TONEX And PA Face-Off Guitar Amp - EV Evolve 50M

In today's video Paul and James from The Studio Rats are at THOMANN in Germany seeing if the TONEX Pedal and the EV EVOLVE 50M PA can compete with a Soldano SLO Amplifier.

Guitar players (including myself) love the sound or a guitar going through a valve amp cranked up flapping our trousers, but a lot of modern stages now require the stage to be silent. While we were at THOMANN in Germany we thought we would compare the sound coming from a SOLDANO SLO 30 to a TONEX pedal going through a EV EVOLVE 50M PA system

Link to EV Evolve 50M

Link to all the gear used in this video

To Check out Our TONEX Captures

The Studio Rats are core band members Paul Drew on guitar/production/mixing, drummer James Ivey and Dan Hawkins on bass. They collaborate with singers and musicians to produce radio-ready songs.

[mattiascarlsson]

Finally a demo showing me something useful, instead of all the demos of guitar sims going through a sound card, where "no editing has been done, it's just the pedal you're hearing...". Good job, thanks guys!

[Metalguitarpete]

Im a working guitarist in the contexts 1. My main originals metal band playing small clubs and medium festivals - MORE 2. A pub covers band 3. A pro function band playing large corporate gigs.

I all 3 situations I have stopped using my valve stacks/ combos in favour of the Tonex with Line6 M5 and a DI box.

The convenience, reliability, consistency of tone is absolutely essential. Plus I am now every sound engineer’s best friend.
I use in ears and can sleep after shows without horrible ringing in my ears. The function band drummer uses a Roland electronic kit which sounds amazing and he even selects different patches to suit the songs.
Double gig bag 2 guitars my pedals and a few cables and bits, it’s ultra portable

Yes there’s nothing quite like a valve stack shifting air but…

I recently sold a few of my amps (JCM900, Mesa Single rectifier, Ampeg Reverb Rocket) so I’m over £2.5k in profit after buying my current rig. I have kept my Cornford RH30 and Crate BV120H (the one that gets hated😂 it’s awesome shh!)

Great vid thanks

[CorporationsMyBaby]

What a great video! This is something working players need to see and hear. This is a real service. Thank you. Now. The model is a 100w amp and the amp in the room is a 30 w. The wattage always goes to the low end first. So either capture the 30w or switch the real head to the 100 and the low end will match better. A lot of pros with working schedules are using Tonex Pedals (not tonex one) as back ups when they cannot travel with the preferred amp. This happens a lot when I am a sideman and the main band already has their main set up. They need me for "extra" stuff in major markets to sound like the album. This is the perfect time to use Tonex in the PA and maybe run a dedicated small monitor for myself. It does feel different than a real amp.. and you do have to expect that. I don't prefer it but I can do a great job regardless.

[neilsmith]

Fantastic video. I'm a home, open-mic and small gig player, and vocals are as important to me as guitar. I swapped all my amps for PAs and modellers. Makes a lot more sense in the end. This video really justifies my gear strategy. Thank you, gents 👍

[RobvandenBoogaard]

What a massive ball dropping sound, love it! This is the future of gigging setups, no doubt

[bergsofcanada]

As has been commented and said in the video, at a gig where there was a big PA the amp would have mics on it and that would be going through the PA then. So a good A or B test would be the mic'd up amp through the PA versus the tonex through the PA. Then the sounds are coming through the same delivery system. This video also shows that the tonex captures amps extremely well.

[dreamscuba]

Great ballsy tone with both. The Silver Sky demonstrating that it can sound killer for classic rock tones. Nice one guys.

[wmarple]

Love you guys, this was a fun time! This channel should be much bigger than it is. Very discerning tone on this channel, love it

[MrBossei]

Tonex sounds more “hifi” because the PA are full frequency. Great comparison and video 🙏☀️

[KyleLaulo]

Playing alone, the Tonex sounds great through PA or FRFR speakers. However, I think a good soundman would want to pull some of those lows out of the Tonex and maybe even boost some mids so you would sound better in the band mix anyway.

[izek]

great video gents... normally sound guys will run a Hi-Pass filter on all guitar signals coming in so that it doesn't come out the subs... this tightens up there tones and helps them sit better in the mix with bass and drums... You might also find that both the ToneX & Soldano setup will actually sound much closer in comparison with a hi-pass filter @ 150hz put on the PAs input channel for the pedal

[derekirving]

Great way to do the demo. There is clearly a difference between the amp where the speakers influence the sound, and the ToneX with the PA sounds a bit more high-fi (and hi end fizz) and less actual guitar speaker honk. Now 95% (most likely more) of the people won't know the difference between tones, but if a guitar amp is too loud on stage that IS noticeable.

[joelortiz]

I have been playing through two vamps my whole adult life. I bought the original Tonex when it was first released and have been using it exclusively ever cents. I still own two vamps but always prefer the tone X. I also have never received so many compliments on my tone.

[scottbecker]

A modeler and a PA is definitely the way to go, and has been for me for quite some time. Interesting to hear this direct comparison, since I have not yet heard the 50M in action. That said, I think the frequency spread of my JBL PRX One is probably more to my liking, though these column thingies can be tweaked quite a bit with EQ so as to alleviate the „mids hole“ that lives between the smallish speakers and the huge sub (comparatively speaking). This is a trade-off of all columns, but being able to also monitor oneself with the same speaker, with very little risk of feedback, is another huge plus. As for the ToneEx, I have the big-box one and the One. It, too, needs precise EQing and hi- and low-shelving to sound better than in the demo. A bit too much sizzle for the 50M, it seems. But all this can be tamed with a bit of effort, so why mess with lugging and micing a real amp? Don‘t own a single amp, and life is good. :-)) P.S. I should add that my modeler/profiler of choice nowadays is no longer the ToneEx, but rather the Fender Tone Master Pro (properly set with a decent hi- and low-pass on all the combo cabs used). It‘s more organic and smooth than the ToneX by a long shot, and certainly tweaking to one‘s heart‘s content, and exceedingly easy to use by comparison with any device I‘ve used or investigated so far (and that‘s a lot!).

[glenroachmusic]

Thanks for the video. I spent the 80s touring bars with a Marshall half stack. I have a Helix Floor and love it but I also love the Marshall DSL20 1x12 combo that I recently acquired. This video helped me decide to keep both. One for small silent stage use when needed and the rest of the time with the Marshall. (I still do have the Marshall Half stack). Why I prefer the amp over the modeler is the natural feedback that can be obtained when holding note or chords. To get feed back on a modeler you have to have a feed backer pedal (which exists in the Helix). This is not the same though as the natural feedback which adds a certain feeling to the music.(I do not know how to describe it).

[robinmiller]

I have found the best sound I get with various modeling pedals is plugged into a mixer and then a decent power amp driving a regular guitar cab with either two single 12 cabs in stereo or a single or double twelve cab in mono.

[FedericoMemme]

Hi guys !! i have the the tonex one ( i'm pretty happy with it ) and i also have a Soldano Hot rod 50 and other amps. Your video is pretty cool and i agree with what you say, the problem is that the PA is not on the stage with you like the amp, normally is 3 to 5 meters in front of you ( even in small clubs, weddings or private party ) and is addressed to the people so you're not hearing directly the power of it. Normally in these cases you're required to use In-ear ( mostly ) and all the punch and power that the PA has, is lost for you. Also, The video si about playing the PA like an amp so the cost is not 199 euro (tonex ) vs 3500 ( SLO ) but tonex and PA vs amps. if i have to carry a full PA as an amp is not much convenient 🤣. Anyway is a great video about the tone of the tonex in a PA system.

[papeleriasanignacio]

Ty Studio Rats, this is the video I was waiting for !

[mrMike-fz]

Yep I used to love playing gigs with my loud as freak amps. Switched to a Line6 FRFR. I give the XLR out to the sound guy. He's now happy. Smaller, lighter, better for my back and I still sound great on stage 😀

[Dodgyguitarist]

Great comparison chaps! Both sound mega.