Musician on the go needs advice with Guitar Amp Software

[krucifyx]

Hi all,

I know it looks like "Just another guitar amp sim" thread, and it may indeed be, but I feel it's a bit different...

So, here's the situation. I had to left my home country for a bit (over a year and a half already) and I won't be back for another year or so at least. Back home, I have nice tube amps (some classics, moderns & boutique handmade stuff), nice mics (Royer 121, US "Electrodyne" 57, MD421/441, SM7, Blue, and some nice condensers too), nice pres, decent room with different accoustic pannels for versatility, a couple of nice customly tuned (by my fav luthier) guitars, apogee converters... Well, you got the picture, I had what was required to get a decent guitar tone.

I stopped playing guitar on a regular basis since I decided to spend more time on the 'recording' side of the mixing desk, but now that I'm away, I'm really starting to feel the "itch" of the fender I took with me tickling the tip of my fingers...

So, with me, I have: Logic 8, Mac Book Pro, Apogee Ensemble, my fav fender, a couple of baaaad freeware (I hear some PC VSTs are decent, but that's no help here), a couple of very average soft (I have all the IK but for the metal one, and I kinda like the Jimi Hendrix one the best when tweaked properly, but the others I don't really care and need a little more versatility), and I compulsively baught a Line6 Interface to serve as dongle to tryout PodFarm... I feel that was kind of a mistake since I never really liked Pod products... Oh, and I don't want something that's iLock protected.

So... I've downloaded a coupe of demos (Revalver, Overload's TH1, Studio Devil, guitar rig), and some of them sound "ok"-ich (I liked Overload the most, and after that Guitar Rig), and def better than what I remember the Line 6 thing to sound like, but unfortunately, demos are either limited in time, functionnality, or have this POP or PSCHIIIIIT sound that comes up every moment, which makes the whole evaluation process a little difficult.

I want to find something that I can enjoy playing for a bit of time, that is versatile (I need good clean tones, crunch, rock drives), and decently sounding. I don't care that much for effects, but it can be a plus.

So, do any of you guys have any idea on how these sounds in the long run? Will I be able to have usable sounds that have a kinda "realsm" feeling to it (I know nothing compares to the real deal, but for the moment, I just can't practically do that)? I don't need to be WOW-ed, just need something decent that will make me wanna play guitar and that I can have fun with. I would also love the investment not to be worthless (so, future uses in recording/mixing/reamping situation is a big plus).

Thanks guys.

Best,
Sampiero

[everythinglouder]

I've tried them all and I feel Overloud TH1 is one of the best. I feel Softube's sims ARE the best but they're ilok-protected. TH1 can be authorized with a license file.

TH1, I like better than Amplitube and Guitar Rig mainly because you can load your own cabinet IR's. I use TH1 with the Recabinet IR's and I feel that improves the experience. I'm also generally the most comfortable with TH1's workflow... seeing the rig setup the way it is in TH1 is a tad more inspiring than the other sims.

The Recabinet IR's are on sale for dirt cheap right now...
Recabinet - Album quality guitar tone, direct.

A lot of people argue that the sims all generally sound the same, and while I agree with that, the custom IR feature and GUI of TH1 make it my personal favorite (besides Softube).

[sleeper1400]

i like the guitar rig 4

its pretty...and it sounds very good.


as a reason user, it was an easy choice, its set up in a similar fashion.

(im so not going to answer anyone that says guitar sims arent as good as the real thing...or that amplitube beats gtr rig etc.., take that to the mac vs PC threads)

[LQM]

I also like Guitar Rig, but it's best suited for clean, or outlandish modulation and echo FX laden sounds, slight blues style overdrive is not too bad (esp the new White amp on GR4) but typically heavier distortion is less convincing and has a narrower window for tweaking without going to mush.

Yes, it will never stack up to amping up a real amp with a 421 or SM57 or ribbon mics etc, but it can still give acceptable results. Stuff like Vox Tonelab SE hardware will do you a better job too.

[NWSooner]

If you're not set on software that runs on your computer I would say the best option is a Fractal Audio Axe-FX. It's a 2 space rack unit that has great effects along with great amp/cab stuff. Better than any of the software I have (Eleven, Ampeg SVX, Amplitube 2, TC Electronics TC Thirty PowerCore) and better than the Line 6 POD X3 stuff. WAY better.

[krucifyx]

To be honnest with you guys, I also feel that the softube ones are the best, but (i) they seem to lack in the versatility department, and (ii) they are iLock protected...

Also, I've been searching/reading/listening a bit about this fractal unit, and well, it really sounds above the others (from the demos, at least). Main issue is that I can't "demo" it before, and it's still a rack that I have to carry with me (which is not very practical for the moment). If I decided to go down that road, I think I'd rather buy a nice head or preamp/power rack with the Torpedo VB 101... Now I know that this is as close as you can get from the real deal, but that's out of question for the moment.

So it all comes down to the other competitors I guess... Overloud, Studio Devil, Revalver, or Guitar Rig... All I want is just someone with experience with the normal way of doing things (amp/room/mic/air) that, on the other hand, also has had some experience with those programs on the side (you know, some of us have these programs because they can always be handy. That's why I baught the amplitude softs, but sadly experience tought me that, but for the hendrix one, they were mostly unusable in the long run and really don't react like or sound like an amp to me).

I'm not looking for miracles, just something decent that will make me wanna play guitar while on the go...

Oh, and by the way, I did love the effects in the guitar rig demo and the cleanish sounds. They felt ok, until you tried to drive them... then i felt that the whole soft is falling appart... and sadly you don't have that "white" amp in the demo version...

[nas]

+1 for Overload TH-1. Great sounding, user friendly, and very low CPU hit.

[krucifyx]

Ok, so I was wondering a couple of things:

Was not planning on upgrading to Logic 9 since on the go for the moment, but do any of you have experienced their new amp sim stuff? I have been looking into that, but some say it's really awesome, and others just say it's complete crap... And since you can't demo it... (If that can help, I think their amp sim in L8 is puuuuuuure crap...)

Also, I was wondering if any of you guys have had experience with little pedal sized preamps, taking their line out and adding some cab IR? (Like the AMT SS20, Blackstar, or other... But I don't even know if their speaker emulation is bypassable)

Also, demos of the Softube and Waves GTR makes me believe they are a little above the others... Too bad I can't try them and they're iLock protected... Anybody have experience with these two and, let's say, Overloud/Studio Devil/Revalver?

Thanks again!

Cheers,
Sampiero

[everythinglouder]

Originally Posted by krucifyx

Also, demos of the Softube and Waves GTR makes me believe they are a little above the others... Too bad I can't try them and they're iLock protected... Anybody have experience with these two and, let's say, Overloud/Studio Devil/Revalver?

I have the free Waves GTR solo thing and I demoed the full Waves GTR. The paid version doesn't sound any better than the free version to me. More options thus more versatility, but I felt the strengths and weaknesses were the same. Good at clean, good at mildly saturated, but not so good for overdriven and distorted sounds. With both of them, to my ears, there's basically a breaking point where the sound falls apart and becomes just too fake. I don't know if you can still get GTR Solo for free, but anyway it's ilok protected and I wouldn't feel like I was missing out if I couldn't carry my ilok around.

You're right that Softube is hardly versatile... if I were traveling and only had Softube, I'd get pretty bored at the lack of options fairly quickly.

I've also tried Studio Devil, Revalver, Line 6, Guitar Rig, and Amplitube. IMO Overloud is just better than those other ones. If you add the Recabinet IR's you'll have a LOT of options. Very versatile. And the rackmount FX on TH1 are as good as they get for software amp sims. I have a lot of fun with TH1 for both work and leisure. IMO it's probably the best you're gonna get with a software sim considering your circumstances and desire for versatility.

[krucifyx]

Thanks a lot for your help!

I just checked out the Recabinet impulses, tried the demo, and they do seem to improve things a bit... Plus the whole lib is on sale at < 20 bucks, so I guess I'm not making a huge comitment by buying them!

I think I'm also going to check out the Redwire impulse pack... The only convincing emulation so far on the market is a rack by a French company (the Torpedo VB101), that basicaly uses dynamic convolution to emulate the speaker and the mic (but sadly for me in my situation, you still need to be carrying around a real amp), so I guess going with convolution for speaker sim is not a bad idea.

I also think that I'll be going with that TH1 plug from Overloud. After demoing side by side, it's the only one that "reacts" kinda like an amp at mid gain settings. Still far from stellar, but still ok (way better than line 6 or amplitude 2 IMO).

As soon as I settle somewhere, I'm def going back to tube amps, and may add this torpedo rack in the end.

Best,
Sampiero

[beanface]

Originally Posted by krucifyx

To be honnest with you guys, I also feel that the softube ones are the best, but (i) they seem to lack in the versatility department.

I think they're the best too. But, I think a lack of versatility can be a good thing - they just sound great from the get go.

[krucifyx]

Oh, I totally agree with you! Except that I may need a versatile tool (if I put money in something, I also want to be able to use it someday in the studio if/when I go back home... If used once, it's pretty much paid up for itself!), and that I'm not happy with iLock protected stuffs.

The Softube amp pack (bass/var/mar) + TH1 are like $800 together... That's still less then what I would pay for a decent tube head, so I'm sarting to consider buying both... I just NEED to demo a prog before I buy it, and i don't see myself buying an iLock just to DL a demo, or buying a progr only out of samples (Some samples on their site don't sound good at all IMO. It's just that out of a few of them, you can feel that this soft has potential to sound like a somehow decent alternative to the real thing... The metal amp room clips sound a little better though).

[krucifyx]

Thanks to all of you guys for your help.

After intensive testing, I feel that Overloud's soft is the best of the ones that I could test so I decided to go for it. Still far from stellar, but it's playable and can kinda react more like an amp than the others with some good impulse for cab.

It still has this muchy low end that seem to fall appart when you're playing, and the high end still needs some real dynamic air, but it's better than the competition I've been demoing so far (Amplitube, NI GR4, Line 6 Podfarm, and Studio Devil). One thing that was a definite plus is that the dynamic in the midrange (and that's what I'm often looking after when I'm mixing guitars) seems to be way better than the competition, especially with low/mid gain settings. Maybe I'm just bad at tweaking the other programs, but I don't seem to be able to be getting anywhere close to a realistic sound with the competitors...

Overall, for it's price, it's a good buy and I'm happy with this choice (thanks guys for the recommandation). I'm still gonna go and spend for an iLock (gosh, your opinion about some stuff can bend easy when your condition changes...) to demo the Softube package I think.

Best,
Sampiero

[krucifyx]

Ok... Thanks for linking me to the Recabinet impules library!

It works actually really well with TH1 (when you buy the library, there are a couple of dmg that take care of the installation of the cabs in TH1) and improves the sound quality/feeling of the whole thing substantially... Really.

[everythinglouder]

Yeah TH1 and Recabinet really do go hand in hand...

[krucifyx]

I also decided to buy the Redwire impulse library (these are viral... Since they're cheap, it's easy to end up buying lots of flavors), and I must admit that they seem to be even better than the Recabinet IRs IMO. Though, I must admit that Recabinet are awesome to pair with TH1 since they install links to the library dorectly in the program and you don't have to link and load to each IR manualy.

Best,
Sampiero

[Scoobiess]

try an AMT ss-20 if your into hendrix and alike.....mine just came today and it is astounding. Has cab emulation on the DI. So run her into your DAW. Blows all that gt rig etc software out of the water.....Has a real tube sound cause its full of you guessed it.....real tubes....

[sysexguy]

Hi, Andy Cherna from Diffusion Audio here, we distribute Two Notes in North America.

If you are looking for a very realistic solution, albeit a high end one that marries convenience, portability and very realistic guitar timbres, I would like to introduce the latest Torpedo product, the VM-202.

This unit shares the Torpedo's VB-101 unique speaker and micing convolution process however instead of an integrated loadbox, the VM-202 features stereo or dual mono processing and optional power amp compression emulation. The primary tone source is still your favorite pre-amp/amp and all the familiar interaction between guitar pickups, pedals and the preamp are retained.

We have been demoing the unit using several popular guitar and bass preamps (Marshall, Mesa, Soldano, Engl, GT etc.) and the results are great. This makes it possible to have a portable and versatile 3-4 rack space pro guitar alternative to a traditional amp.

VM-202's are now in stock on this side of the Atlantic and we'll be at NAMM booth D2587. VB-101 and VM-202 info and demo files can be found at www.two-notes.com and Welcome to Diffusion-Audio.com

Andy