I think I finally hate amp sims!

[blueman]

I own nearly all of the guitar amp simulation packages out there by now. I've played most of the free ones too. At one point, I was quite obsessed with this technology and eager to try and buy whatever came out. Now...I can't stand the fact that I sit down at my computer and have 10,000,000 combinations to choose from that will ALL require a good 30 minutes to an hour of tweaking before I am ready to record. What was experimental and fun at first, has become a bit of a nightmare.

With real world amps (remember those?) I can NEVER remember doing this much tweaking just to dial in a pleasing tone. I'm not arguing that sims have come a long way, sound great and are hard to distinguish from the real thing in a mix. They just happen to SUCK to play! Anyone else feel the same? Please discuss...

Rich

[Teksonik]

Guitar is the only area where I'm still a hardware fanatic.......Still use my Johnson J Station and never tweak it. I do however use vst effects such as delay,chorus and reverb but for the main body of the sound I've never found a software Amp Sim that sounds good to me........I'm sure I'll be flamed to death for that statement but so be it...........

[Funkybot's Evil Twin]

I love Amplitube 3. The better amps sound great at most settings, don't require much time to tweak at all, and let me start recording quickly. I've got a Fender Twin Amp that I never use anymore just because of the quality of AT3.

There was a time when I was less than happy with using amp sims and did so purely out of convenience, but I've been more than happy with IKMM's recent offerings. That said...I still think the overwhelming majority of amp sims are terrible.

[MRT]

I've never owned more than two real amps at anyone time and the ten or so pedals that have been deemed keepers over the years. Maybe you need to just pick one or two amp sims put together four or five presets for each that reflect what you would use for a live gig and give yourself a break from the rest for a while.
You can never have to many options but you rarely have time to explore them all.

[Kevin63101]

The VST tools are fine, but should be used to create the project.

You might be more satisfied if you made a subfolder of your 10 favorite user emulation patches -- then ignore tweaking the software. That would save you from wasting creative time, yet offer the benefits of the VST software you have.

I wouldn't eliminate the guitar VST tools, but choose the few patches fit you and then focus on the music.

[Hink]

I own nearly all of the guitar amp simulation packages out there by now. I've played most of the free ones too. At one point, I was quite obsessed with this technology and eager to try and buy whatever came out. Now...I can't stand the fact that I sit down at my computer and have 10,000,000 combinations to choose from that will ALL require a good 30 minutes to an hour of tweaking before I am ready to record. What was experimental and fun at first, has become a bit of a nightmare.

With real world amps (remember those?) I can NEVER remember doing this much tweaking just to dial in a pleasing tone. I'm not arguing that sims have come a long way, sound great and are hard to distinguish from the real thing in a mix. They just happen to SUCK to play! Anyone else feel the same? Please discuss...

Rich

so you haven't tried Vandal yet I see...preach on my brother as I know how you feel and worse I got a lot of sims in a relatively short time (AT3, GR4 and GTR3) so that's all I did. Those are now delegated to re-amping, Vandal...not an amp sim...an amp emulator...two models, bass and guitars...limited cab and speaker selection...you open it and you have an amp (be sure to look at the sub menu under the wrench switch), there are presets and you can save them but better still you just hve an amp with amp controls and thanks to a sag control (sub menu) it does not play like a sim would, he reacts to your playing in the most natural way I have found.

[Teksonik]

..not an amp sim...an amp emulator...

What would be the technical difference between a Simulator and an Emulator?

it does not play like a sim would, he reacts to your playing in the most natural way I have found.

And that's the problem I've always found with software. It doesn't sound like part of the signal rather something that is tacked on top. There doesn't seem to be much response to playing, no interaction................again I'm sure the lynch mob will take exception to that statement...........

[Bhan]

I have to agree about Vandal. It's the user interface that makes it great. It does not a whole lot more than what the other top dogs can do if you want to spend weeks farting around with them, I'd rather dial for 5 minutes and play.

[Teksonik]

I have to agree about Vandal. It's the user interface that makes it great. It does not a whole lot more than what the other top dogs can do if you want to spend weeks farting around with them, I'd rather dial for 5 minutes and play.

The user interface means nothing if you don't like the sound ......no? (I've never tried Vandal but to be honest I'm happy with my guitar sound now)

[Dean Aka Nekro]

I do not hate them but i always use my real pre-amps, amp heads and mic'd speaker cabinets to be honest. Sometimes the odd combo makes an appearence also. If i am using software then it will be just a few IRs loaded into LeCab or Boogex. It just works and i am not in any hurry to try and fix something which ain't broken

Of course YMMV and i have not tried every option going (including Vandal which is one i would like to give a whirl as Hink and a few others here speak highly of it)

Dean/Nekro

[musicbird]

I make my own chains of guitar amps with impulse responses, stomps etc. and never got that problem. I don't use Amplitube or Guitar Rig because the tone still isn't there compared to some free amp sim heads.

[Hink]

..not an amp sim...an amp emulator...

What would be the technical difference between a Simulator and an Emulator?

it does not play like a sim would, he reacts to your playing in the most natural way I have found.

And that's the problem I've always found with software. It doesn't sound like part of the signal rather something that is tacked on top. There doesn't seem to be much response to playing, no interaction................again I'm sure the lynch mob will take exception to that statement...........

the technical difference is it's not modeled

go to about 11:04 of this video


and finish it here



you can have the developer tell you why himself. (it's not long at all, he goes into other pluggins)

However I doubt there will be any lynch mob, I've said the same thing quite a bit and there are few naysayers. I'm not just saying it's not a sim...the devloper does and I'm mirroring what he says. If you haven't tried it you should wait until you have.

I'm not exactly without physical amp experience as you know and am not tube ampless at the moment bought my first tube amp 6 or 7 presidents ago (customized a tube ham radio amp with my dad before that for guitar)...Vandal is in a class by itself. Like most amps it may not be for everybody, but the feel is real

[Cordelia]

I gave up on digital sims when Guitar Rig 4 was released. I didn't upgrade, I bought some pedals and hooked up my amp and am really enjoying playing. Flying Haggis and Guitar Rig still get used as mix FX sometimes.
I've got a PodXT that never gets used that I really need to sell.

[Teksonik]

..not an amp sim...an amp emulator...

What would be the technical difference between a Simulator and an Emulator?

it does not play like a sim would, he reacts to your playing in the most natural way I have found.

And that's the problem I've always found with software. It doesn't sound like part of the signal rather something that is tacked on top. There doesn't seem to be much response to playing, no interaction................again I'm sure the lynch mob will take exception to that statement...........

the technical difference is it's not modeled

go to about 11:04 of this video


and finish it here



you can have the developer tell you why himself. (it's not long at all, he goes into other pluggins)

However I doubt there will be any lynch mob, I've said the same thing quite a bit and there are few naysayers. I'm not just saying it's not a sim...the devloper does and I'm mirroring what he says. If you haven't tried it you should wait until you have.

I'm not exactly without physical amp experience as you know and am not tube ampless at the moment bought my first tube amp 6 or 7 presidents ago (customized a tube ham radio amp with my dad before that for guitar)...Vandal is in a class by itself. Like most amps it may not be for everybody, but the feel is real

Why so defensive? I'm sure you've been around long enough to have worked with Marconi................


Ok I see what he's saying and they do mention "reaction" so perhaps Vandal is different.

if you haven't tried it you should wait until you have.

Wait for for what? I'm happy with my guitar sound now............

[Hink]

..not an amp sim...an amp emulator...

What would be the technical difference between a Simulator and an Emulator?

it does not play like a sim would, he reacts to your playing in the most natural way I have found.

And that's the problem I've always found with software. It doesn't sound like part of the signal rather something that is tacked on top. There doesn't seem to be much response to playing, no interaction................again I'm sure the lynch mob will take exception to that statement...........

the technical difference is it's not modeled

go to about 11:04 of this video


and finish it here



you can have the developer tell you why himself. (it's not long at all, he goes into other pluggins)

However I doubt there will be any lynch mob, I've said the same thing quite a bit and there are few naysayers. I'm not just saying it's not a sim...the devloper does and I'm mirroring what he says. If you haven't tried it you should wait until you have.

I'm not exactly without physical amp experience as you know and am not tube ampless at the moment bought my first tube amp 6 or 7 presidents ago (customized a tube ham radio amp with my dad before that for guitar)...Vandal is in a class by itself. Like most amps it may not be for everybody, but the feel is real

Why so defensive? I'm sure you've been around long enough to have worked with Marconi................


Ok I see what he's saying and they do mention "reaction" so perhaps Vandal is different.

if you haven't tried it you should wait until you have.

Wait for for what? I'm happy with my guitar sound now............

I'm not being defensive, I'm telling it as it is...the last thing that made me feel this way was my sans amp...if you're happy fine, but please do not dismiss the thought that finally a developer is getting it right. blueman said he was tired of all the models and this is not that kind of amp.

I'm never happy with my sound, I realized a long time ago that it's a vicious circle for me. BTW as an amp user have you discovered Ted Weber Attenuators?

BTW I'm only 51