AXE FX vs Revalver MKII vs 6505 (samples inside)

[Keregioz]

So...I thought you guys might be interested in this. I recorded some DI tracks with my Schecter C7 blackjack (seymour duncan JB) and reamped them with axe fx, revalver and a 6505.
The chain was C7--> PodXT-->m-audio2496-->nuendo.

So here they are...

Revalver MkIII:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/Revalver.mp3
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/Revalver_Guitarsonly.mp3

AxeFX (reamped by "The Dude"):
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/AxeFx.mp3
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/AxeFx_Guitarsonly.mp3

6505 V1 (reamped by "Guitarhack"):
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/6505_V1.mp3
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/6505_V1_Guitarsonly.mp3

6505 V2 :
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/6505_V2.mp3
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/6505_V2_Guitarsonly.mp3

update: Krank Rev (reamped by Keiffer):
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/KrankRev.mp3

Also, here's the mix without the guitars to try your own tones:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/NoGuitarsMix.mp3

And here are the DI tracks:
http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/LAST SUN REAMP.rar


For the 6505 V2 I tried something different. I used an old Ibanez equiped with an EMG 81 to record a DI track and captured the EQ spectrum with CurveEQ, and I applied it in the schecter C7 DI tracks in an attempt to emulate the EMG sound...you tell me if it worked at all.

Some things to keep in mind... obviously I'm not the best sound engineer out there so these clips don't represent each software/amp/preamp's full capabilities for this specific sound. All files have a certain amount of post processing (EQ and compression) so if anything sounds weird/wrong blame me and not the guys who did the reamping. The revalver tone was made before guitarhack reamped the tracks so it's not an attempt to make it sound as close as possible to the original 6505 tone, although I did EQ them afterwards to try to make them more similar.
edit: The purpose of this comparison is not which amp/preamp/modeler has the best 6505 sound. For that reason it's a little unfair to compare the axe fx with revalver based on these clips to see which is closest to the real 6505. I didn't plan from the start to do this comparison...I did the reamps searching for a good tone in general for a song I'm recording, not a particular 6505 tone. And since I had those clips I thought I should share them.
Lastly, I want to thank "the dude" and "guitarhack" for reamping these tracks for me.

Like I said, I don't think you can reach any definitive conclusions with these clips but hopefully they will prove useful for you.

That's all....I think...

 

[_Protoss_]

Keregioz

Thank you so much for this!

 

[Rex Rocker]

I am impressed. I don't think any of them sound 'better', just different, but that's just my opinion. I think I like the Revalver clip myself better.

 

[onqel]

I really like the riffs

 

[Keregioz]

I can´t tell the difference between 6505 V1 and V2

Really? I thought there was a pretty obvious difference, especially on the palm mutes which sound much tighter in V2. Did you listen to the "guitarsonly" tracks?

Keregioz

Thank you so much for this!

You're welcome, I'm glad I finally contributed something useful to these forums (hopefully).

 

[john2910]

thanx for the test,could you post de revalver patch.
best regards

 

[abyssofdreams]

Both amp clips totally own the sims, I do not think they sound similar at all. V2 is clean but lacks a tiny bit of lowend IMHO.

 

[Ermz]

Thanks for the shoot-out!

What I found very interesting when re-amping your tracks was that they sounded a bit duller and and more undefined than some other DIs I had on hand. I'm thinking that POD and the m-audio are sucking some life from the tone. In my recent reamping escapade I've found that the source matters SOOO MUCH with clean DI. Tracks done with a good DI but even largely average pres and converters sounded TONS more open and natural than tracks done through all average gear.

If you're on a search for tone and reamping is your trip, those are the areas I'd be looking at.

For another perspective on these guitars, here is the result of my reamping with an original 6505 head and impulses: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/285689/Reamping/keregioz-sample.mp3

A tad on the boomy and muddy side, yes, but the mids on the head were on '0'! And my policy with reamping demos is strictly no post-processing whatsoever...

 

[006]

I don't think any of them are "better" than any of the others. They all sound good to me, just different flavors really.

This whole thing is getting really old to me though.

~006

 

[Erik Monsonis]

I like the Revalver clip the best

 

[Keregioz]

thanx for the test,could you post de revalver patch.
best regards

It's based on a patch Behindert posted some while ago using the bassbox instead of the tubescreamer... The preset for the bassbox is http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/6505-bass.ped_acs04
and the preset for 6505+ is http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/LastSunriseB--1.4.amp_peavey6505plus

I don't recall which impulse I used...probably one of guitarhacks.
It's almost certain that it will need some tweaking...these patches never sound the same with different gear.

Thanks for the shoot-out!

What I found very interesting when re-amping your tracks was that they sounded a bit duller and and more undefined than some other DIs I had on hand. I'm thinking that POD and the m-audio are sucking some life from the tone. In my recent reamping escapade I've found that the source matters SOOO MUCH with clean DI. Tracks done with a good DI but even largely average pres and converters sounded TONS more open and natural than tracks done through all average gear.

You're probably right. Besides POD's quality it's quite possible that I did something wrong too though, I don't know. I think with the thing I did on 6505_V2 there was an improvement.
I'd be interested to hear how a good quality DI is supposed to sound if you have any links...

 

[Tym_ex]

I like the real amps best by far. I do think the Axe-FX can get closer to that sound if you're aiming for that though.

 

[TheDude]

I like the real amps best by far. I do think the Axe-FX can get closer to that sound if you're aiming for that though.

Well, I think so too. My instructions were "KranK" so I used the KranK hybrid cab to get the low mid going that I find is typical for that. Nevermind though, fun to hear.

 

[Keregioz]

Well, I think so too. My instructions were "KranK" so I used the KranK hybrid cab to get the low mid going that I find is typical for that. Nevermind though, fun to hear.

Yes, I'm sorry...I should have mentioned it. The purpose of this comparison was not which amp/preamp/modeler has the best 6505 sound. For that reason it's a little unfair to compare the axe fx with revalver based on these clips to see which is closest to the real 6505.
I didn't plan from the start to do this comparison...I did the reamps searching for a good tone in general for a song I'm recording, not a particular 6505 tone. And since I had those clips I thought I should share them.

If anyone wants to do an axe fx reamp with a tone closer to the 6505 so you can reach to better conclusions the DI tracks are here: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/316805/LAST SUN REAMP.rar

Send me the guitars and I will post the mix.

 

[Keiffer]

If you care to add these to the mix, here's my 5150 and rev1 reamp. maybe someone would like to see how close they can get with their modeler.

the 5150 tone has a tad more hair and bottom than the rev1 tone

5150

Rev 1

I hate being critical, but the Axe-Fx tone did not sound very good to me.

 

[Notuern]

Odly enough, i thought the axe-fx was the muddiest. ;X

 

[Keregioz]

@Keregioz:
Thank you very much for the DI tracks. I was longing for a quadtracked DI to do some reamp. Any chance of a stereo mixdown of the other instruments (without the guitar tracks) to check how well they blend in the mix? Thanks again.

Check the original post.

Also, I added keiffer's krank reamp sample.

 

[Wild Hades]

If you care to add these to the mix, here's my 5150 and rev1 reamp. maybe someone would like to see how close they can get with their modeler.

the 5150 tone has a tad more hair and bottom than the rev1 tone

5150

Rev 1

I hate being critical, but the Axe-Fx tone did not sound very good to me.

Sounds good!
What cab/mic did you use?

 

[Keiffer]

Sounds good!
What cab/mic did you use?

thanks... it's an AMPEG V4 cab, V30 spkr and AEA R92 ribbon mic.

 

[More Than Ever]

It's all just different flavors.

But I do enjoy the clean yet punchy sound of the ReValver clips the most followed by the real amps, they sound slightly more open and round/soft compared to ReValver, the V2 does sound tighter and more ReValver sounding that V1 which I liked more. Then you have the Axe that just sounds the most unfocused and least thick in comparison. All were very usable tones though in my opinion, it just comes down to personal taste.

Great test! Keep them coming! I love these shootouts!