Which Amp Modeler Does the Best JCM 800?

[@LonelyRocker]

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[@newstuff1107]

Message to you; you are such a great communicator! I could imagine you to be a host on BBC or any national tv channel. You are a natural communicator/ youtuber. Keep growing, great content.

[@LonelyRocker]

Thank you SO SO much!! So kind of you to say...greatly appreciated!!!

[@brandonbussell5544]

This blew my mind. I felt like they were innately different at first... changing the cabinets was amazing.

[@LonelyRocker]

Surprising huh? I had a different plan for this video but when I discovered that it made the whole video!

[@Brentoramaford]

Great comparison video! Thanks for sharing. I’ve had an HX Stomp XL for a year now and love it. I’ve got the $ saved and have been eyeballing the FM9… you’re making me second guess 😂 Maybe I’ll save a few bucks and get the Helix floor.

[@jaxplanner7282]

I agree, the differences are very subtle, it all comes down to preference and budget

[@LonelyRocker]

Exactly. The playing field has officially be leveled 😝

[@SonicDriveStudio]

Great video! I hope you do more videos like this!

[@LonelyRocker]

Thanks man!

[@hartlee1160]

Yes please I cant help but watch content like this

[@LonelyRocker]

More to come! :)

[@paladinyyz6868]

Awesome video. You provided an approach that is a great guide for explaining the difference , understanding the difference between what you "hear" and what is the source of that tone. You rightly point out that it can be a brighter module that needs tweaking or just a switch in cab profile to get it closer to George Lynch territory. Many have tried to reverse the flow of these virtual profilers straight into the trash can. You did a good job

[@LonelyRocker]

Thank you so much! Means a lot. Glad the message got through. I’d consider doing more of these.

[@WillyhoweGuitar]

Great video!! The biggest difference I've always found is feel.. I've owned Helix/Hx stomp , ToneX , FM3 and Axe fx 2. Even Kemper.. I've literally had them all... They do all sound very similar , And in a mix you just cant pick them apart. Helix just doesn't deal with distortion very well it's very digital sounding and feeling almost compressed to the others. And you really gotta work hard to get a good tone. I often found myself using amps and overdrives that i wouldn't normally use to achieve a tone I liked, Because some of the models just aren't as close to the real thing and other units. Found myself boosting a Stupor OD and dialling back amp gain a little over using a traditional 808 or a Horizon drive because the feel just wasn’t there in the Chugs. I even purchased a Horizon drive and run it into the FX loop of the helix and it sounded so much better than the model inside the Helix so there’s definitely room for improvement from L6. The Kempers Horizon drive was spot on to the real thing and actually forced my sale of the pedal and shortly after the sale of the Helix.. All that being said the Helix is a great unit easy workflow especially for entry level musicians! You cant fault them however they have risen in price quite alot recently here in the UK.. Basically used Fractal/Kemper/QC money i wouldn't be buying one of those new that's for sure. The ToneX wow that thing blew me away to start with, So open and warm feeling and very close captures to the real thing. Only downside no effects and the gain staging/editor can take a bit of getting used to.. But i'd have one of those over the Helix all day. The Fractal is just the winner in every aspect. I've done numerous comparisons A/B testing with other units. But for me the ToneX was the closest feeling/Sounding to The Axe Fx for me %100. if you're on a budget ToneX is just simply amazing. I literally couldn't pick those apart it was just the fact it didn't have the onboard effects like the Fractal does. But it's soo cheap! Worth every penny.

[@LonelyRocker]

Thanks!! And thanks for your input. I find benefits with all 3 platforms for different reasons. And I mainly still record real amps. But all 3 have found a place in my studio and each has a specific job so that's great....

[@WillyhoweGuitar]

@@LonelyRocker %100! They’re definitely all excellent tools! We’re both lucky to of owned all of these units and got to try them out! You definitely have to of had all 3 and tried which unit works best for you because they all do have their own unique features and workflow. If I could have the simplicity of the Helix, Combined with the possibility of the Fractal and the Capturing of the ToneX. That would be the clear winner to me… It really is just what currently works best for you

[@eddiejr540]

Dan…I can’t add anything…you nailed it 👍

[@LonelyRocker]

Awesome!!! Glad you think so. Cheers!

[@olequijote1]

Wow. Great comparison. I would have said that I didn't like the Fractal on the first pass, but, once ran through the same IR, it sounded very similar to the other two.

[@LonelyRocker]

Thanks! Goes to show how important the cab is!

[@deans.4705]

from an amp only perspective, as in, you are just using an amp and a cab, they are all pretty much on par. I have had Tonex, QC, Kemper, Fractal and Helix. I found the Helix struggled the most with complicated signal chains. Adding modulation or multiple modulation effects really altered the signal and artifact issues were more present than with other platforms. In the end I sold the Helix for that reason. Bang for the buck, Tonex holds its own.

[@LonelyRocker]

I agree with you about Tonex. Best quality to dollar system on the market.

[@cscoioscscoios2768]

I agree with your assessment. Once the cabs were removed, the differences were subtle, in a mix couldn't really tell.

[@LonelyRocker]

Amazing how close they were without any tweaking at all...that's what really got me....

[@James-cn9no]

Tonex and Helix sounded good. in the first example I preferred warmer tone of the Fractal (if more muffled than the other two). When you ran them all through the same cabinet the Fractal evened out compared to the others. The Helix is a little digital sounding to my ear. In the end, you are correct. It doesn't really matter that much. Like guitars it's the player more than the guitar.

[@LonelyRocker]

I definitely agree with that last statement. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@nresnik]

20 € “Joyo British“ pedal - (Sans Amp clone). Works like magic in the studio.

[@LonelyRocker]

Great budget options out there too. I have. A few here. Maybe a future shootout.

[@MiguelSantos-qm9oz]

As someone who has only ever played through tube amps in both live and recording situations, I’d be curious to find out how these different models “feel” in real time when you play through them. It is a strange phenomenon, but different amps/devices do make your guitar feel differently.

[@LonelyRocker]

Oh man that’s a can of worms and something I have discussed ad nauseam. It all depends on how you play them. There’s no comparison to plugging a real amp into a cab and sitting in front of it. But how about if you record amps direct or if your cabs are in a booth and you’re monitoring on studio monitors. It’s an endless discussion. Good modelers today sound great. And the final recorded tone is discernible from the real thing. What’s different is the experience and that’s so hard to convey in a KZbin video. But I try! 😎🤘🏽🎸

[@MiguelSantos-qm9oz]

@@LonelyRocker thank you. At home, I record a real Mesa Mark V through a reactive load box into Wall of Sound in my DAW. While it doesn’t feel like an amp in the room, the touch response and dynamics are still there. If using a good modeler offers the same experience, it could be an excellent fly rig alternative, especially if a silent stage is required. Thanks again for your great content.

[@LonelyRocker]

My absolute pleasure. My best advice is to try anything you are considering. I have a fractal fm9, Helix and Quad Cortex and they all offer great features. But you need to try them. Except fractal is only available direct. Good luck!

[@TwelveSticks]

Nobody should be surprised that the cabinet/mic or IR are so important. If you have e.g. a Helix and you just switch through the available mics on any given amp/cab combination, the differences in sound can be absolutely massive.

[@LonelyRocker]

Oh agreed...the exercise though was to reinforce that concept by switching out the modeler and using the same cab to show how much f a factor the cab is...I think that point was made... :)

[@masterofreality230]

I prefer tweaking those to eq, just sounds better to me.

[@EDWINPIERCE168]

IR definitely plays a huge part in digital. Similarly, Speakers play a huge part in physical systems. If I’m not mistaken the axe fx holds longer or higher resolution IRs. It’s more expensive of course, and that may or may not be a factor here, but it’s maybe worth noting that tonex has basically one product. Neural only makes garbage so although they make plugins it’s still all garbage. Fractal has a wider product line. By price point this is pretty fair comparison, but I’m not sure otherwise. I do notice that the YT people tend to say, it’s only the studio that matters so plugins rule. But plug ins feel and sound weird, the feel is often completely overlooked, and what we get out of the box is no higher quality than the old digitech RP8 lol 🤣 Sure with lots and lots of tweaking and adaptive eq and mastering plugins, etc and they might be identical in a full band mix for high gain, but is that really a time and cost effective alternative? This seems to overlook that the vast majority of a guitarists time is sitting and listening to an amplifier, studio is a small percentage, and idk who spends their searching for and listening to demos. So, it’s tone and feel. But I would add too that it’s not always a full band mix, moreover, it seems to be much more apparent for clean guitar than it does for high gain sounds. I love fractal. I think tone x is excellent. I have a strymon iridium that I used for an entire LP, but I could buy a little amp with the money I’ve spent on sub par overpriced garbage based on trying to consider the current opinions on it.😊

[@LonelyRocker]

There are many considerations but I think this simple test showed many overthink this. I might try this again with different amps to see if the results are similar.

[@j.j.lavishly827]

Interesting. Thank you!

[@LonelyRocker]

My pleasure!

[@neutron_audio]

Great vid dude!

[@LonelyRocker]

Thanks so much!

[@prometherion3089]

What are you running the modelers into? I know that when I run my Fractal thru my KRKs the sound is completely different than when I run through my Cab or my FRFRs.

[@LonelyRocker]

I only record in my studio so I monitor everything on my Yamaha HS7 studio monitors.

[@prometherion3089]

@@LonelyRocker Got ya!! So everything we hear on your channel is coming through your HS7s?

[@LonelyRocker]

@prometherion3089 everything I hear. Everything you hear is coming through your speakers 🤣🤣🤣

[@Proganaut1989]

So this is an Owen Hammer ad. Also feel is very important that includes note seperation...volume input ...how it sounds lowering your volume and picking the notes soft or hard. Articulation and speed response of the attack of the notes. Engineers always pick something that "fits" in a mix...guitar players always pick something that lets them play easier.

[@LonelyRocker]

First. This was not an ad. Ownhammmer didn't pay me or ask to be in this video. I actually use them all of the time and included them simply because of that. As for the feel, I've said the same thing many times on the channel. I use tube amps everyday and the difference is the experience for the player. The purpose of this video was simply to compare amp models..nothing to do with real amps in this one...

[@Candyman_Young]

They can all reach the same thing. I've been in the Fractal world for a few years now though, and to me it's my go-to because I only play within my "studio" and can tinker with all the settings.

[@LonelyRocker]

I think that's the point. It's all about comfort now. That's your gear and you know it well. And you can enjoy it without a FOMO complex thinking there is something way better out there...because there isn't :).

[@Candyman_Young]

@@LonelyRocker Great points!

[@LysanderLH]

i’m very confused. How can the cabinet the sound finally comes out of be negated? It’s all being mixed in a unit as being something specific and then whatever the unit is connected to also affects the output sound, so how is it the original sound. As I say, confused.

[@LonelyRocker]

I’m admittedly a little confused by your question.

[@Burkhimself]

Did they all feel the same ? Fractal seemed a little darker to me….

[@ericclark9770]

I have the FM9 Turbo, and have nothing but positive things to say about them.

[@LonelyRocker]

Great box!!!

[@usaflagraybans]

I’m a helix fan because that was what was in my budget when I made the switch and I now know that system intimately. None of them are inherently better than another. I just picked the one I like. The exception is the Fender. I’ve not been impressed.

[@LonelyRocker]

Thanks for your thoughts. The jury is still out on the Fender TMP but it seems to be getting better slowly...

[@usaflagraybans]

@@LonelyRocker it does, but I wonder if it’ll be a situation like the quad cortex, too little too late. I work for a major dealer for all of these, and the Quad is hardly ever talked about anymore. The Helix still gets a lot of love. The fender is not promoted as heavily.

[@paladinyyz6868]

Its been two days since you did the video... Have you heard yet from the Kemper zombie police for not including it in ONE video? lol

[@LonelyRocker]

Ha! Not yet! Perhaps I haven’t hit their radar yet 🤪🤪🤪

[@rareform6747]

Real Tube amps moving air is the Best ..

[@LonelyRocker]

If you've watched my channel at all you'll know I 100% agree with that statement. But I've found a greta hybrid model for my studio....great recording solutions using both real amps and modelers....

[@marvelharris9540]

sorry,, none of them sound like a 2203