Cameron "Atomica" vs. Friedman "Marsha"

[DLR=VH]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXqoIWFDcx0[/youtube]

Thank you for checking out this video comparing these two AMAZING Amps! Both Amps deliver amazing "brown" tone and warmth.

I tried to record the amps with the same EQ (however the Atomica has a little more low-end due to the "thump" dial). I recorded both amps on the high-gain setting (Atomica was plugged into "high" and the Marsha into "HBE") and used the effects loop on both amps.

For the effects I used a Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo/Reverb and a MXR Phase 90 EVH model and a MXR Flanger EVH model.

The cabinet is a Eddie Van Halen previously owned Flag Systems all Birch enclosure with three Scumback M75 65w Speakers and one Webber NeoMag (JBL clone) 65w Speaker.

The guitar is a GMW Kramer 5150 replica with a Seymour Duncan EVH or '78 PU

I recorded the amps using a Shure SM57 Microphone about 6" away in an effort to try to pick up both the Scumback M75 and the Webber NeoMag Speakers. I used a Line 6 UX2 and Mixcraft Software.

Please don't forget to "Like" FAN HALEN at http://www.facebook.com/fanhalen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks!

-Derek

[EJSLPlexi]

Marsha FTW!

[rgorke]

No doubt that these are two fantastic amps. But to my ears, the Friedman sounded closer. I actually think there might have been too much gain. The Atomica sounded a bit brighter to me...I was expecting the opposite. How loud were these in the room?

Thanks a ton for the comparison. This type of recording is similar to what I was getting at with my "Other options for the Brown sound" thread. There are plenty of ways to get one to the Dutch treat.

And finally, nice playing!!!!

[Roe]

too much gain for me. try the BE instead of HBE

[vkaxeman]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXqoIWFDcx0[/youtube]

Thank you for checking out this video comparing these two AMAZING Amps! Both Amps deliver amazing "brown" tone and warmth.

I tried to record the amps with the same EQ (however the Atomica has a little more low-end due to the "thump" dial). I recorded both amps on the high-gain setting (Atomica was plugged into "high" and the Marsha into "HBE") and used the effects loop on both amps.

For the effects I used a Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo/Reverb and a MXR Phase 90 EVH model and a MXR Flanger EVH model.

The cabinet is a Eddie Van Halen previously owned Flag Systems all Birch enclosure with three Scumback M75 65w Speakers and one Webber NeoMag (JBL clone) 65w Speaker.

The guitar is a GMW Kramer 5150 replica with a Seymour Duncan EVH or '78 PU

I recorded the amps using a Shure SM57 Microphone about 6" away in an effort to try to pick up both the Scumback M75 and the Webber NeoMag Speakers. I used a Line 6 UX2 and Mixcraft Software.

Please don't forget to "Like" FAN HALEN at http://www.facebook.com/fanhalen" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks!

-Derek

Hey Derek, thanks for sharing this. Of the two I think the Friedman is closer to the original VH tone. Don't you have a Rockstah Mark Abrahamian Mod 5 amp? If you do, I would like to hear it in this comparison as well if you have time to do that. And do you guys have any plans of playing in KC MO anytime in the future?
Thanks bro!
Chet

[bman5150]

+1 on the Friedman

[Maverick]

doesnt really sound that warm or chewy or evh brown at all, more like gainy and high middy honk, the guitar just dont do the clip justice and the mic was maybe placed dead on the edge of the VC and just my opinion should be off axis a little more
If you reference all the photos of evh mic'd cabs they are NOT DEAD CENTER, just a inch or so off the edge picking up a tad more of the cone. Of course I am sure all the test gear engineers know that, its just a matter of taste and how much hearing you have left!

[Tone Slinger]

I agree with Maverick. The way that both amps were recorded is messing up the sound a bit imo. I've heard either of those amps do real well before. I'd give the edge to the Friedman amp though. Its seems a touch more real sounding.

[rgalpin]

the atomica seems to be a little bit in JCM800 territory vs DF.

[EJSLPlexi]

since we live in a country where one is allowed to express his own opinion i think that landryLS 100 sounds more VH than both of these! thats where my $$$ would go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTOTjITq4E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[efraser68]

since we live in a country where one is allowed to express his own opinion i think that landryLS 100 sounds more VH than both of these! thats where my $$$ would go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTOTjITq4E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This does have the "chew" factor...but WAY to much gain for VH. Don't know if it's the pup or the amp, but it's revealing a certain "quackiness" that I always attribute to 80's rock and not VH.

[JimiJames]

+1 Good call Eric.
I dunno, the openness is different or saturation. Not bad at all; for like a lead tone... Fun all day with that type of heat !

Good amp Good Player.

[tubez]

since we live in a country where one is allowed to express his own opinion i think that landryLS 100 sounds more VH than both of these! thats where my $$$ would go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvTOTjITq4E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This does have the "chew" factor...but WAY to much gain for VH. Don't know if it's the pup or the amp, but it's revealing a certain "quackiness" that I always attribute to 80's rock and not VH.

I am gonna disagree. Though ED's tone has always been a power tube saturated tone rather then your typical thiner sounding preamp its still quite distorted. Only a measurement could actually identify how much gain he really had but that is impossible. There seems to be two camps when evaluating his tone. Some think is very distorted and others think not so much. It can't be both. It did vary from record to record being VH2 is the oddball tone up to Fair Warning. VH2 seemed to be a cleaner tone. To me VH1 and WACF sound virtually identical. Fair Warning has more overdubs but also noted to be a tad darker. Who knows maybe older strings? Anyway here is the actual recording http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx86CxKYtg0and I still say its pretty dam distorted. When you try to match that sound when recording your own you generally have to somehow someway add more gain then you think. I know ED had an extremely aggressive right hand but you still need a certain amount of gain to there. I think that Landry clip is very close gain wise to Ed's tone and the EQ is just about perfect.

[Tone Slinger]

I agree with Efraser, the Landry amp is a cascade type spec in some way or another. I do hear that '80's sound to it (Landry). Ed was SO unique, in that he wasnt exactly '70's or '80's, but the BRIDGE between the two. A very unique place (bridge) imo .

With old Ed you do need a 'hair' more gain than a cranked super lead typically gets(part of Ed's MAGIC), BUT, you DO NOT want any cascade, no way, shape or form. Good tubes and an attenuator is what you need (along with a finely tuned Super Lead).

These 1,2 and 3 channel specs need another 'niche' than early Van Halen tone.Full circle it comes again, The Metro kits need to RETURN, since they ARE the real artifact/s

[tubez]

We still don't have 100% facts about how Ed ran his stuff to get that sound other then his fingers but lets assume he ran his amp wide open and it was truly blaring loud. Based on the Landry clip he could very well be playing only at a moderate volume which would indicate there is some substitution for gain. Cascade/preamp most likely. Even if that is case the end result is fantastic. It's not written in stone that to match a specific tone you need to use the same exact stuff in the same way. There are so many tones out there that are nearly identical while the gear used is completely different. To my ear the Landry sounds like Ed's recorded tone... Cascade or not. You can nit pick nuances all day long but the overall sound is right there. These days I'm using a Budda superdrive combo amp with 6V6 power tubes. I don't really chase Ed's tone anymore though whatever amp I am using I try to get a similar type sound just because it sounds and feels better to play. I still find matching Ed's tone is more complicated to transfer to a recording then hearing it from the amp itself. In other words I can get my Budda sounding reasonably close to an EVH type sound but when recording it, It's just not there. I use Garage band only with no other gadgets. It could be partially that but I don't really care either way. Carry on.