Have GR5's modifiers been bettered?

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Effects Discussion
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Hi all,

I'm a guitarist who's been out of the game for a couple of years raising a sprog, but who's looking to pick up the old axe again and get recording. I like to use fairly 'far out' sounds and really enjoyed using sequencers/LFOs/envelopes in my old copy of Guitar Rig 5 to automate the FX parameters to create evolving tones. I see that NIs latest offering to guitarists is... still Guitar Rig 5, and I was wondering if I'd missed any new and exciting plugins while I've been away that could do this better. Ideally I'm looking for an all-in-one solution that could also do the amp modelling like GR5 (although ideally a little bit better), but as far as I can see, the plugins I've heard people talking about like the Helix Native or S-sounds setup don't have the modifiers that I was using with GR5. But if it's worth the effort, I'd be happy to do a more bespoke setup and use separate plugins for the sequencing, delay etc and the automation through MIDI. I'm just looking for a steer from the collected brains on KVR on where I should be directing my efforts.

Thanks for your help!

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What style of music do you play? I've always thought that if you want to sound like Andy Summers, GR5 is great for that. It's rubbish for metal but for cleaner sounds, it works really well, and all the effects are great.

However, I tend to find a sound I like in an ampsim and stick with it so I can't help you really, but GR5 still has its place if you fundamentally like the sounds it creates.
A bit fried in the higher freqs

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I tend play some sort of intersection between British alt-rock/indie/prog/post-punk - Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, The National, Joy Division, Nick Cave are all big influences, but also non-Guitar based music such as Four Tet, Caribou, Aphex Twin. I can't say I was ever that blown away by the amp modelling from GR5, but I liked the flexibility it gave me to go beyond the clean/distorted palate to build sounds that didn't necessarily sound like they were generated by a guitar (I've surprised a few sound guys like this when playing live!). I'm interested if anyone's found a way to do similar things, but with a plugin that also does the amp/cab modelling a bit better.

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Bitwig
Amazon: why not use an alternative

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VariKusBrainZ wrote:Bitwig
That's interesting - I'd thought of Bitwig as more of a DAW than a plugin for guitar DSP (but then I never got on the Ableton bandwagon, so I'm sure there are plenty of tricks I'm missing here). I should maybe clarify that I'm not looking for something that only works as a standalone/live tool, but can also be used to create sounds for my guitar tracks in a wider mix.

That said, I'm open-minded on switching DAW (currently Reason) if Bitwig could offer me something interesting for my guitar tracks, so I'll certainly take a look. Thanks for the suggestion!

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I think what he means is Bitwig comes with an extensive set of modulators that could be used to add modulation to the Ampsim plugins you mentioned as otherwise lacking.

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Gotcha. I've been reading up on Bigwig and it does seem to be exactly what I'm after. Whether I can justify a £300 outlay for a new DAW before I even get my hands on an ampsim and all the other plugins I've got my eye on is a battle I'm currently fighting with myself (or more accurately, my wife). But thanks very much for the suggestion!

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Bitwig's amp sim is pretty good. It has an algorithmic cab, you can modulate the dimensions of your speaker (as well as any parameter) up to audio rate.
Try the demo, you can't save a project but you can save everything that makes up the project (presets, clips, scenes)

Disclaimer: I don't make guitar music, just like to distort and modulate stuff, been using GR for ages before switching to bitwig.

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Pretty much any modern amp sim software is better than the amps in GR5.

However, GR5 allows you to just use the effects without any amp. And I like some of their effects, so it is a useful plugin.

So use the effects in GR5 and any other amp sim of your choice for the amp sounds.

I do this sometimes. I'll use the filter effects in GR5 and use S-gear for my amp.
I use a volume pedal through my i-rig pads to control the GR5 effects.

Amplitude 4, also allows you to midi control effect parameters too. I use the above system, to run the wah and pitchshifter pedals. (You can get a free version of Amplitude 4, if you want to test with what you have).
I also will use Amplitude for effects (and bypass the amp) and S-Gear for the amp.

Hope that helps!

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Very helpful, thank you.

I've downloaded the Bitwig trial and I like it a lot - I've already created some really interesting sounds just with the modulators and vanilla plugins. So I think I'll build my setup around that and upgrade my ampsim for better guitar tones when cash allows.

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate your advice.

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Try the Kazrog demo for amp sims and pick up the free serpent while your at it.
MXLinux21, 16 Gig RAM, Intel i7 Quad 3.9, Reaper 6.42, Behringer 204HD or Win7 Steinberg MR816x

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Check out BX Rockrack Player for free ...
https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/news ... -demo.html

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Glad to hear you've gone with Bitwig...it was the first thing I thought of when reading your OP. Bitwig with its stock plugins will give you a massive modulatable sandbox to play in for sound design! (and it's a DAW too! :wink: )

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Out of interest, is there a v2 of Bitwig 8 Track? Can't see it mentioned anywhere, would be neat to have the mod options.

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No, they abandoned 8-Track when they released v2.
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