Softube Amps vs IK Multimedia Amps

[KingDiamond]

For high gain metal sounds, the Softube Metal Amp Room does one metal sound very good.

For clean, crunch, fuzz, etc the IK Multimedia stuff is the best out there IMO. I love the cleans and crunch in Amplitube 3.

I demoed Vintage Amp Room from Softube for a while and I wasn't impressed. I bought Metal Amp Room the day I demoed it though.

High gain stuff is doable with Amplitube 3 though. I can get a very good Peavey 5150 sound, but it requires a lot of EQ afterward to get rid of some nasty peaks.

[therealbigd]

I prefer the Waves GTR stuff to both Amplitube and Softbube.

The Softube amps are a bit behind the times IMO. Not half as much versatility as IK or Waves.

But the Waves just sound better, and don't munch CPU like the IK. I find half the IK amps sound the same, much more variety in GTR.

[Endure]

I've used Waves GTR3 for a while. The Neil Citron amps and cabs are awesome.

That being said I've been hearing great things about the Peavey Revalver MKIII's models for heavy production. Peavey.com : Products : ReValver

Demo them all and see what works best for you. Update us with what you went with and why.

[Audiowizard77]

I own both and have used them both on projects. If I had to choose one it would probably be Amplitube. Amp room does a few sounds very well and others ok but almost always requires work to get it to sit in the mix. Amplitube on the other hand does a good job on most of the sounds you will want. For clean sounds I almost always use Amplitube Fender.

[Jerrick]

I havent had the greatest results with Softube. I really like Amplitube though, specially their JC120 amp. Another commercial product I like is Vandal.

However, my favorite results all come from free amp sims and my own set of IRs.

LePou Plugins

theserinaexperiment.net • Index page

Ive tried out pretty much all of the amp sims out there, and now I always go to Lepou or TSE amp sims.

[Dreamsilent]

As a guitar player and tone snob of ten years, Softube's amp sims are simply the best I have played. In my opinion.

However I cannot say that with any authority because I've yet to play Waves GTR or an Axe FX. But I could say with complete confidence that if I had all three of Softube's "Amp Room" plugins, I would happily not use anything else, ever.

Nevertheless, I am yet to be able to afford the full versions. The ten days which I spent ruthlessly playing the unlimited demos sold me completely. Its the only digital emulation I'd confidently gig with as well.

Metal Amp room is lacking IMO, but Vintage amp room is absolutely mind blowing, and when used in combination it helps beef Metal Amp room up to a nice metal sound.

I do love the Revalver stuff as a lover of tinkering with tubes and tones too. I love it more from an explorative/curiosity angle though...again, just from playing the demos.

[Nighthawk77]

Originally Posted by Schizzo

Hello,

I listened to the demo sounds of both.
I think the Softube Amps are cleaner, but the IK Amps
are a bit heavier. What do you think?
Which plugins can be tweaked more?
Which of them can achieve more sounds?

Best regards,

Amplitude 3 is much more flexible then the softube amps.
I also find I can better clean and distortion.
The Softube Amps are not bad just very pricey and a bit limited.

[oprema]

I bought Waves GTR in 2007 (currently on GTR3) and Softube Vintage Amp Room (VAR) about six months ago. Since getting VAR, I stopped using GTR, except for occasionally using GTR tuner. During initial testing, I would do an A/B of two modelers, but have stopped doing that as VAR always ended up sounding better to my ears, not to even talk about the whole dynamics/feel aspect of their response.

Before getting Softube modeler, I tested it side by side with Amplitube 3 and Line6 POD Farm Platinum for a few days, and decided on VAR. It wasn’t a difficult decision (I wrote about my impressions about Softube VAR in an earlier posting).

Quantity/features aspect of these modelers was irrelevant to me. My goal was to find a single amp emulation that sounded good to my ears.

Having said that, none of these modelers, including Softube, got me in the ballpark of a good amp played live and recorded with a decent mic. When it comes to immediacy of response and their dynamics, as well as sound alone, while I find software amps to be workable solutions, some more than others, I found them all to be lacking. You can get acceptable results, but you will have to work hard and will need additional tools (for instance, Trident EQ plugin has become essential for me on soft amp channels for rolling off highs and smoothening the overall sound, etc.). As much as I love software emulations of other audio gear like, for instance, Cytomic Glue compressor, Softube Trident EQ, and similar apps, I think that guitar modeling is not quite there yet.

[BarefootStudios]

Originally Posted by therealbigd

I prefer the Waves GTR stuff to both Amplitube and Softbube.

The Softube amps are a bit behind the times IMO. Not half as much versatility as IK or Waves.

But the Waves just sound better, and don't munch CPU like the IK. I find half the IK amps sound the same, much more variety in GTR.

Waves GTR all the waythumbsup

[Jfalikman]

Softube`s Vintage Amp Room and Metal Amp Room

got them and 3 hours later gave away my guitar stuff.

for clean sounds i insert some kind of attenuator plug before the amp modeler
works like charm

[Methlab]

Vintage Amp room sounds amazing. You have to have a high input DI though. If you do not, I am not surprised some people did not like it.

I also put a ts9 in front and either clean boost or use dirt depending on the song.

I also agree that the free Lpou stuff is awesome.

[Sk106]

Originally Posted by Schizzo

Which plugins can be tweaked more?
Which of them can achieve more sounds?

Amplitube can be tweaked more, and achieve more sounds. Softube is more straight forward, bordering on limited.

Another model that deserves notice here, is SimulAnalog Guitar; free guitar plugs consisting of both speaker and tone modules. Straight and simplistic. Sounds on par with some of the best here, and light on the CPU too. Only works on mono tracks though.

SimulAnalog Guitar Suite

Originally Posted by Jerrick

However, my favorite results all come from free amp sims and my own set of IRs.

Did you extract your IRs yourself, or are you using commercially sold IRs? And if so, I'm curious as to which? thx