Mesa Face Off: Real Amp vs Modeller 

The real amp has full audio information. Plugins so far capture only part of the information, thus sounding less full when soloed in comparison. But in a full mix, we only want part of the frequencies to stand out while cutting down the rest, thus it depends on what kind of a mix it is and how you treat the audios as ingredients. The Vetta can easily sound better if mixed right when compared to a poorly mixed real amp.

There’s a reason meshuggah used these on their albums. They did a lot of clever trickery on those amps give the real “feel” of an amp, which is debatable, but they sound perfectly fine. Even better with real cabs and could be an awesome amp using multiple preamp pedals and what not

Very close and difficult to tell which was which, especially with things being mixed up, which is a good thing. This cuts to the fact that speakers captured/IR are a big part of the equation. It also explains why some of Meshuggah and Fear Factory’s best works involved a Pod/Vetta formula.

I didn't even watch the video for the guessing part but A and B sound almost exactly the same C sounds different somehow, less rich...

They really sound quite similar 😮 Couldn’t guess them

Never found this video till now….I am interested in knowing more information ( if you have any to share) on how to load sounds INTO the Vetta II (I have the 2x12 combo vetta II and I’ve seen someone on reverb say they had loaded files into it that would show what amplifier it was emulating line fender twin reverb or British tube etc as opposed to the names that Line 6 labeled everything as which makes things kind of confusing a bit. If anyone knows how to update the vetta combo I’d sure love to hear from you as there’s little info out there and I realize the am0lifier is over 20 yrs old but hey, I have one and I’d like to get the absolute most out of it. I do have the manual in my iPad in .pdf to read and again just looking for other users who can help make my vetta II be its best. I do have a strange model and perhaps RARE FBX Longboard controller that definitely works even though it’s been heavily used and my combo amp is literally new and almost dust free too, previous owner had a cover on it that he kept when I purchased it. Anyway thanks for reading this long winder comment! KEEP ROCKIN 🤘🏽

What I was hearing from each one seemed, to vary between each riff - before the results, I'd say I like B best overall, maybe A second but it's a toss up. Let's see... okay, you changed them up on each part, that explains it. Well, I'll stand by my "correct" answer based off the last part. The plugin is definitely very close. I love plugins, and I'm not of the opinion that real tube amps are always better, especially with what's out there today! I haven't had a Line 6 since my first amp, a Spider II, which was not the best, though I loved it all the same until I blew it out. In every demo of old Line 6 gear they tend to be on the darker and more "lofi" side, maybe to hide some of the harshness of the tech at that time, not sure. I hope to get my hands on a pod to test out against modern amp sims.

Let it warm up? A tube amp literally only takes a few seconds.