Guitar Amp Simulation

PaulBrewer

What's the opinion on Guitar Amp Simulation Software specifically to use with Pro-Tools? Is anyone getting top drawer results from any of them?

af_thefragile

I herd some amazing things about NI's Guitar Rig 3.
It can sound pretty close to a real amp. Sounds better than those cheap amps imo.

jtsuited

Make sure you're using near zero latency, otherwise you will be driven pure mad with those amp plugins.

Neurojazz

jtsuited wrote: »

Make sure you're using near zero latency, otherwise you will be driven pure mad with those amp plugins.

+1

latency sucks a$$ for anything with guitar rig emulations... i have NI guitar stuff and it's great, but latency kills it... it's wiser to just get a digitech floor board etc... or pod or something like that. Also CHEAPER

Guitar + computer = BAD.

fitz

I'm not having any latency issues with NI GR3 on Mac.
Paul, sent you a PM.

danjokill

I have Guitar Rig 2 and I've no issue with Latency. But guess it really depends on your setup.

PaulBrewer

Using it with HD latency shouldn't be an issue , should it?

fitz

Nope. Grab a demo from the NI website...
http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=demoversions&L=1&ftu=786f33bf8ac1aff

PaulBrewer

fitz wrote: »

Nope. Grab a demo from the NI website...
http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=demoversions&L=1&ftu=786f33bf8ac1aff

Thanks!

ogy

check out Amplitube. it doesnt have half the features or style of Guitar Rig but i think the basic amp simulations it offers sound a million times better than Guitar Rigs. I use amplitube as the amp sim and then use guitar rigs effects

voodoo66

Hi there,


Guitar Rig 3 is a great piece of software, the new digidesign Eleven work great, good distortion and FX.

What I really love is Amplitube 2 and Amplitube Jimi Hendrix incredible sound and you can do amazing automation with them in pro tools.

I don't have latency problem. I use both Mac and Windows both system with 4GB of ram.

These plug in do i great job for practice and record guide tracks or ideas, for recording real session better use real amps and effects.

When I record usually I DI the guitars and add amplitube to the Di tracks.

PaulBrewer

ogy wrote: »

check out Amplitube. it doesnt have half the features or style of Guitar Rig but i think the basic amp simulations it offers sound a million times better than Guitar Rigs. I use amplitube as the amp sim and then use guitar rigs effects

Interesting, would this be the general view?

It's the pure amp tones I'm interested in, not the FX really.

voodoo66

I think the amp tone of Amplitube 2 is better than the one in guitar Rig especially for vintage amp reproduction.

fitz

Grab the demo for amplitube aswell: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitube/

You can quite easily do an A/B on a given DI'd track.

PaulBrewer

fitz wrote: »

Grab the demo for amplitube aswell: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitube/

You can quite easily do an A/B on a given DI'd track.

What's the gen on Amp Farm in relation to the other 2?

PaulBrewer

Or Sans Amp

BuddhaJoe

I picked up Peaveys Revalver MKIII recently and I am blown away by it! What sets it apart from most modelers for me is that you can virtually edit the internal parts of the amp like so:



The program also uses impulse response files for the cab emulation which far surpasses all the other modelers out there in my opinion. If you look around the net you will find ir's for practically any cab you can think of.

Lastly, and while not of any sonic significance, you are able to create your own skins for the program which is just plain awesome!

PaulBrewer

BuddhaJoe wrote: »

I picked up Peaveys Revalver MKIII recently and I am blown away by it! What sets it apart from most modelers for me is that you can virtually edit the internal parts of the amp like so:



The program also uses impulse response files for the cab emulation which far surpasses all the other modelers out there in my opinion. If you look around the net you will find ir's for practically any cab you can think of.

Lastly, and while not of any sonic significance, you are able to create your own skins for the program which is just plain awesome!

Holy Feck! I want to record the bleedin' things, not build the Fecker!!;)

sei046

Paul check out Softubes stuff. Vintage amp is fantastic. Also there are freeware amps based on a JCM900 and a fender twin. They are the best i have found tbh. They were made by some college students or something. They also make tube screamers and Ds1 and a few other bits. Just google it.

Niall - Dahlia

BuddhaJoe wrote: »

What sets it apart from most modelers for me is that you can virtually edit the internal parts of the amp like so:

:eek: That looks...fun...

Never had much success with amp sims (though I've only used Guitar Rig 2/3 and Amp Farm), but they've been a lifesaver when strapped across a guitar track that's just lacking a small bit of crunch or fuzz. Fun on vocals aswell.

sei046

A part of me feels that most of that internal modelling is going to do very little and is mostly a marketing thing to say " Look how thorough we are! "

PaulBrewer

Niall - Dahlia wrote: »

:
but they've been a lifesaver when strapped across a guitar track that's just lacking a small bit of crunch or fuzz.

That's Exactly what I'm thinking -
Myself and Joe had to refuse a mix as the guitar sounds were so bad, so I'm exploring the possibility of having some 'repair' Amp tools about.

teamdresch

Are you thinking of repairing DI guitar tracks?
A reamp and a good real amplifier would probably do the trick.

sei046

Paul, do a google on Fractal Audio AxeFX. I would reamp back into that. Its the bloody bees knees. Quite expensive but its rackmounted and would really stand to you. You might end up letting it replace your amps!

PaulBrewer

teamdresch wrote: »

Are you thinking of repairing DI guitar tracks?
A reamp and a good real amplifier would probably do the trick.

Oh if only it twas that simple!

Demeyes

I really like using amp simulation software. Its really handy to track a few DI tracks and then fiddle with them afterwards. I'm more of a fan of revalver than guitar rig. I've also tried a few stand alone amp models with a certain amount of success. I do prefer to run them withuot the inbuilt cabs and run them with SIR and some cabinet impulses I have. I find I get more control and the end result sounds better.

danjokill

Ampeg Svt Plug-in I have used and don't really like it at all it's very muddy ...... any other bass specific plug-ins ???

Seziertisch

Softubes Vintage Amp Room sounds good, but only good enough to get away with limited use. Don't try multiple guitars in the one track with it. Like a lot of amp sim plug-ins you get the best results by bringing the signal in at line level (i.e through a di box or what not).

I still think a reasonably good amp, a 57 and a reasonable preamp could surpass it most of the time.

Sansamps are good, I own a couple of them. The Bass Driver is great (a fact which is testified by the number of pro recordings it has appeared on). The guitar is similar to something like the Softube plug in, limited use and its works fine. But I wouldn't propose doing all the guitars on a track with it.

For DI'ing from an actual amp Palmer Speaker Emulators come recommended and see some use by the professionals. They are quite expensive though. I know Tube Amp Doctor makes something similar which seems to get quite good reviews.

In general, I find that the results from the various amp sims is in a lot of cases quite dependent on the guitar/pickups used for the recording. A not so great guitar into a decent tube amp is far more forgiving than a not so great guitar into a good amp sim.

The other problem with amp sims is that they don't necessarily play well with pedals, depending on what it is. This is particularly true of distortion effects.

My personal preferred method as a bedroom warrior is to di the tracks where possible and then reamp as soon as you have the track down and various takes edited together where/if necessary. This is particularly useful if you don't want to annoy neighbours/family with endless attempts at the one part.

It also allows you to focus on the task of getting a good take at the time of recording and not have to worry about mic placement, amp settings etc. until later. Nothing can distract more from a performance than a little impromptu engineering which requires putting down your guitar and fiddling with knobs or mics or whatever for a few minutes just after you psyched yourself for a take.

PaulBrewer

Seziertisch wrote: »

I still think a reasonably good amp, a 57 and a reasonable preamp could surpass it most of the time.




My personal preferred method as a bedroom warrior is to di the tracks where possible and then reamp as soon as you have the track down and various takes edited together where/if necessary.

My idea is for 'saving' guitar sounds in mixes - you're right insofar as a 57 on an amp is the way to do it but when you're trying to mix a track in a day one (I!) don't want to be plugging up amps etc!

Seziertisch

Well if its "saving" or "rehabilitating" then the Character Plug-in from Novotech (I think) could be your man.

I also read that the producer of the first Franz Ferdinand album ran the track "This Fire", which wasn't recorded with him, through Amp Farm to get it sounding like the rest of the track.

Otherwise, cabinet sims can work ok on a already recorded guitar sound. Impulse sims would probably be the best, although I have messed around with guitar rig and found it to be ok.

Parallel compression with a high-end hardware compressor could also be quite useful, or even just running the signal through some high-end hardware to add a little of those natural harmonics could work well.

Depending on what it is, sometimes you just have to accept that it sounds **** and no amount of regular mojo is going to change it. That said, I know that the first Strokes Ep was recorded in their rehearsal space. It sounded raw but really good. People started talking about how you didn't need to go to a high-end studio to get a great sounding recording... Which is true when you get significant amounts of post production as well as the thing mastered in the Record Plant in New York. Supposedly all manner of voodoo was applied from selective harmonic filtering of the instruments to get greater separation between the instruments, to God alone knows what.

Ultimately, if it is a guitar record and the guitars sound ****e then the end result is only ever going to be a bit underwhelming. S##t in, s##t out.

I am a firm believer in rerecording.

PaulBrewer

Seziertisch wrote: »

Well if its "saving" or "rehabilitating" then the Character Plug-in from Novotech (I think) could be your man.


I am a firm believer in rerecording.

Now that Character Plugin sounds interesting ok.

In an ideal world a rerecord would be the plan - but in a world where it's hard enough to get lads to tune up......:(