Softube Marshall Plugins



Compared the Softube plugin to a NAM model of a KK800. Had to set the EQ a little different, but that could be down to tolerances and load boxes and things. Definitely sounds as close as I'd hope. This was with the softube plugin setup for 1V=0dBFS .
Whoops - had the tracks mislabelled, which explains why boosting the low end still wasn't getting close enough :ROFLMAO: They can sound even closer than what they do here if you arent a dumbass like me
 
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So I have looked in the schematics of the 2203KK (as I would), it's basically a stock JCM800 2203 with slightly more gain due to lower HT on V1 and V2, and a 470k series resistor before the Master volume to give it more control at the 0-4 range.
Edit: and KT88 power tubes of course.

"The Beast" mode is a noise gate and a boost right after the input jack and before V1, but I think using something more traditional like an SD-1 will sound more predictable.
 
The boost is based on the curve from an MXR EQ pedal right? and the gate is @santiall 's amazing design that has been much copied since.

Massive respect for Santiago getting that amp dialled in to a great sounding amp. Maybe he can chime in on the lower HT voltages and MV resistor?
 
James Freeman said:
So I have looked in the schematics of the 2203KK (as I would), it's basically a stock JCM800 2203 with slightly more gain due to lower HT on V1 and V2, and a 470k series resistor before the Master volume to give it more control at the 0-4 range.
Edit: and KT88 power tubes of course.

"The Beast" mode is a noise gate and a boost right after the input jack and before V1, but I think using something more traditional like an SD-1 will sound more predictable.
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MirrorProfiles said:
The boost is based on the curve from an MXR EQ pedal right? and the gate is @santiall 's amazing design that has been much copied since.

Massive respect for Santiago getting that amp dialled in to a great sounding amp. Maybe he can chime in on the lower HT voltages and MV resistor?
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Hi, I'm not sure the HT is much lower as to significantly change the gain. It is a bit bower but the main difference there is that the HT for the preamp is taken before the Standby Switch. It's been a lot of years since then but I think at some point there was the idea of having some 'silent recording' output like the JVM hence the constant HT for the preamp and the stanbdy switching the phase splitter and the power tubes.

The Master volume is indeed split in two to make the lower portion of the pot acutally usable. A standard 2203 will go from 0 to full in pretty much nothing and, at the end, it is rare if people set the master full in these amps and definitely Kerry didn't so it was better to make that control a bit friendlier.

The EQ is a actually Boss RGE-10, the old half rack 10 band one. MXR may have done something afterwards but when we did the 2203KK, both Kerry and Jeff were using the Boss EQ. The sent me one with the right settings that I used for modeling the booster EQ curve, then I made the gain adjustable. And yes, the gate has been copied by everybody :D.

I took this pic in one of the first shows with a few of the 2203KK prototypes/preproduction units. Some didn't have the tattoo decoration yet. You can see the Boss EQs and the HUSH on the right:
IMG_1128.JPG
 
Never really paid attention before but it seems Slayer had a bit of a preference for horizontal input 800’s (as well some vertical and of course the Kerry King signature amp). The studio photos show the horizontal ones powered on.


IMG_0303.jpeg
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IMG_0308.jpeg
 
MirrorProfiles said:
except the Jubilee which you can pick up on knobcloud/KVR etc for peanuts (because it’s bundled free with loads of interfaces)
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The Jubilee came with my interface and I can't stand it. Was wondering what all the hype was here haha, guess it's a bad one?
 
Deadpan said:
The Jubilee came with my interface and I can't stand it. Was wondering what all the hype was here haha, guess it's a bad one?
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Have you tried cranking the input way up and using different IR’s? Included IR’s are a bit crack (not uncommon). Adjusting for their internal reference level (boosting input so 1V=0dBFS) It sounds and behaves very much like my old 1988 Jubilee:

 
MirrorProfiles said:
Have you tried cranking the input way up and using different IR’s? Included IR’s are a bit crack (not uncommon). Adjusting for their internal reference level (boosting input so 1V=0dBFS) It sounds and behaves very much like my old 1988 Jubilee:

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Yeah. If I crank everything it gets to be OK but nothing like my Jubilee.
 
MirrorProfiles said:
Have you tried cranking the input way up and using different IR’s? Included IR’s are a bit crack (not uncommon). Adjusting for their internal reference level (boosting input so 1V=0dBFS) It sounds and behaves very much like my old 1988 Jubilee:

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To clarify, mainly what I couldn't get was the poweramp compression.
 
Deadpan said:
To clarify, mainly what I couldn't get was the poweramp compression.
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what load are you using the amp with? 50W or 100W? Softube is modelled with the matching cab I believe. I made some ToneX models of my Jubilee and was surprised how quick/easy it was to match (or get very close to) the tones with IK and Softube’s emulations. I’d really overlooked them but I honestly think they did a great job.
 
MirrorProfiles said:
what load are you using the amp with? 50W or 100W? Softube is modelled with the matching cab I believe. I made some ToneX models of my Jubilee and was surprised how quick/easy it was to match (or get very close to) the tones with IK and Softube’s emulations. I’d really overlooked them but I honestly think they did a great job.
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I use many different loads or attenuators depending on what works with the amps. Often I use no load or attenuator as the amps don't like them.

Edit: I do use ear protection after some mishaps. :)

I have the 100 watt reissue.
 
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Deadpan said:
I use many different loads or attenuators depending on what works with the amps. Often I use no load or attenuator as the amps don't like them.

Edit: I do use ear protection after some mishaps. :)

I have the 100 watt reissue.
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Should be able to get them sounding 95% the same as long as you’re using a comparable load to the plugin and accounting for input levels. The Softube Marshall stuff generally has its poweramp amp modelling done well (some of the amp room models don’t have a “full” poweramp model).

If it’s comparing the sound of the amp in the room vs the plugin they can often feel a bit different to how they sound/feel direct with an IR. No reason for it not to sound basically the same though, Softube did their homework and have been in the analog modelling game for a long time.
 
Deadpan said:
The Jubilee came with my interface and I can't stand it. Was wondering what all the hype was here haha, guess it's a bad one?
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Scarlett 2i2 3rdGen? Yep, tried it once and before that I was already in a bad mood because of the dumbass "Softube Central" registration shit.

Then the amp itself left a lot to be desired, though I never played a Silve Jub in real life, so it could just be that: Totally not my cup of tea.
 
A lot of the bad results come from not feeding the plugin with the correct input level.

I've posted about it here:

Softube Marshall Plugins

So far I have played the Marshall JMP 2203 and I think this is the best 2203 model from everything I have tried yet. Clean, Crunch, High Gain (boosted) and everything in between, pure Marshall glory. Softube did this amp a huge justice in the digital domain, truly deserves the official Marshall...
thegearforum.com thegearforum.com
 
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James Freeman said:
A lot of the bad results come from not feeding the plugin with the correct input level.

I've posted about it here:

Softube Marshall Plugins

So far I have played the Marshall JMP 2203 and I think this is the best 2203 model from everything I have tried yet. Clean, Crunch, High Gain (boosted) and everything in between, pure Marshall glory. Softube did this amp a huge justice in the digital domain, truly deserves the official Marshall...
thegearforum.com thegearforum.com
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Yeah, I've read that part of yours (nice work!), but in the end... doesn't this make a plugin just shit? Maybe then not from a "sonically" POV, but from a technical? If I need another plugin to drive a plugin (And not in the "TS in front to get the Gainz"), then I'd suppose the plugin itself is a shitty built.

One thing you really made me interested in now is the 2203 plugin. And the Kerry King. I remember KK demoing the amp in ye olden days of Youtube. His playing sucked (as I don't like Slayer), but the amp had a nice chunk.
 
BahamaDada said:
If I need another plugin to drive a plugin (And not in the "TS in front to get the Gainz"), then I'd suppose the plugin itself is a shitty built.
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In my demo I'm using an old out of date version, the updated version has input and output volume controls, and the most recent version called Amp Room Marshall Suite is even better.
You still need to calibrate the input so the models react like the real amps, that information is not provided.
 
James Freeman said:
In my demo I'm using an old out of date version, the updated version has input and output volume controls, and the most recent version called Amp Room Marshall Suite is even better.
You still need to calibrate the input so the models react like the real amp.
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Okay, I have to revisit it. If there's one great thing about a forum (or this forum) is it often forces me to give stuff a second chance.
 
The Softube, IK, and ML models all sound pretty close to each other, and all sound similar to what my Jubilee sounded like.





If one of those models sounds significantly different or better than the other, then it’s probably user error somewhere as they all are very similar.
 
I don't have the Jubilee any more, but I made lots of ToneX models of it before selling. No idea what settings I used on the amp but I spent about a minute trying to match the tone on Amplitube and Softube.

I remember when having the amp plugged into a reactive load and the same IR's on each and I'd have no idea which was which, they even feel the same to me (which isn't my favourite feel in an amp, they can be quite stiff).

Jubilee

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One of those is ToneX, one is Amplitube, one is Softube. Not saying they're identical sounding, but if I really spent time fine tuning settings they probably could get there. They all absolutely sound and behave like a Jubilee to me, including the way the gain works, the way the EQ behaves, the diode clipping etc. Some amps are hard to get right (DUAL RECTIFIER) but Jubilee seems quite easy to model IMO.

Jubilee.jpg

the real amp the tonex stuff was captured from:

IMG_8664.jpg
 
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