Guitar Libraries/VSTs

[bill45]

Prominy guitars have sampled chords and intervals.

[zircon]

No problem! Shreddage and Archtop, to the best of my knowledge, considering that I haven't used them, don't do any chord recognition. In other words, on all of the other ones you can just play a regular keyboard triad, and the VI will translate that into a proper guitar chord voicing. If Shreddage and Archtop do that, it isn't mentioned anywhere on the website or YouTube videos, which would lead me to believe that they don't. OTS, Electri6ity, and RealLPC also have strum keys, so you would just hold a chord with one hand, and trigger up and downstrokes of the last chord played with the strum keys. OTS and RealLPC also have strum sequencers, so you can record a strum pattern or select a prerecorded one, and just hold the chords you want with one hand. Electri6ity doesn't do this, but it's easy enough to do with your DAW and the strum and single string keys.

For clarity, actually, Shreddage 2 & Archtop both do this! Any notes you write are properly voiced on the fretboard. You can also use MIDI keyswitches or a MIDI guitar to input notes on specific frets of specific strings (though that isn't necessary in 99.9% of cases).

Also, Archtop does have a strum feature. You can hold a chord and then hit the strum keys to play it. Shreddage 2 does not have this yet, but it will in the upcoming free update.

[b15fliptop]

For clarity, actually, Shreddage 2 & Archtop both do this! Any notes you write are properly voiced on the fretboard. You can also use MIDI keyswitches or a MIDI guitar to input notes on specific frets of specific strings (though that isn't necessary in 99.9% of cases).

Also, Archtop does have a strum feature. You can hold a chord and then hit the strum keys to play it. Shreddage 2 does not have this yet, but it will in the upcoming free update.

Wow, that's really cool. I just checked again, and it isn't mentioned anywhere in the product descriptions on the website. Seems like kind of an important feature to leave out! I was interested in both of these, but went with the competition because I thought I would have to figure out guitar voicings on the keyboard. Oh well...

[zircon]

Aha, gotcha - well, be on the lookout for sales / promotions that we'll probably run a little later in the year; our instruments are already affordably priced, and with a bit of incentive you may be able to pick up Archtop for example at a no-brainer discount

[Gregjazz]

I recently got OTS and I have to say that it is very bright. I also hate the squeal sounds.

You might try switching the pickup to "bridge/neck" or "neck" in the "Effects", then "Guitar Tone" section. The guitar is set to the bridge pickup by default, which is naturally very bright.

In regards to the squeals, there are actually several squeal articulations available, based on the velocity of the note--everything from a purposefully messy squeal (great for blues where you need that humanistic element) to a pure artificial harmonic, and also an aggressive harmonic that uses higher harmonic nodes (thing Zakk Wylde type squeals).

[echosystm]

I just downloaded the trial version of RealStrat and found it was far easier to use than the Kontakt libraries I've tested out. The key switches are just so much more intuitive (dedicated normal/mute strum, etc).

However, every post I've read on the internet is negative about MusicLab plugins. Is there any particular reason for this? RealStrat seems very good to me, granted I can't test all the features due to demo limitations.

[SirKen]

I recently got OTS and I have to say that it is very bright. I also hate the squeal sounds.

You might try switching the pickup to "bridge/neck" or "neck" in the "Effects", then "Guitar Tone" section. The guitar is set to the bridge pickup by default, which is naturally very bright.

In regards to the squeals, there are actually several squeal articulations available, based on the velocity of the note--everything from a purposefully messy squeal (great for blues where you need that humanistic element) to a pure artificial harmonic, and also an aggressive harmonic that uses higher harmonic nodes (thing Zakk Wylde type squeals).

I wasn't aware that there were multiple squeal articulations based on velocity. I always set it to 127-127, so it was pretty disturbing. It is much better now.

As for the tone, it still feels bright even with the neck setting. Maybe it is just me and my expectations.

Have to say though, thanks for a fantastic product, Greg. I still need to spend more time with it but I come up with other ways to use it, every time I take another look.