Amplitube 2, my review

[teleblaster]

Gotta say, this is a darn good plugin. That's coming from a guy that has pretty ruthlessly shunned hardware or software based digital modelling. There's a 4x1 power group buy with IKMultimedia right now that's insane. I bought Amplitube Fender from eSoundz for $209, then immediately got 3 more products for free. I picked up the Amplitube 2 crossgrade ( I own Amplitube LE), Amplitube Metal and SVX; all four plugs for $209, plus eSoundz threw in a bunch of loop libraries.

Here's my take on the Amplitube stuff, I've only been using them for a few days:

Fender: some killer tones in the tweed models (Deluxe and Bassman). Some good sounds in the '65 Deluxe if it has a little bit of grind. In general the squeeky clean stuff is a bit chirpy to my ears; might be able to tweak it out with cab/mic tweaks. Love the echo stomp box, and the Fender Blender has a gritty in your face fuzz tone.

Amp 2: The AC30 simulation sounds amazing, as does what appears to be a vintage Ampeg amp --> some really useful straight ahead jazz tones on that box. The JCM 800 doesn't do it for me. I'd rather use my Mad Professor Red Distorion pedal and a h/w cab sim. I actually like the Fender Twin simulation in here better than the one in the Fender collection.

Metal: Geez, I don't know. I'm not a metal/hi-gain guy, but some of the pre-sets I've demo'd sound pretty convincing. One patch can have 2 different amp chains panned left and right (all their products do this). I picked this up cuz it was free, and if I decide to take a crack at heavier stuff again these tones seem more than serviceable

SVX: Great bass tones, seriously. My only nit is that they seemed to lay the LF on real thick and juicy in every patch and simulation; not always a bad thing, but it seems I'm constantly notching out some low end to clean up a mix with this plug in it. I love the vintage Ampeg convertible simulation -- I used to gig with one of those amps!

Doubtful that I'll be tracking solos and feature parts on my CD's with these plugs, but for supporting parts, and film/tv tracks this stuff is amazingly cool. Being able to pull a project up and have all your tones persisted is golden, no more 'What pedals did I use on that track, which mic did I use, and where was it placed...'

[japaneseprincess]

I'm not a metal/hi-gain guy..

come to the world of high-gain ! its fun

i didnt go for amplitube deal as i have pretty good amp sims (mostly free ones including POD farm and Sans Amp, GTR solo). GTR solo has free license for a year, so you can try it if you dont have it yet. its pretty good with rock stuff, havent checked much of clean patches but there are loads of presets.
http://www.wavesgtr.com/html/product_gtr_solo.html

thank you for sharing your thoughts. i have amplitube 2 DUO and Amplitube LE etc.. lots of tweaking needed but i like them.

i like IK multimedia deals.. easy on my wallet and pretty useful.

[elser]

I went for that deal too, except I got the Hendrix version instead of Amp2 since I already had that. I can't believe what a great deal that was. Of course stuff has to be tweaked to find sounds that you really like, just like a real amp, but for the money there's lots of stuff to tweak.

I agree on the SVX model, I'm a little disappointed with that one, but again no doubt there are good sounds to be discovered. Another really cool thing is the X-Gear thing that allows you to put any of the effects from one modeler into any other.

You might check out the Crunch 800 1 and 2 presets in Amp2 for a good JCM sound, I think they sound really good. I think they're in the Pure Amps section.

[Kolstad]

I got the 4 for 1 too. It was just too good to let go, and I would probably have gotten the Fender version anyway, so getting T-racks in too was just great. I chose the Ampeg and the Amplitube 2 crossgrade as the last. I look forward to try out the Ampeg, as I often record bass direct in. I tried the demo versions of Sampletank and Miroslav Philharmonic, but I found them useless for professional work, and they wasn't even a runner up for what I already work with.

But the Fender is just sweet. Lots of potential rhythm layers in that one, I think. Suits me fine for demo stuff, where the turn around needs to be quick. But my tube amps will still be my go-to for leads. T-tracks sounds great too, also.

[feaker66]

Just need a yes or no. (please)

Is this something you plug your guitar into for these sounds?

pathetic paul

[jonathanm]

Just need a yes or no. (please)

Is this something you plug your guitar into for these sounds?

pathetic paul

Yes. For recording, it's guitar --> audio interface --> computer --> DAW program --> Amplitube plug-in.