Are there any plug-ins that can help make Amplitube sound more like a tube amp?

[heffus]

Well, the answer is quite obvious, no? If AmpliTube sounds like a tube amp, running two instances one after the other will sound twice as much as a tube amp. Just keep stacking instances until you have the tube sound you want.

My plugin sounds like a plugin, so I want to add more plugins to make it sound less like a plugin.

-Kim.

Good stuff.

[aggravation]

Put a tube preamp in front of the guitar plug:
http://www.mcrow.net/Preamp%20Emulator%20VST.htm

[zvenx]

Well, the answer is quite obvious, no? If AmpliTube sounds like a tube amp, running two instances one after the other will sound twice as much as a tube amp. Just keep stacking instances until you have the tube sound you want.

DWL....lol


my favourite saturation plugin by far is soundtoys decapatitor.

rsp

[PaulG]

I've heard this is good for tube distortion effects (I've not tried it, It's fairly cheap though):

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/3557.html

I have this - it's an amazing plug.

I don't use it on everything, but for what it does, it's damn good.

[susiwong]

Just got home from rehearsal.
Since not all the guys could make it I didn't bring my own rig, used the singer's JMP 2203 instead which doesn't really break up at those modest levels.
So I went guitar > Zendrive > cleanish Marshall, what a great tone !
All the overdrive came from the pedal, the 2203 only amplified it.
What a waste of a wonderful amp, but hey, it did the job gracefully, Keef would've approved, I'm sure.
Nothing's gonna stop you from trying that approach with ampsims, but make sure to choose a pedal that's built to turn a clean amp into a crunchy Marshall or whatever, not one of the great "boost your amp till it waves the white flag" variety.
Other good examples include the old Marshall Guv'nor or Drivemaster pedals, the Wampler Plextortion type stuff, Box Of Rock, Sansamp and many others.
Not ideal are Tubescreamers, boosters of all types, Boss Blues Driver, Marshall Bluesbreaker and so on.
Ymmv,
susiwong

[dhalfen]

my favourite saturation plugin by far is soundtoys decapatitor.

YES. It's one of my favourites, too!

I also have to give a nod to D16's Redoptor & Devastor - at the higher-quality settings (which, of course, gobble up more CPU), they sound amazing!

But Decapitator has 5 overall settings that offer significantly-different flavours of saturation, and it likes to be pushed (er, punished ). BUT if you go easy on the drive and stay away from punishment, then it adds just the right amount of punch & warmth. (Note: I rarely go easy on the drive; I'm a saturation-to-the-border-of-distortion addict. )

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Just got home from rehearsal.
Since not all the guys could make it I didn't bring my own rig, used the singer's JMP 2203 instead which doesn't really break up at those modest levels.
So I went guitar > Zendrive > cleanish Marshall, what a great tone !
All the overdrive came from the pedal, the 2203 only amplified it.
What a waste of a wonderful amp, but hey, it did the job gracefully, Keef would've approved, I'm sure.
Nothing's gonna stop you from trying that approach with ampsims, but make sure to choose a pedal that's built to turn a clean amp into a crunchy Marshall or whatever, not one of the great "boost your amp till it waves the white flag" variety.
Other good examples include the old Marshall Guv'nor or Drivemaster pedals, the Wampler Plextortion type stuff, Box Of Rock, Sansamp and many others.
Not ideal are Tubescreamers, boosters of all types, Boss Blues Driver, Marshall Bluesbreaker and so on.
Ymmv,
susiwong

I was just to post the same but there you go/an enourmous PLUS ONE
and if you don't mind installing pluggo runtime Tri-Tone Digital's ColorTone Pro or Free with some decent impulses of mic pre's, channel strips and static EQ capture plus even just flat except a transformer in circuit can help post-amp/cab plug-in(s)

Try everything and anything that sounds logical or remotely 'that might just work' advice/tips. Like recording using tape and hardisk together can be a blessing for exploiting the best of both and thats not too disimilar to what results you can get applying the same to guitar amplification, bass amplification i have found after alot of trial and error and dissatisfaction FWIW to anyone. Susiwong will attest to this and has been doing this longer than i have yet our method behind what i have been told is 'madness' is essentially the same

Nekro

[susiwong]

Try everything and anything that sounds logical or remotely 'that might just work' advice/tips. Like recording using tape and hardisk together can be a blessing for exploiting the best of both and thats not too disimilar to what results you can get applying the same to guitar amplification, bass amplification i have found after alot of trial and error and dissatisfaction FWIW to anyone. Susiwong will attest to this and has been doing this longer than i have yet our method behind what i have been told is 'madness' is essentially the same

Nekro

A little bit of madness can go a long way towards a nice, rubber padded home !

Lol,
susiwong

[Dean Aka Nekro]

LOL - Its not far from the truth a few years ago/still on the verge

Im fine, im sailing, i promise i've taken my medication

NURSE RATCHET I WANT MY CIGARETTES

[zerocrossing]

Well, the answer is quite obvious, no? If AmpliTube sounds like a tube amp, running two instances one after the other will sound twice as much as a tube amp. Just keep stacking instances until you have the tube sound you want.

I just tried that. I had several instances running and my room suddenly got really hot from all the tube warmth being generated by Amplitube. Can someone recommend a plugin to cool things down?

Hm, maybe I can make a Fedders emulation... let me download a license of Synthedit...

[guitarzan]

...So I went guitar > Zendrive > cleanish Marshall, what a great tone !...Nothing's gonna stop you from trying that approach with ampsims...

No doubt that works great, susiwong, in fact, that's how I ended up with two of those orignal TubeMan pedals about ten years ago (I read in a post you have one of those too), only then it was 'What can I do to make my POD Pro sound more like a tube amp?' In the end, the TubeMen stayed and the POD Pro is long gone...Really, a preamp or good pedal into a well tweaked group of dynamics plug ins and speaker cab IR loaders, maybe some ambience plugs, is what ended up sounding more like a tube amp to me! But I do like amp sims for their convenience...they still need work, though!

[zerocrossing]

I've heard this is good for tube distortion effects (I've not tried it, It's fairly cheap though):

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/3557.html

Actually, I like and use Redoptor a lot. Is good. Just another tool for another tone though. Most of the time I'm so tickled with the sound I get from AT3 that nothing else is even considered.

Just in case, I picked up a Blackstar HT-5 Dual Distortion. I like it a lot. Sounds great in front of Amplitube. I tried it's "emulated out" and it blows chunks, but as a tube distortion box it's nice.

Is it tubeier? Is it better? It reminds me a lot of the Ambas'dor emulation that already comes with AT3, but it helps match impedance with my audio interface and it's fun to stomp down on something every now and then for some fuzz.

[eduardo_b]

Well, the answer is quite obvious, no? If AmpliTube sounds like a tube amp, running two instances one after the other will sound twice as much as a tube amp. Just keep stacking instances until you have the tube sound you want.

My plugin sounds like a plugin, so I want to add more plugins to make it sound less like a plugin.

-Kim.

What he said. Stacked, of course.

[susiwong]

...So I went guitar > Zendrive > cleanish Marshall, what a great tone !...Nothing's gonna stop you from trying that approach with ampsims...

No doubt that works great, susiwong, in fact, that's how I ended up with two of those orignal TubeMan pedals about ten years ago (I read in a post you have one of those too), only then it was 'What can I do to make my POD Pro sound more like a tube amp?' In the end, the TubeMen stayed and the POD Pro is long gone...Really, a preamp or good pedal into a well tweaked group of dynamics plug ins and speaker cab IR loaders, maybe some ambience plugs, is what ended up sounding more like a tube amp to me! But I do like amp sims for their convenience...they still need work, though!

Lol, I hear you about the Tubeman.
The one I currently own is my fourth actually, I buy one, after a while I sell it because "it's nothing special anyway", a few months later I miss that Swiss Army Knife and get another one .
This time it'll stay, promised !
It's just too convenient and does a lot of stuff pretty well ...
Including being a great place to plug a variety of boost/OD pedals into.
Ymmv,
susiwong

Btw, good to know original replacement pots are really cheap, easy to cure the common "crackling pots disease".

[guitarzan]

It's just too convenient and does a lot of stuff pretty well ...
Including being a great place to plug a variety of boost/OD pedals into.

Yeah, I think that's what is great about the old TubeMan...a pedal that can act just like a full amp input stage - for slamming fuzz into or a Tube Screamer. And a wah doesn't really work right straight into the computer, either...much better to slam into a fuzz then into the TubeMan on Jazz or Blues setting, so you have as much of the true analog dynamics going as possible before entering the digital domain.

Btw, good to know original replacement pots are really cheap, easy to cure the common "crackling pots disease".

That is good to know! I haven't had much of a problem yet, but I've read that it is a pretty common thing to watch out for.