DELUXE REVERB Model Comparison | Helix, Tone Master Pro, Axe-Fx, Quad Cortex

Thank you for great vídeos is super helpful for us continuing doing please 👏👏👏

Hopefully your videos push Fender and others to continue to up their game. That said as someone with a FM9 at my feet and the TMP... I'm loving the Fender. It may or may not be as accurate to the real thing, I don't know, but I enjoy playing on the TMP more. It'd be hard to go back to programming the FM9. Making shunts and programming settings in that UI just takes me out of an artistic mindset. Too many clicks and choices. Fractal really need to make an easy mode and advanced mode or something. Also the amp combos sound and FEEL the best to me in the TMP. I have a load of own hammer IRs among others, but the Fender speakers sound more reactive to me and I hate having to configure amp and cabs as 2 blocks in Fractal land. Both are great products with different types of improvement needed in my opinion.

Would love to hear a Kemper Liquid Profile compared as well.

we‘re just so spoiled these days😅

I wonder if the differences are due to the way the algorithms were done based on the amps they used when they modeled them. Did some of the manufactures use the schematic or actually pull the chassis out of and old amp and blueprint the components.That said I own three of them Axe-Fx III, Quad Cortex and Helix. They all sound good but they do sound different from one another. They also all have their good and not so good points. There's no doubt that the Axe-Fx III reigns supreme but I think it would be a nightmare to use on a gig or jam session where you might need to dial in a tone really fast. In that scenario the Quad Cortex is the easiest on the fly. It's also small and extremely powerful. You could put it up on a chair or music stand and change things without having to bend down and use a midi switcher to control the unit. That's what I do. The Helix is somewhere in the middle but it's also very large so if you don't want to bend down to modify things that could be a problem.

The Helix jumped out as most different in the letters-only pass, at least on my phone. It sounded a bit harder and thinner. Will have to re-listen on good speakers....

I love these videos, great job! Can you do a modeler comparison on the Roland JC-120?

I think a very important, and often missed point, is that each of these modellers are basing their product offering on different amps. If you have ever played 2 or 3 deluxe reverbs next to each other, they will sound all different. Cliff over at FAS has his own, Line 6 have theirs, etc. They all can be made to sound pretty close. Surprisingly, the Quad Cortex lost to my ears in this video. You would think that Fender would just "sound" closest, but that is maybe a bit unfair. I thought the Axe-fx sounded the closest in your shootout here. I also thought it sounded closest in my own shootout, so thats the one I got. I have heard many other guitarists live with helix, headrush, axe-fx, etc, that sounded really great. Use whatever wiggles your own ears the way you want it to everybody. Thank you for another great video. Your open mindedness is always refreshing, Leon. I hope people will maybe share their own tactics in the comments on how they get their own modellers to sound the best!

I compared the ToneMaster Pro sounds with AxeFx3, Helix, and Quad Cortex for a selection of the amps that are in TMP. This included the Deluxe Reverb model, but not any of the high-gain models. I did not get the obvious difference on the TMP that Leon did in this video. They all sounded very similar. I set up amp only presets in the TMP with default settings, and copied the settings to the corresponding amps in the other units. All were fed to a Line6 PowerCab which also provided the same appropriate cab emulation for each of the amps tested. I used a switcher to send my guitar input to each unit, and could change with a foot tap. None of the units had a better or worse sound, and any variations were well within the expected variance of reference amps. Leon did use his preferred gain/EQ settings from his own real tube amp, whereas I used the default settings from the TMP. I can't say that I would not have heard bigger differences at different settings.

Really liking this comparison series. Fractal is always the best it seems, wish they would release a plugin similar to Helix Native. That would be killer.

Helix performed really well here and in the last video... some fractal fanboys started to sweat 😂 like they sweat on every Sonic Drive Studio's comparison 😂

Leon, could you do a similar video with the Twin Reverb, if you have one. Using the Deluxe again is fine, if not.

But instead of using an external IR, just use whatever native cab block in the respective devices. Meaning, TMP uses its TMP Twin amp and cab, Axe uses its Twin amp and cab, etc. I'm really curious how each of them sound compared to each other when using just what comes stock with that device versus aftermarket IRs.

You could compare a real tube amp with the Axe and the Fractal's fan boys will always tell you:"Wow the Axe sounds better than the original"... their credibility is zero. 😂😂😂.

Fender has explained why the TMP sounds different when using a third party IR , whether loaded into the device or in your DAW. How would the TMP sound compared to the amp if you used the cab built into the TMP? That to me is the real test. Though they’re changing things in the next update so it works better with third party IRs.

I’m loving these videos especially because I have an FM3 and am downsizing and only keeping it and a handwired Tweed Champ I built for myself. Not regretting it since all the amp models sound so amazing :)

The real amp is so much warmer than everything else, the tone master comes very close in terms of that warmth, the AFIII sounds cold by comparison.

the Axe-Fx samples were the winners for me.

Sold my FM3 because I don't gig on electric anymore, and I like the workflow of just plugins straight in the box. It'd be interesting to hear Tonex side-by-side with these as well, but that feels a bit wonky, since the captures would be based on specifically the settings you've got on the amp, so it isn't like anyone else could recreate it in the wild.

I think it says a lot that the first three I could spot on first listen - the one that sounded modeled but absolutely nailed made me think Fractal, and the Helix doing the slightly-more-scoopy, slightly-more-skanky-top end thing that it does. What a world we live in that literally every alternative was usable, though!

Here's the real test: grab a POD 2.0 to be the real wildcard....

is it just my ears or the helix model has this high pitch noise running in the back?

With the caveat that this test doesn’t show everything I look for when testing an amp (and I understand the need to do short clips to keep it not overwhelming), all of these were useful sounds except the TMP.

I listened to these a number of times and tbh I was disappointed with all of them. The only thing that sounded good was the real deal. Although the one with "Tone Master Pro IR loaded externally" sounded the best of a bad bunch but that's an external IR. I am in the market for a new device and this didn't help the situation at all.

Helix and ax FX are very close!👍🏼
But theres something about the axe FX in the lower frequencies...tighter,sweeter🤔
It's hard to explain but it's definitely there to my ears anyway 🙂

Great video Leon. I have the Helix and the TMP. I’m debating if I’m going to keep the TMP. Would be nice to hear a comparison of the other high gain amps. The Mesa mark IV and the Recto. the 5150 etc. thanks.

This is an extremely unfair comparison, knowing that the TMP's modelling method is quite different. You have to use the inbuilt IRs. That being said, the TMP is not that compatible with external IR's which could be an issue for some, however, the inbuilt ones are great!

Yes! Absolutely, outstanding video! Please do more!

NOT surprised that the Fractal was spot on. VERY surprised the Tonemaster was the least realistic/matching. Helix edged out the Cortex, just a little.

so I drew out a little chart to follow along on the blind and made fast notes based on instant feeling of the tone, I scored the real amp & the Axe as less liked every time! I scored the Helix as like then dislike, same with the TMP. So the winner on that logic for me was the QC which I marked as like straight off.

I would rank Axe Fx < QC < Helix < Fender. The Helix to me had more fizz in the higher gain settings which I think is worse than the darker model of the QC.

Interesting that Fender didn’t do this themselves?

Fantastic tests and coverage, Leon. This is really helping me decide what I want for my modeler. These all sound fantastic, just one really stands out for what I am looking for. Thanks for posting; rock on!

Nam must be added in here

Oh yes please do some more comparisions ! Subscribed because you included the Helix. And let me add, they all probably can get the same character as the axe fx just by twisting some knobs/ eq/ compression.

They all sound very close to me. In the context of a guitar track in a recorded song, I sincerely doubt anyone could tell the difference between any of these modelers. Maybe my ears are shot, but I doubt it. PS - I have the TMP and my tweaked Deluxe Reverb patch has far less gain that demonstrated here. Of course that's just my taste for that particular amp.

The axefx is darn near indistinguishable from the real amp. The Helix and the QC are also really really good. The Helix stomp is a really nice piece of kit for a good price. I use a Fractal FM9 but may get a HX Stomp to play around with at some point.

More of these comparison tests please! These are fun and interesting.

I own 4 of the 5 just not the amp and i like em all 😊 Im hoping fenders next update will even the playing field.

An impressive comparison overall, Leon - the AXE FX, to my ears all but duplicated the Deluxe Reverb and the HXStomp was a close second. Having said that, each one of these devices are tools and each user/artist will seek to obtain the best results possible for their use. I know Fender is a bit late to this game and is getting some negativity because of that. But what people are forgetting is that these devices are TOOLS to create with and it's up to the user to create THEIR ideal sound with them. Can't wait for the next installment in this series. (Mesa-Boogie perhaps?)

Another good test/comparison. Leon. I am also interested in knowing if a particular amp modeler is as good or better sounding as the real amp they represent.

helix has a bit of fizz, axe 3 sounds slightly better than the amp, I hope they don't change it. Nice one thanks!

Leon would you please answer how you accounted for the lack of a Reverb in the other modellers?

The more I watch your videos, the more I love your channel. I don't know if my perspective is that different than others on these different multi-effects processors, but I have a limited budget and am always looking for the next awesome device that will make my music creation, production, and live environment the best possible. Right now something like the Axe-FX is out of my range. Since most relatively expensive items I purchase are done on a couple of retailers that have extended me credit. I am really interested in the Fender Tone Master Pro simply because I see its presentation as the best of all the worlds. But if the amp models are not accurate, and I don't have anything comparable in my very humble studio, then it isn't worth it. I can't go out and buy anything Marshall, Soldano, Freidman, or Fender at current prices. Not to mention multiples of these amp brands. That's why I'm hoping for a good modeler and multi-effects pedal system so I'm not tap dancing to get a particular sound from song to song live or in a recording situation. I do have a Tonex pedal that I like so far, but I am running into sound problems that I don't quite understand yet.

One thing from your channel that has been most valuable is the comment to roll off the highs on amp models to get a better sound. So I guess what I'm saying is, keep up the good work. I do support creators who actually help me understand how to do things better. It's to my advantage as a musician. I also play bass so I would be interested, if you can, to see bass model comparisons. I'm a big Geddy Lee fan and have found some Tonex presets that sound great, but I spend a fair amount of time looking and not enough playing. I want to play more but I like learning covers since it seems to help me understand the guitar, gear, and playing better.

Thanks again for what you do.

The sound of fractal is much more telepheric,and substentic while defining a greater distance between the frequences below the average organic stance,depending of your budget of course unless you dial it uncorrectly that goes without a doubt but only in a room decently tuned, and the strings must be new ,people at fractal have stated that their modelers are the most powerful and you can hear it if you buy it.
Of course you can get a nice sound with other modelers but it will be less fractalesque I should say,or not fractalesque at all witch makes sense if you buy a quad cortex ,but the learning curve is different,a lot of fractal users discovered you cannot tweak the quad with the fractal manual that make the helix a total different beast .but its hard to say if all this generate enough views to make a decent leaving
Anyway great video here thank you to be an expert reseller

I have to confess, after reading “Deluxe Reverb” comparison, I was thrown off to hear a thick chugga-chugga Marshall style crunch tone in the demo. Thanks for playing something at the end that was a little more representative of how most people dial in a blackface Fender tone.

finally a discussion of crust and fizz...

Leon what are you think, where is the reverb is best Lexicon Pcm 81/91 or Quad Cortex?
And second question: where in hardware you listen th best effect of doubler?
Thanks 🙏

Sorry if this is answered but were you plugged-in to the normal or vibrator channel in the TMP?

It would be nice if you could revisit this, after the last few firmware updates from all of the different units. It can be especially confusing to compare current Tone Master Pro vs launch since a lot of improvements have been made.

I'm curious if after some of the TMP updates the TMP did any better. I also notice that using the high cut, etc help reduce some of that top end fuzziness.

All of these comparison videos have been created using the same method. They are sending the amp models into the same 3rd party IR and this is a totally valid test.

We (Fender) have already stated that (for now) this will yield less authentic results than using our factory IRs. We are already working on (and were long before these videos were posted) implementing more capabilities into our 3rd party IR block that will enable the desired results. This will also have a positive outcome when using external IRs and/or a SS power amp driving a real cabinet.

Today (12/3) is literally the 2nd month post-launch for TM Pro. We have a long roadmap of updates planned that include not only new features and models but also tweaks to current features that were in the product on launch day.

We (Fender) really appreciate the engagement and feedback we’ve gotten thus far and are excited to implement some of the suggestions. The best part about all products like this is the ability for continuous improvement that enhances the playing experience on all platforms. We’re excited to have you all be a part of that process.

Jason S. - Product Director, Fender Amps