Anyone got a preference? I'm looking to replace the POD(2.0)...and these demos sound mighty sweet, for software sims.

-Stixxs

I checked out the Guitar Rig demo and have Amplitube.

They are both good for what they do. I think Amplitube is much better for serious, standard pop tones and Guitar Rig is a blast for insane wacky and incredibly heavystuff. Amplitube has a better feel than Guitar Rig, IMHO. Guitar Rig has a great Mesa sound though...

I'd say it really depends. On what your doing.

I'm personally thinking about getting one of those new Line 6 PodXT Live's and plugging it into my Budda... I have a feeling that would give me tones of great tones and effects.

-Dusty

You inspired me to plug in my Budda for the first time in a couple weeks. Modelers can not pull that off. I haven't made too good of a recording with it yet (only tried once on a 10 really quick demo), but as far as the sound of the amp in the room... Forget about it. The first chord I hit was like... Oh yeah... this is what I've been sacraficing for "flexibility". The Budda can go from Prince to Metallica and only has 3 knobs and a power switch. And it's sharp and resonates beautifully.

My advice would be to skip that shit and get an amp YOU enjoy. For the price of NI GR you could buy a damn nice amp used. 70's Bassman Heads go for less than 300 all the time on eBay... And I've heard one that absolutly smokes my Budda... Match that up with a 100 buck cab and your set.

If you can budget in a grand or so you can get a really kickass setup, with a nice amp, nice cab and a power attenuator or something.

I went from being an amp only guy to a nothing but Pod's guy and now I'm back. A good amp is also an investment. This modeling shit loses it's value fassssst.

I know you don't play much guitar and DIing tones to be changed later by amp modelers sound like a really cool idea... But in my experience it only works with small tweaks. Going from SRV to Slash with a pre-recorded part will lead to unlistenable results.

Oh... I think the Pod 2.0 is better than Amplitube and I think the J-Station is better than them both. All 3 are lacking in different ways... I suppose they are all subjective on how you want your guitar tone to suck.

In a nutshell... real amps inspire me to play and then to talk about the experience I had afterwards. Pod's make me want to get the part tracked and over with.

-Dusty

For some of us, having a real rig is not possible. I own Guitar rig and Amplitube and they both are great. I agree that Amplitube has better overall tones but I like being able to build a rig from scratch like in Guitar Rig.

Another to check out is Revalver. You can also buils a setup from scratch. While some of the patches are thinner than Amplitube, I have found my Heavy Metal clients like the tones better. I know it alot of money, as well as coices, but try all the demos and choose the best fit.

Peace!!!!

I like the depth of parameter/effect adjustment in Amplitube. And yeah Dusty GR sounds cool. I'd like a nice amp, or few of them...but I'm caught in this assembly line recording process unfortunately, with musicians with little time, and less patience...Good sounds quick keep the momentum going and morale up.

The Pod XT Live looks good and maybe sounds nicer than 2.0, might be what I dig about Amplitube...just sounded deeper than 2.0, you really like 2.0 over Amplitube, eh?

the muzic, thanks for the Revalver tip...I'm thinkin' all I really need is like 5-6 different patches readily available to please the masses, sounds like your in the same boat.

-Stixxs

Hey Stixx,

I have to admit, I can't really choose one as my favorite for sure. Just when I think it's all I need, I get a client that just loves the sounds in another one. For me, investing in several keeps most pretty happy.

There's another app that I would like to suggest but the name ecapes me at the moment. I'll post it when I get home.

Peace!!

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Originally posted by themuzic:
Hey Stixx,


There's another app that I would like to suggest but the name ecapes me at the moment. I'll post it when I get home.

Peace!!

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Cool,

Amplitube is sweet, and IK Multimedia has some kinda two for one deal right now with T-racks. I'm not sure how much I'd use it over the UAD stuff, but hey!

Speaking of the UAD-1, it has the "Nigel" amp sim., but I'd need another card to run it + it's EQ's & comp.'s.

-Stixxs

I didn't like guitar rig at all.

I used Amplitube on a number of the new tunes, and the tones are great. Some of the tracks are real...some are amplitube. In the mix, I can't tell which is which.

As a player, though...none of them have the feel of a real amp. even the 1.5ms latency of the RME card does "feel" different. A lot of the ones I'm happiest with I actually did with the Radial DI...recorded without hearing AMplitube-just the DI...then run through it, and time aligned so the attacks were in sync with the DI track. For heavy sounds that won't really be possible.

You could always DI while monitoring through a Pod. That is how I use Amplitube. I can't wait until a few more revisions of Amplitube... it ain't ready yet with current hardware. And yes, Pop... Your amplitude tracks smoked.

I don't think software is the way to go for an assembly line recording. It's very trial and error! Sometimes it sounds outstanding, but more often than not it sounds flat and undefined. And I'm talking about undefined so bad you can't even tell what notes are being played, not just subtle sonic details.

Most decent studios in Kansas have a room full of amps they keep mic'd up. You get the quick, sweet sounding results that way!

And it's usually guitarist paying for the studio time (since pizza delivery doesn't pay that well. ), and a lot around here pick out rooms for the coolest amps.

I know though, there are a lot of reasons why recording amps doesn't seem practical.

-Dusty

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And yes, Pop... Your amplitude tracks smoked.

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Ahh...but, wait until you hear all 5 tunes. Maybe we'll have a "spot the real amp" contest. Actually, I think only three have electric gtr, now that I've reworked "lose you" with an acoustic solo, but...

quote:

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Originally posted by Popmann:

Ahh...but, wait until you hear all 5 tunes. Maybe we'll have a "spot the real amp" contest. Actually, I think only three have electric gtr, now that I've reworked "lose you" with an acoustic solo, but...

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Great, and the winner gets....a pair of EI Headphones!

Seriously though, the DI through the Pod is a good idea Dusty, or I should say a must! I can see my guitar player friend trying get the vibe to "Satch Boogie" through a clean Onyx DI channel.


-Stixxs

Hey Stixxs,

Here's that other guitar sim. http://www.nomadfactory.com It's called Rock Amp Legends. If you like that real classic sound, this will work well. I used the demo with a client and he loved it. I'm going to have to pick this one up too.

There's other cool stuff up there too.

Give it a check.
Johnny

Johnny, Thanks a bunch.

We'll download it tonight and do some A/B tests.

Did you use Amp sim's. on your clips? The songs sound really good...All V-drums? Great job.

...You know I've heard this before, Cubase.net?

-Stixxs

Thanx for listening.

All the guitar sounds are either plugins or my Johnson J-Station.

The only song with real drums is "Everything You Wanted"

Let me know how the Nomad stuff works out for ya.

I don't mean to sound negative, but neither Amplitube, or Guitar Rig, or Nomad, or Amp Farm, or (insert the next hopeful virtual guitar rack here) will sound better than a real amped mic'd with a real microphone. There's something about the "air" that comes from the speakers that adds that special something to the sound. I've used all of them, and still use some, but never to replace a real guitar amp, because these programs just aren't there yet. The clean tones are killer, but he overdriven tones are crap in my opinion, and since I do a lot of rock, I need some ballsy sounding guitars, not thin wimpy ones. Just my opinion. I'd save my money if I were you. All you need is a Royer R121 and an API pre and a decent amp and your set.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Prince Alsihad:
I don't mean to sound negative, but neither Amplitube, or Guitar Rig, or Nomad, or Amp Farm, or (insert the next hopeful virtual guitar rack here) will sound better than a real amped mic'd with a real microphone.

How's about the POD...will that cut it?

-Stixxs

LOL! I think I sounded a little misleading in my previous post. I should've added that these virtual amps might be exactly what you look for. For me they don't even come close to the real thing. But some of us don't have a huge collection of amps and mics and mic pres, etc. So these virtual amps are a godsend. Whenever I'm writing or just screwing around at home on the computer, these amp simulators are great. I also love to mix them with the real thing on a recording. I have the POD and it's collecting dust right now, but I've never heard the POD XT Pro and I heard it's leaps and bounds better than the original POD. Go to your nearest store that has a 30 day money back guarantee like Banjo Center and try one out for 29 days. If you like it, keep it, if not then take it back and you've just saved yourself from a $300.00 mistake.

Anyone tried the iZotope trash?it´s a amp simulation very diferent from amplitube or guitar rig.

The more opinions I read on Amp modelers, the more I realize that these things are just like any other piece of gear: it all comes down to what you prefer, personally, how you work, what kind of sounds you're after, etc. There just is no subjective "better".

Personally, I think Trash is a complete waste of time, but I've heard people claim to love it. I think Amplitube is a good deal better-sounding than the POD, but waaay below Guitar Rig in terms of sound, tweakbility... anything I can think of.

Yet I know Popmann much prefers Amplitube and he makes great-sounding recordings with it, so...

I think a person with talent (and patience) can probably get a usable sound out of just about any piece of gear. It all comes down to what makes it easiest for *you*.

In which case all these zillions of "which is better" threads that make up the bulk of any online forum, are essentially useless.

Cheers,
Chris

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I think a person with talent (and patience) can probably get a usable sound out of just about any piece of gear. It all comes down to what makes it easiest for *you*.

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You are probably right. BTW, I also prefer Amplitube over Guitar Rig (short demo time though)

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In which case all these zillions of "which is better" threads that make up the bulk of any online forum, are essentially useless.

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But that is also what makes it so much fun to follow the forums. Maybe one day you will finally find out the truth about what gear really is the best

Seriously, I agree that one has to spend a lot of time on any gear to learn it and its assets and limitations. And with guitar sims, I find that there is a difference in a sound that emulates a real amp, and a sound that fits well into a mix, which I humbly think is different, depending on style of music of course. It takes some time to learn that skill, and I haven't yet.