so.. amps sims in 2011. how are they?

[PRODIJ]

could they stand to the real deal?

[col]

Look into LePou amp sims, they're very good (and free). I once heard a clip of a real Engl Powerball vs. the LePou plugin and couldn't honestly tell a difference.

Edit: Found the clip. It alternates between the two (honestly! ).
http://koti.mbnet.fi/juhau/englbath-eaten.mp3

[biggator6]

I was throwing down some scratch guitar tracks the other night - decided to just plug in direct through an X73i and use SHRED. Got some pretty decent sounds with Shred.. enough that I may keep them along with the eventual final tracks (likely with my Rivera). Pretty great for free.

I've heard that the LePou ones are good too - haven't tried them yet.

[PurposeToMelody]

I dunno. you tell me

YouTube - The Devil Wears Prada- Assistant to The Regional Manager-With Lyrics


seriously though, that is PODfarm. and that is only a mid range sim imo, something like the AxeFX is even closer.

[heyman]

Originally Posted by PurposeToMelody

I dunno. you tell me

YouTube - The Devil Wears Prada- Assistant to The Regional Manager-With Lyrics


seriously though, that is PODfarm. and that is only a mid range sim imo, something like the AxeFX is even closer.

As someone who grew up around and played metal, is this what music has come to?

I dont know man... between the grid edited drums, blasted out vocals and overcompressed mix I couldnt even tell you what the guitars sounded like..

dfegad

[PurposeToMelody]

I'm not really a TDWP fan, but like it or not, this is what sells, Joey Sturgis knows what he's doing, PODfarm + SSD samples = every hardcore metal band today.

[Gearowner]

Bump.

July 2011... anyone got some suggestions? I am using Vintage amp room by softube atm, would like to hear something new.


As a side note: Are there any good stompbox emulations out there? Or should that be a different thread... maybe, but throw in some suggestions if you happen to know any.

thanks!

[WOLF424]

Originally Posted by col

Look into LePou amp sims, they're very good (and free). I once heard a clip of a real Engl Powerball vs. the LePou plugin and couldn't honestly tell a difference.

We started demoing new material with the LePou and the member who mixes our stuff wanted to stop micing amps then and there.

[CXP]

I have used Pod Farm Plat, Guitar Rig 4, and all the Softube rooms. I am still searching for something decent. Of the billion presets these are all bundled with, maybe a handful can be useable for prorecording. Only after a good amount of EQ and other plugs. I am not a hater at all. In fact, I am searching right now to upgrade my DI chain because ITB is all I can do at the moment.

I added a tube comp before the instrument input of the UX8 and found it made the sound a bit fatter but not much.

I stopped buying Amp sims after the Softube purchase. They all sound like white noise. Now, I HAVE gotten some good tones building my own amp chain in Pod Farm. If I only use the amp model it CAN sound good. But I also use a buss EQ and Verb to get it to sound "real".

FWIW, I have heard the POD HD stuff is pretty good. Not holding my breath. Not sure Amp Sims have made a big leap since 2004. I am the first one that wishes they would! I am not a purest...don't care how I get there, as long as I get there.

I compared all my models to a Blackheart 5w with NOS tubes and a mid-range reverb pedal on a Rode NTK. That little thing was amazing but the thin walls made it a no-go.

[Gearowner]

Originally Posted by CXP

I have used Pod Farm Plat, Guitar Rig 4, and all the Softube rooms. I am still searching for something decent. Of the billion presets these are all bundled with, maybe a handful can be useable for prorecording. Only after a good amount of EQ and other plugs. I am not a hater at all. In fact, I am searching right now to upgrade my DI chain because ITB is all I can do at the moment.

I added a tube comp before the instrument input of the UX8 and found it made the sound a bit fatter but not much.

I stopped buying Amp sims after the Softube purchase. They all sound like white noise. Now, I HAVE gotten some good tones building my own amp chain in Pod Farm. If I only use the amp model it CAN sound good. But I also use a buss EQ and Verb to get it to sound "real".

FWIW, I have heard the POD HD stuff is pretty good. Not holding my breath. Not sure Amp Sims have made a big leap since 2004. I am the first one that wishes they would! I am not a purest...don't care how I get there, as long as I get there.

I compared all my models to a Blackheart 5w with NOS tubes and a mid-range reverb pedal on a Rode NTK. That little thing was amazing but the thin walls made it a no-go.

Interesting post you made. What about stompbox emulations? Can you advise something? Recently I got to demo the amplitube 3 stompboxes. On their website they have the models they have been modeled after. They sound pretty sweet, i must say. Up till now i've been using vintage amp room by softube and although it is 'kinda okayish' it doesnt blow my mind. I've started demoing the amplitube fender stuff and to be honest, it is actually 'pretty okay'.

I've got a couple of questions for ya, in reply to some things you said.

1) What do you find yourself typically EQ'ing in (or out of) the sound you get from ITB amp simulations?

2) What is your typical signal chain? How does this one sound to you?
Tape saturation (Roundtone) -> Analog gear emulation (something like Soundtoys Decapitator) -> Amp simulation -> EQ (emulation of some analog response) -> Compression (analog emu, again)

Am thinking about parallelling the compression, to keep the dynamics of original guitar amp sound and then injecting some punch into it through parallel comp. Maybe you can take something away from this.

3) You talked about 'upgrading' your itb guitar sound by bettering your di chain. What do you mean by that?

To be completely honest with you,... i haven't invested in a di box quite yet. I'm thinking abou the radial j48. It is active... don't know what the difference is between passive and active in laymen terms.

Anduhh.... i got you on that 'hater' part. I mean, whatever gets the soul of the song right man. If that's some crappy eq, than that it is.

Regards

[CXP]

Are you channeling me?

First I will address the eq. I have really fell in love with the Waves SSL Eq. Parametric is my pref. Obviously EQ depends on many factors. I start by rolling off the low end around 100k and rolling off the high end around 19k'ish. All subjective. I notch a few db's at the 8k to help the vocals cut through and maybe a few db's in the low mid.

My current chain is Tele to EHX Black Finger (LOVE this comp) to line 6 input. I have a thread asking about the JDI (prefer passive because my pickups are active). My bassist just got one. Not overwhelming but makes the bass sound....well....like a bass.

You chain will work but I think it might be too much. I TOTALLY forgot to mention the Decapitator. Unreal plug. In fact, I have used it with some success after the EQ. Pretty versatile plug and has a wonderful tone to it. I think you could get away with EQ-----Decapitator----Impulse Reverb----Comp (maybe). I prefer the Softube FET for parallel compression because it sounds good and is easy. Otherwise I set up a TubeTec CL1B on a aux buss, set to squash the hell out of the signal, then dial a tiny bit in. Not a fan of over compression on guitars.

BTW, Active pickups = Passive box. Hope this helps. FWIW I recorded the guitars to my song "Unprotected" in a hotel room on my way to Iraq. I used a UX1 and Gearbox. Sounded pretty good without all the fuss! SoundClick artist: Vested - VESTED is William Ashley Stratton and Dena Porras Maynard

[rack gear]

I'll probably be in the minority here, but even with a closet full of low wattage tube amps the sims in the Adrenalinn III are pretty nice. Better than the POD's for sure - I don't know about the Fractal... haven't used it.

As for ITB... depending on conditions and set up, sometimes latency can still be an issue...

[cinealta]

Nope, amp modeling is still not there yet in 2011. Not even the Axe-Fx II (yup had one the first week it was out) or Amplitube 3 (very good for a modeler). A real Matchless, Divided By 13, Vox and Marshall blew the modelers away (played them the same week as the modelers). The modelers are great for convenience, demos, placeholders, songwriting etc, but still not completely convincing to me, needless to say they don't play like amps at all (latency, artifacts etc).

[Gearowner]

To be honest, I am looking forward to try out amplitube. Pretty cool simlations of fender amps.

[rogerbrain]

Originally Posted by Gearowner

Bump.

July 2011... anyone got some suggestions? I am using Vintage amp room by softube atm, would like to hear something new.


As a side note: Are there any good stompbox emulations out there? Or should that be a different thread... maybe, but throw in some suggestions if you happen to know any.

thanks!

roger linn designs Adrenalinn III VERY good amp modeler...and a really fun box too

[rack gear]

Originally Posted by rogerbrain

roger linn designs Adrenalinn III VERY good amp modeler...and a really fun box too

[DanGo]

I've tried a lot of amp modelers and used to work in an apartment, so I pretty much HAD to use them. Now I'm in a small studio, but am in the same space with my amps (Ceriatone 18-watt Plexi and a Vox AC 15).

For those two amps' sounds, I can't beat them with plugins or emulators, especially for cleaner sounds! But it can be time-consuming placing mics when you're the player in the same room. Soooo, I use the new SansAmp character series.

They don't "feel" like amps, but for accuracy of sound, I think they beat plugins. Try em running into a good DI, then a really good preamp and a nice compressor! That's where they shine: if you treat the pedal like an amp and the process it as you would with miked sound...