UPDATE: Reveal posted! Blind test #2! (Marshall JCM 800 vs Line 6 Helix vs Kemper vs Axe Fx III)

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UPDATE: Hey everyone, thanks for participating and joining the discussion! Here are the results:




They all sounded good, they all sounded pretty close so don't feel bad if you didn't get them all, or even one right. It's not super easy for everybody to hear all the super small differences. We all listen in different ways, also based on our experiences as people, musicians and listeners! Let me know how many you got right or how many you got wrong etc. Which one sounded the best to you and why?


Hey guys, it's time..... for another blind test! yaaaay!

I did honestly have a lot of fun on the last one so I had to do another one now that I got a Kemper Profiler Stage!

There were some comments the last time (Dual Rectifier vs modeler) that with high gain tones it's harder to hear the difference. That's why I'm going with a Marshall JCM 800 crunch tone this time. (the studio version to be exact) This amp has a lot of clarity and dynamic. You can really hear every string and it's just a blast to play. Very classic sounding! So mid-gain, dynamic and clear, should be interesting ;) I'm comparing the amp to my Kemper (a profile that I made based on the exact same settings on the real amp), my Line 6 Helix (native in this case because it's way easier to tweak/match the tone that way) and my Axe Fx III.

I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give anything away but I hope you enjoy it and DO let me know which ones were which! The results will be posted in a couple of days.

 
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Great job as always :yes:

I agree these are fun so keep 'em coming.
I have zero experience with the modelers so I'm not going to try to tackle that.
They all sound pretty similar in that regard and you definitely nailed that piercing JCM800 tone.

I will at least guess that 'C' is the real deal tube amp. JCM800
 
I'm not sure what is what but I do know that B sounds off to me... I'm going to guess that one is the Helix. I think D sounds like the Marshall to me but I liked A and D the most. B really stands out to me though. It really is not that convincing at all. Because A and D are similar vein, one must be the Kemper and one must be the Marshall.
 
damn...i don't have the best ear but i feel like i'm stumped on this one. they all sound a little different. But, with the top profilers, modelers, etc...in the right hands (and Jon's one of those guys), it's damn near impossible to discern the difference in a recorded clip.

total guess-age here:
A - Tube
B - Helix
C - Axe
D - Kemper
 
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Can't tell as I don't have one of those, but thanks for the video! Great fun!

And yes, they sound different, some better to my liking, some worse. The one thing I can say, I couldn't say which was the tube amp. But this is comparing the recorded sound of course. In the room might be a different story (or not ?).
 
Hmmm... b does have some sort of lower resonance and a high end someth8ng that the other three dont.

A - kemper
B - helix
C -real amp
D - axe fx

I play helix, so i hate to say its the one that sounds off, but the jcm800 in the helix has something with it ive never got along with. A/C sound the closest, and D isnt far off but has a different attack in some passes.
 
A sounds different than all the others , in a good way. It’s less in your face, more distant.
B has all those frequencies that remind me of going direct to the board straight out of my dirt pedal.
C&D are a mix of the above.

Prefer A by a long shot.
 
I'm going to post the reveal later today so if you haven't made your unbiased guesses yet, do it now! :)
 
I have done these online between my real BE 100 Deluxe and my AXE 3. Both running through real 412 cabinets and both going through a BOSS TAE to power the cabs. Every time people would comment that the tone that they thought was the real tube amp was actually the AXE 3. Usually the flatter recorded tone is the real tube amp whereas the more fuller and lively tone is the AXE 3. The AXE 3 gives a very realistic tone that is more studio polished coming out even through real 412 cabinets (no cab sims). To each their own but both are tools and how you use them can produce great or complete shit results.
 
UPDATE: Hey everyone, thanks for participating and joining the discussion! Here are the results:




They all sounded good, they all sounded pretty close so don't feel bad if you didn't get them all, or even one right. It's not super easy for everybody to hear all the super small differences. We all listen in different ways, also based on our experiences as people, musicians and listeners! Let me know how many you got right or how many you got wrong etc. Which one sounded the best to you and why?
 
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These tests are great, love seeing people's guesses. Especially when they're corksniffers. Would be even more awesome if you could borrow a Friedman and see how many people get a big dose of cognitive dissonance.
 
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