KVR Audio

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:46 am

grymmjack wrote:the haters are coming

please dont count me in among them. I have come here honestly seeking a decent tone from this thing

TotcProductions · Post by **TotcProductions** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 4:55 am

Ok, audio comparison time:

First off, before you listen: In each mp3, I've recorded two parts, and panned each opposite eachother, for the typical wall of sound effect...although, I must say that it's late, and I've been drinking (coke and captain morgan...not sure if I'm stepping up a level or down.

), so the playing isn't as tight as it should be...but it gets the point across. I'm comparing the FreeAmp2 beta with WarpVST here by ol' steiny. No external fx, no reverb and no delay....just the clean (well, dirty) signals. after listening to them myself, I must admit that I should have cranked the high EQ parameter on freeamp the same way I did on warpVST when I recorded these, but, like I said, I'm a bit buzzed, and I couldn't get through more than one take, so you'll have to live with these for now...maybe I'll do some more tomorrow.

Listen here:

FreeAmp2

WarpVST

So, after listening to the two mp3's over and over again...I have come to the following:

Verdict 1: While I can't decide whether I like one more than the other, I can definitely say that both of them are more than what I'd consider useful...therefore, deeming FreeAmp2 fully capable of providing a USEFUL TONE.

Verdict 2: Verdict 1 being what it is, 6 6 6 should go back to hell and stay there, far away from kvr.

Verdict 3: When playing a fight riff, I should remember to use a pick, coz now my fingernail's all f**ked up.

Peace

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:00 am

interesting totc, but not exactly the tight sound i would be going for... seems rather... sludgy.

WoJ · Post by **WoJ** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:02 am

Well, how about a twist on the old demo tune scenario. You give us a clip of what sound you want to be able to get, and we'll all have a go at re-creating it.

WoJ

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:05 am

think, "the darkness" hate the tunes, love the guitar sounds.

will post a clip soon.

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:09 am

nah, 666 jbm, not you. when i asked if you played i asked in interest as i had not seen you post about guitar. if you had i missed them.

it's definitely not for everyone, and i'd be a liar if i said i'd never be using anything from simulanalog suite or my amplitube le -- they have value on their own and i'm very fond of their sound and ease of use, etc, add to this i've got project dependencies on them and i can promise they'll still be used.

however, these plugins lack the character and realism imo that freeamp delivers. i cant finger why, but i'm guessing it's the 'soul' of it that responds to my playing, it seems to be alive.

the other plugs mentioned, while awesome too, just aren't alive like this. they are transparent machines to my ears/preferences.

freeamp has it's own issues, one of them is it lacks flexibilities afforded by guitar rigs modular setup. there is only so much joe can do about that. he's one SE guru, not a paid team of pro c++ coders and dsp engineers.

another is cpu required. it's great, compared to the old version, it's much better, but compare it to at1 and it's still about 5-6% more. i'm not one to bitch about 5% difference, especially in a free product. this number however goes up with each additional pedal turned on of course, the same is not true in at1. i can do whatever i want and stay within 10% threshold.

of course i'm biased, but i prefer freeamps ui over at1 just for usability reasons alone. it's all there on 1 page, easy to read, easy to grasp, etc. at1 i sometimes have to squint to see, but i do love it's hardware emulatory realism. the only thing i dislike about at1 is the size of the text on the labels.

the effects i'd like to see improved in freeamp; chorus and reverb, but i'm not going to be picky because he's busting his ass doing this for free. the chorus isn't my favorite and i don't know why, it seems flat. the reverb is no match for external ones like karmafx reverb (love that one), but thinking in logical context these pedals are good enough, as they are all complimentary to the amp and other effects and the cpu requirements for each on it's own is not much at all, so in context of a 'rig' for guitar, it's pretty good stuff.

keep in mind this is a beta, and he has plans to allow for other things like pre/post positions for pedals, and such.

one thing freeamp has on all the others though is the guitsyn. the others have some kind of synth of course, but nothing tracks like frettedsynth plugs, sorry.

so, can you elaborate jason? what tone are you going for? what do the others offer you that freeamp isn't giving in terms of sound?

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:13 am

well, like i said, it seems like a real "muddy" tone, and yes, it DOES seem responsive but it also seems very "dark" and undefined. I just would like to hear what people have done with it. I like brighter but responsive tones.

I do like the synth feature alot too btw.

I dont want to act unappreciative. Just wondering what all the praise is for when, to me, it sounds sort of crappy

basically, im thinking im doing something wrong.

TotcProductions · Post by **TotcProductions** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:14 am

That's a good idea JBM....do us a favor and supply us with the following:

1: a dry line-in recording of you playing a guitar passage, so we can have the guitar you are using passing through the amp.

2. A clip of the tone you're going for, from another song.

That way we can try to make a preset taylored to your guitar

EEeeww, I hate the darkness. I'm now officially sick, going to sleep.

Peace

guitarzan · Post by **guitarzan** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:15 am

Jason Brian Merrill wrote:it just all seems very muddy to me.

Have you tried any adjustments yet? Moving the mic to the right can open up the tone a lot, plus the Chub control and all.

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:17 am

TotcProductions wrote:That's a good idea JBM....do us a favor and supply us with the following:

1: a dry line-in recording of you playing a guitar passage, so we can have the guitar you are using passing through the amp.

2. A clip of the tone you're going for, from another song.

That way we can try to make a preset taylored to your guitar

EEeeww, I hate the darkness. I'm now officially sick, going to sleep.

Peace

well, you cant step to those rythym sounds

hate em as you will...

grymmjack · Post by **grymmjack** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:17 am

Jason Brian Merrill wrote:well, like i said, it seems like a real "muddy" tone, and yes, it DOES seem responsive but it also seems very "dark" and undefined. I just would like to hear what people have done with it. I like brighter but responsive tones.

I do like the synth feature alot too btw.

I dont want to act unappreciative. Just wondering what all the praise is for when, to me, it sounds sort of crappy

basically, im thinking im doing something wrong.

ok, did you listen to the 1st demos i posted? would that be muddy? if it is, download the preset zip, and tweak the eq and contour. is it still muddy?

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:17 am

guitarzan wrote:
Jason Brian Merrill wrote:it just all seems very muddy to me.
Have you tried any adjustments yet? Moving the mic to the right can open up the tone a lot, plus the Chub control and all.

Ive moved it around quite a bit , still sounds a bit cheap to me.. but i will try more tomorrow with a fresh pair of ears and hands.

TotcProductions · Post by **TotcProductions** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:19 am

Jason Brian Merrill wrote:
well, you cant step to those rythym sounds

WTF does that mean? I know for a fact I could step all over them...and piss on'em too while I'm at it. That's it, the war is on....more audio coming tomorrow, when I'm not drunk.

Goodnight folks.

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:20 am

grymmjack wrote:
Jason Brian Merrill wrote:well, like i said, it seems like a real "muddy" tone, and yes, it DOES seem responsive but it also seems very "dark" and undefined. I just would like to hear what people have done with it. I like brighter but responsive tones.

I do like the synth feature alot too btw.

I dont want to act unappreciative. Just wondering what all the praise is for when, to me, it sounds sort of crappy

basically, im thinking im doing something wrong.
ok, did you listen to the 1st demos i posted? would that be muddy? if it is, download the preset zip, and tweak the eq and contour. is it still muddy?

yes, still really muddy and cheap, no offense. Sounds like my old zoom 505, imo. I will try again tomorrow like i saaid, maybe my ears are decieving me.

Jason Brian Merrill · Post by **Jason Brian Merrill** » Wed Jul 12, 2006 5:21 am

TotcProductions wrote:
Jason Brian Merrill wrote:
well, you cant step to those rythym sounds
WTF does that mean? I know for a fact I could step all over them...and piss on'em too while I'm at it. That's it, the war is on....more audio coming tomorrow, when I'm not drunk.

Goodnight folks.

hey man, no need to get defensive... im just saying i really like the rythym sounds of "the darkness" alot.. just a big, lively tone. I would love to see you get a similar tone and show me how, especially with a free plug!!!

FreeAmp2 beta testing started