The Amp Sim thread !!

[Kolstad]

I find if I use a real compressor/overdrive before my computer (with an amp simulator) it sounds MUCH better.

Stuart

Gotta try that.. I guess it still goes 'what comes in...'. Thanks Stuart!

[ernstinen]

Since I'm "old school" about guitars and amps, I'm of the opinion that a loud rock guitar part just doesn't sound the same, or has the sustain, tone etc., and is as "much fun" as cranking up a tube amp and experimenting with microphones. Of course, if you're in an apartment you can't DO that, but I've tried for years to find a rental space where I CAN do that! Sure, I used to use an amp simulator through a stereo chorus, with a Marshall cranked to "11" on one side, and the amp simulator on the other side. The combination was a big part of my hard rock sound.

Clean sounds: I had a Roland Stereo Chorus 120 amp, and sure it sounded great, but WAY too loud, especially for stage work. So now I use a Fender Deluxe Reverb (about 20 watts), and mic the front with the usual SM 57, and the back with a condenser mic, reversing the phase.

That said, I recently did a "clean" recording of my '63 Strat through a Lexicon processor, line in. Sounded great! So I might change my mind someday as far as clean sounds! BUT, unless you get your monitors cranked up really loud with an Amp Sim, I can't see how you can get the sustain, feedback, and sound of cranking up and and standing a few feet away from a REAL tube amp! Just IMHO, of course.

Ern

[mojobone]

I find if I use a real compressor/overdrive before my computer (with an amp simulator) it sounds MUCH better.

Stuart

Yeah, I've noticed that amp sims seem to prefer a stronger signal; it helps to have a little signal conditioning going in. If you use low-output vintage single coil pups like me, an EH LPB-1 or MXR Micro-Amp are good candidates, but nearly any clean boost will do; the ultimate tool for the job is Fryette's Valvulator. (it's basically the input and first tube gain stage of a Fender running at healthy plate voltage; it instantly restores amp 'feel', and the output is lo-Z for driving long cable lines or bunches of pedals) The first gain stage your signal hits, coming out of the guitar is the most important link in the chain, for my money.

[elser]

I find if I use a real compressor/overdrive before my computer (with an amp simulator) it sounds MUCH better.

Stuart

Ya, some compression maybe 4:1 and -10db, is really important for me to get the right feel from the Amp sims. I never use compression live but in the studio it kinda helps create some of that live amp feel. Really cranking your studio monitors up can help too. Playing through my mic pre makes a ton of difference too. It's a fairly high quality mic pre and just sounds much better than any of my other input options.

[cardell]

Playing through my mic pre makes a ton of difference too. It's a fairly high quality mic pre and just sounds much better than any of my other input options.

Thanks, I'll try that too! I love this forum.

Stuart

[ernstinen]

I find if I use a real compressor/overdrive before my computer (with an amp simulator) it sounds MUCH better.

Stuart

Oops, Stuart, missed this post! Compression works, if you don't overdo it, on electric guitar. (Guitar amps & speakers, if you mic them, naturally compress the sound of LOUD rock guitar, so compress with caution!). But, as I may have said before (I probably did --- can't remember! ), on ACOUSTIC guitar use REAL caution with compression. Some of my fave recordings that I've done, in retrospect, had the acoustic guitar compressed too much. I can "hear" it now, but I can't take it back. The compressor was in the record chain (after the mic pre), and there is no undoing it. It is what it is. No big deal, but today I'd take a more moderate approach.

Ern

[fullbirdmusic]

I've been dreaming of amp/speaker sims for several years now and have tried a TON of them. Until I re-discovered them recently with Guitar Rig 4, I'd given up total hope on them all. I usually track my guitars from an Egnater Rebel 20 amp through a Palmer PDI-03 - I've never actually mic'd my cabinet because it's so damn loud. I don't have a separate studio for that

But Guitar Rig 4 is excellent! I'm totally happy with it. Compared to the Logic 9 amps and pedalboard stuff that's new, it's much better. I really enjoy the high-gain, stereo sounds. I love browsing presets and putting my own spin on them. I'm not huge on tweaking, because if I'm even in my studio, I gotta get stuff done!! So yeah, GR4 is totally worth the very little amount I paid for it. The Edge presets are pretty good, as well as the more rockier stuff. I also like some of the clean jazz stuff, but that takes more work to get usable sounds out of.

But I run my guitar into an ART tube MP preamp before the interface to get a nice bit of gain and to smooth out the signal before it even hits the "amp". The amps react surprisingly well to gain changes before the "input" stage. Almost like a real amp! So yeah, my 2cents is for GR4. I'm sold. But live is still rockin' out with an amp. Gotta feel it!

[mojobone]

Live, I use the same X3Live, sending a fully-modeled amp/cab/mic signal to FOH on XLR; the separately configurable 1/4 in output connects to the power amp in of a Laney tube combo for monitoring. (there's also a setting for plugging into the front of combos or stacks that don't have a way to bypass the preamp) I've been able to pull every sound I need from it, and there's depths I still haven't plumbed. Easily the best $500 I've spent on hardware.

[bigbluebarry]

Up until about two months ago, I had been using Guitar Rig 3. Then I upgraded to Guitar Rig 4. WOW. Definite step up from 3.

If you wanna hear some of the range that you can do with GR4, here's a few to check out on my TAXI profile page at http://www.taxi.com/barryfrench if the links below don't work:

Thorns In My Eye (a la Slipknot)
Things Are Gonna Work Out (a la Daughtry)
Sunny and 75 (a la Tom Petty)

I think it may have already been mentioned but I also wanted to add that just like a great sounding vocal starts at the source, a great vocalist... a great sounding guitar tone starts at the source as well. Check out this comparison of an Epiphone Les Paul versus a Gibson Les Paul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrZpxgz7Dwk

hth,
- Big Blue

[ernstinen]

I think it may have already been mentioned but I also wanted to add that just like a great sounding vocal starts at the source, a great vocalist... a great sounding guitar tone starts at the source as well. Check out this comparison of an Epiphone Les Paul versus a Gibson Les Paul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrZpxgz7Dwk

hth,
- Big Blue

Oh MAN! The Gibson sounds SO much better! Maybe I'm a guitar fanatic (I own a '63 Stratocaster), but the sound of the Gibson, to my ears, is MILES beyond the Epiphone! Great comparo, though, Big Blue!

Here's a trick I learned in a music store: When buying an electric guitar, listen to it UNPLUGGED! Feel the fretboard, listen to the intonation, and especially listen to the sound of the guitar. If it sounds good unplugged, it'll sound better through an amp!

My 2 cents,

Ern