Your fav Amp Sims as of 2023?

[miloszz]

For the type of stuff I am into making, those old 60s and 70s tones aren't my thing. And defiantly not the over processed 80s tones.

Right, but the amp isn't the processing. There are no profiles with godawful '80s chorus or gated reverb louder than the guitar baked in. The amps from the '60s-'80s - available as captures (along with more contemporary amps) - are the same amps being used in recordings today.

Even if you look at prog metal guys' rigs (when they haven't embraced digital)... variations on Marshall, Mesa, sometimes a Vox for clean/crunch, a random clean amp.

[Agreed]

Fascinating discourse about timelessness-or-not of amps, I am still using capture tech to capture my own amps first and foremost, and then I can A/B the behavior directly against the real thing, and if it is indistinguishable at those settings when correctly gain staged I can go on to print whatever I need through the capture without feeling like I have to go to the trouble with my real amps (and put more wear on the parts that occasionally need replacement!)

For my uses, ToneX continues to deliver really good results, although I am still hoping that we get some more control within the software itself for purposes of calibration. I have an easier time getting captures that require less after the fact level matching using Tonocracy but IKMM's is the software ecosystem I'm more vested in by far.

[SonicGems]

I really wish TONEX could capture the EQ's of amps... I know it would be necessary to make lots of captures at different knob positions, but it would be a dream.

[miloszz]

I really wish TONEX could capture the EQ's of amps... I know it would be necessary to make lots of captures at different knob positions, but it would be a dream.

NAM is working toward that, I think (unless the task is too big and has been shelved) - there's currently one parametric capture of an overdrive pedal on the NAM site.

[harddaysnight]

I dig a heap.

S-Gear 3 is fantastic - versatile, but with a focus on quality over quantity. The FX are excellent in it too.

TH-U Overloud - too versatile for me, way too much stuff.. but I like a lot of what I've tried out.

Guitar Rig 6 - this is cool but I never wind up going to it for some reason.

NeuralDSP Tim Henson Archetype - only NeuralDSP one that clicked with me, didn't purchase it due to the price but I thought all 3 amps on offer sounded great, and with custom IRs it came to life big time.. really enjoyed it, I like the fx too.

Ampire - yeah, the stock Presonus Studio One amp sim, I think it's awesome, by far the best stock DAW amp sim imo, I've tried them all. Wish the IR system was more like S-Gear's but it is what it is.

All of the above are plenty usable.

My own personal preference is to not use built-in FX unless it's something I can't get elsewhere and have no choice - so I never use the amp sim's built-in delays, reverbs or anything.. something the gain/overdrive is something I'll use, but I prefer to use my own FX and for things like reverb and delay, I tend to prefer those on their own FX bus too and not part of the actual guitar tracks signal.. just easier for me to work that way.

[dastewart]

I dig a heap.

S-Gear 3 is fantastic - versatile, but with a focus on quality over quantity. The FX are excellent in it too.
---snip---
Ampire - yeah, the stock Presonus Studio One amp sim, I think it's awesome, by far the best stock DAW amp sim imo, I've tried them all. Wish the IR system was more like S-Gear's but it is what it is.

All of the above are plenty usable.

My own personal preference is to not use built-in FX unless it's something I can't get elsewhere and have no choice - so I never use the amp sim's built-in delays, reverbs or anything.. something the gain/overdrive is something I'll use, but I prefer to use my own FX and for things like reverb and delay, I tend to prefer those on their own FX bus too and not part of the actual guitar tracks signal.. just easier for me to work that way.

100% agree on the two that I have (S-gear and Ampire). Was a happy ampire user until I downloaded the demo for s-gear and that is my daily driver nowadays.

I often wonder about the criticism of s-gear that there aren't enough amp models because there are 5 very different sounding amp "heads", all of which take pedals very well and have quite a lot of customisation. If anything, I find myself with too much choice since all of the amps sound "good" but maybe people are just looking for specific models that they are familiar with in the real world.

[Naillerz78]

Just tried the new TONEX ONE pedal at my local geetar emporium .. check out my sound demo posted in the thread below last page

viewtopic.php?t=612907&start=90

[sjm]

Guitar Rig 6 - this is cool but I never wind up going to it for some reason.

For me, the issue with GR is its total lack of immediacy. I find the UI a pain to navigate, and it takes a lot longer to just get something basic going than with most other options. When inspiration strikes, you just want to make a sound, not futz around navigating multiple categories that are sometimes hard to decipher etc.

It's also pretty slow to load (though I'm on version 5, so maybe that's changed).

So if you are just looking to throw up an amp and maybe an FX pedal or 2, it ends up being quicker to use other options. Where GR excels is in creating what I tend to think of as "The Edge" sounds. The routing and modulation options go really deep, so you can have insanely complex setups that you couldn't have elsewhere. But as an "I Just Wanna Rock" guy, that is so rarely what I am looking for.

Different strokes for different folks - I'm sure some people love that depth, but I'm more of the Jack White mindset vs The Edge. If you've watched It Might Get Loud you probably know what I mean - there's very distinct personalities there, with The Edge not really bonding with Jimmy Page and Jack White. They're also of the "I Just Wanna Rock" mentality, methinks.

[Naillerz78]

Guitar Rig 6 - this is cool but I never wind up going to it for some reason.

For me, the issue with GR is its total lack of immediacy. I find the UI a pain to navigate, and it takes a lot longer to just get something basic going than with most other options. When inspiration strikes, you just want to make a sound, not futz around navigating multiple categories that are sometimes hard to decipher etc.

It's also pretty slow to load (though I'm on version 5, so maybe that's changed).

So if you are just looking to throw up an amp and maybe an FX pedal or 2, it ends up being quicker to use other options. Where GR excels is in creating what I tend to think of as "The Edge" sounds. The routing and modulation options go really deep, so you can have insanely complex setups that you couldn't have elsewhere. But as an "I Just Wanna Rock" guy, that is so rarely what I am looking for.

Different strokes for different folks - I'm sure some people love that depth, but I'm more of the Jack White mindset vs The Edge. If you've watched It Might Get Loud you probably know what I mean - there's very distinct personalities there, with The Edge not really bonding with Jimmy Page and Jack White. They're also of the "I Just Wanna Rock" mentality, methinks.

Go back to GR5 - the original design and much better/ easier to find what ur looking for . The patches are excellent and sounds pretty much the same as GR6. Just in 6 they added a few new models .
For me GR up to v6 was the easiest of al Ampsims to use quickly .it also had patches specifically for HBs vs SCs. Don’t know why that is not the norm w Ampsims. Makes total sense. Different EQ for each.
I didn’t like the redesign at all .I dont use GR6 the new GUI was a step in wrong direction imo.

[pekbro]

I did try S-gear and do think it very good, tho I didn't really like the clean styles as much as the others. Anyway, I like it, tho I don't think I would spend $100 for it, mostly because there isnt too much these days that I would spend $100 bucks on. Maybe ill pick it up during a sale (if they do that), of course, that's likely what happened last time I tried it, waiting for a good deal on it and never returning to it.

tbh though, it doesn't sound as good 'to me' as my HW sims, e.g. UA/Strymon, tho it is way more flexible in it's own right. S-gear is pretty light-weight and uncomplicated which I like, the effects are great, but I prefer my own effects so would prob not use them much. Anyway, I'd like to have it, well see if it if that comes to pass or not.

[dastewart]

I did try S-gear and do think it very good, tho I didn't really like the clean styles as much as the others. Anyway, I like it, tho I don't think I would spend $100 for it, mostly because there isnt too much these days that I would spend $100 bucks on. Maybe ill pick it up during a sale (if they do that), of course, that's likely what happened last time I tried it, waiting for a good deal on it and never returning to it.
---snip---

From memory, I don't think it's ever come down much more than the current sale of $99. Maybe another $10 but no more than that iirc.

[pekbro]

I did try S-gear and do think it very good, tho I didn't really like the clean styles as much as the others. Anyway, I like it, tho I don't think I would spend $100 for it, mostly because there isnt too much these days that I would spend $100 bucks on. Maybe ill pick it up during a sale (if they do that), of course, that's likely what happened last time I tried it, waiting for a good deal on it and never returning to it.
---snip---

From memory, I don't think it's ever come down much more than the current sale of $99. Maybe another $10 but no more than that iirc.

thx, that's prob why I never bought it. well see, who knows I may spring for it, it depends on
how much the urge to own it surfaces during my demo...

[dastewart]

Yup, quite right. As I said, I just couldn't get it out of my head after the demo period expired but I guess not everybody is going to feel that way. It just clicked for me.

[Naillerz78]

I did try S-gear and do think it very good, tho I didn't really like the clean styles as much as the others.

Out of interest which others do you prefer/rate better for clean styles. I thought the S-Gear cleans / slight breakup was top notch

[pekbro]

I did try S-gear and do think it very good, tho I didn't really like the clean styles as much as the others.

Out of interest which others do you prefer/rate better for clean styles. I thought the S-Gear cleans / slight breakup was top notch

That's a good question, I dunno, I like the nembrini stuff and have a few of them, they
are pretty affordable on sale, I also liked the MixWave collections, tho I think they are
expensive and I wont pay that much. heh

The toneking from neural is pretty good too I think, tho I wont pay for that either.
$99 euros, no way. I have one of their sims, the Fortin Nameless, from back when I
'would' pay $99 euros for stuff. I do think their stuff is too cpu heavy and not worth it imo.
They also haven't updated it (nameless) in 6yrs I think...

That's about it, I no longer support IK multimedia or Native Instruments, so I don't use
that stuff anymore. I think 3 was the last version or amplitube or guitar rig for me.