AXE I/O by IKMultimedia is the better option. Has the Amp OUT for reamping, has the JFET, pad for passive and active pickups, tone knob for brighter or warmer tones, 2 ins with Line, Mic, or Instrument options, 4 outs, expression pedal inputs, and comes bundled with the full versions of Amplitube v2 and Tonex for basically nothing.
That was also my first thought. Especially with the Z-tone impedance dial. Which could potentially be a game changer when realistically using an all analog Wha,Boost,OD,Fuzz, & Distortion pedal chain in front of a VST digital amp sim plugin. Which honestly has been a personal tone quest of mine as of late. Plus the reamping/capture capability IMO makes it a no brainer. Thanks!
Definitely some difference going on with the compression as well as more low-mids. It's almost like a non-linear compression, where it doesn't sound fixed. I think it's cool! I really appreciate this style of demo too. Not too controlled, honest, and it feels like we're there with you for the best parts of you trying it for the first time without feeling too edited. Also, I've got a Blackstar Series One 100 6L6. Running the amp as just a poweramp, I realized that changing the preamp channels between OD1 and OD2 changes the power amp response. This enhanced on feature sounds similar to the OD1 power amp section, where the enhanced off sounds similar to the OD2 power amp section. More bloom vs less bloom.
I clearly hear compression/sag.... VS stiffness.... I have a feeling that the Taurus Servo 2 might do something similar. The more gain, there will be less sonic differences, except maybe with the feel under the fingers. If you play with this thing for a few days, I bet you'll notice the difference when you shut it off.
I feel like you'd need to compare the Polar with the switch on vs other company's interfaces. Comparing it to itself just switching the switch back and forth seems like it should just be invalid. Hey this switch we put on here to, what seems like boost some freqs and levels, sounds better right? EDIT: lol just got to the end, teach me to comment before the video is completely over. Hah.. 3/4 wasn't enough. :) You pulled a Steve Jobs after the verdict. I don't think we'd be able to tell in a YT video since their whole claim is it FEELS like a tube amp, not sounds like one.
12:12 Really can't hear the difference on regular vs enhanced DI's. Apollo sounds 0,5 % clearer on sustained notes, might be just a performance difference, who knows.
Might be a cool feature to allow you to use pedals in front of your interface without worrying about levels (they claim the input will never clip), other than that, it seems like a gimmick to try and sell the interface lol.
True! It is worth mentioning that a float type ADC is much less likely to DIGITALLY clip, but everything can clip in analog if the input signal exceeds the rails of the ADC. In practice, with the proliferation of 32 bit float interfaces, it is being encouraged to reduce the input signal so that hardware clipping doesn't occur and gain leveling be done in post. This goes against the 'old school' grain of wanting to have the analog front end cranked to roughly -6dB, where very little post gain is required but the signal is full range-ish to fill out all the bits of the ADC while keeping noise at bay. I call BS on the post gain level approach with float data because the signal to noise ratio will be inferior to full range signal at the front end. Last thing to note is the Polar 2 is not 32 bit float interface, it is 24 bit. So I don't know what stunt they are pulling with the clipping language. Was that a lot of words???
The whole industry copies each other. It’s great because the consumer benefits. I have the IK Multimedia AXE I/O with JFET and Z-tone. I think that’s where they got the influence 🙂
Please don't use misleading language like "tube amp input" when clearly there are no tubes. At least be accurate to Blackstar's description and include the "mimic" descriptor. There are a lot of people who will not do their due diligence to backcheck you, then be misled. You don't want to be held accountable for preying on them, do you? Even the JFET is a stretch to call it a tube, but it is closer because of extremely high input impedance and diode clamping characteristics. If you choose to use misleading language then you'll be assumed a marketing agent and not a genuine product specialist.
AXE I/O by IKMultimedia is the better option. Has the Amp OUT for reamping, has the JFET, pad for passive and active pickups, tone knob for brighter or warmer tones, 2 ins with Line, Mic, or Instrument options, 4 outs, expression pedal inputs, and comes bundled with the full versions of Amplitube v2 and Tonex for basically nothing.
Das nuts
I have the AXE I/O and love it. The JFET & Z-Tone really helps shape the input sound 🙂
That sounds awesome actually. I'm going to check that out too.
That was also my first thought. Especially with the Z-tone impedance dial. Which could potentially be a game changer when realistically using an all analog Wha,Boost,OD,Fuzz, & Distortion pedal chain in front of a VST digital amp sim plugin. Which honestly has been a personal tone quest of mine as of late. Plus the reamping/capture capability IMO makes it a no brainer. Thanks!
Definitely some difference going on with the compression as well as more low-mids. It's almost like a non-linear compression, where it doesn't sound fixed. I think it's cool! I really appreciate this style of demo too. Not too controlled, honest, and it feels like we're there with you for the best parts of you trying it for the first time without feeling too edited.
Also, I've got a Blackstar Series One 100 6L6. Running the amp as just a poweramp, I realized that changing the preamp channels between OD1 and OD2 changes the power amp response. This enhanced on feature sounds similar to the OD1 power amp section, where the enhanced off sounds similar to the OD2 power amp section. More bloom vs less bloom.
I clearly hear compression/sag.... VS stiffness.... I have a feeling that the Taurus Servo 2 might do something similar.
The more gain, there will be less sonic differences, except maybe with the feel under the fingers.
If you play with this thing for a few days, I bet you'll notice the difference when you shut it off.
I'm getting amazing clean tones with es-175 with flat wounds.
If I remember correctly audient had some collaboration "tube" audio interface. The enhance feature on the black star reminds me of that a lot.
I feel like you'd need to compare the Polar with the switch on vs other company's interfaces. Comparing it to itself just switching the switch back and forth seems like it should just be invalid. Hey this switch we put on here to, what seems like boost some freqs and levels, sounds better right? EDIT: lol just got to the end, teach me to comment before the video is completely over. Hah.. 3/4 wasn't enough. :) You pulled a Steve Jobs after the verdict.
I don't think we'd be able to tell in a YT video since their whole claim is it FEELS like a tube amp, not sounds like one.
12:12 Really can't hear the difference on regular vs enhanced DI's. Apollo sounds 0,5 % clearer on sustained notes, might be just a performance difference, who knows.
More details in sound with enhanced on i like it alot tbh
Be interesting to understand what colorization is getting added in/taken out with the Enhanced feature and how it could effect vocals in a mix!
That was wery intressing piece of gear. 😄
I think IK Multimedia AXE I/O is still the best guitar interface. I love the JFET & Z-Tone for sound shaping 🙂
🔥
Might be a cool feature to allow you to use pedals in front of your interface without worrying about levels (they claim the input will never clip), other than that, it seems like a gimmick to try and sell the interface lol.
True! It is worth mentioning that a float type ADC is much less likely to DIGITALLY clip, but everything can clip in analog if the input signal exceeds the rails of the ADC. In practice, with the proliferation of 32 bit float interfaces, it is being encouraged to reduce the input signal so that hardware clipping doesn't occur and gain leveling be done in post. This goes against the 'old school' grain of wanting to have the analog front end cranked to roughly -6dB, where very little post gain is required but the signal is full range-ish to fill out all the bits of the ADC while keeping noise at bay. I call BS on the post gain level approach with float data because the signal to noise ratio will be inferior to full range signal at the front end.
Last thing to note is the Polar 2 is not 32 bit float interface, it is 24 bit. So I don't know what stunt they are pulling with the clipping language.
Was that a lot of words???
who did they copy this time?
The whole industry copies each other. It’s great because the consumer benefits. I have the IK Multimedia AXE I/O with JFET and Z-tone. I think that’s where they got the influence 🙂
Please don't use misleading language like "tube amp input" when clearly there are no tubes. At least be accurate to Blackstar's description and include the "mimic" descriptor. There are a lot of people who will not do their due diligence to backcheck you, then be misled. You don't want to be held accountable for preying on them, do you? Even the JFET is a stretch to call it a tube, but it is closer because of extremely high input impedance and diode clamping characteristics.
If you choose to use misleading language then you'll be assumed a marketing agent and not a genuine product specialist.
snake oil