Real Amp vs TONEX vs Kemper vs Quad Cortex Comparison
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2024
- In this video I compare tonex vs a kemper profile vs a quad cortex capture that I made vs the real tube amp I captured it from.
THE STEALTH TONEX Pack
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IK Multimedia ToneX Pedal
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My Superior Drummer 3 Presets (used in video): www.drumsandtones.com/product...
Queens Road IR Pack (used in video):
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Tone X MAX
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Tone X
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Tone X SE
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Tone X Capture
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Two Notes Captor X
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Quad Cortex
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Kemper Profiler
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Music I Mixed & Mastered:
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Mix/Master inquiries: mbdlproductions@gmail.com
Previous Video: • I bet you can't hear t...
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Speakers
Adam S2V
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Adam A7V
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Waves Plugins I use:
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My favorite pickups
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Socials
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Gear I use
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My Cab IR’s, Kemper Profiles and more:
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My Merch: tinyurl.com/y2d9k3ub
Time stamps
00:00 Intro
00:38 Setup
01:47 Project Layout
02:25 Real Amp
02:40 Tone X
02:54 Kemper
03:08 Quad Cortex
03:29 Switching Amp vS TONX
03:58 Switching Amp vs Kemper
04:56 Switching Amp vs Quad Cortex
06:07 Open Chord
06:42 Riff 2 Amp vs TONEX
07:19 TONEX Sounds better than amp?!
07:44 Riff 2 Amp vs Kemper
08:20 Riff 2 Amp vs Quad Cortex
08:58 Riff 3 Amp
09:15 Riff 3 TONEX
10:16 Riff 3 Amp vs TONEX
10:49 Riff 3 Amp vs Kemper
11:51 Riff 3 Amp vs Quad Cortex
12:09 Low End on Quad Cortex
13:20 Last Riff Explained
13:53 Riff 4 Amp
14:13 Riff 4 Amp vs TONEX
15:11 Low Note Sizzle
15:47 Riff 4 Amp vs Kemper
16:59 Riff 4 Amp vs Quad Cortex
17:54 Dual Notes Slides
19:17 Null Test Explained
20:22 Null Test Amp vs Kemper
20:52 Null Test Amp vs Quad Cortex
21:17 Null Kemper vs Quad Cortex
21:28 Null Test TONEX
21:40 Wow
21:59 Null Switching Riff 1
22:26 Null Switching Riff 2
23:14 Riff 3
24:07 Riff 4
25:25 Final Thoughts
#tonex #guitar #ampsim
Incredible comparison! Thank you!
The reverse polarity test was very telling- and much less subjective. Love it!
I've seen you around UA-cam before, happy to have stumpled upon your channel just now. Really well done comparison, thank you for instant switching. Even with trained ears it's kinda hard to remember the sound with breaks in between. Did not expect the ToneX to be so good, nice surprise!
Great comparison! Thank you for the work you've put into making this! Very helpful!
Excellent comparison and use of the Null Test. This shows how the fast technology of Tone Matching/Profiling has already advanced, and each of these companies have made important contributions in this field. Congrats ToneX for getting so impressively close to the original Amp. 👍
Thank you for doing all the work in this video! That null test really says something about tonex
Very interesting video. I've been super curious on the differences. Thanks for making this video
BEST TEST. Thank you. Good job bro. I like that you did the null tests. You earned a sub just for the systematic approach. Well done.
Great video, love how detailed, almost forensic it is with the null test. I think I’ll be getting me a ToneX
Man such a deep dive!! Awesome job I’m subscribed now!!
Really well done - pretty much exactly what i do, when i want to thoroughly compare gear. Thanks for the video!
Check out the STEALTH TONEX pack: www.drumsandtones.com/product/the-stealth-tonex-pack/
wow really good work here thank you for the vid and the time you put in
Great testvideo! I just bought TONEX last week and I am glad this video underlined my choice! I am a IK Multimedia fan, the offer great stuff!
Amazing work! It's very helpful review. Thank you so much!
Just hearing the null test was enough for me to buy it! Amazing comparision. Can´t wait to have it in my hands.
This is THE best comparison. Thanks a ton!
Man thnx for all your effort! Real eye opening.
Bravo for your fantastic thought to make this comparison!It was a perfect comparison, no one can tell what he thinks, tests saying just the truth!!!
In a blindtest I would have thought Tone-x was the real amp. Impressive!
Great video! Thanks for doing the work. I’ve had my Tonex for a couple days and I’m impressed. BTW, when doing a null test, I suggest fine tuning the levels for best nulling. With the quad and Kemper, you could hear mostly weird artifacts, but with the Tonex, I heard more of a weak version of the track. I bet if you adjusted the levels by tenths of a db, some of that might have gone away and you would hear something different at the closest level match.
absolute great comparison!
This sold me on the Tonex. THANK YOU. And to think, I was entertaining getting a Kemper!
That was fantastic. As a player who never plays out and has a gaming rig already, I think the Tonex is my choice. It's less expensive and I don't need a physical device that I can take to gigs with my amps on it. This was great. Cheers.
Super interesting. Thanks for sharing man. ✌🏼
Everyone claiming they can hear differences over UA-cam audio, which will definitely not be the same as the source. Reality is if this were a blind test in person no one would be able to pick out the Tonex or the Kemper or the QC and probably not the real amp.
Everyone can hear a difference when they know which one is which, but when playing blind back to back to back, it’s all down to guessing.
There’s no discernible difference between these recorded tones. Pick the device that works best for you and go with it. All of these devices are excellent as is the Fractal stuff and Helix and even some of the more affordable modelers. It’s a great time for guitarists!
Thanks for doing the video! This was an excellent comparison, probably the best one I’ve seen to date.
one of the best video comparison ever!
wow thanks for the detailed testing!
You are the best! Thanks for your work
I am going around to different video comparisons and seeing that I made a good choice for the money of ordering the TONEX., it should be here today. I'm excited! I'm sure its going to take a little get it dialed in to my liking, but that is with anything. Thanks for the video! People like you help others like myself make choices.
Great review, that Null test is hard to deny!..
Amazing comparison. They are all really really good.
Thanks for that awesome comparison. Subscribed, liked, commented.
Excellent comparison. The null test is eye/ear opening! I have been on the fence, going ampless for P&W, into FOH system. Thanks to this test I have placed my order for a Tonex. I think I will still use my amp for my Classic rock band, but time will tell.
The null test is very cool. I've done that with tracks of my own historically but had not thought to use it for this purpose. It would have been cool (still would be) for you to demo the complete silence when comparing the actual amp to itself.. just so folks could hear that it completely cancels when the match is perfect.
the most scientific comparison i've ever seen (using reversed wave). nice dude!
Really great work! Thank you!
This is the best comparison video out there… I listened while driving so it was kind of a blind test for me but I could follow every single step cause u structured it so well. Thanks a lot!
Thanks for the kind words!
ToneX is the winner of all. This week at the store we tested 78 amps and amps+cabs and compared with kemper captures made in exact same conditions. We had the QC for only 2 hours so we could only make 3 amps (we had to wait for ToneX to do its own advanced training captures between each one :(
In ALL amps cases and cabs ToneX was the clear winner. We also liked the QC more than my own previous experience, but with less good results on low gains complex rigs (when using fuzz vintage pedals I front of Vox AC30)
So my new ranking is ToneX>Quad Cortex>>Kemper
We don’t know about the rigs of Thu but had some thoughts from a famous UA-camr who told me he lost all the bottom end and had harsh highs compared to real amp.
At the end of the day, I guess the ToneX avantage compared to floor units must be access to GPUs for the training part? If you use the advanced of course
@@Fanafranky yes after asking to many dudes who studied ai and neural networks the quality of the neural network is essential (that’s what ToneX is very good at!) AND the training of course. So big advantage to use Apple M1/2 processors (have dedicated power for that) and the best are cuda from nvidia
@@notalkguitarampplug-insrev784 which is why I was ultimately disapointed in Ola Englund's review, who just ran the basic training and called it a day 😅
thats great comparation,the difference is so sattle that i would use any of them any day of the week.btw i own a kemper and im amazed with it every time i play for the last 6 years,such an enjoyable piece of device,for practice,live use and recording.i dont care if its not 100% identical to the real amp,but it feels amazing and has a great raw sound and effects
Great test! Thank you!!
For phase cancelation reference it would be interesting to add a comparison with a second reamp of the real amp for the null test. :)
Love your ToneX captures by the way, it sounds absolutely crushing! 🤘🤘
Which one sounded closest to you? Let me know in the comments!
ToneX!!! Would you do the same with a real cab miced?
intresting test. your null test is a good idea. I think your align is not correct because hear too much diffrence. maybe best is do with all sims shift the phase with delay so get fewest diffrence hearable. your test are very detailed. if you have a real cabinet there is even more diffrence because real cabinet itself do lots distortion at low notes and at high freq. this can not capture with an IR . at 70 hz get around 5% and at 60 hz 12% . this let sound real cabinet fuller even when you reduce low freq to sit in mix. with the ozone multiband exciter can fake such distortion . then i think nobody can hear diffrence
Tonex baby!!!!
@@user-lw9py read in a previous comment how he shows what software he used to this. It's all correct, the kemper just lacks in the mids so that's why the difference is more noticeable
Just because you did such a detailed comparison I'm subscribing, youtube needs more guys like you!!
Agreed 100%. This review and comparison set the standard for all others!
Sub to people like this and think about the people who take sponsorships and swear they are unbiased on launch day! lol
What an excellent work and comparison, so now I know what's my next amp in the studio. Great video Mendel, thumbs up!!!
Great video!🤩
Thanks a lot Mendel taking so much time for this video. There’s a clear winner here if you need something for mixing purposes only
Cool video man! Tonex is awesome! I wonder if NDSP will update their capture algo's sometime... I guess we'll see
I loved your mt15 demo. Tried it today such a kick ass capture
They may just have to. ToneX isn't the only challenger: ua-cam.com/video/9WFmDx-EM4k/v-deo.html and GuitarML are slowly gaining traction
Excellent comparison. Great job! I am loving TONEX. I captured a vintage 1950s amp that has a very unique sound and the TONEX profile is scary close. The way it preserves the micro details of chimey/glassy tube distortion harmonics and nails the feel is truly remarkable. And that I can run this on my phone!!! Amazing.
The phase flip test was amazing! Why haven’t I seen that done before!! So informative and a pretty scientific test so far as I can tell. Great work dude
Phase flip technique is a common sound engineering technique that’s been in use forever.
@@orbithesun1 I think more like it hasn't been used in comparison tone videos before. This is the first time I've seen anyone do this as well. Very informative for sure
@@alexradsby ua-cam.com/video/Hpm-7GzoKOE/v-deo.html
@@alexradsby ua-cam.com/video/zjALr2vgdIc/v-deo.html
@@orbithesun1 Yes of course people talk about Phase cancelling, it's very common. Especially in Music Production with multiple mic setups etc. What I'm saying is. It hasn't been used in comparison videos about guitar tone, especially in the real amp vs digital world.
Thank you so much, very helpfull! I am still an amp guy, never liked Kemper, but I'm tempted to get a Tonex.
Wow!! Amazing work!!
I am a Kemper owner and it’s been of the best purchases I’ve ever made BUT just listening on regular wired apple headphones I agree with everything you said. In fact I have to admit that through these headphones I could only tell that the tonex was louder - that is until u brought it down. Iow if I have to be honest with myself my ears couldn’t tell much of a difference with the tonex thru my headphones.
From my own experience profiling my amps I always found the issue with the mids; with a mark V it could get nasally on lead tones, with 5150 and recto riffing the low mids would sound a bit congested and finally the biggest difference was profiling a plexi.
Still their business model is amazing and here’s to hoping they’ll update the profiling process!
Thanks so much for the vid!!
As for the tonex, I’d be interested in hearing capture other types of amps (such as a plexi) and tones (edge of breakup overdriven etc)
Not asking you for a vid on that of course! Just a thought for me to look further into.
Cheers!
Really good and thorough comparison. I thought the Kemper and QC would have an advantage, being more expensive hardware, but I actually like the Tonex best in these, it did sound a bit more open and "real" in a way than even the real amp sometimes! The null tests just proved that further. I've only tried the free version of Tonex, and wasn't so blown away as to delve deeper into it, so I'm not biased in favor of it haha. In a mix, I think most all the differences would be pretty small and maybe not really important, but it's always good to see improvements being made.
Keep in mind the Kemper is over a decade old at this point. It came out when IK was on what, Amplitube 3? That's three entire generations of software before TONEX, so old in fact that TONEX came out a year after Kemper's profiling patent expired. You'd have to expect that with a full decade of extra development experience and free access to Kemper's patented processes, someone could come out with something that could match it for cheaper.
Dude. I know how much went into this video. Fantastic work. Let's hope for some Tonex hardware...
Well....Stay tuned for a couple more hours
@@Mendelian 😉🤫
Fantastic video Mendel, thanks so much for taking the time to make it! I have to say, you’ve made me consider selling my Kemper! Do you think the results would be similar with clean tones (like a Fender Twin or Vox AC30 for example)? Great work man! Cheers, Dom
I bet they well, I'm def selling my Kemper: Just keeping the Quad Cortex for outside gear and have a lot of special tones on it: So Kemper can say goodbye.
I def think the clean tones would work as well since the advanced mode (which takes 1,3 hrs to make with the Neural Engine) is mainly for High Gain tones. So clean tones are " easier" to get right.
Great job!
Thank Mendel.. Thats very good match....
Wow that is amazing detail. I definitely subscribed. I'd love to hear a edge of break up amp - Fender, Vox - rather than squished high gain.
I have been using a Kemper for a while and I must say I still haven't seen or heard a reason to get rid of it. I still love mine!
Since I had ToneX I don’t use anymore my kemper. I also have the AxefxIII Turbo but I play it a lot because of stellar effects.
ToneX is the first one that could give me the exact feel of my SLO and my MesaJP. It has the balls and natural feels of those. But I mostly use my own captures, all in advanced mode. It also is a way better for the amp+cab+mic. The way it react is just perfect. You should try!
BTW maybe kemper will make an update with Neural engine machine learning magic, but I doubt the very old DSP of the kemper could handle it… kemper has already tremendous amounts of aliasing with high gains amps :(
Awesome, my Kemper still sounds amazing to me especially in the mix.
The Kemper is stll an awesome piece of gear. It has been polished by over a decade of development. It sounds good. It has way more versatility live and has great effects. Id bet that you could easily tweak the kemper capture a little to match the amp better too but Most people couldnt tell you the difference between any of them in a mix. I have a kemper , QC, and an fm9 . They all have advantages and disadvantages.
@@tonyvanover2253 Its ancient tech that will require a second mortgage to repair if it breaks.
@bobdillon1138 sounds like your describing a tube amp...ancient tech... As far as Kemper goes, mine has never broke in over a decade.. Those that I've heard of having a problem were repaired for very little
I have tried all modelers. The Tonex is the one for me so far. It gets the feel right, which is most important to me. In a busy metal mix, most sounds work, but for playing, feel is everything. Now we just need a physical box we can put tonex into and real amps are gone for me atleast.
I've already used it live with my macbook haha
@@matheusferreira.youtube one could do that, but its not a very rugged solution.
@@johnosstreeter not rugged? You would barely find any life performance of any band where there is no Mac involved. I'd even go so far as to say that tonex on a decent ios device with an interface like the xtone (no pun intended) is the way to go.
A Physical box would be severely underpowered and ridiculously expensive considering you can buy 16 threaded RYZEN laptops with 16gb RAM these days for less than $900. Heck you can even buy 12 threaded ACER Ryzen for $500 that's more than sufficient to run Tonex.
I don't know if IK Multimedia can pull a physical box without sacrificing performance, they will start from scratch incorporating these chips and transistors, in my experience youll need at least 8 threads and 12 gigs RAM to run it smoothly
@@nethbt It would not be about power or price for me, more about trowing it in my bag like a helix stomp og quad cortex. A laptop is a bit more vulnerable. These boxes exist for a reason.
Very interesting, thanks !
Great video! Curious as to what OS version was on your Kemper? I have found that different OS versions sound pretty different. The ones from the last 12 months or so seem to sound a bit darker when creating profiles.
Nice video, man. You convinced me to buy ToneX. By the way, I think it's funny that people are finally coming around to the idea that the Kemper has something slightly off in the mids. It ALWAYS sounded like this to me. The way you described it nailed it, IMO. Lacking low mids and an emphasis on the high mids. Feels a little more dry than the real thing. I pointed this out way back in the day on the Andy Sneap forum when the Kemper first came out and Sneap started using it. Everyone was saying it sounds exactly the same and didn't want to hear it. lol.
That said, I do still own the Kemper and you can great sounds out of it if you compensate for the differences. Also, a lot of the low mids/high mids quirks of it aren't all that noticeable in a full mix. It's more noticeable to the player and in isolation. So, I'm definitely not saying the Kemper sounds bad. It's cool that it has more competition nowadays!
However, the best of the best experience, IMO, is running into your real amp with something like a Suhr Reactive Load, and then running into cab IRs. You get the convenience and flexibility of using IRs with the glorious feel of a real amp. I did buy the ToneX though. Maybe, I'll change my mind after I get a chance to make some profiles with it.
I tried talking abut the lowmids issue on the Kemper forums when I owned one.
You will be chased out with torches and pitchforks. The Kemper fanboys are just comically zealous about their product.
Did you end up changing your mind since getting the ToneX?
Tonex sounds remarkable. I wish I had amps to capture....currently its very difficult for me to navigate the user profiles as there is no search function. I also really like Tonehub by STL Tones and wish they made their own unit and capturing software.
You just showed that technology progresses, and software eats hardware. I'm not sure those differences are large enough to show in the end mix, we're getting to a sufficient level for the tones to be indistinguishable. As a guitar player though, nothing beats the feel of a cranked tube amp, in the same way an electric piano with 5 watt speakers can't come anywhere near the emotional threat and brutal force of a concert piano. Interesting comparison, appreciate the work that must have gone into it!
The level of pedantry we have reached is concerning. If one randomly switched between these four in a song, 99.999999% of people would never notice. We should all pick one and then just do two things: practice hard and then live life so that we have real things to express with our skills and crazy good gear.
This 27 minute analysis actually only took about 5 minutes.
You must be Kemper owner
UA-cam is for a sad number of people a place to fight vigorously over something they barely comprehend. I hear you. Try to find some joy.
Great job! Thx
The Stealth sounds fantastic ive had my eye on one for a long time. Maybe its time i sold my kemper and look into getting one :)
Such a sick amp
Awesome!!! Thank Youuuu Bro😊!!!!
The null test says it all!
VERY good video !!
Interestingly improved results compared to the previous Tone X video where there was some quite noticeable lack in presence and feel in the high end. Did you figure out a tip/trick to get better results from the Tone X capture process? Or did you perhaps put and EQ on all tracks to roll off where you were seeing Tone X drop off (around 15k if I recall correctly)?
Technology is so damn cool. On my phone speakers this video just sounds like listening to a bunch of isolated guitar riffs on a loop. I’m sure on my studio monitors there would be more noticeable differences, but that says a lot I think.
Sick!!
Yes, not enough people go through the labor of setting up a null test. But it's the best option to do a proper sound comparison.
I own a Kemper and foot switch and exp pedal but its had so many hires lately from the local backline company I am gonna buy a ToneX for at home and he can hold onto my Kemper during the busy season, haha
Hello,
Thanks for the test, a lot of time.
I still have to say that everyone is still a clear winner.
The differences are so small in my opinion. No one would notice this in any context anyway.
Whether TONEX, QC or the old Kemper. The Kemper in particular is still so damn good for its age.
For me there is no reason to switch from one device to the other if you own one of them.
I have a Kemper and FM3, just ordered the QC to try out. However, more to try out the UI and the nice form factor on the QC table. It remains unclear whether it is, but certainly not because of the “sound”.
Since I certainly never take a capture, who does it and how is pretty unimportant to me.
I have to like it and have it served well and quickly. I can even do that quickly on the Kemper, even though it bothers a lot of people. RigManager finished.
Greetings to all
Do you upload these captures somewhere?
Btw, good job and thanks a lot for the effort put into these videos!
That is insane. Even without the null test, I can hear how close the TONEX was to the real amp.
These would never null, there is too much randomness involved...
At least i can comfort myself with that i only bought the Amplitube 5 SE, why! Tonex so far the test i've heard is blowing Amplitube 5 away completely. Thanks for the nice test and great with the chugshort flip back in forths, really well done!
Having both is best. I bought Amplitube for the effects and use my app models from ToneX.
Top demais, parabéns
Super helpful. I would love to see NAM in comparison with the rest @ 21:40
Price matters. Tonex is affordable for the average guitar player. Nice to know you’re not giving up sound quality.
Please create multiple TONEX captures! Everyone will buy them!
Strong work with the video. Tonex the clear winner for a lot less money. Choice is a no brainer. Always noticed the things you said about the kemper live and in a mix. Never owned a quad cortex. Might have to get the Tonex to capture my arsenal of amps.
But when you factor in the costs for a new PC (unless you already have a heavy hitter PC) the costs for making captures (as quick as QC) is substantially higher IMO but Tonex is a phenomenal piece of software that will only get more efficient with capture times etc.
@@AndGuitar I mean, you can get more than serious bang for your buck nowadays. A pc laptop that is record capable plus Tonex is WAY cheaper, and it’s not even close.
Would love to see your comparison video like this with Axe fx3 aswell🙏
great great video mendel!!!
i really would like to hear a comparison between stl tonehub, tonex, kemper, quad cortex and the real amp (using the same signal chain). unfortunately you cant make your own profiles/captures with stl tonehub if i'm right. having another null test with stl tonehub and all of these contenders would be really nice though.
what are your thoughts on ml sound lab plugins? neural dsp etc?
btw missing you in aborted. can you pls make a guitar lesson video on how to play Cadaverous Banquet? including the solo(s)? i love this song.
Drop me a mail regarding Cadeverous, regarding amp sims: Yeah indeed wouldn’t make sense since you can’t make profiles with Tonehub so not sure what to Null.
Quanto a opinião dele e o som, vou pelo som. E tá tudo igual embora tenha um gráfico ali. basicamente não percebi nada no monitor de áudio para diferencia los. Seria impossível dizer quem é quem, em um texte as cegas. TONEX chegou para fazer os outros repensarem seus produtos e preços. Espero ter a oportunidade de compra lo um dia. Vídeo excelente!
Realmente mudou o jogo. Superior ao Kemper e Fractal à um preço imbatível, sem falar no tamanho. Alguns podem até argumentar que o ToneX chegou nos 99,5% de proximidade com valvulados, mas tenham em mente que daqui pra frente a tendência é chegar cada vez mais e mais próximo dos 100% e em tamanho PEQUENO e preço justo. Agora é só investir em ótimos monitores de áudio e tá resolvida essa briga pra sempre.
Que época boa para os músicos! E que ruim para os gatekeepers haha
Amazing video, thanks! Do you think that in a amp in a room style like FRLR (full range live response) the TONE X would still be better that Kemper Speaker Simulator Imprints tech. in terms of realism?
Surprised and impressed by the ToneX
Fantastic comparison. In your experience, are the included amp sims in multi fx pedals such as a Boss GX-100 even worse than a kemper? Are the Fx pedal amps even a tier below? Thanks!
Thanks for doing such a detailed and scientific demo here! Just wanted to ask which setting you did the Tonex model caputure with... fast, default or advanced (longest)?
Advanced, took 1,5 hr of my day haha!
The null test is the acid test!...but did you carefully callibrate the time alignment to compensate for any differences in latency between Kemper/QC/ToneX? One method would be to do it by ear..nudging the flipped audio in tiny increments to find the most cancellation. Another method would be to use a benchmark test to look for latency differences and then apply those differences to your audio files before making the null test. Brilliant video overall..you convey your thoughts and reactions extremely well which gives us the experience of going through the comparison with you. Thanks for doing what you’re doing!
I asked my self the same question, however this man did a great job and did insert Auto Align (an auto time alignment) Plugin into the track insert. This plugin in is sample accurate.
Cool video and a DI to each device is totally the way to go so GJ. All of those are totally usable. A null test is indeed the way to spot the difference. The caveat here is, the plugin has delay compensation which will put it's recording in better sample accurate timing than the hardware devices. The Kemper is pretty notorious for having some sort of delay (even if minimal for practical purposes). IMO there is no way the Kemper sample is as different as the null test suggests. A few dozen samples (maybe less) of timing difference would spoil a null test. So with both hardware devices I have to take the null test with a grain of salt, and it's why the plugin is a more accurate comparison with the null.
I have phase & polarity aligned everything to the real amp before filming.
@@Mendelian How did you phase align the Kemper recording? The null seems far more drastic than I would expect. I'd expect that result if it was re-amped & recorded onto another track, as there would be some inherent delay in the hardware round-tripping back into the DAW. But if you used something like MAutoAlign to really put the tracks in phase before checking the null, then it's a pretty astounding difference.
@@david_farmer I used a plugin called Auto-Align from Audio Radix. I personally believe that the big difference during nul testing vs the Kemper is because the low mids are drastically different compared to the real amp. The Kemper is the most obvious one in my opinion (especially playing through it) where the feel is just not close enough to the amp.
@@Mendelian Great yep those plugins do the same thing. Good on ya for thoroughness. I really thought there must be a latency thing going on as that Kemper null is pretty drastic. What a great nerd-out experiment. All these types of comparisons are a lot of fun. In the end we're really splitting hairs IMO. All those, and most modelers across the board, sound really great these days. So many comparisons are too close to call, and plenty of times I pick the simulation over the real thing.
Actually those null tests are very accurate. You don’t even need null test, it is strikingly obvious the tonex is the best, and the kemper is the worst. Before we even got to the null test I anticipated the results that were given.
I would be shocked if someone did a null test and didn’t align the audio. Anyone going to that scientific of a test would know they need to be aligned.
I mean we’re talking real nerdy stuff here, any of these sound pretty good. The Kemper sounded too tight in the lower mids for me so that low mid girth got lost unfortunately
On the quad cortex I agree that there is a lack of low end, but then I thought… the sublows und most of the lows get filtered out in a mix, so does it really matter that it’s missing?
Nice video as always dude!
To be honest it makes sense that the newest modeler is gonna be the best. I am still blown away that they can consistently improve upon this tech too! I am also most shocked that it came from amplitube peeps. They were so awful for so long. Their latest stuff is in another galaxy now. Glad they actually started making good products again. Do I need it though? Not sure. I am gonna keep waiting for the right thing. I think a hardware/software hybrid model is the future like positive grid’s spark amp. Sadly it doesn’t sound nearly as good as this though.
Great test! here's my thoughts:
Riff 1 ToneX is really close but it doesnt have the same attack, its slightly softer and less percussive. Quad Cortex sounds like it has less gain. Kemper has that different low mid thing going on.
Riff 2 is surprisingly different with ToneX, maybe has a little more gain? Kemper sounds thinner. QC also sounds a little thinner and less gain than the original.
Riff 3 Tone X sounds a little softer attack wise and more congensted than the real amp. Kemper is softer and more low mids, more compressed, Quad Cortex sounded a little flat and almost bandpassed compared to the real amp.
Riff 4 Tonex sounds a little nasal compared to the real amp, also again less attack than the original amp tone. Kemper sounds more compressed, mids also sound a bit different. QC sounds slightly more compressed, less attack, less low end.
I love digital stuff and its getting so good now, but if you have the real amp then you'd be mad not to use it. They're still the benchmark.
Disagree. The tonex has more dynamics and actually has slightly more punch. Not sure what your listening with but I’d listen again with different speakers and hopefully not headphones. The real amp has more compression and is slightly muddier. I bet you could add some compression on the tonex and get it near exact. This plug-in is so good there’s no reason to use the real amp except for the psychological belief in “real” and fun of turning knobs. Which is real and can trick your brain into thinking it sounds better. Trust me, I know lol.
I actually kind of prefer the tonex to the amp, but it’s damn close
@@pyratellamarecordingstudio1062 Listening in a treated studio with 3 pairs of monitors. IMO is a common trait for ToneX to have slightly less transient information, this isn’t the first example of it that I’ve heard.
Also, a very strong argument in favour of the real amp is you can adjust settings freely. The process of using profiles or modellers isn’t as fun. IMO they work best when you already own the amp and you want to preserve your tones for another time
Crazy, I'm quite sure to hear that QC is lacking some attack!
The null test is awesome, if it's done properly. Mendel, did you align the phase for all of these takes after recording or TONEX is just more aligned than other 2?
All of them are aligned to the original amp
Thank you for this in depth comparison. Damn, I'm surprised by the Tone-x plugin. Do you think Kemper could potentially become relevant with software updates, or do you think its hardware itself is outdated by now? I own a Kemper and i love it, but it definitely needs an update to its dsp engine.
I personally think it’s time for a Kemper 2. I’m not sure if the low mids issue can be solved with a software update since it’s been there since 2012. The Kemper it’s still a great unit, like I said live and most studio sessions no one will hear the difference and they shouldn’t care to be honest since music is the most important thing.
I’d love to see what Kemper would do when the Kemper II comes.
@@Mendelian "Music is the most important thing". I agree with you 100% man! 💪
You are right, yeah. Knowing German engineering the Kemper 2 will be amazing.
your audio is pumping through my KRK Rokit 5's and we have reached the who cares anymore level.
Kemper is unbeatable since a decade…love it!!!