THE AMP SIM PLUGIN THREAD

Haven't spent a great deal of time comparing things, but the STL Amphub is pretty damn spot on and feels like a similarish experience to the real thing. I can get similar tones with Fractal but the experience feels pretty different, which sort of leads me astray to different tones. Sounds cool though and can do the same sounds (just way more that the HW can't too).

Amplitube sounds similar but no poweramp controls, which I think the JMP really needs for my scooped leaning ears. At first I thought Nembrini was MILES off but it turns out its just because I blindly copied settings from the HW, ignoring the fact that they didn't put an output knob, so you have to use the channel volume to determine how hard you slam into the power amp. What I like best with Nembrini is the look, and the controls have the same ranges and increments as the HW. It can be a bastard to use, but it gives you results and an experience closer to the HW.

Out of these, for the JMP experience, I'd probably lean most towards Nembrini, although STL can do a job too.
Did a quick comparison. Could probably dial them closer by tweaking the poweramp settings a bit, but Im presuming the poweramp Nembrini modelled is different to what I'm using anyway. As I said above, I think Nembrini gives a good account of the experience of using a JMP-1

 
Can equally vouch for the ADA MP-1. Sounds pretty dead nuts on to the HW, and I love having the same layout of controls. Poweramp model is also decent enough.

I don’t think it has the same kind of chorus as the HW, presumably it’s one of their own algos. So many plugin alternatives though that I think it only matters if you want the specific one in the HW.
 
While I'm on this rack preamp plugin kick.

I sort of feel like the JMP-1, ADA MP-1, and Triaxis from Nembrini are all a bit overgained at 13dBu=0fBFS. It feels more like I need to get them to 18 or 19dBu=0dBFS or so to get them in line with the HW (or other emulations I have). Anyone else noticing the same?

I grabbed the Cali Axis plugin the other week and while it's cool, I think I slightly prefer Mercurialls take on it. Not a great deal between them, but Mercuriall can get a tad more aggressive. I also trust the input levels calibration better and it feels more "real" to me.

At similar settings (with power amp modelling and the dynamic voice disengaged, I have to cut about 7dB of top end from Mercuriall to sound as dark as Nembrini.
 
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New H&K Coreblade from Nembrini


Stuff I’m finding weird:

- Website barely explains anything about the amp, I don’t really know anything about it and the website barely mentions to amp itself. The only info I can find about the amp is

"Crushing modern tone with the clarity, punch, and depth of a high-gain tube amp"

“The Hughes & Kettner Coreblade plugin by Nembrini Audio uses hybrid modeling technology to deliver aggressive, modern tones with the precision and depth of a high-gain tube amplifier.“

and “Amplifier Section: Four versatile channels with modern high-gain tone shaping, ideal for metal and hard rock.”

- demo video sounds bad, weird half baked djent. The audio demos are even worse, some kind of weird fizz/cocked wah type tones.

- GUI has that needless bottom row again. I get that their going for a more “NDSP” approach on these newer plugins and the extra clutter and basic graphics are at odds with it.

I like Nembrini products on the whole, sometimes I don’t think they help themselves on some stuff. I swear just taking an extra month to make the presentation of the product look more slick and show the love/passion that’s gone into the product would go a long way, rather than rushing it out the door
 
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@MirrorProfiles love the Mercuriall ReAxis plugin, one of the first amp sim plugins I really liked. I really hope they update Spark at some point.

The Coreblade is a weird one to model in general. The amp can do some cool things but it doesn't have a particularly distinct voice.
Your video of the ReAxis got me to buy it, and I used it for like a year! Now the real thing is on my bucket list 😂
 
@MirrorProfiles love the Mercuriall ReAxis plugin, one of the first amp sim plugins I really liked. I really hope they update Spark at some point.

The Coreblade is a weird one to model in general. The amp can do some cool things but it doesn't have a particularly distinct voice.
I keep circling around the Reaxis plugin, one of those ones I've intended to buy for ages but never did. I generally prefer Mercuriall to Nembrini by a hair sonically, seems like they did a great job of capturing the experience of the Triaxis. Ill probably grab it next sale.

I'd be curious what a V2 of Spark would be like - I always liked it, but never LOVED it but I think with some small tweaks I'd be a big fan. There's other 2203 emulations I like a little better, and the AFD isn't my favourite modded Marshall except for that one particular thing.... Rad that they did a Super Bass as they get so overlooked in modellers, but I think their poweramp modelling and overall approach has come on a bit since it was released.

Lacking a distinct voice is how I feel about H&K generally. I'd love to know what they do that would draw me in. I think at some point, everyone wanted the backlit Hughes and Kettner amps because they looked cool but I have no idea how I'd describe the tone of one.
 
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