Tone difference between amps (n00b)

[LeSedna]

I've given up on amplifiers & their "characterisitcs" for the time being. I used to think I could tell the difference between hi gain tube amps with ease, but it's come around now that they can all be dialed in so similarly i've stopped caring. I used to class the "rectifier" tone as what I heard on the black album, and then I realised that it was the huge amount of tracking that made that records GT. Basically, unless I am in desperate need of a special characteristic then i'm not worried at all. There are so many variables involved, that by the time a completed mix has come round, any decent amp or model of that amp could have been in there. I guess what i'm trying to say is that you've got overdrives/distortion boxes/cabinet types/speaker types/microphone types/room types/eq types all there to be used and abused and they detract pretty majorly from original sound of the particular amplifier.

There are die hards out there of course, and my ears aren't particularly developed yet either, but from a completed mix perspective 90% of listeners arent going to feel the difference either.

I would generally say almost 50% of listeners will use shitty earplugs, 20% cheap headphones that are too flat and dark to get anything, and 20% cheap "hifi" system. It was worse 5 years ago when people would only encode in 128 kb/s

Also 80% of people would listen to them on iPod or iPhone. Seriously, how can an mp3 player sound so bad ? I have an old Archos and it sounds so good, iPod lacks bass and flatten the overall sound, and leaves clarity. And the integrated eq doesn't save the mix. Any mp3 player from a good reputation brand would just be so much better !

 

[ahjteam]

iPod lacks bass and flatten the overall sound, and leaves clarity. And the integrated eq doesn't save the mix. Any mp3 player from a good reputation brand would just be so much better !

what you just made a similiar comparison as studio monitors vs hifi monitors. hifi monitors have a boosted low end and boosted high end, where studio monitors have a flatter frequency response. In that light, the iPod seems a fairly good choise.

 

[Brandon E.]

FWIW, 1/2 of the time that people say they think they hear some amp or another on an album, they're wrong as fuck

the other 1/2 of the time, it's a 5150

QFT

 

[ahjteam]

one way to test the characteristics of the amps is by reamping with same cabinet and mic and set all the knobs to 12 o clock on the amp except maybe master volume.

 

[Eduardo Apolonia]

one way to test the characteristics of the amps is by reamping with same cabinet and mic and set all the knobs to 12 o clock on the amp except maybe master volume.

I did something near that.

You can check on this thread
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/equipment/535802-reamped-through-15-different-amps.html