Guitar Gear Forum

So I recorded the exact same track I recorded with the Tonex using the EVH and the DSL this morning. This is not a "blind test", I am labeling each version. (Blind tests are stupid anyways).


Everything in the mix is the exact same. And the lead is the same Tonex track on all three versions because I didn't feel like redoing them at this point. So the only thing changed is the rhythm guitar tracks:

Tonex:

https://soundcloud.com/billgtr74/twistertonex

EVH
https://soundcloud.com/billgtr74/twisterevh

DSL:
https://soundcloud.com/billgtr74/twisterdsl


I have my opinion but I will hold off for now as not to influence what you think of each version. I think the EVH tracks are bit louder than the others but not much.

Thanks!!

EVH for me between those 3. Though in the verses I also like the sound of the DSL.

I flip flopped a couple of times but have gone back to my original conclusion. DSL -> EVH -> Tonex.

Do you have more tracks layered with the Tonex? It sounds like there is more going on with that version than the others. More going on in a good way, but I can hear more of the amp character with the DSL and EVH tracks.

No, exactly the same on all versions: 2 tracks panned hard l/r

I think i'd rank them:

1 EVH

2 Tonex

3 DSL


Pretty impressive sounding IMO

id go EVH
ToneX
DSL


something sounds off with the DSL? like its not panned or something??

RaceU4her wrote:id go EVH
ToneX
DSL


something sounds off with the DSL? like its not panned or something??

no they're panned just the same. I used the same exact track template for everything.

EVH
DSL
ToneX

I can hear that kinda weird high end that modeling units have in the ToneX clip when bouncing between the 3. Just listening to one on it's own, they all sound really good. But if I am comparing and going back and forth, the EVH wins for me by a lot. The DSL is pretty good, too. And like I said, the ToneX sounds good, too, but it's not as good as the others. Though it does have maybe more of a polish than the other 2 in terms of mixing.

I re-uploaded the DSL track. I had an EQ there that I didn't notice and it was taking some of the presence off of the tone.

I liked the DSL best followed by EVH then Tonex.

There was something about the evh that sounded best to me at least in context with this song and the mix. DSL sounds excellent too and Tone X sounded fine.
EVH
DSL
ToneX

yeah the EVH is quickly becoming my favorite amp. I think I will eventually invest in the 100w EL34 version. That's probably the ultimate version for me. The 50w 6L6 holds up really well though and I love the size. But there is something special about 100w amps, especially live.

evh sounds best, but I think the tonex is sitting in that mix way better.

something just still sounds off to me with the DSL, it just dosent sound as "wide" as the other two?? id still take the evh here, the tonex certainly dosent sound bad though and if thats just a stock preset with no mixing help id say thats pretty impressive.

RaceU4her wrote:something just still sounds off to me with the DSL, it just dosent sound as "wide" as the other two?? id still take the evh here, the tonex certainly dosent sound bad though and if thats just a stock preset with no mixing help id say thats pretty impressive.

it's a stock SLO profile but I tweaked it a bit. Lowered the gain etc...


Anyway, the ToneX was already sent back

RaceU4her wrote:id go EVH
ToneX
DSL


something sounds off with the DSL? like its not panned or something??

Yeah the DSL guitars sound mono. Maybe something happened during the upload but they are mono and the others are stereo.

But it sounds good still. I’d say maybe the dsl wins cause the Evh has a tad much cut for this style perhaps and they do sound louder.

The toneX sounds more “pushed” for lack of a better word. Just doesn’t breath as much

I figured out what the issue with the DSL is. I am using 2 mics panned l/r but on the DSL tracks I selected the same mics on both tracks so that is why it sounds mono both tracks are the exact same.

I will re-record and upload it again... god damn I am dumb

GuitarBilly wrote:

RaceU4her wrote:something just still sounds off to me with the DSL, it just dosent sound as "wide" as the other two?? id still take the evh here, the tonex certainly dosent sound bad though and if thats just a stock preset with no mixing help id say thats pretty impressive.

it's a stock SLO profile but I tweaked it a bit. Lowered the gain etc...


Anyway, the ToneX was already sent back

did you even try it into a loop?? thats what i was curious about the most

RaceU4her wrote:

GuitarBilly wrote:

RaceU4her wrote:something just still sounds off to me with the DSL, it just dosent sound as "wide" as the other two?? id still take the evh here, the tonex certainly dosent sound bad though and if thats just a stock preset with no mixing help id say thats pretty impressive.

it's a stock SLO profile but I tweaked it a bit. Lowered the gain etc...


Anyway, the ToneX was already sent back

did you even try it into a loop?? thats what i was curious about the most

I did try into the loop of the Marshall and into my Mosvalve 500 power amp. It sounded good in both situations. As far as modeling goes this is top notch IMHO. But I still can't gel with modeling. I will try it again when the next generation of modeling is out. I love the idea of modeling and it's definitely getting better with each generation but it's not a fully matured tech yet IMHO.

I re-uploaded the DSL track god help me with my sound engineering

Anyway, thank you all for posting your impressions. I agree with most of you that the amps sound better in general. They are also easier to work with. I had to do a lot of tweaking to get the ToneX to sit well in the mix, especially in relation to vocals. And I am still not very happy with it. When I record digital guitars the voice sounds a bit detached from the track, like singing over karaoke. I kind of remedied that here, but it took a long time.

With the amps, I just recorded them and did nothing to it. I think they can be mixed better still, but it naturally sits right in with the rest of it.

I also hear some digital smear in the ToneX tracks. Especially in the arpeggiated chord before the chorus. It doesn't have the same clarity as the amps IMHO. YWith the power chords is not as noticeable.


Overall, I think the ToneX is great if you must use modeling. I like it better than all the modelers I've owned previously, including the Kemper. But I don't think it's quite there yet. Getting close, yes, but if you can record with amps there is a difference.

Tonex sounded like a lower level and less presence ... turn up level and presence?

EVH sounded best to me, though. why no try an EVH or DSL downloaded on the Tonex? yeah, too late now

Landshark wrote:Tonex sounded like a lower level and less presence ... turn up level and presence?

EVH sounded best to me, though. why no try an EVH or DSL downloaded on the Tonex? yeah, too late now

Yeah too late

But you're right that the proper comparison would've been to profile my actual amps. That would be the fairest way to do it. And that's what I was going to do it originally, but once I started hearing some artifacts I decided not to get too deep into it and just use one of the sample amps tl for the comparison. Because in terms of tone, they're good. It's the artifacts and mix that gets me.

Now, I made sure all these tracks were metering exactly the same. But yes the ToneX sounds lower. If I pushed it further it overwhelmed the mix, bring it back and it sounds buried. That's the issue I've always had with modeling, I struggle to get it to sit right.

Another thing is that this is like the Kemper in the sense that you can change the EQ or gain too far from what it was profiled or it sounds strange.
So if you want a sound with more presence, you need to find/make a profile of that amp with more presence. The EQ works for minor tweaks but if you go too far, it messes up the tone. That's because the EQ is a mask over the profile and not necessarily the at same frequencies that the amp knobs.
Same with gain. So the best way to change the tone is to make a profile of the amp with different settings.

It's different than component modeling where the amp is modeled into the software.
This is more like a snapshot of the amp and changing the settings is a bit like adding filters to a picture.

GuitarBilly wrote:
Now, I made sure all these tracks were metering exactly the same. But yes the ToneX sounds lower. If I pushed it further it overwhelmed the mix, bring it back and it sounds buried. That's the issue I've always had with modeling, I struggle to get it to sit right.

Another thing is that this is like the Kemper in the sense that you can change the EQ or gain too far from what it was profiled or it sounds strange.
So if you want a sound with more presence, you need to find/make a profile of that amp with more presence. The EQ works for minor tweaks but if you go too far, it messes up the tone. That's because the EQ is a mask over the profile and not necessarily the at same frequencies that the amp knobs.
Same with gain. So the best way to change the tone is to make a profile of the amp with different settings.

It's different than component modeling where the amp is modeled into the software.
This is more like a snapshot of the amp and changing the settings is a bit like adding filters to a picture.

yeah, can't go too far either way from center with the tone knobs, but a little Presence or Depth (resonance) can fix some things up. the Tonex "Gain" knob is actually input gain, or basically the volume knob on your guitar - kinda weird, but that's how it works.

there's a lot of amps on Tonenet that have multiple captures of the same amp with different settings ... not as good as twisting a knob, but at least there's some variety.

Since the dsl one was redone/uploaded i re-listened to them and now prefer the DSL but the EVH one still sounds excellent. Tone x still sounds good.

My new ranking:
DSL
EVH
Tone-X

trey85stang2 wrote:evh sounds best, but I think the tonex is sitting in that mix way better.

That's how I hear it.

The DSL is a bit harsh compared to the other two IMO.