trying to get an idea of which guitar amp plug to use.

Any favourites?

Thanks!

Shaun

Native Instruments Guitar Rig is fantastic for all sorts of guitar fx.
The Guitar Combos from Native Instruments are really fabulous.
I also like Nigel (UAD-1 guitar processor)

I have Nigel and Amplitube; I prefer Amplitube to Nigel, but I've found that it's really important to work the EQ section (the amp EQ, not the parametric) in order to get a decent sound.

I think it's good to mult the guitar signal and run it through the plugin on two tracks with different settings, too.

I used amp farm on a record, and I think I like it least. I think they're all workable, though.

Some of my favorite guitar sounds have been half amp+mic and half amp sim.

Nigel seems to be a real CPU hog. I think it takes half of the UAD card at 44.1.

Definitely NI Guitar Rig - but it does tend to freeze the computer if you load up too many incidences of it, especially if you're using VST synths at the same time. Other than that, I love it - it does a great job processing synth sounds as well.

Radial Xamp - its not a plug in and it doesn't sound like one.

Yeah, the Guitar Rig is CPU Hungry. I think I can run two instances (well, depending on the modules). But that's the price for awesome sound.

The Nigel is actually a plugin collection (including modulators and filters). You can and most probably will only run a couple of those plugins included in Nigel and never the whole thing. I think the amp sim in Nigel is called preflex.

I actually like the Bomb Factory Sans Amp Plug. But maybe I´m the only one...

However I can dial in some not so bad tones in very short time. It´s good for other signals as well (drum loops e.g.)

Amplitube I liked also, but so far didn´t buy it. Have to try Guitar Rig, but from what I heard it´s not as realistic sounding as amplitube.

Regards,
Bill

I think the Nigel is a sort of "weak spot" on the UAD-1, I use Amplitube for monitoring stuff and to dirty up keys on occassion. Amplitube can be very good though and smokes Nigel on realism.

Amp Farm seems to get a lot of respect from a lot of guys, I don't have it but I remember reading Nile Rodgers in "Behind the Glass" saying all of this guitar tracks are done with Amp Farm now because it sounded that good to him. To quote Vincent Vega..."that's a bold statement".

War

Guitar Rig is the best to date.
Has anyone used the Nomad Rock Legends?

Yeah. It's awful
As of now Amplitube and NI guitar rig are my favorites.
If i'm not getting what I need from a real amp I'll take a DI and blend the simulator under the real amp.
The phase can be tricky sometimes, but it sounds great when it works.

Amp Simulation is like substituting the women you love with a blow up doll.... made of sandpaper.

I will have to agree.

i would also agree - just turn on the radio, take a listen , that's not the direction to be
walking.....



- jack

For me I would like to have a sim because I want to track all my parts via DI then reamp them with different live amps (I have a pretty good collection). To get the vibe right when tracking I would like to play an amp not a clean DI.

Anyway I hear there is a GTR sim in Samplitude? Can anyone confirm this? If there is how is it on CPU and is it usable for tracking?

Thanks.....

Agreed that GR has an awesome sound; although metal boffins would disagree vehemently. Careful EQ is key in that respect.
Also, a little tip for GR and CPU usage: I tend to use 4 rhythm guitar tracks (2 doubled lines), but having more than 2 instances of GR in one project is problematic on my system. Therefore, I make good use of the Splitter module, and use it to effectively have two completely different amp/cab/fx setups in one instance of GR. In my sequencer, I make two dry mono tracks for my guitar inputs, hard pan them L/R, and then group them onto one stereo buss/group. On this buss/group track, I use GR as an insert effect, and pan the splitter hard L/R. Thus, I get two different performances through two different setups using one instance of GR, and can use the Group Track's stereo pan controls to position the tracks, if hard panning isn't desired. Pretty neat.

Another vote for line 6 Amp Farm. The Marshall JC900 and Matchless presets are particularly good. I recently tracked a part with a Matchless preset in AF and then reamped aout to a BAdCAT Black Cat 30 which is the same as a DC30. The sound was indistinguishable. It is so close its painful. You can get a little more 3d realism with the real thing, but its so close its painful. Its often less hassle to dieal in the plugin. Iam a guitarist with 30 years experience and 10 years recording experience, and I find it hard to tell.


James

simulanalog

http://www.simulanalog.org/

best marshall sim I have ever heard and I own tubifex for powercore and Nigel...

Buddhaman

I prefer Amplitube as well, but as a plugin support to my original tracks.
It has a way of taking previously recorded tracks and adding a cool livliness and sheen IME.

My 'favorite' Direct Box' for guitar is the Johnson -Jstation.
Always pull cool tones from it.



Respect and Peace,

I know I am going to come across as an ass, and I am really not trying to be one but... well .... I have used many amp sims including Amp Farm and my results are a little different than yours.

This is not to say that I don't find Amp Farm and other sims to be useful, I do like them for some things, but I don't think sims are a replacement for the real amp. The ability to change mic pres, microphones, mic placement and rooms is just too much of how I record guitars.

Anyway I am not picking a fight but I just don't think that the two are very close at all.

Recording various bands I went through a load of sims over several years; Korgs, Line6 and lots of others....they all sound great initially, but they have one thing in common.... they don't have BALLS. They are accurate and exciting.... until you hear the REAL THING!

I know I'm over simplifying, but for recording, chuck them all in the bin and just use real guitar and real amplifier; the mix suddenly gets a lot easier!!

To get technical, the reason is in the overload margins and the way real equipment produces transients. Sure, tube amplifiers run out of steam and distort, but it's that complex interaction between the mains transformer saturating, the loudspeakers running out of displacement and the tubes hitting current limits that make for real rock and roll.

Seems like we have to go through this every time someone asks about a DAW, amp simulation, virtual instrument, plugin EQ, compressor or reverb. How about if we state just once, for all time, that all these things are akin to bringing a bottle of Thunderbird to a four-star restaurant. Then we can get on with using whatever tools we have and/or might be of some use to us (especially those of us who diligently demo our songs at four in the morning while our significant other is peacefully sleeping in the next room.) Who the f**k is Nile Rogers, anyway?

Forgive a newbie for chiming in.

I have tried a lot of them. And of the vst sims I prefer Tubifex (Powercore). Add the Vox-sim (which is too pricey) and you got a decent sw-solution. Tubifex is harder to program than eg. Guitar Rig, so it might not be for guitar players ;-) But it sounds more interesting too me.

Trash from Izotope also deserves a mentioning.

I, too, have yet to hear an amp sim that sounds like a "real amp", but I still use them and love it. Even though GR won't sound exactly like a Mesa Dual Rec, manufactured in 1996 with serial #MB00001688-02, I can get a tone that works in a mix and sounds pretty nifty overall. Sure, there'll be some guitar "illuminati" who'll cluck their tongues, stroke their beards, and exclaim "This sound! It is not of tubes and wood, but of something far more sinister!", but they can prattle on until their vintage Yngwie Malsteem t-shirts are covered in a fervent slobber, for all I care. To close with one eloquent proclamation: i like guitar sims real good.

Agreed completely....I almost said it myself but bit my lip.

The bizarre thing to me is...who cares? There are countless ****ty guitar tones recorded through real amps...with real mics and real tape. But that is somehow OK?

Besides...An amp modeler is a choice...not a replacement...Use it or not.

The way I see it...if you will accept a crappy sound with an amp sim...you will accept a crappy sound an amp...The amp sim might just get you there faster.
Either way I use them and truly find them useful...they are only getting better IMO.

Respect and Peace

All amp simulator plugins I have heard (including amplitube and guitar rig) sound like poo to my ears as soon as we're talking overdrive / distortion sounds. It sounds right out terrible!? One big fizzzzzzzzzorama. Clean sounds are ok though.

i have guitar rig and i've also just purchased the GTR thingy from PRS/waves.
i also have a fender vibroverb, marshall 1987, gerald webber's tweed bassman, victoria tweed deluxe, THD univalve, fender tweed champ, fender blackface deluxe reverb, GT trio/D75.
not a fan of amplitube or nigel but have gotten very useful results from guitar rig.
the GTR thingy is not so bad. it actually has a fair amount of touch response, which i thought would never be possible w/ an amp sim.
BTW, nile rogers had some pretty huge hits back in the day w/ his band chic as well as producing/playing on records for david bowie, madonna, diana ross, sister sledge, sting, peter gabriel, brian ferry, jeff beck and others as well as winning two grammy awards.
what the hell does he know anyway?

yes, but when the women you love are gone for a week or two, suddenly the blow up doll doesn't look so bad. it's all relative

i have no problem using amplitube when cranking my amps (all of which go to eleven by the way,) isn't always an option. but i use amplitube often during songwriting and sequencing anyway, just because of the flexibility of changing sounds as songwriting ideas change, weeks after you've recorded the original tracks.

amplitube is one of the only "simulations" i can tolerate though. not a big fan of using plug-ins in general i guess...

Most of my previous uses for these things have been on sources other than guitar. I am a guitar player and a huge fan of amps and mics for doing guitars, and I gotta say that this is how i felt UNTIL I heard the Native Instruments Guitar Combos. While the Plexi could be improved, I think the AC 30 sounds pretty awesome. The Fender combo is very cool as well -- kind of Delux-ish. The only thing that really bugs me is that there is reverb on every preset.

Cheers,
John

Listen, I have some great amps guitars mikes pres and converters and have experimented for years with these. Yes many times you can get a better sound with the real thing, but i have some instances where in a more complex mix, the Line 6y is as good, sometimes it can even be cleaner and better, that is the point. My ears do not deceive me and I am a tonal purist i can tell you. I am not saying that a lot of careful time and effort with placement mikes pres etc cannot get a better result, I am sure it can, but with this particular preset i.e Matchless, it is pretty amazing. Some of the other presets suck particularly the Vox and Boogie ones. At the end of the day, it depends on the track, the mix the feel as always. Let our ears be the judge in every individual case

James

i really dig iZotope Trash. however i'll admit that what i use it for isn't exactly a "simulation" but rather an ultra-nasty and thick industrial sound.

it gets the job done for sure,
i think audiomidi.com has it for $160 for AU/VST/RTAS