcerate records. I think Line 6 should add a 6505+ model (both channels) that would have default settings closer to how the amp is commonly used. I appreciate the effort with Vitriol, but it doesn’t scratch the 6505 scratch for me, sounds way too saturated and compressed.

[@jeremytee2919]

The mix was sooo close, Out of the mix, Blooming palm mutes had a bunch of apparent lively resonance on the real amp, That the helix did not, I wouldn’t even say more resonance, but the amps resonance had a slight oscillation that caused it to stand out to the ear. Other differences too, But that one stood out to me and is interesting.

[@bigpiper2103]

It's hard for me to speak in terms of frequencies, as I have crappy speakers, but A sounds more "punchy" and 3D, while B sounds a bit more "polished", a bit more "hollow" - perhaps has more upper mids, while A has more low-mid goodness? They are close, but I prefer A, whatever that is (and I suspect that is the amp). Excited to find out!

[@bigpiper2103]

OMG, I was wrong, and that is the best news ever, as I actually have HX stomp!!! :D YASSS!

[@ChristianMoses]

It sounds like there's a tiny bit more very high end on A, but I wouldn't be willing to bet which was which. Sounded very, very similar. You might have the same difference between two physical amps.

[@sisyphushappyxvx]

(Commenting before the reveal) I listened both in headphones and on my studio monitors and actually laughed when it switched from A to B because I heard absolutely no difference. Upon further listening, I heard maybe a deeper, woofier low end in B. But it's pretty damn subtle.

[@leavingsoulsBO]

Great video as usual and thanks for sharing the settings. I admit a certain bitterness towards this model, being like most early models a direct port of the Pod HD era, since I had to fork out some money for it when I used an HD500X and it worked terribly with the then cab engine. Still, my way of judging an amp model of something I've actually played in real life, is to start by how I would set the real thing and then adjust to taste, if it requires more (and here it does) move along to something else. In this case I see some counterintuitive aspects for the amp as lowering the presence and bass and boosting highs, but does it mean they should update it? Not really since you can get that sound with the Archetype model or the more recent Vitriol. Same can be said with the original Rectifier model (even if it was more true to life), but with the Revv doing something similar the is no need for an update. What was missing was a proper high gain marshall sound and they finally took care of that too. So yeah, the Panama is fine as it is for whoever figured it out and the Helix offers plenty of alternatives to whoever was missing the 5150 sound. Stll I'd be quite happy to hear their take on an EVH 5150 III in a future update

[@MrVyrtuoso]

Nice. B had the raw high mids tone that I'd have tweaked out from it to get the polished tone I wanted, which was already in A.

[@TmanUtube]

I toured with an international know 70s hard rock band packing out stadiums back in the early 2000s & was shocked they'd moved over to an early POD rack system, because they were more consistent & more reliable. Out FOH you couldn't tell the difference, & I'm sure the cork sniffing tone snobs wouldn't be able to either.

[@amirtak9886]

They sound close enough that it doesn't matter which one I pick. I can have 10 6505 amps side by side and even then there would be very slight sonic differences between them.

[@mauritsnienhuis]

Man, your riffs are way too good for 'just' these reviews. Do you have any plans turning these into entire tracks?

[@gimmickmusic8827]

Honestly, the differences in these really sound like they could just be the manufacturing variance between two mass production units. If anyone says that the Helix sounds bad, they are the problem. Not the Helix.

[@michaelmcdonald9975]

Small differences. For me the amp had a fuller low end, was overall much tighter, and had better and the more iconic high transients of a Peavey 5150. All things you would expect out of a tube amp compared to a modeler. The thing I was surprised about is that usually the fizzy high end is a dead giveaway for modelers but the Panama didn't seam to have that. I also would have expected the modeler to be tighter given the 5150 is a notoriously "flubby" amp as it is, but the overall tone of the Panama seamed more loose. Especially in the lower mids. Just a couple opinions. Nice comparison.

[@jonsierra723]

I got right but by God did it take a bit. I used to own one of those peavy 6505 + so can kind of tell but it helix sounded fantastic

[@Superstacco]

Blind comparison: A sounds fuller, but B sounds pretty good as well!

[@Batsinthebelltower]

Love your channel man always top content ! Would like to see more actual mic on cab sounds from your amps , the amp into impulse doesnt sound just as good i think , like if you compare the helix to a 6505 with sm57 and mic pre you will hear more of a difference than both into IRs !

[@MrJHate]

Holy shit I had it backwards. I felt like A was a little more dynamic, like it was biased a little colder. It was close but I just thought B sounded squishier, so I figured it was the fake one. I'm shocked!

[@continuum288]

I feel at this stage it's kind of a frivolous persuit to constantly be searching essentially for the best tone. Whether it be of this amp or another. Seeing as how everyone is basically getting great amp modeling tones so the market is saturated(a matter of who's product will you consume). To me it's a dead issue. I know you're doing a comparison but i feel this also stems from the aformentioned. Some of the frequency responses are so minute that they are simply imperceptable to the human ear. Now if that translates to the overall experience I think it has it's implications. I bought the helix LT a while back and I feel I no longer need to continue the search for tone. I have been a line 6 user since the beginning of their jouney with amp modeling. So i may be a bit bias about them but i would never say they are the "best". The "best" for me and what i can do with their products. I'm still interested in hearing all the tones from all the modelers and having fun while doing it.. I dig your vids bud so I thank you.. Great stuff here and I always dig the positive attitude with your approach!

[@scottyknows]

I thought B was the amp because I was hearing the top end sound more "hifi", but not by much. Listened on Kali LP 8s.

[@kagunmarx5914]

"A" has more of a digital sounding upper midrange, but it can be tammed in the box. Therefore I'm guessing "B" is the real amp.

[@robertbrown1778]

Well executed comparison here. And I couldn't tell much difference, but I'm very old and these 'modern' high gain tones all sound like a compressed fuzz box to me. I'd be more interested in modeller/amp comparisons where there's actually some note information present rather than 98% fizzzzuzzzzizzzzuzz. 🤭That's where the differences show up it seems to me.

[@hihowareyouitsme]

B sounded a little deeper and chunkier to me and I liked it more in the blind test. Both sound killer and would work perfectly in a mix.

[@joshuaray2657]

Yup! Damn near identical lol The IR is where the money is 😊

[@RATTL3R186]

Oopps I preferred A Lol. Seemed to have lower mid crunch/speaker cone distortion .

[@KingdomScorned]

I can hardly tell any difference in the mix. B sounded slightly more dynamic in the upper mids, but they were so close, it's splitting hairs. I'd say the Amphub 6505 model 'feels' more like the real thing to play through but i'm not sure how similar they are to each other.

[@yikelu]

I guessed B as real amp. So I guess that was correct. B was a bit sloppier, slightly more low end. Honestly would not have been surprised either way though. Very close. I use the Helix Panama and never had any complaints. Never knew it was one of the older models. I used it for an online collab cover of "Panama" when Eddie passed. I also use it live for heavier material.

[@gerrydaly5409]

Perfect tone match- great work

[@santbits]

Both sound pretty good! B has a little bit more low-mids maybe? No idea which is which

[@gigivezz]

Very nice! Can you compare the new mark v model of the axe fx with your Mesa mark v?

[@Soliaris72]

Is very similar. Cool A - Helix B- Real amp A real amp sounds more bright. It has claws in the high mids and treble that grip the mix well.

[@user-sb3wh3dd4v]

OK, I stopped the video at 5 minutes to guess. They sound remarkably similar, but because both tracks have been run through similar IRs, it's hard to tell. I can only detect a slight extra boost and evenness in the low end range, which leads me to guess that B is the real tube amp.

[@TheMrcalamity]

Would be awsome if you could compare 6505 against the pv-505 in quad cortex 😊

[@Metall1ac]

Pausing in the middle of the video: my guess is A is Helix, B is the real amp. I feel like in example B-the guitars jump just a bit more forward out of the speakers. Helix usually needs some added saturation during the mixing stage to get the same effect.

[@gabrielstevens41]

I can't remember his name but there's a youtuber that sticks the kinky boost in all of his presets between the amp block and cab, gain at zero and boost on. I started doing it and it does seem to make the amps jump a little more

[@Metall1ac]

@@gabrielstevens41 I've tried similar things with the Regal Bass DI model, but it seems to scoop out the tone a bit too much. Now I mainly just stick to a Low/High shelf block to give the low lows (around 100Hz) and the high highs (Anywhere from 5-8kHz) a good amount of boost before the cab/IR block filters. What would really solve this would be Line6 making some more mic preamp models, like a Neve and an API that you could drive a bit to get additional heft to the tone after the cab block. Sadly they haven't added to the one preamp that they had during release.

[@yannlavigne3113]

Very close. I thought that B was Helix ahah! Good job as usual!

[@JD-vj4go]

I could hear a slight difference but I couldn't tell which was which.

[@jyothishmani]

Plot twist: The real amp had squirrels in it.

[@Namelessforever_]

Really like the main riff Jon. Super catchy brother. Haha oh, and as much as it pains me to say this I guessed wrong!

[@thomasmatlosz5817]

What were you running the output of the Helix through? I only see an amp model block in the signal train. There's no cab or IR being used. What's important to me is how close a Helix amp/cab or amp/IR model through a monitor or PA sounds compared to the real amp through its cabinet. I'm not sure you're comparing apples to apples.

[@cshortlife9179]

I got it wrong, I thought A was the real Amp and had slightly more dynamics. I do not use Amp modelling, but I do own lots of real Amps and Preamps. So the result is very much against my bias.

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Thanks for being honest!

[@cesarharo5004]

Physical amp in front of me makes me feel BADASS Looooooove using helix native though

[@johnyang799]

A= Helix B=6505 Helix is more direct and flat. 6505 is more dynamic and expressive.