Hello.

I am currently using some free plugs for my guitar processing but cant help looking at the hardware boxes like v-amp and pod.

Is it worth the hassle compared to plugs ?

Sonically, the simulanalog and green mcahine plugs are really good.

But I really like the idea of it being independent from my DAW.

Any car to comment ?

If you like the idea of it being independant then I would surely suggest you go the harware route.

The simulanalog and green machine plugs sure sounds not bad at all. I would suggest that Trash, Revalver and Amplitube are the best 3 IMHO, but they are all soft. Try the demos and decide for yourself if you like the sound. It is much cheaper to go the soft route and you will have much more flexibility.

Thinking about playing in a band? Then you need an amplifier anyway.

Quote :
[b]Thinking about playing in a band? Then you need an amplifier anyway.[/b]

Doeas this mean that v-amp would be useful in this situation ? I heard of people using it right before a PA ? Maybe as an efefcts box before an amp ?

Quote :
[b]Thinking about playing in a band? Then you need an amplifier anyway.[/b]

Doeas this mean that v-amp would be useful in this situation ? I heard of people using it right before a PA ? Maybe as an efefcts box before an amp ?

Nope

Nope

A Marshall stack looks much cooler than a laptop on stage.

Depends on the size of the place you play at. IMHO for a small hall or club you do not want to go through the PA. In larger halls or stadiums you want to mic you guitar amp for the PA. If you play in a stadium you would probably not care about the cost of these things anyway

Also when prictising, a small guitar amp is very handy.

A V-box or POD could work as effects pedals, but when I played in a band I liked to have something I could step on. (ooo the memories, so long time ago. In those times technology was a bit less advanced)

Yeah,you could use it either in front of a regular amp(like a pedal effect),or take the outputs directly into the PA.
I still use hardware for guitar myself-a tube preamp and a cabinet simulator.I live in an apartment,so an amp is not an option for recording at home On the rare occasions I play live,I borrow a Marshall 9005 power amp from a friend of mine and use a stereo 2x12 cabinet and skip the simulator.
ew

i'm not massively into guitar but, being raised on big muffs, i rarely find digital distortion satisfying. but def. use a laptop for buffer override of something.

Hi Yul, I don't know if it's available in Canada, but I use a JD pedal by Session (UK). It's capable of a very wide range of tones, has a really good speaker emulation which can be by-passed, and it can be used as a stomp box for live work - if needed.

It doesn't have any modulation FX (chorus, flanger, etc) or reverb, but for recording I add those afterwards with plugins.

I got mine a few years ago so I don't know if they're made anymore, but if you can get one, I recommend you try it out.

Emulators both hard and soft have their place.....
......IN THE STUDIO!! Modeling will never replace
the tone and feel of a roaring tube amp...IMHO.

Cheers....CL

I´d go with the PODxt (I own one and it owns!) and FBV.

Read more:

And... if you´re a live musician.

My 5 cents

thanks guys !

I got the POD 2.

I am aware that I will need an amp sooner or later but for the price he asked (200 Canadian), I o couldnt resist !

I just hope it will eventually be possible to use the pod in other than a studio appartment.

POD 2 is aces but V-AMP 2 is cheaper and almost as great sounding. But you need an amp. Preferrably something which won't have too much of it's own colur that will show off all that your POD can do. Either one is a perfect setup as a preamp a an Input for your soundcard and eliminates the need for a DI box.

I have used my VAMP2 live and it makes life very easy. But I only have the stock foot switch which is limiting. A setup like Anahka's is optimal with the full range midi foot controller gives you unbelieveable versatility

Good luck,
Gordon

It all depends on what you want to do. If you're just going to use it in the studio, get a preamp. I've not heard a software amp simulation that sounds as good as hardware, but I haven't tried them all. I gave the
Alien Connections Revalver a try because it came with Cakewalk, and thought it sucked big-time.

I used to be a macho tube amp man (100 watts, no effects, thank you). But now I'm a dad, and with sleeping children and an irritable mom in the house, the ol' Fender tube amp is no longer an option. Besides, the band has long since broken up. So I bought myself a Tech21 SansAmp PSA-1. I'm 98% happy with it, it can get any kind of distortion you want and it works with bass guitar too! The clean sounds are good, but not great. Tech21 also makes an amplifier specifically designed to power a PSA-1 in live settings, though I've not tried that. Could be an option. I also have a copy of Izotope Trash, and it's quite a fun toy. Lots of great lo-fi possibilities, and crazy funky distortion you never heard before. No substitute for a good preamp, and even more difficult to get a good clean tone from Trash. Then again it was designed to mangle sounds. It gets along famously with guitars, and has the added benefit of being able to mangle any other instrument you can patch through it.

Hey, noone mentioned my virtual amp (OK, it's still beta)

http://www.kvr-vst.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30471


If you want to get some hardware amp simulator, I'd try VOX ToneLab. http://www.voxamps.co.uk/products/tonelab/tonelab.htm

"Alien Connections Revalver a try because it came with Cakewalk, and thought it sucked big-time."

If all you did was play with the presets I'm sure
that you were dissapointed.....they sound as though
they were written by computer geeks rather than
guitarists...if however, you take a little time
and create your own, ReValver's modular nature
allows for some very cool sounds.

Cheers.....CL

yul wrote:

I got the POD 2.

Good choice for PC recording especially,and in some cases with the right PA live too.Although I love the idea of amp plugins,they just eat too much CPU.My problem is I usually do my guitar last,after VSTi's and keep many track plugs live,so by the time I get around to the guitar.............

CapnLockheed wrote:

"Alien Connections Revalver a try because it came with Cakewalk, and thought it sucked big-time." If all you did was play with the presets I'm sure that you were dissapointed.....they sound as though they were written by computer geeks rather than guitarists...if however, you take a little time and create your own, ReValver's modular nature allows for some very cool sounds. Cheers.....CL

I've had some decent luck with ReValver as well, usually for some additional post-processing after my SansAmp GT2...I agree that it's best to forget the presets and just get in there and start tweaking it yourself for best results.

I wouldn't consider it a be-all-end-all self-contained solution, but definitely can be very useful.

Agree with the opinions above about revalver. The presets suck big time. Also the best effects are found in the full version and not in the demo that came with Sonar. There are many good presets for download. Works well on the bluys or old time sounds and probably the most "presence" of the well known ones.

I could almost get a good emulation of my old valve amp sound out of it.

My favourite is still Trash however. I can not emulate any spcific sound exactly that reminds me of a specific amp. Mainly because I do not spend enough time on it before I get distracted with all the more modern cool sounds in it.

Don't know if it was mentioned, but check out HAR's article at Virtualsoundstudio.com about clean guitars. By far the most usefull article in that field and you can do it all with free stuff.

There's the amp version of the V-Amp, V-Ampire, that puts out 100W & has a Jensen 12" for $299. For the 200CDN you paid, though, I'd have to say that you did extremely well for yourself.

Steinberg Canada has a deal on WARP right now for $99 CDN. It's tempting mainly because I remember hearing that it actually does some nice clean sounds. Has anyone else used it? What copyright protection does it use?

pough wrote:

Steinberg Canada has a deal on WARP right now for $99 CDN. It's tempting mainly because I remember hearing that it actually does some nice clean sounds. Has anyone else used it? What copyright protection does it use?

I wouldn't use Warp for free.You'd do just as well plugging your guitar straight into your soundcard and overloading it,it's that bad.Clean sounds?Where? Copy protection?Whats there to protect?

Bah.. Warp is neat, maybe nothing i would buy personally. Then again I tend to stick to free stuff. Yeah yeah, cheapskate, I know - Anyways, you're seeing it the wrong way.. Amp plugins for guitar?.. Whaaaat?.. Nooo.. It's all about mangling up beats and synthsounds - And Warp does that very well mind you, although I've only had a limited chance of working with it

/Majken

IMO Warp and ReValver are the two VST amps which have the best combination of sound and feel.

I used to use tube amps and dynamic mics (Mesa Boogie + SM57, etc.) but the realities of a family life made it inconvenient to use this setup. So I switched to hardware modelers (SansAmp, J-Station) and had good results. For grins I tried VST amplification and now I'm a believer.

The main benefit of VST amplification is the unparalleled flexibility in altering a sound at any point, even after recording.

Warp uses the same technology as H&K's Zentera modeling amplifier - modeling of the individual components of the amplifier. As a result the sound and feel are excellent. Unfortunately it only offers three amps and three cabinets.

ReValver's presets don't do it justice. It offers a great deal of flexibility with many useful preamps, effects, and cabinets. I find it very useful to obtain "vintage" sounds. Modern more saturated sounds are not its strength.

One thing to keep in mind with VST amplification is that the quality of the sound is heavily dependent on your input. A good mic-preamp is essential.

Rather than type endlessly, why not take a listen to both in action. Visit my website (see signature) and listen to "Blue on Canvas". I use Warp and ReValver only for all guitars.

Warp: Clean melody, overdriven lead, clean rhythm during lead.
ReValver: Slightly overdriven guitar for interlude and short leads.

The other piece "Point of Convergence" uses a J-Station throughout. I'm almost ready to post another piece which uses VST's only soon.

I'm not advocating doing away with real amplifiers (believe me there are some I am drooling over). Rather, be open minded of software and emulations. If you can get over the "does it really sound like a Marshall, etc." mentality, you can get excellent tones from VST.

You should try running some drums through WARP...

Agreed, Warp responds more like a real amp than most digital modellers & has a very decent clean tone.

slayer 2 fx plug is my favorite..that's compared to amplitube and the score of freebies available, many of which i loved before....at least for the heavier sounds.....even my ticky clav sounds like a bad ass.

A not often mentioned software amp solution is the Acuma SatFat plugin available for Mixtreme soundcards and the Soundscape systems. Not a VST/DX/etc but a peach of an amp modeller and almost worth getting a Mixtreme alone for to some people. Previously available for the Mackie D8B you can even monitor through the plug on the Mixtreme with zilch latency. Well, 2 samples I believe it is.

Bootiful. Flogged my POD.

http://www.acumalabs.com/SatFat/product.html

www.sydec.be

If you don't mind using SE creations. Try some of this stuff. They seems to be popular with the KVR crowd. There were over 1000 downloads last month. Not all KVR of course. It may not be exactly what you want but a lot can be done with this collection.

http://www.ele4music.com/synthedit/stompers.html
http://www.ele4music.com/synthedit/stompers.zip

This is my first post ever to KVR and I may not understand the way things are done here. I am a synthedit developer and they tell me you guys like to keep us seperated. So if I'm out of turn here.. Oops. Enjoy the plugs anyway.

Quote:

POD 2 is aces but V-AMP 2 is cheaper and almost as great sounding.

Cheaper is an understatement .

Quote:

But you need an amp. Preferrably something which won't have too much of it's own colur that will show off all that your POD can do.

Yes, for that purpose, again very cheapo, I bought a Behringer ultratwin GX210. Has a very good clean sound and a lot of inputs (aux in, inserts en slave in). At the moment I have the Vamp2 connected to the aux in. This realy works wel, you have to tinker with the Vamp2 settings to make it sound good however, your guitar, especially the pickups are important (the Vamp2 software is the best approach for tweaking the Vamp).
However the GX210 isn't that powerfull (2 * 30 watt) in the (small) orchestra I'm playing in (not realy a band) it's more then adequate.

Quote:

I have used my VAMP2 live and it makes life very easy. But I only have the stock foot switch which is limiting. A setup like Anahka's is optimal with the full range midi foot controller gives you unbelieveable versatility

Yes. I have the Behringer FCB1010 midi footcontroller
for that. Again a great piece of hardware at an unbelievable price. There is a catch however. This is one of the most quirkiest things ever produced. You need first to go to the Yahoo dedicated FCB1010 group to get this thing working. And..., you need to get the latest Eprom, or burn one yourself. But if you get there (it's not that hard) it's realy great. A lot of POD-people and Flextone III users use the FCB1010 in stead of the Line6 floorboard.

Henny

This upcoming product from Nomad Factory sounds like it's going to be a killer:


I've just listened to the mp3 demos that appeared on their site. It does sound really nice The clean stuff sounds good and natural too.
Let's see how much they charge for this, they say it should be available by Dec. 2003

DaPelikan wrote:

Let's see how much they charge for this, they say it should be available by Dec. 2003

The fact that there is a name attached probably puts it above $200 right away.