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All amps sounds the same?

#121
andare said:
I've seen his video about guitar tone. Very cool but anybody who has every played an electric guitar knows the acoustic quality of the instrument can be heard through the amp and it's influenced by the bridge, tailpiece, neck and fret material.
It's always the sum of all parts.

Not to mention the difference between a recorded tone and the actual tone in the room.
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The point of his research (and no one can say that he doesn't put in enough work to justify calling it that) is to choose a claim that "everyone knows" is true and test it empirically, with clearly stated aims and a narrow focus. Watch the videos with an open mind, and you're forced to agree that at least some such claims begin to look weak.
 
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#124
Guitalia said:
The point of his research (and no one can say that he doesn't put in enough work to justify calling it that) is to choose a claim that "everyone knows" is true and test it empirically, with clearly stated aims and a narrow focus. Watch the videos with an open mind, and you're forced to agree that at least some such claims begin to look weak.
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I have an open mind already but I also have ears and all my 10 guitars have a specific tone when played unplugged that is still there when they are amplified. I also know that there's a huge difference between a recording and live music.
This is also true of effect pedals. Every time I test a new build it sounds very different in my room and in a recording. The latter always loses something BTW. Can't beat standing in front of an amp!
At the end of the day no one uses music gear under test lab conditions so as much as Jim's videos are cool and entertaining, they are ultimately pointless for musicians IMO.
 
#126
Akiyama said:
I know for a fact that a Vox Ac30 with EL84 power tubes sounds different from a JVM with EL34 power tubes. The harmonic series and dynamics of the tubes are vastly different. It isn’t “all about eq”.
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Vox amps don’t have feedback around the power amp stage. When they’re pushed, they give you different harmonics at different levels than an amp that has feedback. So yeah, they’re gonna sound different because of that.
 
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#127
andare said:
At the end of the day no one uses music gear under test lab conditions so as much as Jim's videos are cool and entertaining, they are ultimately pointless for musicians IMO.
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I disagree, I find it inspiring how he came up with this contraption that fulfills HIS needs for the sounds that he want. I am also looking for a contraption myself to get a sound I like/want/need.

I cannot afford/transport a SVT classic paired with a 8x10 cabinet so I am searching for something that comes 'close enough'. I think this is sort of simulair to what he is doing. And this is a search I read a lot about on TB so I cannot be the only one who could find this video inspiring.

For many musicians the quest is not to get the best tone but the best possible tone within certain restrictions. This can often mean trying to get 'close enough' (all imo of coarse).
 
#128
I watched the comparison portions of the video. His points are interesting but need to be taken as only data points and potentially flimsy ones. I don’t know. I am just a performer.
1. His recording mic and recording environment have limitations that color the recording.
2. YouTube quality audio
3. Comparing one Egnator amp’s settings is not a reliable indicator of power amp tubes sounding the same. I tried out a similar amp at GC several years ago. There was a difference. Not big but audible. Maybe his trial amp was broken?
4. Clean tones did seem to be pretty close. Kudos for that
5. Distorted tones clearly differed, especially at higher amounts.

Edit:
6. Above and beyond eq, how much did his outboard gear contribute to homogenizing/masking the overall tonality of the amps? Was his outboard gear more influential than the amps themselves? For example, the Big Muff Pi can homogenize amp tonality.
 
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#129
micguy said:
Vox amps don’t have feedback around the power amp stage. When they’re pushed, they give you different harmonics at different levels than an amp that has feedback. So yeah, they’re gonna sound different because of that.
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There is substantial local feedback however.
 
#131
I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I never really understood why that was so bad so here goes.

What a disappointing thread. Basically somebody posted a terrible title instead of the reasonable one in the video. Then the entire thread becomes people arguing against the straw man set up in the thread title because they didn't watch the video. And the "smart guys" that everyone looks up to end up agreeing with the video but acting like they pulled some kind of gotcha.

Not to mention all the people saying the guy used pseudoscience, or they know things that the video creator doesn't, but posting zero tests. Like, we're just supposed to trust your caveman ears and memory? The guy went out of his way to say he's not an engineer 100 times, so if you know he did something wrong then POST THE TESTS!

I could go on and on. Honestly y'all are coming across as triggered because either you've spent way too much time, money, and energy on amps or are making a living in designing them and don't want the secret magic to be gone. So instead of engaging with the video you argue against a strawman. Not saying that's necessarily what's happening, but that's how it comes off and it's not a good look.

A few of you are exceptions and posted reasonable replies, so props to you.
 
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#132
lukas099 said:
I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but I never really understood why that was so bad so here goes.

What a disappointing thread. Basically somebody posted a terrible title instead of the reasonable one in the video. Then the entire thread becomes people arguing against the straw man set up in the thread title because they didn't watch the video. And the "smart guys" that everyone looks up to end up agreeing with the video but acting like they pulled some kind of gotcha.

Not to mention all the people saying the guy used pseudoscience, or they know things that the video creator doesn't, but posting zero tests. Like, we're just supposed to trust your caveman ears and memory? The guy went out of his way to say he's not an engineer 100 times, so if you know he did something wrong then POST THE TESTS!

I could go on and on. Honestly y'all are coming across as triggered because either you've spent way too much time, money, and energy on amps or are making a living in designing them and don't want the secret magic to be gone. So instead of engaging with the video you argue against a strawman. Not saying that's necessarily what's happening, but that's how it comes off and it's not a good look.

A few of you are exceptions and posted reasonable replies, so props to you.
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New to the internet, huh?
 
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#137
Hoochie Coochie Man said:
As a no talent hack with gear far better than I deserve, I have the ability to make even the most highly regarded equipment sound bad.
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Me too!
agedhorse said:
Don't hold your breath.
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Could you expand on your criticism then? Because earlier it sounded like you actually agreed with the video maker, because the conclusion was basically that most of the tone of a guitar amp comes from the topology of gain/distortion and EQ stages, and how much of each in each one. And you said those are what make different amps sound different. I'm sure that if you dive into the weeds you could find technical things wrong with what he said, but the key takeaway seems like something you actually agree with.
 
#138
lukas099 said:
Me too!

Could you expand on your criticism then? Because earlier it sounded like you actually agreed with the video maker, because the conclusion was basically that most of the tone of a guitar amp comes from the topology of gain/distortion and EQ stages, and how much of each in each one. And you said those are what make different amps sound different. I'm sure that if you dive into the weeds you could find technical things wrong with what he said, but the key takeaway seems like something you actually agree with.
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I was referring to an updated video.

I agreed with some premises but not all (including some of the conclusions). Some things are accurate and some are not IMO, but it does generate clicks.
 
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