B has a more defined mid register which has a slightly larger bandwidth - this means there's more to manipulate in a mix setting before the sounds thins out - the AXE FX III sounds are more "pre-mixed" and idealised. This has always been my experience of everything digital from E Drums, to VI synths to guitar modellers - sounds are pre- mixed more "ideal" from the get go. Real acoustic instruments and tube amps etc require far great skills to mix as they are truly raw ingredients. It depends so much on how you approach your productions. If you want to be able to sculpt everything at the mix stage then a tube amp will give you a bigger mid register tone to carve and enhance - if you want to have a faster workflow and mix less - all things digital will get you there quicker.

I got the A and B correct, but couldn't guess what C was about :)

I’ve given up trying to distinguish between modelers and real time amps. As far as faves: C was my fave. It’s got the best definition. A was very good but needed tweaking lol. B was muddy. Which has always been a problem I’ve had with Deluxe Reverbs. It’s why I prefer Twins for cleans.

My faves A,C,B in some cases A and C switched positions nut overall I Would pick A. Thanks Matthew!

thats crazy cos i liked everything but b and i had a feeling that was the tube, that makes me happy

Funny. I've had every AxeFX since the Ultra and I got A and B right, but I was convinced that C was a mix of both. I think that adding the ribbon mic added some of that honk that is present in the real amp. With that said none of them were like "this sounds horrible" or "this sounds more amp-like/modeled"...they just sounded like different examples of the same thing and the fact that they reacted similarly to your dynamics is really impressive. As for preference it'd probably be C, A and then B, but without playing through it myself..yada, yada, yada.

I love these Tests, LOVE IT!!! on the cleans B is the modeller. I like A and C and Does not matter what they are, The B has a Telltale DARK sound, I hear this alot on kemper and other modeller demos, so it might be it's give away, DARKNESS almost sounds like a Blanket in front of the Speaker cabinet sound, very DULL for sure, I personally do not like it, but it could be used I suppose and maybe required in a Mix maybe. Great JOB in advance, just LOVE these!!! Let us see if I am right.

B is tube C is AxeFX and A is the secret. Likes in order is C B then A.

My guess is A and C are modelers and B is tube amp because there’s more of a hifi clarity to A and C. Preference was C as it was tonally between the others. Will follow up with the reveal!

My Favs, in order, C, A, B. I'm guessing the tube amp is B. Edit: Ok, I was "right" but I'm questioning my super hifi sounding preference. Thanks Matthew.

WOW was i WRONG, makes me want an FM9 really bad now. I would really like to see a set up where or between you and Tom Bucavac, to see if Uncle Larry could be FOOLED and pick the modeller over a Miced actual amplifier. I also would like to see if John Cordy the Wizard of helix could do the SAME. I would even pay to See a Video on this, Session man vs MODELLER KINGS. Would be a Stellar Video!!!!

I liked A best and did identify B as the tube amp. C to me wasn't quite as transparent.

With having a third option I pick four.

it would have been interesting to have captured the cab with the mic placement intact and used that IR for the examples. B sounded muddy and under a blanket. I suspect they all would have had that in this scenario and been way harder to distinguish. I will declare modelers better for the simple reasons, lighter, smaller, more features, less overall cost, smaller lighter, smaller lighter and sound just as good in a mix. also did I mention smaller lighter and more features?

I preferred A in all the sound clips. C was good in some of them, but A was better. Didn’t care for B too much as it sounded a little nasally.

Well A sounded the best to me and i guessed that was the tube amp. Im an axe owner and the fact that i was wrong pleases me

at first blush B sounds real and open and not at all digital. on clean 2 i thought C sounded best. on Morning glory 1, A was best for me, and Morning glory 2 B was best to my ears. Jazzy was C for me but all of those sounded almost the same. On Physician, B was my preference,

I thought in order of like vs not so much A, C, B.

Mathew, recently I switched from Tonex to fm9. I admit it's been a little difficult. Although the fm9 delivers a lot, I'm finding it difficult to adapt to the type of sound offered. My perception is that fm9 seems to be a little "harder". The notes played are drier, without much dynamics. To feel a more striking pick, you need to add a lot of gain. And this undermines the definition of sound. Am I doing something wrong or is this the case?

But C DOES sound the best! 😄

The clean sounds are real muddy not my thing any of them

You proved a modeler creates great sounds, but you also proved that you compared to a basic recording setup for a real amp (I.e. no compression). IMHO: Option C was best, but we all know a real studio would have a rediculous studio chain that could more than rival that. Having said all that, I have an Axe FX III and I now know that there are critical aspects that are never achieved compared to a real amp. It's a touch thing, and/or a harmonic thing and/or a certain tone thing. IMHO: Owning an Axe FX II, it will never be the real thing. Yep, here we go... having said that... for the price, I get damn close with an Axe FX III, and I get every amp, darn near every effect, and darn near every speaker cabinet. I also know, if you have the real amp, and you mic it, and you get "that sound", good luck "live". An Axe FX II will sound the same in all venues. In summary, the Axe FX III is the real deal and you can play anything. If you buy a "real amp", better want that for "your sound" and it will be better, but if you want options, it gets expensive, really expensive. So, if you are a pro: in the studio, almost always use real amps. If you are a "pro" and you play "live", you will almost always want an Axe FX III, where a small stage, medium stage, or large stage will sound the same. It won't ever have that extra special magic of a real amp, but an amp you recorded in a small room will sound the same on the big stage. So, I absolutely love my Axe FX III, but if I had the money, I would have every amp, every effect, guitar , etc. and use "the real thing"... for everything. My Axe FX III, gets me so close it doesn't matter. It literally gives you everything in one. Best deal ever. The end.

Your tube amp is sick ;) Shuffled and nasal. You should try to EQ it correctly or bring it to a tech.

B sounded vrey bad dull as hell , boomy sound you know what i mean .A was axe but it sounded good

Who can tell the difference? Anyone in the room. I've done these exercises myself with 3 separate tube amps. You can imitate the sound with fractal for a youtube video, but fractal DOES NOT sound the same in the room.

At night writing and recording music, plug ins win. Jamming amps wins Axe fx does not have plug ins. So fuck axe fx

C was to me clearly more 3D and harmonically pleasing. Nice demonstration!

Your going in axe fx and out 3, you are going through the digital converters so it's not "true" analogue.