Peavey Revalver vs. real 6505 (Preamp Shootout!)

nervirasme

nervirasme

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Nov 13, 2010
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Before I start I just want to say that I "borrowed" DI track from aix's thread:
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/rate-my-mix-tone-threads/706835-mixing-time-log-style-song-2.html
aix, if you think that I shouldn't do this with your tracks just let me know and I'll delete this thread.

Now, I know that some of you will say that this has been covered before, but if you do a search you'll see that there are no active links left with useful clips... And besides, I wanted to make a detailed shootout, so I'm giving you actually three tests types of tests:
- Test A: Preamps only (used one mono track)
- Test B: Overdrive before preamp ("Greener" in Revalver / Maxon OD-820 for real 6505). (used one mono track)
- Test C: All four tracks mixed and panned. A moderate EQ was added with identical settings for both tracks (I added the EQ so you it can reveal any problem in the higher frequencies, and it sounds more polished).

Since I don't own a real cab, all the track were sent through cab impulse (courtesy of GuitarHack), and I REALLY tried to match the gain and output volume between the clips. This method also allowed for true A/B comparison between preamps.

I also tried to match the overall tone using EQ knobs on sim/amp, and although I hope I did my best, it's impossible to make them sound identical. Having the knobs in same position for both the real amp and Revalver is even more pointless...

This is a blind shootout, so numbers in filenames ("A1", "C2", etc) do not follow any kind of order... One is always a Revalver, and one is a real deal, you'll just have to figure out which is which... and of course, to let us know which one do you like more! :)

Here are the clips:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41752323/A1_Preamp_Only.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41752323/A2_Preamp_Only.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41752323/B1_Preamp_with-OD.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41752323/B2_Preamp_with-OD.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41752323/C1_Mix-Quad_Tracked.mp3
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41752323/C2_Mix-Quad_Tracked.mp3
 
A1, B1, and C2 are the actual 6505 I'm going to say.

That said, I think that C1 actually sounds better than C2, but that could be down to impulse selection. C2 sounds more 'in your face' and thicker, but also a bit louder.

This tone is actually pretty damn good - mind sharing which Guitarhack impulse you used?
 
JeffTD said:
A1, B1, and C2 are the actual 6505 I'm going to say.

That said, I think that C1 actually sounds better than C2, but that could be down to impulse selection. C2 sounds more 'in your face' and thicker, but also a bit louder.

This tone is actually pretty damn good - mind sharing which Guitarhack impulse you used?
Click to expand...

Not at all, it was: "EDGE -1 I Inch ala Sneap pic.wav" - it's used for all clips. I always return to this one because it somehow sounds most organic and full...
 
BTW: I'm relatively fresh on this forum, and I would just like to know how to upload something on that dropbox (or whatever it's called) and have a direct link in the post instead of soundcloud?... Do I need some privileges to do that?

Thanks...
 
Dropbox: Put the files in the "public" folder, wait till it's synchronized, rightclick -> dropbox -> copy public link -> paste it here :)
 
Just install dropbox, move the files into the folder and then right click them. You'll see a "dropbox" menu along with the usual cut/copy/paste. Go to that and there's "copy public link"
Paste the link into your post and you're done!
 
Wow, they sound so close it's pretty much negligible once they're in a mix. Are you using Revalver MK III or MK III.V? I have III and I'm having issues getting it to not sound thin.
 
MatrixClaw said:
Wow, they sound so close it's pretty much negligible once they're in a mix. Are you using Revalver MK III or MK III.V? I have III and I'm having issues getting it to not sound thin.
Click to expand...

I'm using III.V
Thin sound is generally a problem with Revalver, but there is a simple solution for that - try to crank the post gain as much as possible... You can do this test to clearly hear the difference:
1. Put two 6505 preamps one after another (with only one active at a time)
2. Turn all the knobs EXACTLY the same on both of them (to your liking)
3. In first preamp reduce the post gain around 10 o'clock and adjust the output gain to get nice level
4. In second preamp turn the post gain almost to the full and reduce the output gain to compensate for loud signal until you the get it's loudness level comparable to the first preamp
5. Switch on/off between preamps to see how full (but also a bit muddy) the second preamp sounds...

This behavior isn't actually realistic because the real 6505 isn't affected by post gain in terms of coloring the sound (it only changes the overall level and not it's character).
 
BTW: It's not that I pity my own thread but I thought that it would get stormed by now with answers, opinions and questions... I can remember how it went with similar threads a year or two ago when everybody was eager to hear a true A/B comparison... I guess these kind of shootouts are becoming obsolete :)
 
nervirasme said:
I'm using III.V
Thin sound is generally a problem with Revalver, but there is a simple solution for that - try to crank the post gain as much as possible... You can do this test to clearly hear the difference:
1. Put two 6505 preamps one after another (with only one active at a time)
2. Turn all the knobs EXACTLY the same on both of them (to your liking)
3. In first preamp reduce the post gain around 10 o'clock and adjust the output gain to get nice level
4. In second preamp turn the post gain almost to the full and reduce the output gain to compensate for loud signal until you the get it's loudness level comparable to the first preamp
5. Switch on/off between preamps to see how full (but also a bit muddy) the second preamp sounds...

This behavior isn't actually realistic because the real 6505 isn't affected by post gain in terms of coloring the sound (it only changes the overall level and not it's character).
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'll have to give this a shot. I've always liked that Revalver sounds so realistic, but I've never used it in anything high gain, because it always ends up sounding super thin. Hopefully this will work on MK III!
 
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