Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

[Guitarjon]

I got a Marshall JCM 800 Studio (SC20H) recently. It's a great amp and it really delivers that classic JCM 800 tone, without a doubt! I've done a lot of testing and this 'small' amp doesn't sound smaller than it's bigger brother. The amp does have less headroom than a 100w amp obviously so the power tubes will start to break up earlier once you crank it up. I like to run my master volumes at points where the power tubes are just starting to compress the sound, so not super loud so that the tubes start to distort much. This amp is very cool! It's not 'just a small amp that tries to emulate a big one' imho.

Now, a LOT of modeling platforms have emulations of this amp in their amp roster. Since it's a very classic and relatively simple amp I was very curious to see how close all the modeling platforms come to the real deal. That's why I decided to make this video.

These are the platforms that are featured this time around:

Helix Native Brit 2204
Mercuriall Spark 800
Axe Fx III Brit 800
Nembrini MRH 810
Kuassa Caliburn
Amplitube 4 Brit 8000
Guitar Rig 5 Lead 800
BX Rock Rack Crunch 800
Studio Devil British Crunch
Thermionik Marshland 800
Amplion 800 Lead
Bias FX British Lead 800
pod farm Brit J-800
Poulin Hybrit

I had to leave a couple well known platforms out unfortunately, like Revalver for example, because it only has a JCM 900 also TH-U because the brit 75 amp seems to be a clean amp (low sensitivity input) and this comparison only has dirty tones. Some of my favorites weren't surprising because they are very often very accurate platforms (Helix is one of those) but others REALLY surprised me! Some also surprised me at how inaccurate they were.

We have to however keep in mind that there will always be slight tonal variances between amp models and the real amp for a bunch of reasons. One of the main reasons being that there are a lot of different real world iterations of the JCM 800 and the modeling platforms only model one of those versions each. Also things like tube types etc. can play a part. Having said that, I still think this is a good and solid comparison. In short: the results speak for themselves.

So of course I would love to know which ones you thought sounded the best and/or the most accurate...

Check it out:

[NegativeEase]

Re: Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

No audible numbers to identify them for a blind test... no fun!!

[DankStar]

Re: Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

maybe I missed it, but is there a particular IR you're using for the modelers?

[Guitarjon]

Re: Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

maybe I missed it, but is there a particular IR you're using for the modelers?

Yeah, it's this IR from the OwnHammer (r)Evolution Series IR's: OH 412 MRCB V30-EN1 FORWARD3. I used that on the amp as well as on all the modelers for consistency.

[DankStar]

Re: Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

Yeah, it's this IR from the OwnHammer (r)Evolution Series IR's: OH 412 MRCB V30-EN1 FORWARD3. I used that on the amp as well as on all the modelers for consistency.

cool, I have that set & will load that one into my gsp. I never tried the "mixes" folder because I didn't know what "mixes" alluded to.

[Guitarjon]

Re: Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

cool, I have that set & will load that one into my gsp. I never tried the "mixes" folder because I didn't know what "mixes" alluded to.

Mic blends basically. I use those all the time. Single mics are cool too but mixes just give a fuller sound in general imho.

[Guitarjon]

Re: Marshall JCM 800 vs 14 guitar amp modelers!

Ok, I thought I'd share my own views on all the platforms:

- The real Marshall: It just sounds good, love it! There is nothing about that tone that is making me want more. It is what the modelers are based on after all so it makes sense that this is my favorite.

- Helix (Native): Wow, this one always gets so close! Very impressive. It's the platform I use the most in my productions because I do not only like the sound very much, but the workflow of Helix in general is amazing. In my DAW I really like how the automation works with the snapshots etc. Just brilliant! I've been using Line 6 gear for such a long time and it's good to see those guys really delivering!

- Mercuriall Spark: Great platform with very convincing sounds! In this comparison it didn't come as close as some of the others, there was more definition on the strings. This could be because of various reasons. Not a bad thing per say. Great platform overall, just not my number one. Btw, I really want to see more amps from those guys!

- Axe Fx III: Great platform, no doubt. For me personally not as close as some of the others but definitely pretty darn close. This platform is great and I use it a lot, just less for the amp modeling these days because it's hard to compete with Helix Native for that purpose, mainly because of the workflow of outboard gear (reamping and stuff). I've also really started to hear a subtle 'sonic signature' on the Fractal everytime I compare it to my real amps and it's slightly starting to bug me a little. For me Helix just has fuller and more natural (low) mids, that's why I also prefer the tone of Helix over the Axe Fx. Don't get me wrong, it's a great platform but I have a lot to choose from so I'm picky

- Nembrini MRH 810: Good platform and solid amp models. In this case not very close to the real thing but I see and hear a lot of potential. If you tweak them right they can sound pretty good in a mix! It's one of those platforms where you just have to forget the real amps and just make it good for what it is. It can sound pretty convincing in that way! The Soldano is pretty cool as well. I need to try it again soon.

- Kuassa Caliburn: A cool platform with nice features. Not super realistic but with more tweaks and perhaps EQ you can make this thing sound pretty good. Not the greatest in this test but definitely something to look at if you're interested.

- Amplitube 4: Pretty close, which was a little surprising. I guess Amplitube does have some pretty good amps in there! Some of them were pretty far off so it could be a bit of a gamble if you decide to buy a couple amps. As you can hear in this comparison it's not too bad.

- Guitar Rig 5: It's a pretty dated platform and in this case it shows. Way too boxy sounding. I would be excited for a version 6 but they would need to step up their game!

- BX Rockrack: Not bad but also not really close. It sounds a bit too 'smeared' for me, so not enough definition. Can be made to sound pretty ok though in a mix with a bit of work.

- Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro: This platform is a little dated but it keeps surprising me each time I feature it in a comparison. In this video it was scary close! Kudos to them! This platform really needs different cabs than the stock ones though. It would be cool to have an updated plugin with more modern looks and functionality.

- Thermionik: It does sound pretty good! It doesn't sound exactly the same, it sounds like it was modeled on a different model, or a modded 800 perhaps. Definitely could use it in a mix with some work!

- Audified Amplion: Not bad but not great in this example. Those guys are cool though so I'm curious to see what they come up with next!

- Bias FX 2: Not my thing. I can never get it too sound good or close to a real amp, no matter what I do. Don't know what else to say...

- Pod Farm: Sometimes the older pod farm models still hold up pretty well. This one not so much but I just included it for fun and to see how far modeling has come since those pod days!

- Poulin Hybritt: Damn! Sounds so close to the real thing, and it's free!! Impressive! Someone told me Poulin now designs the amps for STL, does anyone know if that's true? I've never tried those STL plugins...