What are your thoughts this time around and let me know what you thought of my captures once you get the chance to try them out! Cheers!

I continue to be impressed with how good the ToneX sounds. Since it is so much less expensive than the Fractal and QC, I expected it to sound less realistic, but it holds up incredibly well to others that cost 5x more. Impressive

Killer shootout. TONEX really impresses me. While the cheapest, cost is a bit deceiving as you need additional gear to capture with TONEX but the accuracy is impressive. Headrush was quite a bit behind the others for sure. Killer tone!

Tanks for the Tonex capture and the great video!

I really like your videos, my friend. Glad you're still in the business and killing it!! I felt the Headrush was a bit behind, butI guess that's normal, since the focus of the equipment is to model... Anyhow, the digital realm is so advanced these days that any of these options are perfectly useable and believable. Great vid!

You are the MAN!!!! I bought my EVH el34 50w over the 6l6 because of your comparison video. Now I'm going to hit the stage with a Tonex pedal and this is great to know that I can copy my amp into in ears on stage without hauling a heavy cab. Thank you for what you do sir.

Awesome comparison. I will check the capture out immediately on the QC. I find it accurate enough on it tbh.

Thank Jon. Great content as always. You’re my Jim Lill of shootouts with killer heavy playing in mind. Production (both video and sound) is fantastic. It really is great to see so much well produced (and not pretentious) content from you and I think your channel is criminally underrated. P.s. your playing and backing track composition is insane! Cheers.

The ToneX was quite impressive - thx for doing this

Im getting addicted to your mixes.

Thanks for the great ToneX 5150 capture John (Jon?). It sounds great here too. I concur with your findings you mentioned as well.

ToneX captures have been really good from the start and I hope they only get better. If you find some really good captures it could be amazing for a studio for when clients want a certain sound.

Great comparison video

Your riff is an instant headbanger!

The fact that the ToneX rated so well give even more weight to the value of the newly released ToneX one. I’m waiting for my ToneX one to arrive. Will be having a listen to you captures very soon. Love your work. Love your tones. Love your playing. Thanks.

Tonex sounds great as always. Want to pair my tonex with the ox stomp for the ultimate modeled amp + cab combo 💪

Awesome shootout. I would love to see your take on a fractal unit at the end to compare the modeling aspect!

I’m shocked how accurate the ToneX is over all of the others. Absolutely amazing. I’d love to see it against the absolute standard for modeling - an AXE FX III mk2 Turbo.

Imagine having the free NAM in the comparison as well! Would have most likely been head to head with any of the competition if not the best... That being said, this is the BEST I've heard EVH/5150 to sound! 😱 I don't generally like 5150... Also, ur mix is amazing! 🔥 You should have a tutorial about ur full mix methods!? 👀🔎 The Tonex was nearly indistinguishable from the amp. With Cortex there was a very small change, but still in mix it was indistinguishable. With Headrush there was a noticeable change and thinning in sound... still, surely a workable tone in a mix.

Wow... Sound Really Amazing QC And ToneX...

Great and useful video. To my ears the Quad Cortex capture sounded the best and closest. The ToneX, while sounding pretty good too, seemed to be missing some sort of low end impact while adding some sizzle on top, particularly on noticeable out of mixes - it sounded kind of thin. The Headrush was the worst indeed, something weird going on with the mids, and also sounding quite thin.

Hey Jon! It's me the phone guy! Great video, the headrush has a kind of sterile sound to it, kinda like it's gated. Can definitely hear that honk. Great video.

Man, please do the NAM captures of your amps. I'd buy them in a heartbeat, I swear.

EXCELLENT...Thanks a lot!

I don’t think he gets enough credit for just consistently amazing riffs. Of course, killer tones as always. Moreover instructional, USABLE information that isn’t available elsewhere.

Great vid. It would be interesting to see if there is a more/less of a difference if you captured the whole signal chain, amp + IR as opposed to just the amp.

Thanks Jon! Been running your Rockerverb & 6505 captures on my Tonex since I bought it and couldn't be happier with em. Can't wait to try this one out as I've been gassing for this amp forever now but ended up getting an OR30 instead when I was in the market for a new amp. Any chance you'll be doing some more premium capture packs for the Tonex?

Jon, great tones all around! I just ordered a Quad Cortex (and followed you on cloud) when I get the unit in I plan on capturing my 5150 iii Stealth 50 watt I can send it your way when I get it in. Also, if you let me know what kind of settings you’re looking for I can do a capture for that!

Former owner of a Quad Cortex here and currently really, really happy with Tonex. Not surprised, that the Tonex is the clear winner here. The Quad Cortex just has this low cut, which takes aways quite a bit of the amps character. Plus, it adds something smeary in the higher frequencies. It´s still quite good though. I noticed, that the low cut is probably not due to its capture process. Because DI-recordings through the Quad also have this low cut, even though no amp block or anything was activated. Perhaps it´s got something to do with the transformers in the Quad or other technical stuff.

Would you consider make a video comparing TONEX with NAM? Thank you for your hard work.

first love the riffs. Love a demo like this that keeps my head bobbing. I noticed the same thing on the TOnex low end. It actually seemed a little looser as well. Tonex also, ONCE in a whil seemed to disappear in the mix a tiny, tiny bit, where the EVH didn't.THe QC seemed more mid focused and stood out more in the mix, yep, more forward. So slightly less accurate, than the TOnex. All of that even MORE so for the Headrush.

All sound great. There are differences, of course, but I doubt that in a blind test, anybody could reliably pick out which is which. I'd go for the Tonex, personally. Best value for the money.

Tonex is very, very good!! But it also depends on who is doing the Captures! The Captures from SDS are clearly among the best! Thanks for that and good Job!!💪🤘

I can't really get it into my head really how good the tonex actually is. It's insane. I did a Marshall JCM 2K profile and there is no difference what so ever.

Tonex sounds a LOT different after fender changed it , very accurate now

Great video, where can i found your clone for Headrush???

I mean, in a mix you’d be very hard pressed to hear any difference what so ever unless you are really, really listening for it. Amazing technology.

Awesome. I'm always impressed by how ToneX stacks up against other capture devices; it just seems to be the best value. I'd love to see you release an full ToneX pack for this amp. I have your Heavy Legends captures and use them all the time :) I haven't had much success in doing accurate captures, myself. I've only tried OD/Distortion pedals thus far and I'm doing the advanced training process, but everything comes out sounding lower gain than what I've dialed in. They still sound GOOD, just not accurate. I'm using the Axe IO One and I have the levels set correctly according to the app. Any tips?

I've had them all, and the only two I've kept are the Quad Cortex, and my Kemper. I'll use the ToneX app in my modelers are unavailable.

It would be very nice to hear some thoughts about your pickups. Active / Passive, Output, what do you prefer for which style?

In terms of sound, most digital solutions are now absolutely convincing. The differences in the overall mix are almost negligible. However, the feel of a real amp is still unrivaled. I use a Quad Cortex for recording because of its simplicity, but when it comes to playing guitar in practice or on stage, I want to enjoy my real amp and its immediate feedback. Cool shootout, I like your videos.

Totally agree with your results. You're using the Bare Knuckle Aftermath Humbucker in the bridge. What influence has it to the tones? It is a very balanced pickup. Have you tryed some other pickups? I personally like the Ragnarok, because of the massive low end. Maybe you have a better result with the Quat Cortex and the Headrush if you're using this pickup in comparison with your normal setting. I think the differences will be still there, but maybe they sound a bit better. 🤔

they all sounded good headrush was just as good as anything else

Hi! Have you a free version for a headrush core? 👉👈 Thanks i love your videos

Newb question how to load the free version on my tonex ?

They all sounded pretty good to me. On the Headrush did you capture the cab with a mic, or just the amp and run to an IR? If the latter, that's probably 100% of the difference you're hearing right there.

I dont know if im al ittle Bias, but i hear just a little less low end on the Tonex, but probably i woulndt notice if im dont know it is tonex. Amazing

Awesome video! Where’s the RedSeven load??

John how do you record the di for the comparisons, what's exactly the way in from guitar to the recorded track on the daw ? Thanks

I own ToneX and have discovered that it sounds very close to the captured gear. Not spot on, when you plug your guitar in your analog gear and play, but exactly the same when you record dry signal and then reamp it. According to my observations, recording chain and reamping path get in the way and get captured along with amps/preamps/pedals. Even though I use quality equipment - Audient ASP800, Radial X-amp - for that process, it's audible and makes ToneX feel like it's not very accurate. It is. You just need super transparent recording/reamping path and high end cables to minimize the difference.

Without a doubt ToneX is the best, but I don't see myself taking this to a rehearsal at a gig, the advantage of the others is that you have on the same platform, delay, chorus, od, different switches, etc... if Tonex were a real pedalboard would be my first option without a doubt, great job, greetings!

You should include NAM

Where did you get that awesome hoodie?!

ToneX is impressive but NAM should be even better… please include NAM in your ABDC testing 🎉

Tonex super accurate, there's a slight 0,01% of some sort of overall envelope to it that I think it's unscapable in the process. Quad Cortex as good, I mean any of them are good, the Headrush can step up with some more adjustment.

Nothing can beat original tube amp, yet.

I wish Line 6 would give us an update to use a NAM capture tech so we could just add it to the helix like we do with IR's. I don't need a Helix 2 other then upgrading DSP

Whats you fav floor FX system?

Ever planning to revisit the 6L6 variant, Jon?

What is your profile name on the cortex cloud?

All three in a mix were not really far off but isolated for sure you could tell all of them are different, the Headrush sounds like the blanket over the speaker and maybe a stuffed animal too....

There's something about TONEX that results in the captures sounding a bit "softer" than the real amps, Quad Cortex and NAM. It's like you are loosing the crispness of the strings and the picking. Even though the Quad Cortex doesn't capture the low-end as accurately as TONEX, it's much better at capturing this "crispiness". It just sounds more in-your-face and powerful, while most TONEX captures are a bit dull and muffled. My theory is that this is because TONEX is primarily made to capture both amp and cab at the same time, while Quad Cortex and NAM were primarily made to capture just the amps. You can ofc capture full rigs with QC and NAM as well, but AFAIK that wasn't the main priority when developing the deep learning algorithms. I could be wrong though, but there is something about TONEX that causes this muffled feel to the captures. It's a shame, because the TONEX pedal is by far the best design out of the bunch! It's much more modular in the sense that you can pay for the amp block itself, and if you want to be able to capture your own amps you can buy the capture device as well. If you also need effects you can either buy whatever pedals you want, or buy some of IK's other X-series pedals. With the QC you either have to pay for it all, or you get anything.

I think people in the comments are missing why the Tonex holds up or even outperforms the other units: It's cheaper because it doesn't need all the hardware to make the captures, as that happens on the PC. This also means it has access to more processing power and you can actually let it learn longer than other units to profile the amps. I've always wondered why nobody else gave us the option to profile on our recording PC's. I just wish the tonex or namp captures were available in the perfect form factor of the QC. As the QC's captures are not always as i want them and it even fails at profiling my Super kraken and pitbull red channels well and adds really ugly low mid resonances to them. P.S.: Real amps still rule my world

I'd like to see Line 6 add functionality to their Modelers so we can load NAM Captures like other IRs, and add Capture/Profiling to HX Edit.

Where did you get the Super Man hoodie, I want one,?

Something about the upper mids or maybe top end(?) on ToneX and QC are very raspy on the ear. Headrush definitely lacking top end.

How do you not have a Kemper doing this also?

will you share the headrush prime capture?

That Tonex is about as close as you can expect anything to get surely ….. Like you say the Tonex is a touch more boomy and un even in the lows EVH seems a touch tighter than the Qc but again it’s very small margins that disappear in a mix I think it’s safe to say once these pedals can emulate the power section it might be goodbye amps this is why I think brands making powered pedal versions of their iconic amps is the way forward 😱

I dont get how everyone loves the tonex - I had one and sold it off quickly. It just didnt deliver how youd think in real live situations.

TONEX wins to me.

you say the Headrush prime did not do a Good Job, btw It sounded just as good as the tonex and DSP.

Maybe my ears are broken but I couldn't hear any difference between any of them including the headrush

So you didn’t sell your quad cortex then ???

The Headrush sounded a bit muddy and less articulate compared to the 5150. Tonex was really good.

Make a capture for NAM

1. EVH vs TONEX : Tonex is a little grainy and less LOW...comparing to the original EVH but impressive close.. 2. EVH vs QC: QC is a little muddy comparing to the original but for me the verdict is : TONEX = QC the same First place.not ideal but as you said semothing about 90-95%

I can’t believe I still don’t have a tonex pedal.

No Kemper? :/

In my opinion ! The Quad Cortex was more close on the Real Amp in this video, use my Phone ears!

I have the Headrush MX5 & the 5150 on there sounds awful. I was really disappointed when hearing that when I got it because the 5150 is my favorite amp. The Headrush just sounds muffled bad no matter what IR you stick on it. They need to update it badly!

Why not Kemper 😢😢😢😢

I really prefer blind comparisons.

I guess I disagree with your assessment. To me the ToneX and there Headrest sound closest, while the QC was the least accurate - and it was something in the higher end that was different (won't even say it was worse, just different). It was VERY subtle to me, and I could only sort of hear it because it was A-B, I would never hear it in my car and do not believe I am in any danger of being able to spot the difference without an immediate comparison.

TONEX has to be scaring the bull-material out of some of these other companies. Kemper has already started lowering their prices.

tonex sounds definitely better than the quad cortex and the headrush

Tonex as a platform is okay but you still need more gear to actually run a full setup. The QC gives you maximum possibilities to create full rigs with the captures.

para mi oido de roca suenan todos igual

Headrush sounded damn close don't know what ur talik bout bud