Any proper A/B tests of Amp sim plugins vs real amps?

[AudioBabble]

Hey folks...

I'm a bit surprised not to be able to find much in the way of real tests between amp sim vsts and the real thing.

There's plenty of half-arsed attempts on youtube, but I'm talking about proper A/B tests with gain matching and going thru the range of tones, not just full-on shred distortion sounds.

I don't know why I'm bothered really -- I have a decent amp, interface, room & mics to record with, so I haven't tended to get too hung up on it... preferring the convenience of vsts for laying down ideas or reference tracks but never taken it seriously to the point I'd want to record direct guitar > amp sim for a final production.

I have Guitar Rig 6, some Kuassa sims and most of the brainworx amp sims. They're pretty good, but nothing like my actual amp mic'd up. Where they are particularly a let-down is in getting full clean tones that really jump out.

I've heard good things about Neural DSP, Ampltiube, Bias, etc so was looking for some tests against real amps. (saves me the bother of conducting my own tests!)

Anyone point me in the right direction?

[AudioBabble]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj2H4c3utSA

hmmm... somewhat compelling...

[zerocrossing]

Yeah, that guy’s good. Not too many others, though. I watched one the other day where it put Neural DSP’s SLO-100 against Amplitube’s, and I have no idea what was going on, but the IK model sounded nothing like it does in real life. I mean, nothing. I couldn’t help but think it was either a scam or some horrible mistake.

[Coldmajki]

This guy does a lot of comparisons https://youtube.com/@eds4754 mostly high gain but maybe you can make use of it. The ir you use gonna make a huge difference bigger then the amp sim itself. I found that eqing a clean tone pre gonna get closer to the sound i want. Also i think wanting the same tone from an amp sim as the real deal always gonna end up in disappointment so just try to think at it as a different amp you never used even tho its “modelling” a specific amp. Im not a sales man but i think you would like neural amp modelling especially if you have your own hardware gear check it out if you haven’t already

[electro]

Someone just A/B the new Neural Sim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ykL9H5-rm4

[zerocrossing]

Here’s what I’ve learned from these tests. There are so many ways to get it wrong. A developer can decide to extend the parameter range a bit to go to cool places the original amp would not. You could dial in what you think are identical settings and be wildly off.

I think it’s fun to watch them, but not as useful for deciding what one to buy. Your best bet is to just have a go with the demo and see if you like it.