DSM & Humboldt Electronics: SIMPLIFIER Zero Watt Amplifier
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- Опубліковано 5 гру 2019
- Australia: signalchain.com.au/products/d...
Global: www.simplifieramp.com
The title does not tell the full story. The Simplifier is a very capable stereo analog amp sim, cab sim, power amp modeller, fx loop and balanced/unbalanced direct device. It floored me when I fired it up. You'll probably want one; you have been warned.
Many thanks to Rodger van Raalte at Signal Chain for a chance to try this one.
Today's tools:
Guitar: 2011 PRS Studio. Stock.
Amp: Simplifier direct to Logic via PreSonus Quantum.
Extra effects: MI Audio Crunch Box V2; GFI System Specular Tempus FW 3.8
Cables: Various
Power Supply: Eventide PowerMax by Cioks
Mic: Samson Airline77 (me)
Camera: Canon 60D (me) and Nikon D5100 (pedal)
Soundcard: PreSonus Quantum
Monitors: Blue Sky Media Desk 2.1
Computer: Apple iMac 27" i7 3.4 GHz 16 GB RAM
Software: Logic Pro X, Waves Plugins, Apple Final Cut Pro X (video editing and UA-cam compression).
Best demo of ANYTHING I ever watched! Great job! Rapid fire through all options. Audio is perfect. Just enough great playing to get the job done. Most people play way too long showing each option, pick up, or what ever. Making the demo twice as long as needed. Excellent demo!
That's very kind of you, Wayne. There are FAR better demonstrators than old Burgs out there, I'm sure, but I'll gratefully accept your compliment and thank you very much! All the best to you.
Hey Brett, great demo. Coincidentally I have the same guitar, so your demo gave me a listen of exactly what I can expect! I just ordered it!
Always great when I'm interested in a piece of gear and find you've reviewed it. I know I'm going to find out what the damned thing sounds like, what the knobs do, and whether I should buy it or not. And you do it all in less than 8 minutes of my time! Thanks for being great at what you do. Hope all is well in your world.
another great demo, thank you for being so kicked back and informative. as always very entertaining
An excellent review from someone who is both knowledgeable and a good communicator. thank you!
I appreciate your thorough but direct-to-the-point demo's.
Cheers, Kenny.
Indeed I do want one! Just what I’m looking too. All in one package with great cab sims. They’re on preorder everywhere but I will stay tuned for when I’m able to consider the purchase.
I have the “big 3” in hotone amps, which I got a nice effect through the two notes plugin on my DAW. But c’mon this thing is phenomenal! I’d use the simplifier more than the real thing. Great tool for recording and or practice.
The tones are incredible and so was the review. As always thanks a ton for giving me some G.A.S!
I love that you actually have read the manual before you make these videos.
Really great review Brett. You're a killer player. I like this better than the Iridium I think. Super flexible features. I subscribbed.
Incredibly efficient review
My Simplifier arrived yesterday at my home. I tested it directly in front of my Fender Supersonic 60 W combo and all the three preamp models coloring the sound of my amp fantastically, and sound truly like a preamp tube sound on the amp effects loop. I add a Keeley Electronics Filaments High Gain distortion pedals, and ladies and gentlemen's I just get the most crushing sound I ever could get. A really amazing unit with a lot of utility certainly.
Awesome to hear you love it!
Wait... You played this *through* your 60w amp, or you did a side by side comparison? I don't think the intention is to run it through an amp, but to replace an amp.
yes, please do a iridium vs simplifier comparison!
The Simplifier already won because its analog. Digital designs can't handle analog distortion & overdrive as well. The Iridium was a surprising disappointment for me, since I love most Strymon designs.
I want this and the forthcoming Bass Station version. Yesterday was my birthday, and DSM has been on top of my wish list for months.
Happy Birthday!
Thank you, Brett!
Hi Gemma, what is this Bass Station you're talking about ? :)
Lulu De Las Nubes There is a bass version that was just officially announced a few days ago, the Simplifier Bass Station.
@@gcvrsa , oh great !
I'll definitely check that out !
Great tools DSM are making for musicians.
Can't wait to give them a try.
Thank you and take care Gemma !
It's like they get all of my favorite sounds and loaded them into this neat little box. I though only Quilter could make 100% analogue boxes this complete - but now stereo with different cab sim? Damn what is my pedalboard and all those amps for
Decoration?
It's OK- you can hide it and a couple of XLR cables behind one of your amps- no-one else needs to know!
Superb review/demo, well done.
Never even touched the EQ section!!...hi!..hi!...amazing demo!!...
Great demo! Like others, I’d be interested even in an opinion of it compared to the Iridium.
Top review Brett. Thanks
Analog goodness!! Sounds great!
Well done as always. I have a Iridium but? I want one of these too, such a greedy boy .
Really intriguing idea and quite frankly I'm pretty stunned as to the sounds on offer. Personally I wish they'd have gone with either an EL84 or 6V6 rather than KT88 as the third tube type but that's a minor gripe.
Same. I would prefer the option of EL84s as my pedal board is designed for amps with that power section.
However, the EL34 mode would probably cover most of what I need.
This seems super-cool!
I've just ordered one. Replacing my current sim rig (Tech21 Blonde and Bluguitar Blubox) - this thing is unreal.
Awesome review!!
And I want that crunch box!!
Okay, what a great pedal. But what about the Crunchbox and specular tempest, they sound incredible too. I think these three, together, may be the perfect rig.
Great sound!!!
Absolutely awesome
I've ordered one two days ago, waiting for the delivery. I hope I won't be disappointed. It will make it easier to practice quietly with my pedalboard, and do some quiet recording, all using headphones with reasonable volume.
How did it go?
@@geomusicmove It doest the job, but it basically sounds a bit DI, even when using effects. A little bit of reverb helps, but there's this DI feel when using playing clean. It's the same with slight overdrive, that doesn't even push the guitar into crunch. I'm also using a RAT distortion, and regardless of any settings and reverb, there's a DI feel in the sound. It's great for demoing, but I wouldn't use it for final recording of a song. It could work for that too, depending on sound and style, but in general, it can't compete with my Blackstar amp. And I'm only talking about listening back to a recording on headphones or studio monitors. It's still a pretty good piece of gear, but it's not perfect.
@@nedim_guitar Thanks for the reply. I haven't found any gear combination that pleased my ears on direct/silent recording.
I've tried a Torpedo CAB with pedals, valve amp heads to load to cab sim, solid state heads to cab sim, the Line 6 Helix which in fact might have been the worsest investment I ever made as their cab sims are terrible in my opinion.
So I was hoping this unit with a preamp pedal before it like one of those Kraken or something of the like could work, but I have low hopes. I've ordered one arriving soon, so I'll see.
@@geomusicmove I get that. Helix is great, it just needs a lot of tweaking. I've tried the Helix native one week demo, and I couldn't make anything that sounded good. It's a long learning period for me when it comes to Helix. So I decided to build a pedalboardnto work on demos through the Simplifier and then use my amp for recording of at least some guitars.
One thing about the Simplifier, I think that the Marshall type of sound with 4x4 cab sim sounds best, has the least DI feel, especially when I roll off the mid frequencies a bit (around 10 o'clock), and push the resonance knob to as much as 3 o'clock. Just don't forget a reverb pedal or a reverb plugin for room. Or just run the Simplifier with the through function and load an IR of a cab. That might also work pretty good. Just experiment a bit to find your sound.
@@nedim_guitar I spent nearly a year tweeking the Helix to no avail. I just couldn't find anything that sounded realistic at all for hard rock guitar sound. I got a few nice clean tones, but found most amp sims to be quite muddy or harsh at higher gains. I know many people swear by it, not my cup of tea. I'm selling it.
So, I'm going back to analog, I'll get a preamp and a couple of new gain pedals. I got rid of the ones I had when I got the Helix...bad mistake. I think even the Xotic preamp pedal and a SansAmp through my Torpedo CAB would have worked better than the Helix.
Have you tried the Torpedo CAB as to compare it to the Amplifier?
“Slightly more open with a tighter bottom end” - never a bad thing
This pedal sounds great!! Is there anything else like it on the market that utilizes a digital interface? I currently own the Strymon Iridium and am not a huge fan (not crazy over the digital sound). Let me know, thanks in advance!
Sounds killer!
Thank you. Ordered one on the weekend. Still not sure how I will best use this but I have many (many) ideas. On the face of it, seems a very versatile box of tricks. The sound seems good in all demos I've heard/seen of it. Waiting to get it under my fingers to see how it really "feels". Not thinking this will match the feel of tubes (it doesn't claim to) but could still be very useful.
great demo thank you
Came for the Simplifier...left with a Crunch Box on order. (oh and a Simplifier too)
You are a master. Thank you.
Hi everyone - we have more stock arriving this week and then regularly thereafter. Thanks for your interest in this awesome pedal (there's also a Bass Station version), and big ups to @brettkingman as always for his awesome work.
Yeah and for an astronomical price
@@wormeister if you can't afford quality gear there are plenty of chinese pedals for you to play with, you get what you pay for. There is plenty of research, supply cost and work hours behind a product like this. But what do you know.
I am very impressed with this design & am looking forward to incorporating it in a LIVE rig.
@rodgervan is there a way I can be updated on stock arrival ?
There are plenty of cab simulators/emulators both analogue and digital (such as IR based cab sims) and some of the digital ones have power amp simulation, but I've not been able to find a dedicated analogue power amp emulator. I like the idea of mixing and matching different technologies and am curious how an analogue (or even a tube based) power amp emulator would sound paired with a preamp of my choosing and either an IR cab sim or something like the Cabzeus or Iconoclast.
Sounds amazing, seems very intuitive to use! A great desktop device for home recording, but limited for live use by the lack of MIDI, presets, or even a footswitch jack.
Really cool
Hi, great demo, one quick question is how do you connect to an audio interface, I'm not sure, because I don't have the simplifier at the moment, thanks.
Sounds great. Can you switch the channels via footswitch or midi?
no
This sounds amazing. Brett, are running this demo directly into your DAW? Assuming that, but would like to be certain.
Hi Jeff. Yes, Sir. Straight to Logic via my PreSonus Quantum. Only a limiter on the output buss; no extra EQ or anything fancy.
Brett, thanks for the reply. One of these is now on my Christmas list to myself.
How does this compare to the Shift Line Twin?
Just wondering how this compares to the two notes cab m?
Hi everyone! More stock is arriving in a couple of weeks. Hang on to your seats... www.signalchain.com.au.
Thanks again Brett for the great video and your ongoing partnership. You continue to produce some of the best demos around!
Indeed he does. His videos are in my top 3 for overall presentation of what's important in a piece of gear.
Is there some difficulty with digital reverbs in the loop....?
Can we turn the cabsim off if we are running this through a backline amp
I tried comparing sounds with my speakers set to mono, and it is a shame how bad the mono compatibility of the spread function is. Kiills the guitar tone in mono. That means that if you record guitar with the spread mode on and you put it into a song, the guitar sound is gonna change whenever it is played in mono summing the stereo signals... I was suprised how good that feature sounded, but it did not pass the test...
Like your demos! What’s the feel and overall realism compared to Iridium? Does Suhr ACE compare?
Thanks! 1. No idea, I've never tried the Iridium or the Suhr Ace so I'm not much help, sorry.
@@BrettKingman What about compared to the ADA stuff?
Hi, sounds great, do you know what power it needs? as i can't find any info
fabrocal just standar 9v dc with a max of 100ma.
How much clean headroom does this have? I have a 50W milkman the amp and keeping it clean at a decent volume is hard
How is the feel?
Any clipping from the effects send? (ie: it clips reverb, delay, Trem etc in the loop).
yes.
Hello, how does this compare to the walrus acs1?
Hey @BrettKingman have you try the Strymon Iridium!? A comparison the Simplifier and the Strymon would be great since both are kind of similar , and direct competitors!
I asked Strymon's Australian distributor for a demo unit (as you're not the first to ask me about the Iridium) but they couldn't or wouldn't supply one. Strymon aren't really interested in my take because they don't me. I understand that. So I can't help this time, I'm sorry.
Oh wow that’s very sad since I think you make great reviews! Thanks anyway!
Best overall setting for the simplifier if I'm using the AC Brit in this pedal?
I've heard a lot of demos of this unit and it seems to have a lot more gain in your video. Is it because you have higher output pickups?
I have no idea. The PRS has a medium output PAF-type (57/08) pickup in the bridge position and Narrowfields in the middle and neck position. Maybe I just hit the strings harder.
I’m trying one ...and love the sounds...but having trouble with big pops when mot of the toggles are changed. Anything obvious I’m missing?
You aren't changing toggles during performance, ? Thanks for pointing that out, but realistically, you set and forget before each gig or each set or each song, so not a practical concern, is it?
@@homeworldmusic Between songs - my volume pedal is upstream, so I'd need other means to mute, with the risk of forgetting and releasing a really loud pop. That what's not practical for me.
Can it do jazz?
"alright, that's good. that's better than good!"
Short and to the point, excellent demo. Would it work well with a preamp pedal in front such as a Victory Kraken for some heavy stuff?
I don't think so. This thing itself IS an amp. You might be able to run it as a preamp but there are other stompboxes that are less expensive and better for that purpose.
@@shane8426 Yeah you're right. I've tried it and it doesn't really work. I've found the signal from the Simplifier a bit weak, I do think it needs a preamp after it to give it a lift.
What I don't like about the Simplifier is that as far as I know you can't bypass the amp sim section to use the unit as a cab sim only.
Wait, I am confused, is this pedal entirely analog (including the cab sim section)? If so, that is neat and different :)
Yep, entirely analog!
nice! :)
Confirmed with DSM & Humboldt, it is 100% analogue.
@@gcvrsa But how am I going to load my IR's? (troll mode on)
In my case Iridium went already on eBay (sold next day), I must be deaf because I did not hear what others are praising about? Or maybe it was just a step down for me? I tried to like Iridium, it simply did not work for me. Currently I am using :
Analogman KOT => Kingsley Constable (two vacuum tubes, based on Plexi design preamp) => ADA MP-1 Channel (2 vacuum tubes) for high gain lead => Kingsley Maiden (Dumble style version) for clean sounds => NUX Digital Studio for I.R. cab and power section emulation => Delay & Reverb
(1) So far NUX Digital Studio has been the best speaker/power amp emulation
(2) Yesterday I finally tried ENGL Cabloader, did not work for me, goes on eBay this week.
(3) I would like to try Two Notes C.A.B. M, Joyo R-08 Speaker Cab Box, and GFI CabZeus.
How great CabZeus sounded in Brett's review.
Anybody has any experience with these listed in #3?
Thank you!
Henryk Chrostek I’m looking into somewhat of similar setup! I have a Morris Dismorrtion and I’m looking to get the Constable for the Morris to go into. Let me know what’s your thought about the cab M! I already have the cab and for now I use the Ethos Clean. Looking to go into more tubes. I wanted to try the Iridium but to have me wondering! Cheers!
@@allakazoo6267 I don't know Morris. But Constalble is like real Plexi, it does not have high gain, you need like real amp overdrive in front like TS9 or similar. I use Analogman King of Tone and works great.,
If you plan to get Constable you better sign up on waiting list, it takes time now to get it.
Henryk Chrostek Yeah I already talked to Kingsley and will probably get on the list this week (9 months wait as of now). Really suggest you look into Morris. What he does is all top notch! The Dismorrtion is what I would use instead of a ts9 . Have you tried the page as a kind of power amp as he does in his videos?
Henryk Chrostek How do you like the constable going into the Maiden? Does it lose its British character a little bit?
wow, great tones. Can you make presets on it?
asnipa Nope, it’s an all analog device so no presets. Maybe for a future version they apply digital control while keeping all the simulations analog.
@@jedielrodriguez4835 That would make it perfect. Thanks !
Love the Idea and it's a plus that it is stereo, just wish it was ir loader
Ariel Lopez It's better than an IR loader. It's 100% analogue.
I have to agree. IR's are great and all - I use them too - but there's nothing wanting here as far as I'm concerned. It's a one-stop shop.
@@BrettKingman Howdy Brett. You are just simply the best demo dude on the tube!! I actually saw this amazing gizmo last week and thought it was just loaded with issue solving connection goodies!! Wow. AND stereo. So,...it IS an actual stereo preamp that can be utilized just as any preamp situation would normally dictate, correct?Just thought it would be perfect for FOH at Church with the usual fx pedal board on the stage for a somewhat manageable volume level there. Cool man!
@@gcvrsa Don't get me wrong, this SIMPLIFIER has got me thinking. I've been using ir for the past 5yrs and cab sims before that. I always thought cab sims sounded good but lacked a crucial component in the tone, the power amp section. The SIMPLIFIER has it. I would love to see a head to head of the SIMPLIFIER vs the Iridium
SOLD
Uh oh, any idea vs Strymon Iridium?
None. No Iridium has come my way. They're not interested in me. Fair enough. Care not, though, because this is amazing.
Anyone care to comment on using this with headphones? I would like to be able to use it as a practice device without needing to be connected to an interface/mixer/monitors but someone told me the headphone out is noisy and doesn't sound as good.
iridium vs simplifier
exactly what i'm trying to figure out! $100 less for simplifier and XLR out...
I’m going with the simplifier. I don’t have much reasoning behind that opinion but this thing has it all.
This company also has a bass version as well with the tone of an ampeg. I’m comparing that one to preamps like the orange butler.
iridium is digital, simplifier is all analogue. If that helps the decision process :)
Play both and decide for yourself, I know that both have their positives and negatives. Honestly, being all analog doesn't mean it better than digital nowadays. It how it sounds and feels that makes the difference. You will only know if it works for you once you play it yourself.
@@MathisMade Have to agree with this
This is amazing. I commented about it on Burgs' facebook page, but at $349 USD on their website, it is seriously a steal!
@Signal Chain When I brought your website up here in the USA it was still quoting AUD instead of USD? My bad.. So sorry.
The USD conversion works out in our favor here in the states. Even at $499AUD the USD conversion is currently $341.22
@Signal Chain I am all about the love for this pedal. I am a big Flyrig fan and this gives them a huge run for the money.
@Signal Chain I didn't see anyplace to enter the code? I am in the USA.
Nice, just needs a 5150/Recto channel and footswitchable presets. And Assignable cabs for each preset.
To have presets it would need digital interface which this doesn't have. The companies making the simplifier emphasize on the all analog thing.
Oyarzun Kramer I know🎸
Na it doesnt....wrong...its fine as it is thanks..👍
Fuck me - oops, am I aloud to swear? - that is one helluva amp/cab sim. I've no idea what the price is, but I want me one of those.
“Slightly more open with a tighter bottom end”.
Sounds like my mistress in comparison to my wife. 😬
Plastic sound.