Sansamp Liverpool vs. real Vox AC30 and AC15

Comparison of the Vox amp sounds from Sansamp Liverpool, compared to the close-miked sounds from a real AC30 and AC15.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Vox
• AC30
• AC15
• Amplifier
• Sansamp
• Liverpool
• guitar
• Fender
• Telecaster
• Thinline
• Dearmond
• M75
• Celestion
• Blue
• Alnico
• Speaker
• Top Boost
• SM58
• Shure
• Crowded House
• Neil Finn

[stan2211stan]

Tech 21 Liverpool is a lot easier on my wallet.

Still, You can't imitate the "Clean Girth" of an AC-30 that "WUMP" thing when picking arpeggios.

[clippermuso]

One of the problems with recording the real AC30 and AC15 is it's done with a microphone, which will always pick up some ambient sound, reverb and 'air'. This demo was to try and demonstrate how close you can get to the pure raw tones using the pedal. It is possible to to get a very much more 'alive' sound (girth and whump) from the pedal by using some studio compression (to simulate air and speaker compression) and reverb to give it space.

[clippermuso]

Thanks so much for the comment, much appreciated.IWith hindsight I can now hear subtle differences between the Sansamp and the real amps, but with hindsight I'd also have made changes to the Sansamp settings and got them closer to the tone. The only reason I haven't bought a British is because I have a Sansamp GT2 and get an amazing Marshall tone out of that. Does a great Fender Twin tone too. Afraid I don't have any old Marshalls or Fenders to A/B them with for a new vid though.

[whackystrings]

Thank you for this video. I moved away from modeling amps/PODs/amp sims, and went valve just over a year ago. A small 15watt mic'ed is more pleasing to my ears than a modeler/simulation. It took years for me to realize this. I don't like the Hi-Fi sound that they produce. The mic'ed amps were so much easier on my ears and the SansAmp was like glass veneer. Two years ago, I dismissed the whole tube/valve thing but videos like this confirm that tech has come a long way. I still prefer my amp.

[clippermuso]

There is no substitute for a real amp, but I don't often get the opportunity to play through an amp without annoying the neighbours. For home recording it's just too convenient to use the Liverpool as the tone is so good and in a mix you'd struggle to spot the difference.

[2GoldensTosa]

Without being nitpicky about the minor differences, I gotta say that Tech21 pedal is pretty amazing. Wow...just wow. Thanks for taking the time to do this comparison. Very impressive. Any idea how this pedal does with Brian May or Bryan Adams overdriven tones?

[clippermuso]

I've never really spent a whole lot of time trying to get the Brian May tone and anytime I have I struggled. Just goes to prove just how unique a tone Brian has developed. The Brian Adams tones are probably in there though.

[dorzsboss]

This pedal is quite impressive.

[DanielAraujoNazar]

Very good demo. The pedal sounds pretty convincing. Also good is the Vox Amplug AC30, altough noisier and less versatile.

[ixis99]

The ac-15 had rhe best overall tone.Nice job

[swornsongs]

The sounds are pretty comparable, although I must say the Vox amps were smoother and warmer, where the pedal alone was a little more brassy. I'm thinking playing the pedal through a nice, low wattage tube amp (like a Fender Pro Junior) would sweeten up the pedal and would probably sound identical to the Vox for half the price.

[MannasProductions]

@clippermuso Nice video! These character pedals look really interesting. Would you mind sharing the settings for the amazing Marshall tone you are talking about on the Sansamp GT2? I just got one yesterday actually and that is one of the tones I am after. I really bought it for it's Marshall potential and the Fender as well. Also, how do you like the Liverpool pedal? I thought about picking a few of them up. I wondered about the British mainly since there is more flexibility than the GT2.

[YetAnotherBeginner]

@OzziePete1I can tell you that this is my "religion".. i've dismissed all multifx , pods, etc, and go practice and recording just with sansamp pedals into soundcard of macbook, and add some great reverb or delay plugins. Ready to go in a minute, wonderful dynamics and harmonic overtones, great recorded sound, and most important so great to play since it's way better responsive and organic than any digital device. I own the oxford and the british but i'm going for the all line, little by little..

[JJF10101957]

As little as I want to admit it this was a great and unique idea for a demo.Well Done!

[LIGHTintheHALLS]

Brilliant and daring comparison! To get that close with a $150 pedal plugged directly into a multitrack is amazing. I have the Leeds and some of the Hiwatts it emulates and am blown away by what Tech 21 have created in a mere pedal. Thanks for doing such a spot on demonstration. Most demos have some guy soloing. Now I am going to get this one too and probably collect other flavors as well!