Glenn Fricker Hilariously Hosts AxeFx II Vs. Tube Amp Blind Shootout

Glenn Fricker (of Cupping the Mic Works Wonders), the Lewis Black of metal production videos, has teamed up with GearGods to host the ultimate double blind taste test of AxeFx vs. Tube amp. The foul-mouthed Canadian metal producer and owner of Spectre Sound studios has some pretty strong opinions about amps and what should and should not take place in metal recordings, but it seems like he’s warming up to the AxeFx a little, thanks to the Tone Match feature that makes for a more realistic sound. But don’t even mention the little red kidney bean to him, unless you want to witness an apoplectic fit.

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In the video we shoot out the Framus Cobra, what appears to be a block letter classic Peavey 5150, and a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier against their digital counterparts on the Fractal.

It’s a debate as old as time, or at least as old as Line6. Can a computer do it as well, or better? If you’re sufficiently fooled, does it really matter if it was an all-analog hand wired signal recorded to tape or an amp sim into Pro Tools? We leave the conclusion to you, because you won’t listen to us anyway.

Can YOU tell the difference?

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As Editor-in-Chief of Gear Gods, I've been feeding your sick instrument fetishism and trying unsuccessfully to hide my own since 2013. I studied music on both coasts (Berklee and SSU) and now I'm just trying to put my degree to some use. That's a music degree, not an English one. I'm sure you noticed.