Can the Lichtlaerm Audio Prometheus defy the Amp GODS?
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- Опубліковано 26 вер 2024
- Prometheus was a Titan in Greek mythology that defied the gods. In this video, I’ll be giving the Prometheus a thorough check and will see if he can steal the fire from the gods again by shooting the Prometheus amp out against some legendary amps.
In this video, I am using IRs. IRs that I made myself and are available for download in the descriptions of the respective speaker videos I made.
For the Playthrough section I am using the sweetspot IR of the Lichtlaerm Audio LCR-150 speaker.
Check out the speaker and get the IR here:
• Lichtlaerm Audios' new...
For the Shootouts I am using V30 IRs I made in the same cab.
Check Lichtlaerm Audios website for more info on the amp: www.lichtlaermaudio.com
Since several people have asked now - If you want to support me, buy me a cup of coffee or help me save the economy by enabling me to buy more speakers, you can:
- Use my Thomann affiliate link if and when you want to buy something there www.thomann.de...
- Join my Patreon at / tojb and get exclusive IR packs for the speakers I demo
- Or donate a buck or two directly via Paypal paypal.me/theo...
Time stamps:
00:54 Intro
02:32 Playthrough
02:34 Prometheus interface
04:02 Prometheus features
05:02 Dirty Channel Modern voicing
05:58 Cut, Bite and Gain controls
07:10 The Cut control
08:52 The Bite switch
10:32 Dirty Channel Modern voicing with a boost
12:23 The EQ
13:38 The Global controls
14:06 Dirty Channel Vintage voicing
14:58 Vintage voicing low gain
15:20 Vintage voicing high gain
15:59 Vintage voicing with a boost
17:51 Clean Channel
19:47 The loop
21:30 a bad demonstration of the noise gate
22:48 Prometheus vs. Diezel VH4
28:03 Prometheus vs. Engl Savage 120
31:42 Prometheus vs. Marshall JVM 410HJS
36:43 Prometheus vs. EVH 5150 III 50w
42:28 Prometheus vs. Framus Cobra
45:17 Final thoughts
Signal chain:
2016 Mayones Duvell 6 Standard with Dimarzio Titans
Lichtlaerm Audio King in Yellow OD pedal (occasionally)
The amps
My own IR (Lichtlaerm Audio LCFR-150 and Vintage 30s from the year 2000 (both 8 Ohms))
Two Notes Torpedo Live
Audient ID44 mkII converters
Reaper
UA-cam
Your crappy phone speaker
your ears
Man that thing sounds like it's gonna be a beast in a mix in a studio. Wanna hear it in a band setting and in a mix.
@@jasoncrump1886 Check out my friend Jons video on the amp on the Sonic Drive Studio channel. He did a great job and has some awesome mixes with it
Those sounds are sick! I really like how raw the amp sounds, amazing!
Wow . Just wow. Love the modern voicing. Awesome !
It's fantastic
I'm so apathetic to new amps these days. This is the one that actually has me considering buying another one
It's the only tube amp I have bought new in the last decade
thanks! Means a lot to hear things like that :)
@TheOtherJohnBrowne I've been plotting on how to raise the funds for the past few weeks. Every single person I know who tried it at NAMM spoke highly of it and said it will suit my taste. Just need to negotiate with my accountant (aka the wife)
How did you order yours? I can’t find it on the website… And what is the price point? I need to see if I have to start selling things 😂.
@@javiermp81 the first few runs were only anounced on Lichtlaerms social media channels and you had to email them. Later batches will be on their website. I'd recommend you email Lichtlaerm directly.
The base version (mine) will probably run you 2699€
great a/bing vid with short clips, a dying art. thx! the difference between prometheus and savage is even bigger then between ceramic and paper in oil tone caps… totally worth the money. as a ex zeavy now more pedal guy: hats off to 9v power in the footswitch. someones actually thinking at lichlaerm.
Thanks! Coolest compliment I got for the amp was: "it's like a guitar player designed it" :D
@@danielringl8501 more power to you sir! even if an old engel can closeley match some settings 😁 its the prettiest and loudest 9v adapter i have seen. so obvious, why didnt anyone do it before? tsts, schnittstellenproblematiken…
@@dasczwo hahaha - this had me laughing out loud :D
That is one great sounding amp!
Fantastic video as usual!
Cheers!
Thanks, mate!
I cannot stress enough how excited I am to put my order in. I now have to think about how I want to spec it.
Amazing amp and video! Blows all the others away especially vs the VH4 which I’m surprised! Sounded like a blanket was on most of the other amps compared to the Prometheus! The EVH on the red channel was almost identical and I’m the same as u and love the blue channel with a boost on the EVH. Regret selling mine but oh well. Love my KSR pa50, Vesta, and Hera rig and my favorite tone I’ve ever had!
Love the KSR preamp pedals. I used to have a Ceres to use with my PA50 too
Gratulation, ein sehr geiler Amp und Vergleich !!! Mega Content ❤
Danke!!!
Amazing video! So glad you are happy with the purchase! I personally REALLY liked the JVMJS (got that same amp here borrowed from a buddy of mine), but the Prometheus was super close to the 5150, did not expect that!
Awesome video man! So proud! Awesome amp as well! So proud if Daniel too! 🔥
Cheers bro! Thanks
This is an amazing review man! New fan here! 🤘❤️
Appreciate it! I've been a fan of yours for a while too
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne 🙏❤️🤘
Sick amp, sick video, nice work John Browne 🤘
Thank you
Sounds really great, it has a very good character and it´s veeeery versatile, wich I think makes it an awesome tool for recording 🔥
🙏🙏🙏
@@lichtlaermaudio great amp you´ve made over there! I would love to hear it with 6550 and 6L6, I´m sure its going to slay hard
@@solarfallmori all possible!
Awesome comparison!
Excellent demo, thank you very much! The amp sounds great and your presentation was really good. Thanks again!
Thank you
I wanted to wait for this video to be out for a little while so I could read through the comments to see what others have to say about the Prometheus. I'm gonna just say this.....if you haven't physically played one, anything you hear on UA-cam is NOT going to be representative of this amp no matter how high quality the video is. You have to PLAY IT and physically be in front of it to appreciate how fantastic it is to play and how it reacts to your playing. I was fortunate enough to play this amp at the Pittsburgh Guitar show not too long ago and , without even scratching the surface of this amps capabilities, I immediately dialed in a tone that was so pleasing and felt so good, I didn't want to stop playing it!
It's been a while since an amp ( except for my Monomyth modded Marshall JCM 800) brought back that " Grint your teeth, dig in and chunky-chunk chug!!" kind of excitement! Before I knew it, there were some onlookers standing around listening to this machine barking at their faces!!
Credit to the Lichtlaerm cab loaded with the LCFR speakers completing the whole sonic package as well.
And finally, I've owned 3 of the 4 amps (minus the Diezel) that John shot out with the Prometheus and I would so highly choose the Lichtlaerm over any of them and probably most other amps that are out there based on my in-person experience with it ( and hundreds of other amps throughout the years). Is it the best amp out there today? Mm...Probably not... but it's pretty far up near the top , in my opinion. I hope to own one in the near future! I really don't think I need both my Kidneys.
Great job on this amp, David ...and great amp shoot-out vid, John!!
Sweet roasted satyr nuts! This amp sounds spicy!
Uuuuuuhhh ❤️
WOW it sounds so damn good! I need one 😅
Yes. Yes you do
Great demo and some excellent dailing in you show here, thanks! I love these "how close we can get"-sections, enlightning. Guitar and IR matter a lot.. Prometheus sounds great and definitly shares some Herbert-characteristics imo (grind, definition, that highend.. less sub bass of course) and I vote for a comparison with the OG.
Cut control seems to be a HP/LP-filter indeed, which is great and more amps need a feature like that! The almighty Diezel VHX has something similiar.
Thank you very much! Yes, Herbert would be a great contender but people voted for the VH4. I may have to a follow up with some of the runner ups. Herbert, Rockerverb, Dover...
Would love to check a VHX one day
Oh, I skipped the VH4 section accidentally! And I was one of the voters, dang it. 😂
Yeah okay, I hear the typical VH4-thing. Works great in a mix but sounds totally strange on it's own. Super unique voicing, lively but dense low mids, not much bass. Herbert fixed the lack of top end thing.
Great job man!! I really dig the sound for sure!! I'll be honest though, I was floored at how similar the EVH was in terms of overall tone. It seemed to have a bit more low end like you said and the mids I think are placed a bit lower as well. But apart from that man, in a band mix? I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It's crazy how the EVH can still hang with MANY higher (and pricier) end amps...lol Side note: I would be really curious the hear the Promotheus vs the 3120 or JSX ;)
Yeah! Keep in mind though that the Promethwus can do the EVH thing but the EVH can't do everything that the Prometheus can. At the same time, I do agree that the EVH is a super value pack.
I may have to do a follow up shooting the Prometheus out against some more amps
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne Oh for sure the Prometheus is more versatile :) But I guess that, for me, it showed me that I don’t need a Prometheus for what I play since my tone is very similar to yours actually in that video so…that would be a win for me, money wise, I guess? Haha
Sounds amazing!
🖤
Great video! These amps sound killer!
Nice demo and shootout overall, however I wish you would have used the mids knob on the Prometheus when trying to match tones with the VH4 and Marshall in particular. Just adding more mids would have gotten it way closer imo, but I wasn’t in the room with them and I’m sure the final results on UA-cam sound different from what you were hearing. Congrats on the new amp! 🤘
Thanks an also thank you for the constructive criticism
Sick video man!
Thank you
Great sounding amp and I love the tweaking features on it. It would be really sick if they team up with a plugin developer and model it ;)
Do you have a particular developer in mind?
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne Aurora DSP would be my pick. They nailed the IronHeart
I love how you can go from doom to tight 2010s metalcore with one knob. This and the Engl SEFE are the only amps I am gasing for right now.
sick amp
Oh yes!!
Excellent video and comparison!! A buddy of mine just told me about this amp and it is very impressive!
Thanks!
Reminds me a bit of the Omega Granophyre and Obsidian. Very tight and dry sounding, and also has that super crunchy texture that the Omega amps has. Like a good Nebbiolo wine. Dry, complex, earthy and full tannins!
Btw, all amps should have a cut control!
I actually borrowed a Granophyre for a while to compare them - and there are some similarities but they sound quite different: both are tight and have a pretty big low end but where the Grano was more of that raw Recto-style low end the Prometheus can be equally big but it’s more “stable” for a lack of a better word. Also the Prometheus has a certain British quality in the EQ and higher mids where the Omega sounds a bit more scooped and well - typically American 🙂
In stereo they sounded glorious, tho! And I see it very much as a compliment to be compared to the Omega amps - I respect Mike as a designer and a person very much even tho have different approaches to sound design 😊
as someone who has played the amp extensively, it definitely falls into that category in the feel department. Tight, modern, compressed. Very clean, lots of note definition. But in voicing, it leans more towards the Diezel thing, smooth mids, rounded top end. Not super aggressive, very refined and studio ready. These are my opinions after spending a good amount of time with it.
Sounds great dude!!
Thanks, mate
The LL sounds like a great candidate for Chris Poland.
very good test .. thx ..
Großartiges Video und offensichtlich ein richtig geiler Amp. Vielen Dank für deine Mühe 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Weißt du zufällig, ob es den Prometheus auch mit der Option einer 2. Master Lautstärke gibt? 🤔
Schreib Daniel bei Lichtlaerm am besten mal eine Email. Vielleicht kann er da was machen
Wow!
Get. In. Me.
LOL
What an amp!
But i can't even find it on the Lichtlaerm website, seems like it only exists on UA-cam until now.
For the time being, you have to email Lichtlaerm. They just sold out the second batch the other day
I liked the EVH and the Lichtlärm amplifier the least in direct comparison. VH4 sounded best to my ears - magical mids. But the Prometheus amp has the best design for sure.
Nice demo! I can't wait to check this amp out
I would love to see it compete with the Engl SE FE!
Oh dude! That would be sick. I sadly don't have one but my friend Jon at Sonic Drive Studio has both! He might be willing to shoot them out
jesus this sounds insane haha
5150 sounded very close in voicing overall in the shoot out IMO
Defo reminds me omega crossed with a serious focussed and saturated metal amp such as engl. Would get one if was still dumping money on amps I don't need lol
Hey buddy - we all know it was never about "needing" in the first place :D
Man that thing is so close to 5150iii.
Should of done a review with lichtlaern cab with lcfr speakers
The cabs have not been released yet and you're hearing it run through the Lichtlaerm LCFR-150 speaker IR that I made myself for the most part
Are you going to make some tonex captures ;)
Maybe
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne it would be very much appreciated!
I did. www.tone.net/tonex/users/the_other_jb
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne amazing! I’ll be checking them out today :)
Hi John, again a great video ... but where is the first test video with the Lichtlaerm Audio Prometheus - I cannot find it anymore.
This is the first video. Do you mean this one?
ua-cam.com/video/3iUFTZCLdDY/v-deo.html
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne sorry ... you are right .. my fault and thanks
It's all good! I was just a little confused
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne me too .. but was my fault ... which tubes do you use EL34 or 6L6 ?
@@MingTian666 my Prometheus is loaded with EL34
There's something in the high register which sounds very brittle and dry. Like the absence of tube warmth, almost solid-state quality.
Compared to the other amps too? I'd say its probably more the way I dialed it as I like bright and tight sounds. It can be dialed very thick and warm too
Tube amp produces lots of high end, using tubes.
Sounds brittle, "almost solid state".
You can't make this shit up 🤣🤣
@@JohnWiku maybe it's the mic setup or the cab speakers
Did you dial all the amps to your favorite setting on each of them? If so then I think the Prometheus actually smokes them all. The “cut” control really is the big game changer, especially in combination with the bite switch. Only thing I’d change about the amp is that I would wanna be allowed to go too far on some knobs, mostly the mids, just to have the option for those that want it
Yes. All amps were dialed as well as I could to my preference.
It's so good that I briefly considered selling some amps to fund another one. Deeply irrational but that's me
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne I wouldn’t call that irrational in this rare case. Thanks for the awesome content by the way, your comparisons and review videos should become the standard
@@oRizho thank you!
🔥
No shock that it beat the vh4, I find the vh4 to be very average and over rated. however, I was surprised the Prometheus made the vh4 sound thin cause the vh4 is one beefy amp. The savage I liked on par with the Prometheus and the savage is my least fave engl. The Marshall held up better than I thought but yeah they can be mushy and muddy in the gain, the TSL is their only good metal amp. Making the Prometheus sound like the Marshall seemed like sabotage. The 5150 iii is a hard metal amp to beat I think I think the 100 Watters would be on par with the Prometheus. I don't think the Prometheus will have that processed vibe like the evh or engl amps though, not that that bothers me, Engls are the perfect metal amps and the 5150 iii is right there too. The cobra is a great beefy rectoish amp without the need for a boost but it's got a lot of bad tones in it. I think the Prometheus does the best of what it can do without much effort and takes it a little further. Great shoot out man \m/
Thank you for the great and detailed comment!
I liked the Engl the best and the Marshall the least. The Prometheus was really nice but had a mid scoop which bothers my ears.
Siccccccckkkkk
Possibly 5150 III may also feel too easy to play also? At least that is the case with me. Peavey may sound more like AM radio or muffled sometimes but it feels more aggressive imho. Marshalls are very good for forearm/hand workout, I like setting them low and then picking hard. 5150 III is quite compressed all the time, Diezels have same thing going on.
What exactly does "too easy" to play mean? Why would you want it to be harder to play? Most people prefer a bit of compression and saturation, especially for leads.
@@justsomerandomguymanit is just a preference, I used to play marshalls without any boosts, to have definition without muddy sound you need to keep gain low and pick hard. and I like that feeling, so it means when I pick softly I dont get crunchy riffs anymore. So the amp sounds hard only when I pick hard. Playing amps like 5150 III is like a playing an amp which is placed in another room for me.
Some VHT amps have the Edge button and it reminds me what Marshall does when you pick hard, it cuts more
Harmonically rich overtones , a bit bright .. presence pushed?
I like it set bright but the Prometheus can do darker tones exceptionally well too
I here what you're saying about having dedicated eqs for the vintage and modern settings. But when you consider the fact that you can store and have presets it's not as important
Yeah but you can't store EQ, volume and gain settings
I thought that the preset saved everything the way you had it and whenever you step on the preset it gives you the same settings you saved.well whatever it is the amp is amazing. okay what other amps have you had besides these.l@@TheOtherJohnBrowne
@@Frankcruzmusic it's only the switches that can be saved - digital potentiometers have a few inherent problems that need so much additional circuitry (especially digital circuitry...) and have an inherent noise (called zipper noise) when moving from one preset to another. Trying to keep the digital things as far away from the signal path as possible to give you the cleanest possible signal :)
Very similar to the EVH. Are you using good old AT M50x headphones?
Also, maybe I missed it but what reactive load was used?
Yep. Those are M50X. Have not tried EQing them. How would you recommend I'd go about that.
I'm using my Torpedo Live. Waiting for St.Rock to have the React:IR back in stock again.
I was honestly surprised on how close you can actually get the Prometheus to the EVH!
Its sounds Mesa-like.
What amp do you suggest for leads? Amazing tones with this head, never heard of them!
They are a boutique pedal builder from Berlin, Germany. They've been around for a while and now they are entering the amp market.
Honestly, all the amps do the thing but I'd chose the Prometheus.
Ho ly mo ly
Sounds dry, maybe just depends on settings and cab
For modern heavy tones, dry is what you want.
This amp was made with its own cab and custom speakers in mind.
V30 might make it sound dry as you described, and that's what I like about it 😂😂
Probably the way I just like to use it. It's a quality I like but I tried to show how versatile it is by comparing and adjusting it to the other amps in the shootout. It doesn't have to be dry at all.
🙂🙂🙂😀
Great Sounding Amp....couldn't listen to the whole thing because I'm tired of hearing these same riffs.
Same
Man ... now you just missing Licht... guitar. 😂😂😂😂
... maybe one day.
Never say never 😁
So where do you buy one?
Keep an eye out for Lichtlaerms socials and their website.
I'm sure the anouncement for the second batch will come soon
Please make tonex presets for this Amp, pleassseeee!!! 😅
I already uploaded two on ToneNet and will do some more soon! Just type Lichtlaerm into the search bar 😊
I believe Daniel already has a few captures online. Search for Lichtlaerm. If Daniel doesn't mind, I may throw my own in the mix too
Do it 😊
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne that would be cool, haven't found anything in tonex tone net.
Yep, there’s a couple on Tone Net.
Where's the hum coming from?
If you are referring to the VH4 segment, its power transformer has started to hum quite loudly unfortunately
@@TheOtherJohnBrowne Oh, that sucks. Thanks for your reply.
Yo dude. I’ve watched your Laboga Mr Hector vs jvm groovy death metal videos. It took me 10 years to a Mr Hector in the USA and have proudly been abusing it for the last 5. I wish I could make videos but I’m computer challenged. Keep shredding!
@@youngmike8645 That's nice, thanks :) Likewise!
@@ThyFinalPainI take it you still have your Laboga?
Keep the vh4, toss everything else.
No.
The V4 was the worst and most dated sounding! The Savage held it's own. I would expect the Savage mkii or Koch Supernova would match it.
Sounds like it has Russian or Chinese glass.
JJ pres and TAD redbase EL34 which are Chinese, I believe
We don’t use Russian parts incl. tubes in any of our designs. JJ in the preamp section and TADs in the output.
Btw: ALL vacuum tubes that are not made by JJ are either Chinese or Russian.
@@lichtlaermaudio I know. I can hear the signature of Russian/Chinese glass immediately. Did you try JJ E34L's or KT77's in that amp? Being 33/31 watt tubes respectively they usually get criminally overbiased as 25 watt tubes and sound harsh, but when biased properly they have the best sonics of any EL34 type on the market. Wishing you all the best!
We tried basically all different tubes and found the reliability of the RedBase (at least for the KT88s & EL34s) outstanding - for other tube types we usually go with JJ as well.
The good thing is that the power amp is completely customizable: the transformers are custom wound in Europe and work with any kind of (big) power tube - they are fine tuned for whatever choice of power tubes. If you wish for JJs: that’s what we’ll put in and bias everything accordingly - mixed pairs are also possible and the external bias ports allow for experimenting for anyone who knows what they’re doing 🙂
@@nigel7880 "I can hear the signature of Russian/Chinese glass immediately" I don't believe you , this has been tested many times....
Not just a stunning sounding machine but a beautiful looking one as well
Thanks, man!
Divine!! The amp...and the presentation!
Thank you, Dan!
😂 💸 I feel my wallet getting lighter after watching this. Definitely sounds like it lives up to the hype.
Thanks for the in depth review and the comparison featuring a quality smorgasbord of amps.
Thank you! My pleasure. I think the amp delivered on all its promises and more
nice riffs man
I just love the sounds you get man so good
Thanks!
Got that slo vibe to it.
Dat ring flash.