I'll test the differences between an Impulse Response based digital Cab Sim, an Analog based Cab Sim and a microphone in front of a cab using the BluGuitar BluBox, Radial JDX and Sennheiser e906.
My favourite is the BluBox - it sounds awesome! I would dial in a touch more treble for my taste, but I love that you have enough options for it to be versatile, without being bogged down by too much detail like some units... But to be honest, none of these sound bad and I'd use any of them in a live situation, really impressed with the radial JDX too which has a lot of punch.
Whichever one I use ends up sounding right as my ear tunes in. They are all perfectly fine. The e906 sounds most like the actual cab I used, but I learned to accept Cab Sim long ago despite it not being the reproduction of the actual speaker I'm using. I find no one in the audience cared or recognized that there was even a difference ... even in my IEM or wedge monitor, I'm hard pressed to have any concern over it. If you twist a mic just a little bit one way or the other, that also changes the sound drastically, no more or less than having a different sounding Cab Sim. Another thing I've come to a realization on is it doesn't matter to me if it's Analog, Digital (non-IR) or Digital IR based simulation. I know some who really line up behind one technology or the other with the opinion that if it's not using a certain tech, it's not going to be as good somehow. I no longer think it is worth caring, just if the device sounds good to your or not is all that matters. I didn't say in the video, but out of the 3 in the video I'd probably just grab the JDX. Zero potential for option paralysis, sounds good. Live I've been using the Iconoclast. Also no option paralysis, but it does have a 3 band EQ.
@@jmkmusicpedals 100% agree! I've been going direct for a long time... I like a beer on stage and to move about a lot, so no potential for knocking over a mic or moving it as I have done in the past! Been watching a few of your videos lately (always looking round at guitar gear) and I want to say I really enjoy them by the way. Subbed, keep doing what you do!
I’m a JDX Direct Drive owner, and I slightly liked the Blue Box better. One of the best things about the JDX tho is the simplicity, you’re not gonna spend a lot of time tweaking it hunting for tones and I love that. All I have to worry about tweaking are my fx pedals, good vid ✌️
I would agree with that, I like them both. The JDX is just what it is, so you can concentrate on other things. When I use IR's, I also just stick with one and forget about it. I can drive myself crazy constantly checking the sound of different IRs; that's not something I really enjoy ... and I also feel it puts me in this mode where I don't even know if I"m just making lateral moves. I have this other one called the Iconoclast that I prefer the most. Kind of like a JDX, but it has simple Hi, Mid and Low controls with an adjustable Noise Gate. However, that one cannot go between the Amp and the Speaker.
The cleans are always best direct I find on big stages. The mic would always sound a smidge better (because the natural slight delay) but in a live setting your consistency is better with the Blubox. I have been mid show so many times only to look over and the amp is not even close to being mic'd correctly. With DI now at least your signal can always be getting to the board. Great video!
Very nice and useful comparative demo !! That's what it is all about : very good base sound, with which anyone can really evaluate each piece of gear in terms of dynamic and spectral response :) Thumbs up !! I think I would pick JDX for result/practical/effectiveness of the product :) Joe, question about your setup : it is full stereo right ? I think I'm hearing this. If so what do you use to create this effect ? Personnally I use two different outputs / speaker sims but I face phasing issues with both analog sims (with a Torpedo there are a few ms latency that allows for nice doubling effect). And I look for a simple way to delay one side of signal... didnt find how for the moment... Thanks anyway :)
Summer land! Sweet! I thought clean they all sounded equal. I thought distorted the e906 was amazing! Not sure what to say I liked best. I’m very interested in picking up a guitar and my pedal board and just going direct out! I think I would miss having an amp on stage. It would be difficult to play if I didn’t have the amp as my monitor and I had to rely on a sound guy to turn me up if I struggled to hear myself.
I had a similar concern. When I first started using DI, it was to replace the microphone, not the amp. I relied on sound guys for my monitor mix, but had the confidence to step back toward the amp to hear it. I finally progressed with this line of gigging to where I don't have an amp, I use IEMs and have remote control of my own monitor mix. That does make it easier to accept.
Great sounding amp: Mic sounded best. Wondering if you can get Iconoclast close to the mic sound? What do you prefer for sound quality: JDX, BlueBox, or Iconoclast?
Iconoclast is my #1 if I'm not using an amp at all. It just has the sound that I have in my head, and I do believe it is closer to what I expect from my speaker and an e906. When using an amp, I'm fine with the simple JDX.
Great comparison! Do you notice any big differences regarding dynamics and feel between the JDX and the BluBox? The Radial sounds very "in your face" whereas the BluBox sounds kinda distant to me... How's each worked out live? Thanks a lot! :)
I've used the e906 and the JDX live many times and between those two, there is a shift in frequencies, and yes the JDX does feel very in your face compared to the mic. As far as something in the dynamics making me change how I play, or wishing something was happening that wasn't there, I never experienced that. I've never played live with the BluBox. I play all the time using the Iconoclast without even having an amp and it even translates that non-linear dynamic response I expect from an amp very well too. Things like this have really progressed since the early days of cab sim.
Can you get that kind of direct out sound while using a volume knob to silence the speaker? Like for apartment playing? Or is that nice DI sound only possible with the speaker playing as well
The jdx seems very practical for head/cab combinations. I do have a question though! I've just purchased a Strymon Iridium which which is placed at the end of the pedalboard. Aswell as providing cab sim it also has a selection of heads (fender/vox/Marshall) so it is a full amp in a box. Is there anyway of turning off the cab sim on the jdx and using it like a regular di box ?
The JDX only really works with a power amp and speaker and is only Cab Sim. You want to get a Radial JDI Stereo, JDI Duplex, ProD2, J48 or JPC. I have the JPC for this, works great.
Yes, the blue box and the JDX go between the amp head and the speaker cab. The Bluebox can be used just a direct device at the end of your pedalboard as well (The JDX cannot, but they make the "JDX Drive" for that instead). You have to make sure the device you use supports this or you could end up with a damaged unit, or worse, a damaged amp.
I can hear how the Mic sound is so much much better than both simulators. It has a beautiful brightness and round eq that both simulators don't have. If a good speaker is well Miced , only the right IRs can compite, but none of those simulatos can load IRS
