Preamp Comp: My Peavey 5150 Vs Axe Fx II 6505 Model!

[kev]

Hi guys,

I've had some time over the holidays to take a break from eating mince pies and finally get some cool A/B'ing done. You should enjoy the results.

The idea behind these clips was to show off the extent of how close fractal audios preamp section of the 5150 is when compared to my real 5150. And oh boy is it is damn close. Looking back it's a shame I didnt get them absolutely spot on, as one has a touch more gain than the other. Both of them had pretty much bang on the same EQ however.

Both Feeds are run through the power section of the 5150, into a standard Marshall 1960 cabinet loaded with G12 75 speakers. Mic is a Shure SM57 bang on the speaker cone. Each take uses the same DI which allowed me to merge the clips.

DI courtesy of Jeff Dunne, Original track RoS by Killswitch Engage.

Both clips .Wav :

Clip1:



Clip 2:



Bonus points for who can guess the amp when the smiley face pops up

 

[viralz]

I think the tone of clip 2 as a slightly smoother character so I'm gonna say that clip 2 is the real 5150.

 

[CubanDude]

i prefer no 2, so i hope it's the real deal no 1 sounds nasal

 

[DanLights]

I actually slightly prefer #1, but I can´t really tell which is real and which is AxeFx, that thing sure can rock! Of course, if you´re in the situation where you have the poweramp of a 5150 at your disposal, I guess the only situation where you wouldn´t just use the 5150 is if you want to switch different tones between songs.

Edit: After carefully listening, 2 seems to have more meat in it, which probably means it´s the real one, but completely solo with no context, I prefer #1. I also think #2 is the one Kev said had a bit more gain

 

[kev]

Thanks for the comments so far guys! You're all on the right track sofar. Looks like I wasnt driving the input hard enough on clip 1, might have to redo that in the morning.

 

[zakky]

2= real deal we posted at the same time lol...

 

[TomMartin]

No2 has that fizzyness that I also hear in my own 6505, and ever so slightly boomy lows.
No1 sounds very close for sure, but with not so much of the negative (for me) things in no2.

Makes me want an axe fx, when just last week I decided ONCE AND FOR ALL to stop trying to make modellers work for me...


Smiley face = axe fx?

 

[Vendo]

Prefer 2.....

 

[Josh Burgess]

Well, neither of these sound very good to me (no tubescreamer?), but Clip 1 was a little static and noticeably more grainy/fuzzy. Sounds like the Axe-FX to me... Clip 2 sounded smoother and more natural, although still lacking power & presence... I would want tighter lows and more clarity in the highs (better mic positioning? maybe a V30 cab instead?) before being happy with that tone though...

I really don't think they are all that similar sounding side by side in real life...

 

[PhilTheBeard]

I like clip number 2 the best.

 

[acalaf]

number 2 is the real. Not really liking the sound of 1.

 

[Trevoire520]

I like clip 2 better. Sounds like it has a bit more treble/presence.

 

[sprack]

Which firmware is this using?

 

[kev]

3.05 I believe. New firmware release today (4) so will be dialing that in soon!

Tom - smiley face was indeed the axe!

 

[MatrixClaw]

Both sound really grainy and over gained for my liking. Not really a fan of either tone.

I am, however, surprised at how close you've been able to get the Axe FX to sound to the 5150. Makes me even more excited to try one of the new ones out, so far the clips I've heard of it sound much more convincing than anything I've heard or been able to get out of an Ultra.

 

[Benqbasic]

Tried this test with a recto and a jcm800.
Funny how the axe gets so much closer through the poweramp of the real deal.

 

[Danny Drama]

I like the new 6160 they added in this new firmware.