Mix: Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good"

[elser]

Apr 17, 2009, 3:35pm, southpaw wrote:You guys tried the fender pack for Ik Amplitube. Wow, impressive stuff. I just got it, and it does some pretty good emulations on 57'Deluxes, 65' twin reverb, 64 vibroverb, and has tons of manipulation and adjustment possibilities. I am really impressed with this one.Worth checking out. Although, im willing to negotiate trade for that talent pedal! i hear those are AWESOME!I use Amplitube2 all the time and I love it. I saw that the Fender version came out and was tempted to get it (they've probably built a talent pedal model right into it ) but can't afford it right now.

[southpaw]

On a side note, I was thinking of getting a Tele or Strat for their versatility and because i wanted something with a little more rock tone as opposed to the bluesy kind of twang i get with my Epiphone dot. I have found that through my radial DI, EG chain: Between guitar rig 2+3, (which is "functional" based on techniques and spending a bit of tweakage time..) Amplitube 2 (also limited, and requires some technique but is decent for cleaner tones..) with the fender suite, and my goto verb, Eq, and comp plugs, i am capable of getting about as good a sound as i want to put the time in to achieve. Ive always loved the flexibility of DI, but have been a little uninspired at the digital tones of guitar rig and others. I know there are the really expensive DI routes that cost as much or more as a classic analog amp. But for the 'little pockets that want the big sound', Ive got a great feeling about the further advances of amp modeling solutions to come, based on some of the tones ive been able to get in the box with playing technique/modeling soft/plugs/tweaking. Jamie

[elser]

I've got a Tele a Strat and an Epi dot. The Strat is by far the most versatile of the 3.For what it's worth every time I go into the studio with a full live rig I almost always spend up to an hour experimenting with mics and mic placement and different amp sounds and playing techniques before I hit the magic combination for the track. So I don't expect to just plug into a software amp, dial up a preset and make it sound right, for me, either way it takes a lot of tweaking.

[mojobone]

Nice thing about my Line6 rig is the brilliant compensation technology. I can configure the 1/4 in outputs separately from the XLR outs and the tones match up pretty well, even if I have XLRs configured for direct connection to a console/interface and the same model and chain (minus the microphone, natch) connected to an FX insert on a closed back 1x12 combo through the 1/4 in Stage outputs. (it can also be configured for an open-back combo ) This means that when I tweak tones for stage use, the XLR direct out to the live console will sound nearly identical to the SM57 on my stage speaker, and at the studio I can silently record the identical tone! Upshot is, once the tone is tweaked, I'm done! I no longer have to do squat to my guitars at mixdown, cuz the sauce is in there!

[ernstinen]

I put a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail as the bridge pickup in my '63 Strat. The Hot Rail (humbucker) really adds that rock overdrive sound, while the other two single coils have that classic Strat sound.Of course, you don't need to route out a Strat for a Hot Rail, which would be really dumb! And I have the original single coil bridge pickup locked in a safe --- But for 'my' style of playing, this was the best option for a versatile guitar. --- I've noticed that Fender is now selling a "Deluxe Lone Star Strat" which would be a good backup guitar because of it's similar pickup configuration and rosewood finger board. But at about $800, it's either a great deal or a cheap imitation. I'll have to try one out!Ern

[t4mh]

Apr 17, 2009, 7:13pm, mojobone wrote:This means that when I tweak tones for stage use, the XLR direct out to the live console will sound nearly identical to the SM57 on my stage speaker, and at the studio I can silently record the identical tone! Upshot is, once the tone is tweaked, I'm done! I no longer have to do squat to my guitars at mixdown, cuz the sauce is in there!Yes this is useful. I don't use a Line 6 but the thing I do like is being able to work in the studio and then throw it all in the truck and go play live with all the same sounds and patches. I guess in theory a person could carry a laptop with the emulation software but it would be a bit strange for the guitar player to be working a mouse before each tune. Not only that, the fun really starts when the drunk chic spills her beer on your stuff as she's making a request. Next day after everything has dried off you still have that beer smell... heheKeith

[t4mh]

Apr 17, 2009, 7:14pm, ernstinen wrote:But for 'my' style of playing, this was the best option for a versatile guitar. --- I've noticed that Fender is now selling a "Deluxe Lone Star Strat" which would be a good backup guitar because of it's similar pickup configuration and rosewood finger board. But at about $800, it's either a great deal or a cheap imitation. I'll have to try one out!Ern Ya know, I haven't been real impressed with Fenders over the last decade but I think Fender is building better guitars these days overall. My wife got me an American Telecaster ( somehow... ) and I was real skeptical. But it really is a good playing, good sounding instrument and I have found that I play it a lot these days. So yeah, it might well be worth your time to at least try some of the mid to higher end guitars. I don't think I would spend much on the low end stuff even though I have a Mexican Strat that works very well for a lot of things. But then I have a bit of custom work I've done to it. Keith

[mojobone]

The newer American Standard Strats are much more vintage sounding since the return of the stamped-steel S-shaped saddles. Sadly these are not direct replacements for actual vintage saddles; they're sized a bit differently. I rather like the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups, too, though some boutique P/Us smoke 'em for tone's sake they aren't as quiet. And I don't mind the beer smell, so much, but it's hard to get drunk chick smell outta the sheets.(j/k, ladies )

[t4mh]

Apr 17, 2009, 5:13pm, fretnoise wrote:I've got a Tele a Strat and an Epi dot. The Strat is by far the most versatile of the 3.For what it's worth every time I go into the studio with a full live rig I almost always spend up to an hour experimenting with mics and mic placement and different amp sounds and playing techniques before I hit the magic combination for the track. So I don't expect to just plug into a software amp, dial up a preset and make it sound right, for me, either way it takes a lot of tweaking. Actually, if your rig is in a properly acoustically treated room, this should not be much of a problem. You just want to get the mic or mics off axis and about 1.5 ft away. My problem in studios is mainly that the engineer has a "guitar sound" that he is trying for and usually his idea and mine are not even close so there is an EQ war...Keith

[mojobone]

Maybe he's trying to shoehorn your tone into his mix?