The Amp Sim thread !!

[japaneseprincess]

ok, folks.. there are many many posts about guitar amp sims on this forum, but its everywhere and im too lazy to look for them. ha ha.

as Michael made a new gear section, i thought we can just gather recommended guitar amp sims here, maybe with some tracks if you want.

i've been asked what i use for my guitar sound sooo many times (its a good thing ), i dont like repeating myself everytime someone asks me, so i hope everyone can get some good information here.


as some of you know, im a big fan of Pro Tools, so some of the plugs i use is only for PT.

there are 4 main amp sims I use, they are SansAmp (PT only), POD Farm (free ver.), GTR3, Eleven LE (PT only).

I dont use presets that comes with these, i tweak a lot and save my own presets.. But every song is different, so i tweak them again. oh, i cut A LOT of BASS when im using distortioon to give bass guitar more space. cos amp sim distortion is so bassy, if you double track it gets even more bassy so i cut it a lot. but not too much !

im seriously digging POD farm, so im thinking of upgrading it to Platinum version. POD Farm is my favourite cos its so versatile. i use it for all my recent forwaded tracks.


SansAmp, its sh!tty compared to the rest BUT i use this a lot. im using only sansamp in this paramore type track http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2484874
plus feedback from a small amp (microcube). the mix is bit rough, i wanted to get rid of bassy guitars but i havent done it yet !

GTR3, i use stomp boxes more than amps. i automate these effects for more complex sound.

Eleven LE (full ver.), loads of good distortion in this one... love it !



Let the geekfest begin.


What do you use?

[Kolstad]

I've had a little hard time getting my desired sounds out of ampsims. There's just something with the sustains that doen't sound right, I think. I've had PodFarm, GTR, Guitar Rig, but have now settled with Amplitube 3.

I still prefer my Rocktron/Boss gear with my tube amp as first choice, and even direct recording with that mostly sounds better than ampsims IMO, but I do use Amplitube 3 for quick stuff and atmospheric stuff. With some tweaking it's pretty good.

There are some great options in it, and the v3 with the double micing and all pushed it a huge step forward in terms of flexibility and versatility. My favourites would be the Twin Reverb sims, but no matter what I do, it can't beat the tone and playability of my outboard gear, in my ears anyway.

[jh]

POD Farm (free ver.),

Was it bundled with something?
I couldn´t find anything free on their website

- JH

[japaneseprincess]

POD Farm (free ver.),

Was it bundled with something?
I couldn´t find anything free on their website

- JH

good question.. it was free for iLok users back in September last year. i still cant believe it ! too good to be true..

none of amp sim is perfect on its own, i combine them and work with other instruments

[jh]

it was free for iLok users back in September last year

And you tell me NOW?!?? ...just kidding, I don´t even have an iLok

none of amp sim is perfect on its own, i combine them and work with other instruments

Yeah, that´s true. You need a guitar after all ... OMG my jokes suck!

But seriously... Amp sims are convenient but most of the time it takes forever
to get something half decent out of them... or better said, something that works
well in the mix. IMO, using them is a skill in itself. It´s easy to just go through
the presets and come to a conclusion: This sucks. Also, the preamp (or DI
box) makes a huge difference.

- JH

[greggo]

[But seriously... Amp sims are convenient but most of the time it takes forever
to get something half decent out of them... or better said, something that works
well in the mix. IMO, using them is a skill in itself. It´s easy to just go through
the presets and come to a conclusion: This sucks. Also, the preamp (or DI
box) makes a huge difference.

- JH

I agree, getting a decent sound out of them takes a VERY long time. Living in an apartment building, it's rather difficult to crank the Marshall and record it. I'm working with Guitar Rig 3 and Amplitube 2. Think I'll take a look at Amplitube 3.

[japaneseprincess]

I agree, getting a decent sound out of them takes a VERY long time. Living in an apartment building, it's rather difficult to crank the Marshall and record it. I'm working with Guitar Rig 3 and Amplitube 2. Think I'll take a look at Amplitube 3.

Greggo, whats your thoughts on Guitar Rig and Amplitube2? i havent used them personally. From what Magne say, i think Amplitube is bit like Eleven LE. I already have enough stuff, so i wont buy Amplitube but other folks may want to know more details.


And, does anyone have any recommendations on clean sound? i havent explored much of clean world yet..

[jh]

Think I'll take a look at Amplitube 3

I took a look and wow, that sure looks interesting. Nice features.

- JH

[teleblaster]

I love Amplitube 3 for single coil / low to medium gain stuff. Actually, I use Amplitube Fender more often than not. But, the dual mic, the ability to mix in a room sound, and the cabinet size feature from A3 in conjunction with the Fender simulations trips my trigger. More often than not I find myself tracking with the tweed deluxe simulation through an o/b single or 2x12 cab.

You can hear it my telecaster and my lap steel in this track: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=9034777 They were both recorded through Amplitube3 using the Fender simulations. I'm not sure if the Fender stuff ships with A3 or not. I bought it before upgrading to A3 and it just magically appeared in A3's UI.

[greggo]

Greggo, whats your thoughts on Guitar Rig and Amplitube2? i havent used them personally. From what Magne say, i think Amplitube is bit like Eleven LE. I already have enough stuff, so i wont buy Amplitube but other folks may want to know more details.

And, does anyone have any recommendations on clean sound? i havent explored much of clean world yet..

I've used Amplitube way more often than Guitar Rig. I like some of the cleaner presets with Guitar Rig, but I'm pretty amazed by Amplitube's capabilities, although nearly every one of the presets needs to be tinkered with in some way to get a decent sound. You can change the amp cabinets, microphone, mike placement, can use the EQ settings of one cabinet with a different one. The chromatic rack mount tuner is pretty awesome and it's got rack mount effect processors (compressors, digital delay, rotary, digital reverb), and several effect pedals. Also has bass amps and preamps, which have some nice tones. I've heard really good things about eleven, but I don't think they make it for PC.

I've also got Amplitube Jimi Hendrix, which is pretty cool. It's got his discography of the three albums he recorded when he was alive. When you click on the album, then the song, it'll dial up the tone he used. And you can choose whether you want the tone from the intro, verse, solo, etc. I've never recorded with it, just play with it for fun.

And after listening to teleblasters song, I think Amplitube 3 maybe next on my list. Nice, man!