What amp sound do you think Helix and IRs most faithfully recreate?

[willjrock]

For me I say its gotta be that marshall sound. Most any of the amp/cab combinations made except for the plexi. Not super true to the plexis ive used/heard. (only 2 of them)

 

I think it REALLY nails this sound (and most IRs and sims seem to have a pretty good handle on it IMO) to the point where you can pretty much get rid of those amps in a recording scenario.

 

Thing is some of the other amps do a pretty good job where say....the 800 lacks a tiny bit. The Zed for one.

 

Where do you stand on it?

 

[DunedinDragon]

Actually I think there are quite a few, at least among the one's I've tried.

 

Pretty much all of the Vox amps are very faithful reproductions, although the Fawn seems to the best of them as long as you use Blue Alnico speakers.

 

The HiWatt is absolutely SPOT ON.  Maybe my favorite amp on the Helix.  Certainly the most versatile.

 

The Bassman (Tweed Blues) is the best of the Fenders for authenticity.  Followed closely by the Champ.

 

The Roland JC-120 is AMAZINGLY accurate.  This is my go to clean amp for my Gretsch guitar.

 

And the Soldano in all the versions is dead-on as well.  Probably my 2nd favorite amp.

 

I can't really speak to any of the high gain style amps so much as I've never really owned or used any of them to any great extent.  There are a couple I like, but I just can't compare them to the originals.

[willjrock]

Very Cool.

 

Now the SLO 100 OD channel on a higher gain setting i dont think is very close. Mid to low gain Soldano stuff i love. Though im not sure how faithful it is.

 

I really like the Hiwatt too, but the two hardware setups that ive heard sound as different as two identical amps can sound, so i cant say there.

 

Very unfamiliar with vox. Always wanted to like but even tho player i like use them, i cant seem to make it work well for me.

 

Theres a lot of stuff that no matter how close it is, it still sounds great, and i dont even really care if it IS close or not.

[ADBrown]

I find the Soldano to be spot on. I got to hear Helix A/B'd with the actual amp and it blew my mind. I definitely agree on the Hiwatt, JC-120, and Bassman too. I've never played the equivalent of the "mail-order twin" model but that model can sound really great. I also love the Double Vib and think that is pretty spot on too. 

Archon models also sound great but I haven't spend much time with the physical unit to compare. 

[brue58ski]

One problem with this, especially with older amps, is two of the same amps often do not sound exactly alike. There often seems to be a difference. In order to really test how close the models are to the real thing you have to compare the Helix amp to the actual amp Line 6 used to create the model. Along with exactly the same mic Line 6 used and positioned in exactly the same place that Line 6 had theirs.

[jbuhajla]

One problem with this, especially with older amps, is two of the same amps often do not sound exactly alike. There often seems to be a difference. In order to really test how close the models are to the real thing is to compare the Helix amp to the actual amp Line 6 used to create the model. Along with exactly the same mic Line 6 used and positioned in exactly the same place that Line 6 had theirs.

^THIS^

 

A lot of people get too wrapped up with "nailing" a tone. For me, I can drop in an amp and cabinet model in Helix, give it a play, and say "yep, that sounds like a(n) AMPOFYOURCHOICE". If you are trying to nail an exact sound or tone, then you are spending too much time twiddling knobs, and not enough time playing and enjoying yourself. I don't try to nail the tones of my rigs of yesteryear, I just build a preset that sounds great to me, and crank it up.

 

To each their own.... 

[willjrock]

Some great points! As cool as the recreated sounds are, heres to hoping for the day that modeling puts an unforgettable tone on the map.  

[strabes]

Some great points! As cool as the recreated sounds are, heres to hoping for the day that modeling puts an unforgettable tone on the map.  

Have you tried the Litigator??

[andyz]

Ahh something here I can state with some authority! haha! Back when I worked at Line 6, just when Helix was just getting off the ground, one of the side perks of my gig there was I was tasked with keeping the amp collection maintained and to buy amps for future modeling. I had played everyone of those amps, side by side to the then HD Pro. Some of those amps with such a wide variance of tone, really captured the flavor of key settings and some were spot on to what everyone liked in a specific amp. That said the Mail Order Twin (referenced above) was one of my fave acquisitions... This Silvertone Twin Twelve amp lived in the owners bedroom for 40+ years as the original owner. And he had 2 of these! I have to say that this is probably one of my top 5 faves on the Helix! The Bassman thru a 4x12 Marshall cab is one of my other faves. The Bassman from the POD HD to current is pretty much a bone stock period correct tweed Bassman. The Bassman before that had a few mods but still sounded killer. There's a lot of other great stuff never modeled yet, I'm looking forward to seeing it make it's way into the Helix!

[willjrock]

Have you tried the Litigator??

 Although i like the Litigator it was a sound i was already getting. Its a descent tone, but it will never be instantly recognizable the way a Marshall or some of the other tones are.