Right on Bryan - so I use all 3; I think the fractal gets the most used on client recordings because of "ease of recall", but the amp is used for getting that really warm sound...
Right? Well, the old school amp guys frown on Amp Modelers such as the Fractal and/or Guitar plugins to create the sounds. For this example, I'm creating the exact same parts using all 3 ways to record guitar - and the goal was so show that all 3 are actually / equally acceptable and in context, can sound very much the same or still have an acceptable "vibe". I use all 3 in my studio for many clients / projects and (although) I still prefer a real tube amplifier over anything, the fact I can use the other 2 makes "recall" very easy in case I have to correct anything on a track... Cheers Don- hope you and the fam are kicking A$$.
Interesting, I got the #2 right. I liked it the most because I noticed how the sound was "smoother/warmer". The #1 was ok, and Fractal was sounding a bit harsh to my ears.
@@alpuhagame Right on! Yeah, depending on guitar pickups i use, sometimes the fractal sounds really good... the plugin is usually passable but the amp is always the smoothest! thx for watching and good ear🙏
@@ajlsoundwave Thanks for the input! I've been playing exclusively with amp sims since 2011 because I couldn't afford real hardware but now I could afford to spend $500-1000 on equipment and I'm just going for SS-11B to test how real tubes feel comparing to all digital. Today there's so many things you can do, you can even plug real JCM800 into a cab sim with load box /attenuator and record/monitor it directly into PC without blowing up neighbours. I feel amp sims are pretty good today but I just wanted to experience that authentic tube feeling and dynamic response on a crunch setting. I like the idea of using my hands to control gain from very clean to a bit overloaded sound.
@@alpuhagame Again... RIGHT ON! So another really good signal path that is "in expensive"... get a really good amp sim w/ built in cabinet - I like the Neural DSP plugins; I think I paid 99$ for the Soldano 100, which they also let me upgrade for free to the Soldano 100X - which is really good... so I'll then plug various preamps or pedals DIRECT into my interface, then pick a "clean" amp from the Soldano 100x plugin and it's pretty amazing the results. I've not tried other cab IR's just yet... however, as said before, I too prefer a real tube amp to allow for the gain to be relative to how hard I hit the note... However, for loudness concerns or late night recording, it's definitely good to experiment with preamps / pedals etc. Cheers! Alan
@@ajlsoundwave Hey Alan, I didn't mention but throughout the years I've been using all kinds of amp sims, starting from TSE, Amplitube, Guitar Rig, Bias FX, Mercurial, and now I'm rocking the Neural DSP (Cory Wong, The Amp Snob one). I was able to do all that because of pirating, and there are many "couch guitarists" out there doing the same, almost in every country. I promise I'll buy everything after I go out commercial but at least I can evaluate and do some research, which is a blessing in this economy. However, I think that even though technology progressed that far away, it still doesn't do the same as real tube. Specifically, I'm interested in what 12AX7 (and similar other tubes) can do compared to just plain digital sound. I'll totally try to use tube preamp + Neural DSP, however I think I wouldn't be using gain knob, only master (power amp one). Again, thanks for this demo - it gave me more confidence to commit to this purchase :)
Remarkable how hard it is to distinguish. Just shows how crazy far tech has come. I think us old farts who were raised on analog like to pretend we are tone sommeliers hahaha
@@shawnharnish3934 I spent 5 days working on the fractal and soldano so that it would be a challenge... Bonnie got 1 right.. so if you had to guess, what order would you choose? hope u have a great weekend. 😁
Hi Bill - I hope you are well. So you have 1 right and two that are flipped... I'll probably wait one more day to post the order...thanks for listening!!!
All sound really nice, but I choose #3 . . . Blessings
@@TheKevinSchollProject thx Kevin. they all have their place for sure 🙏
Thx for the views / comments - Here is the correct order: 1 = Soldano plugin, 2 = Tube amplifier. 3 = Fractal Audio FX II
#1 and #3 are good… BUT… #2 adds a whole other dimension! Nothing like the right tube amp and the right set of hands 💥🤟🏼
Right on Bryan - so I use all 3; I think the fractal gets the most used on client recordings because of "ease of recall", but the amp is used for getting that really warm sound...
Hard to choose which sounds I like best!
Right? Well, the old school amp guys frown on Amp Modelers such as the Fractal and/or Guitar plugins to create the sounds. For this example, I'm creating the exact same parts using all 3 ways to record guitar - and the goal was so show that all 3 are actually / equally acceptable and in context, can sound very much the same or still have an acceptable "vibe". I use all 3 in my studio for many clients / projects and (although) I still prefer a real tube amplifier over anything, the fact I can use the other 2 makes "recall" very easy in case I have to correct anything on a track... Cheers Don- hope you and the fam are kicking A$$.
@@ajlsoundwave mission accomplished! They all sounded great 👍. We are doing well, living the dream 🙂
@@donaldhosie ...living the dream...every meal's a banquet!
Interesting, I got the #2 right. I liked it the most because I noticed how the sound was "smoother/warmer". The #1 was ok, and Fractal was sounding a bit harsh to my ears.
@@alpuhagame Right on! Yeah, depending on guitar pickups i use, sometimes the fractal sounds really good... the plugin is usually passable but the amp is always the smoothest! thx for watching and good ear🙏
@@ajlsoundwave Thanks for the input! I've been playing exclusively with amp sims since 2011 because I couldn't afford real hardware but now I could afford to spend $500-1000 on equipment and I'm just going for SS-11B to test how real tubes feel comparing to all digital. Today there's so many things you can do, you can even plug real JCM800 into a cab sim with load box /attenuator and record/monitor it directly into PC without blowing up neighbours.
I feel amp sims are pretty good today but I just wanted to experience that authentic tube feeling and dynamic response on a crunch setting. I like the idea of using my hands to control gain from very clean to a bit overloaded sound.
@@alpuhagame Again... RIGHT ON! So another really good signal path that is "in expensive"... get a really good amp sim w/ built in cabinet - I like the Neural DSP plugins; I think I paid 99$ for the Soldano 100, which they also let me upgrade for free to the Soldano 100X - which is really good... so I'll then plug various preamps or pedals DIRECT into my interface, then pick a "clean" amp from the Soldano 100x plugin and it's pretty amazing the results. I've not tried other cab IR's just yet... however, as said before, I too prefer a real tube amp to allow for the gain to be relative to how hard I hit the note... However, for loudness concerns or late night recording, it's definitely good to experiment with preamps / pedals etc. Cheers! Alan
@@ajlsoundwave Hey Alan, I didn't mention but throughout the years I've been using all kinds of amp sims, starting from TSE, Amplitube, Guitar Rig, Bias FX, Mercurial, and now I'm rocking the Neural DSP (Cory Wong, The Amp Snob one). I was able to do all that because of pirating, and there are many "couch guitarists" out there doing the same, almost in every country. I promise I'll buy everything after I go out commercial but at least I can evaluate and do some research, which is a blessing in this economy.
However, I think that even though technology progressed that far away, it still doesn't do the same as real tube. Specifically, I'm interested in what 12AX7 (and similar other tubes) can do compared to just plain digital sound. I'll totally try to use tube preamp + Neural DSP, however I think I wouldn't be using gain knob, only master (power amp one).
Again, thanks for this demo - it gave me more confidence to commit to this purchase :)
#2 wins IMO. :)
Right on Wayne... I will be disclosing the results in a day or two....
Remarkable how hard it is to distinguish. Just shows how crazy far tech has come. I think us old farts who were raised on analog like to pretend we are tone sommeliers hahaha
@@shawnharnish3934 I spent 5 days working on the fractal and soldano so that it would be a challenge... Bonnie got 1 right.. so if you had to guess, what order would you choose? hope u have a great weekend. 😁
@@ajlsoundwave 1 soldano 2 tube amp 3 fractal
@@shawnharnish3934 thats correct 🙃👊
One is plug in ,2 is fractal 3 is amp
Hi Bill - I hope you are well. So you have 1 right and two that are flipped... I'll probably wait one more day to post the order...thanks for listening!!!
I think 3 is the amp
@@metal31 👊😁 will follow up in a day or 2 my friend! Enjoy the weekend.