Whats the best Guitar Amp Simulator Plug-In

[MouseClickDrummer]

I was told by people in music stores that its...

I was told by people in music stores that its digidesign Eleven but I demoed it and i think it sounds too sloppy.

I can get ok results with Guitar Rig but the tweaking on that is a kind of hit and miss proposition. 

I recently Heard that Peavey Revalver is the best.  It looks good and it even looks like you can go in an set resistor values and all that deep stuff thats in the innards of the amp.  Does anyone know if u can use a midi foot controller or expression pedal with Revalver?

I was told by people in music stores that its digidesign Eleven but I demoed it and i think it sounds too sloppy.

I can get ok results with Guitar Rig but the tweaking on that is a kind of hit and miss proposition. 

I recently Heard that Peavey Revalver is the best.  It looks good and it even looks like you can go in an set resistor values and all that deep stuff thats in the innards of the amp.  Does anyone know if u can use a midi foot controller or expression pedal with Revalver?

Topic

[John]

I have been lucky to be able to acquire an Axe-FX. It outperforms every other plugin or Line6 amp sim I have tried.
Hooked up to my Pro Tools setup, I can track a dry signal and then Insert the Axe-FX in FX loop.

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Damian Blunt]

http://www.line6.com/news/offers/864

Not my favourite…but pod farm for free in September!

Damian Blunt - Toontrack
Quality Assurance
Betatesting

[Kris_Estep]

This works really REALLY well for any guitar and bass situation that I’ve ran into.

Track multiple tracks (IF you can.) using a DI box. Use the DI link and connect to an actual amp/pedal/rack/etc or your choice and record both the clean DI signal and the actual Amp/Pedal/Rack/Etc signal. If you can’t record multiple tracks just record the DI. (You can run that track/FX loop out into an Amp/Pedal/Rack/Etc later if you want and record the colored sound.)

Now blend sounds with multiple tracks using Guitar Rig 3, Amplitude, Izotope Trash… or what ever plug-ins you like. If you like one part of the sound from one source and one part of the sound from another source just try blending them, EQing out the band section of the sound you don’t like on each one or what ever tricks you might think to try. You can get some AWESOME sounds this way in about any scope or genre you want.

Example:

[*]Record Guitar w/DI & Amp.[*]Amp – What is missing you need?
[*]DI – Try to find something that has the properties of what’s missing from the “AMP” track in plug-in form.[*]DI w/FX – Now it has the bottom end I want… but high end is clashing with “AMP” sound. So you run a Low Pass filter and tweak to cut out the disturbing EQ section. Now tweak the volume of tracks together.

You can always “Clone” your DI track and use quite a few tracks/FX Plugs to get what you’re looking for. This is just one method that I know works well for me but remember there is BILLIONS of ways to get the sound you want.

[profirhino]

That’s exactly how I’m working, too.
Let me add that you can use a stereo track, amp L, DI R, so you only have to edit a single track in case of mess-ups (guilty !).

Another standard trick I use is experiment with compressors (LA-2, LA-3) and mild saturation FX (Bootsie, UA) either before or after the ampsim, can do wonders for realistic playing feel. And you don’t necessarily have to leave them in after tracking …

Re amps, you might want to check out LePou’s fine (and free) amps – a Soldano and a Hiwatt/Plexi Hybrit .
http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com/
Some of the best classic rock tones I’ve heard yet ITB.

And then, I’ve finally found my personal favourite cab solution, GR4’s ControlRoom makes all other sims sound better, too – try AT Fender with it – now we’re talking !
And it’s so quick and intuitive to dial in.
Never was a GR fan, got it as part of Komplete, but there’s a lot to like about GR4, some very good amps in there and a nice selection of FX.

Ymmv,
Rhino

[Kip Count]

The amp plugin I’ve been the most impressed with, and use now is GTR3 by Waves.  It’s very affordable too. 

Mac Mini M1 | Studio One 6 | PreSonus 68c | EZD3

[Scott]

I recently got my Guitar Rig 4 upgrade (free, yeah) and I really like the new Control Room section. I don’t really use the amps much as I record my own amp collection in my studio, but I like to apply the GR4 effects at mixdown. But I wouldn’t be shy about running a clean guitar track into one of the GR4 amps to dirty it up a bit if called for. They sound good to me.

Scott Sibley - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Dingo]

The new Digidesign Eleven rack for guitar processing looks pretty sweet. Anybody checked it out?

Regards, Marcus.

[Xplora]

ORIGINAL: FarBeyond
tried all the POD stuff… distortion is too soft and in the lower B to A to G tunings it loses tightness

Dude, the only way you get the sounds you want (I know what are talking about, I’ve done the Drop A and recently F# and E for A LONG TIME) is by multitracking like crazy. I currently use two different recto sounds (one phat, one super crunchy) and a Soldano sound with some delay to get the massive sounds that are tight enough… It’s physically impossible for guitars to track as tight as the CDs you’re trying to compare to without several amplifier tones. Guitar Rig and POD etc are all tight enough at low tunings, you just need to be realistic about your expectations.

[Tom]

Being a Fender guy, nothing beats Amplitube Fender. Period.
 
I also have Guitar Rig, even the latest version that came with Komplete 6, but I haven’t even bothered to open it yet. Previous version didn’t spin my wheel. Finally I have a Sansamp PSA-1 – what do I use it for? I can only get ugly sounds out of it, even with a speaker emulator.

[MouseClickDrummer]

ORIGINAL: Dingo

The new Digidesign Eleven rack for guitar processing looks pretty sweet. Anybody checked it out?

I went on the digidesign forum but learned that there are just the same amps in even the rack eleven.  upgrades to the sounds will come in later than sooner in the future.

I have tried overloud TH1 and so far I am most happy with this sim.  to me it is the mosty clear sounding overall.

As for a real amp, i noticed a mesa cab sounds ideal for my Kerry King signature Head, and even for my ibanez Thermion.  I will be using a Heil PR30 mic on it and seeing if it turns out good on a recording.

[MouseClickDrummer]

Well, I have tried pretty much every single amplifier simulator on the market which also has RTAS version – very important to have that available.  Here is a review of all the main amp simulators which have RTAS.

Guitar Rig 3 – When sims were weak a few years back, i settled for this.  But the stock sounds are garbage buzzing.  So I found that after engineering tricks i could get acceptable tones – but the fidelity was always lacking, the mid tones were a bit plastic, and the distortion was not defined enough and too soft, but ironically.. gain was cranked and brightened up – in was more likely to cause much arachnophobia.  Unless there is a different sound engine or a far improved one I am not interested in trying GR4 just for it’s new mic mixing options. Overall Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 gets a 5.8/10.  

Amplitube 2/Amplitube Metal – Although still abit shrill and bee-like at first, the stock sounds are nicer than GR and this simulator’s advantage is that it really captures the air pushing effect the most out of all sims.  After tweaking, the distortions sound either raw and edgy yet always tight, or fat and chunky but still defined.  The tones are definetly heavier and meaner than Guitar Rig, and it is easier to get defined distortion with less tweaking than alot of other sims.  A bit on the shrill side for blues but still pro.  IK multimedia recieves a 7.8 out of 10. If there were more tweakability it would probabily get a 9.

Studio Devil Pro – The distortion is sloppy, and has no edge, the engine feedsback whey too much and the mids are a joke.  There is a severe lack of tone.  2/10.

Rock Amp Legends – for a low to medium gain amp sim set, you would at least expect some nice creamy blues OD type distortions but even low gain it scrapes nerves the wrong way.  And medium gain was simply not world class.  Nothing remotely close to an AC/DC type sound was possible, and usually 80s hard rock Rhythm sections are easy to hit in amp sims but not even close on this one.  Gain was a bit too sloppy, but at least it offered me some consolation that there wasn’t much of it.   2.5

Peavey Revalver –  the first real tube amp company to make an amp simulator software.  The claim of 99% accurate tube amp modeling is definetly valid – but then again – modeling peavey amps does not say too much.  With that being said, this is the most intricate tweakable amp sim where you can even go into the guts of the amp to tweak the values of resistors. Unfortunately the manual does not tell you what each component does but the peavey staff has forwarded me to some great articles that show what to tweak for different types of sounds.   As it turned out – you can easily modify any of the peavery heads into almost any sound you crave and almost any pro tone – but not any tone.  But its too much work.  And most of the cabs sound awful.  Only a couple of cab-speaker mic variations are pleasant to the ear – but they are not inter matchable..   the many other speaker, cab, mic options are simply unacceptable in this day and age.  With that said Peavey revalver still receives an 8/10.

Metal Amp Room – Sounds ok but there is only one type of distortion that can be shaped in limited ways – but that gain is still not savage or evil enough for the type of accurate distortion they have attempted – or for the graphics they have added.  7.1/10.

Overloud TH1 – This is a superb simulator but there is only a limited rage of amp distortion modeling.   The best part is the tight accurate distortion response.  I was able to simulate the Marshall Kerry King Signature amp through Mode 4 cabs- but not quite 100% in the bass frequencies, although it is ok because this simulator has a nice sweetspot in between that and a Mesa Type fat tone – a perfect in between! Although very limited metal distortion character it is still satisfying for metal.   At lower gain with OD tones, Vai type smooth lead gain type OD tones – the engine performed equally well.  But not much else could be done with the gain.  Pure Vintage cream was so-so.  It must be stressed that the range of gain remains in a limited range – but one dial is neat which lets you add a hot fire to define each amp’s gain into scorching underworld territory.  TH1 gets an 9 out of 10.

Waves GTR – This is the most overrated amp sim out of them all. The gains are not bad for pop or rock but in the heavy hitter department GTR is a miserable letdown.  Distortion is too soft and undefined. The mids are also sub par for any style.  Smooth OD style leads were it’s strongest point but still not quite pro.  This and the lack of metal excellence merely give this simulator a 6.3/10, barely beating Guitar Rig – which proves little.

Line 6 POD Farm Platinum – Wow, so easy to use even a three year old can get good tone. Simply an amusement park of toys and the most amps, stomp boxes, rack units, cabs available out of any other product in this category. You pretty much get lost in the many many units available to select.  The one down side is that you cannot use more than one sim pedal before the sim input… but i dont mind because i like to shape my sound with real pedals before my actual soundcard inputs so for me it matter little. Can hit 99.9% of the tones in Amplitube, Revalver and TH1.  The rack EQ is amateur.  8.7/10

McDsp Chrome Tone –  Nothing but farting noises and sloppy buzzing. But then again, i expected nothing more from a company with horrible reverbs and plugins. A total Waste of ones and zeroes. Very poor company. 0.2/10

Digidesign Eleven – Not even close to as world class as they claim.  The bass frequencies fo the amps are too flabby and farty.  The blues sounds are somewhat ok but a company charging that much for their guitar sim is offering a total rip off. You cannot even round out the gain characteristics into acceptable smooth creamy gains.   3/10

SansAmp PSA-1 – A free RTAS plugin.  Not bad for rough tracking, but more on the cookie cutter end of the spectrum.  Although it certainly has some mid punch.  Great to use as a tonal shaper on zero distortion. 6/10.

[KJ S]

I thought i read an interview once that Dino said he used a POD to record. but i’m not sure what album

ORIGINAL: FarBeyond

tried everything suggested here…  not happy at all with such sims, i mean, listen to an album like Reinventing the Steel, or Obsolete… thats some really accurate distortion…

and i agree with G-rig 3 sounding a bit too processed, same with sansamp.  i think revalver might be my last attempt

[VAPORHEAD]

I think people would be surprised to see how many people actually use the Pod. In my experience at least, when not using a real amp in actual record making situations, some version of the Pod XT is the most used sim.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=18727184

[Dingo]

Still think Amplitube 2 still sounds more convinsing than Guitar Rig 4, ‘spesh when you run it at 96k sounds spot on. Don’t get me wrong GR4 still sounds cool with the new mix feature. But still lacking that depth in tone. I like mixing both plugins together.

Regards, Marcus.

[MouseClickDrummer]

ORIGINAL: terrorhead

I thought i read an interview once that Dino said he used a POD to record. but i’m not sure what album

Hi there.  Yes I wouldn’t be surprised.  Prolly the new one and all the Divine Heresy stuff.   Also, I have been able to match the distortion of Slayer’s Decade of Agression distortion like 99% dead on using POD farm platinum.  I will post this clip soon to prove it. 

[Author]

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