KVR Audio

cprompt · Post by **cprompt** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:00 pm

Peter - IK Multimedia wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:04 pm The new presets from Slash are now available

Cool, thanks

Burillo wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 4:55 pm my interface just died, so i pulled the trigger and ordered AXE I/O with Amplitube 5 MAX bundle. so, please welcome me to the club

Welcome! I bought the AXE I/O with A5SE (as I had loads of stuff from AT4) last December and I've been very, very happy with it and AT5

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:04 pm

i was debating between AXE I/O and Focusrite Clarett, and while Clarett has better SNR (at least on paper) and slightly lower latency (according to RTL tests on Gearslutz), and the Z-Tone stuff isn't all that useful for me because i use a wireless system (so all impedance interaction is gone), what made me pick AXE I/O is getting Amplitube 5 MAX for extra 50 quid

i've recently bought Ownhammer IR library for use with my floor modeler, but since AT5 can now load impulse responses, i may very well go back to using Amplitube as my main amp sim for live jams.

cprompt · Post by **cprompt** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:30 pm

Burillo wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 5:04 pmwhat made me pick AXE I/O is getting Amplitube 5 MAX for extra 50 quid

That's a damn fine bargain there. I got AT5SE for free with my AXE I/O which I was well chuffed with!

Peter - IK Multimedia · Tue Mar 23, 2021 6:36 pm

You would need a transfer credit for each product that has the transfer field next to it. You can find the details about transferring products in this FAQ https://www.ikmultimedia.com/faq/index.php?id=44

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 7:53 pm

Peter - IK Multimedia wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 6:36 pm You would need a transfer credit for each product that has the transfer field next to it. You can find the details about transferring products in this FAQ https://www.ikmultimedia.com/faq/index.php?id=44

that's a real shame.

well, anyway, i've been looking forward to trying out all the new stuff in AT5, time to play some music while i wait for IK to actually ship the interface

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:18 pm

well, as always, installation procedure is abysmal. i did "Restore my gear" in Custom Shop, so as far as Custom Shop is concerned, i own everything. However, Amplitube itself insists that i don't have the new stuff. i even tried authorizing the Amplitube 5 MAX serial using the auth manager, didn't help. reinstalling Custom Shop takes ages, for some reason it's stuck at "Installing, please wait..." for the past ten minutes. i really wish it was one click like with other plugins, but it seems that i will always have problems with IK's software. i guess time to contact support...

bill45 · Post by **bill45** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:34 pm

Burillo wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:18 pm well, as always, installation procedure is abysmal. i did "Restore my gear" in Custom Shop, so as far as Custom Shop is concerned, i own everything. However, Amplitube itself insists that i don't have the new stuff. i even tried authorizing the Amplitube 5 MAX serial using the auth manager, didn't help. reinstalling Custom Shop takes ages, for some reason it's stuck at "Installing, please wait..." for the past ten minutes. i really wish it was one click like with other plugins, but it seems that i will always have problems with IK's software. i guess time to contact support...

Do you have the latest AT5 update?

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:01 pm

bill45 wrote: Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:34 pm
Burillo wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:18 pm well, as always, installation procedure is abysmal. i did "Restore my gear" in Custom Shop, so as far as Custom Shop is concerned, i own everything. However, Amplitube itself insists that i don't have the new stuff. i even tried authorizing the Amplitube 5 MAX serial using the auth manager, didn't help. reinstalling Custom Shop takes ages, for some reason it's stuck at "Installing, please wait..." for the past ten minutes. i really wish it was one click like with other plugins, but it seems that i will always have problems with IK's software. i guess time to contact support...
Do you have the latest AT5 update?

uninstalling and reinstalling everything seemed to have fixed the issue, as per usual.

anyway, my AXE I/O box has just arrived. i have a live set up that's pretty complex, and my old and trusty Presonus 44VSL could only sustain it @ 44.1/256 without any crackles. it died just over a week ago, so i took out Presonus Audiobox 96 (i bought it as a backup, but it's got a shitty instrument in that clips with my guitar on minimum gain), and it could maintain the same live setup @ 44.1/128 with little crackles (some amount of crackles is acceptable to me). AXE I/O can maintain the same setup @ 44.1/64. so basically i'm getting about 1/4th of the latency i used to get, and the inputs on AXE I/O are much better.

i haven't yet played with Z-Tone, but i've tested everything i needed, and it works perfectly, without any (added) noise etc., so i'm very pleased with it.

toddle guitar · Post by **toddle guitar** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:09 pm

a particular reason you work with 44.1 only?

I switched to 96K a while ago and I rarely care for any latency issues.

not to start holy wars of sample rates. in some cases it may be a required spec for the recording, I suppose.

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:29 pm

toddle guitar wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:09 pm a particular reason you work with 44.1 only?

I switched to 96K a while ago and I rarely care for any latency issues.

not to start holy wars of sample rates. in some cases it may be a required spec for the recording, I suppose.

less CPU load. like i said, i'm using a complex live setup, which means there's only so much i can do before i have to bump up the buffer size. running at 96K means i'm running every plugin at that rate, even those that don't benefit from higher sampling rate.

toddle guitar · Post by **toddle guitar** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 12:38 pm

yes, 96K is decreased latency at the expense of increased CPU load. not ideal, I know. I wonder if Alder Lake on 10nm will allow for a final breakthrough in this area.

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:59 pm

i've dug in a little more in both AXE I/O and with Amplitube 5.

i didn't expect to find Z-Tone useful, however i ended up liking the "fully clockwise" position because it eats some of the nasty highs and exaggerates the mids in a way that makes my LP copy sound better. i love it. the self-noise is quite low - not non-existent, but low enough to not matter, because my guitar is much noisier than the interface. the good news is, i got a great Line 6 wireless system that doesn't add to the noise, so i can find a noise-free position in my apartment and record just fine. overall, i love this interface, and it's been a worthwhile upgrade over my old interface.

i've also dug more into Amplitube 5. old amps do indeed sound much better than they did before. for example, i loaded an old Marshall from Amplitube Metal ("Vintage Tube Lead"), and, much to my surprise, found that it reacts to changing power amp gain as i would've expected (not just louder, but changing frequency response). coupled with an EQ pedal in FX loop and an external impulse, that thing rocks so much i spent like half an hour just riffing. overall, i've actually found much more useful sounds in old models than i expected. now, there are of course things i don't quite get (like the Satch VM, which is supposed to be some kind of Marshall, but really doesn't produce anything i would expect from a Marshall), but overall the number of things that sound good in Amplitube 5 is much bigger than in Amplitube 4.

now, if only IK added more features geared towards live use as a plugin...

toddle guitar · Post by **toddle guitar** » Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:10 pm

it's peculiar, as Satch busted IK's balls with his signature JVM amp, having them to redo it again and again until he finally liked what he heard, which resulted in a delayed release.

Burillo · Post by **Burillo** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:05 am

Well, I'm generally not very good with multi channel, multi function amps with a lot of knobs, buttons and switches, so that's no surprise. I much rather prefer an amp that does one thing exceptionally well so that I know which amp to turn to should I need that specific "thing".

jamcat · Post by **jamcat** » Tue Mar 30, 2021 2:47 am

Burillo wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:59 pm i've also dug more into Amplitube 5. old amps do indeed sound much better than they did before. for example, i loaded an old Marshall from Amplitube Metal ("Vintage Tube Lead"), and, much to my surprise, found that it reacts to changing power amp gain as i would've expected (not just louder, but changing frequency response).

The Vintage Metal Lead does sound a lot better in AT5. The problem with it that you will find, though, is it sounds cheap and harsh compared to the Red Pig or JH Gold. The preamp modeling in the Vintage Lead is still the same, and it's way too old.

A *new* JMP model would be incredible and is quite necessary, IMO. But until then, I'd suggest using the Red Pig as a stand-in. It's a model of the Marshall Major, which is a 200-watt contemporary of the JMP 1959. The Red Pig will get a similar tone, but it is way more dynamic and detailed, and all around more pleasant.

Amplitube5 - Release Date 15-16/12/2020