Best amp-modeling plugin?

[Arglebargle]

i'm purposely trying to stick with Guitar Rig 3 (maybe will consider v4). I think what someone said on the first or second page is spot on, the software we don't have is the one that sounds best.

yeah I don't know how I missed that, but I think it's true

I think we need to stop confusing the desire for more and better tools with the tendency to distract ourselves from making music with gear collection. The two are very different but related things for me, but I don't understand why the phrase "the software you don't have is the one that sounds best" keeps coming up. I have a clear personal favorite and each time I demo another it vindicates my decision. One day my idea might change, but that's got probably more to do with progress than anything else.

I can only speak for myself, but when I first get software I'm really stoked and love the sound and amazed by it. After I use it for a long time though I get accustomed to the sound and take it for granted. then I hear a synth I don't have and it's like, "whoa, that sounds different, it must be better". this is why I have too many VA synths, frankly. in my defense I've gotten almost all of them in sales, which I am powerless to refuse.

[Hink]

I was just messing around with POD Farm and my baritone, I don't have a lot of bass sims but "classic rock" (svt) was very good with it. I'm still toying with the idea of putting a p-bass pick-up between the humbuckers on my baritone and adding a second jack for it (and a pot). I didn't like GTR with the bari, GR4 is okay because I can do a lot to the signal but the svt clone is exactly the clean tone I want.

[APHELEON s.a.]

kinda off topic...

anyone know what amp the GR4 hot plexi is based on?

just curious...sounds fantastic when smaled with a tube pre!

[Hink]

a marshall plexi?

[APHELEON s.a.]

...

[hibidy]

I dunno which one exactly it's based on, but like many things in GR4, it's very nice.

[Hink]

a red Marshall Plexi...

[Hink]

GTR update, I got a nice tone for the baritone using thunder/8x10 cab using both the chorus stomp and delay (very little delay and both post). Of course when not jamming and re-amping instead I may or may not use the stomps and replace those fx in my chain not to mention not using the cab but impulses instead.

This is just how I feel of course but I find doesn't push the envelope like others, what I mean by this is often with sims you can have to modeled tone but you can also go beyond the limitations of the physical amp, stomp etc. Like with GR4 you have the +panel, POD has some features not on the amp off to the side in orange and of course revalver lets you go in the amp itself.

But with GTR you get what you got so to speak, granted I have a lot more to explore but this one thing alone for me makes it worth the money and sets it apart from other sims (not meaning good or bad). I also have not yet really gone hi-gain with it as for the last two weeks give or take I've been all about my baritone.

edit: as I do not like the whole "name" modeling I do like the sims that let you go beyond as well.

[Dean Aka Nekro]

I stepped away to Boston, so I'm sorry to respond to old posts.

@hibidy - Glad you mentioned Bad Cat, I saw American Hi-Fi in Boston and they were using Bad Cats and sounded great so first thing I thought was "I have to put Bad Cat in the suggestion box!"

@Dean - nice clip! Mind if I re-host and post at some point? I like seeing/hearing things using our stuff in a unique way.

Not at all Peter, feel free man!

All the best to you

Dean aka Nekro

[Dean Aka Nekro]

GTR update, I got a nice tone for the baritone using thunder/8x10 cab using both the chorus stomp and delay (very little delay and both post). Of course when not jamming and re-amping instead I may or may not use the stomps and replace those fx in my chain not to mention not using the cab but impulses instead.

This is just how I feel of course but I find doesn't push the envelope like others, what I mean by this is often with sims you can have to modeled tone but you can also go beyond the limitations of the physical amp, stomp etc. Like with GR4 you have the +panel, POD has some features not on the amp off to the side in orange and of course revalver lets you go in the amp itself.

But with GTR you get what you got so to speak, granted I have a lot more to explore but this one thing alone for me makes it worth the money and sets it apart from other sims (not meaning good or bad). I also have not yet really gone hi-gain with it as for the last two weeks give or take I've been all about my baritone.

edit: as I do not like the whole "name" modeling I do like the sims that let you go beyond as well.

So Hink if you do not mind me asking man, have you and/or do you find bass inteded amps (real or virtual) useful for guitar use?

I never come across many people that do you see: so it nothing more than pure curiosity really. I imagine a baritone scale length would lend itself well to the more solid lows on a bass cab? I used to have a baritone and found that through my now no longer with me beloved H&H Bass Amp 100 and a dirt pedal + 1x15" it did the baritone justice oppose to the (Marshall) DSL50 and 4x12.

All the best and take care

Nekro/Dean

[susiwong]

So Hink if you do not mind me asking man, have you and/or do you find bass inteded amps (real or virtual) useful for guitar use?

I never come across many people that do you see: so it nothing more than pure curiosity really. I imagine a baritone scale length would lend itself well to the more solid lows on a bass cab? I used to have a baritone and found that through my now no longer with me beloved H&H Bass Amp 100 and a dirt pedal + 1x15" it did the baritone justice oppose to the (Marshall) DSL50 and 4x12.

All the best and take care

Nekro/Dean

Don't know about distorted baritones, and I'm not Hink , but for the twangy sound popular in country, blues or roots rock a Fender style guitar amp with an open 212 or 410 cab is the ticket, my Gretsch tuned E to E is no exception.
Tremolo and a touch of spring reverb or tape delay are welcome.
A modern bass amp makes the baritone sound kinda generic, like a mediocre real bass in a way, tried it twice, forgot about it.
But thinking about your low tuned SVX clip, things might be different in metal land, especially since you probably wouldn't go below A to A ?
Ymmv,
susiwong

[Hink]

most definitely staying away from distortion is the way to go for me, since writing the above I found the bass pro in GR4 and the multi speaker/mic emulation and the treble booster (set very low) to be the best so far. Cabs I use 2 4x10s and two 1x15 (as if each 8x10 is on a 1x15), it's very clean and very well defined. I hope soon to finish up a project with it and I wont be using a bass guitar at all. I have it tuned to Cm right now (C>C), a little boomy, a little bright and with a pinch of chorus (after recording) it's However the baritone does have an EMG PA2 pre-amp at about 10% so it helps the signal stay consistent.

[KayZeeDanvers]

i'm purposely trying to stick with Guitar Rig 3 (maybe will consider v4). I think what someone said on the first or second page is spot on, the software we don't have is the one that sounds best.

yeah I don't know how I missed that, but I think it's true

I think we need to stop confusing the desire for more and better tools with the tendency to distract ourselves from making music with gear collection. The two are very different but related things for me, but I don't understand why the phrase "the software you don't have is the one that sounds best" keeps coming up. I have a clear personal favorite and each time I demo another it vindicates my decision. One day my idea might change, but that's got probably more to do with progress than anything else.

I can only speak for myself, but when I first get software I'm really stoked and love the sound and amazed by it. After I use it for a long time though I get accustomed to the sound and take it for granted. then I hear a synth I don't have and it's like, "whoa, that sounds different, it must be better". this is why I have too many VA synths, frankly. in my defense I've gotten almost all of them in sales, which I am powerless to refuse.

... i think that sometimes... no most of the time... too many options is actually crippling to creativity, because you end up playing with the stuff instead of making music... its like when kids learn to use a word processor they will screw around changing the fonts and the colors and never end up writing their term papers!

since, for me, making music is the real goal... i don't want to be distracted with all the bells and whistles. I want a basic setup that lets me quickly get to recording my stuff.

Amplitube (version 1, not 2)is my personal favorite... all the basics you need with the power to be flexible and "tweak" your sounds if you want to.

Guitar Rig has all kinds of presets which are cool... but again you can waste a lot of time playing with them... on the other hand a new preset can spark creativity and an entirely new song can be born from it.

Simulanalog suite is also great and I do use it a lot. Don't forget about the very good FreeAmp3... if you like Amplitube but don't want to fork over the dough... try FreeAmp3. Amplitube tends to be the easiest on my processor though!

[Hink]

i'm purposely trying to stick with Guitar Rig 3 (maybe will consider v4). I think what someone said on the first or second page is spot on, the software we don't have is the one that sounds best.

yeah I don't know how I missed that, but I think it's true

I think we need to stop confusing the desire for more and better tools with the tendency to distract ourselves from making music with gear collection. The two are very different but related things for me, but I don't understand why the phrase "the software you don't have is the one that sounds best" keeps coming up. I have a clear personal favorite and each time I demo another it vindicates my decision. One day my idea might change, but that's got probably more to do with progress than anything else.

I can only speak for myself, but when I first get software I'm really stoked and love the sound and amazed by it. After I use it for a long time though I get accustomed to the sound and take it for granted. then I hear a synth I don't have and it's like, "whoa, that sounds different, it must be better". this is why I have too many VA synths, frankly. in my defense I've gotten almost all of them in sales, which I am powerless to refuse.

... i think that sometimes... no most of the time... too many options is actually crippling to creativity, because you end up playing with the stuff instead of making music... its like when kids learn to use a word processor they will screw around changing the fonts and the colors and never end up writing their term papers!

since, for me, making music is the real goal... i don't want to be distracted with all the bells and whistles. I want a basic setup that lets me quickly get to recording my stuff.

Amplitube (version 1, not 2)is my personal favorite... all the basics you need with the power to be flexible and "tweak" your sounds if you want to.

Guitar Rig has all kinds of presets which are cool... but again you can waste a lot of time playing with them... on the other hand a new preset can spark creativity and an entirely new song can be born from it.

Simulanalog suite is also great and I do use it a lot. Don't forget about the very good FreeAmp3... if you like Amplitube but don't want to fork over the dough... try FreeAmp3. Amplitube tends to be the easiest on my processor though!

I totally hear what you are saying but get a little stuck on comparing this to kids and term papers. Of course that does hold true with many people but there are a lot of us who are not using presets (unless I save my own), who are not "young" (not in age but time playing) and fiddling about with more options is extremely creative and inspirational. However at the same time all that time fiddling is not wasted, for younger players it's imho a vital part of learning. For older players oddly enough imho it's a vital part of continuing to learn. It's funny how you might stumble on something by mistake that can be huge or just plain fun.

Not debating your feelings as tone is very subjective, I could not even bear amplitube 1, it was too buzzy, too grainy as mentioned in another thread and it had a lack of "singing sustain", it just seemed to break apart and the attack was often abrasive (ymmv). As for free amp, I really like fretted synth, I really wanted to like this but something was always lacking for me. Something was missing, it's not dynamic enough for me and after spending time dialing in a good tone I would a/b it to my xt live tracks and it would just not cut it (I always record a dry re-amp track as well as my xt tracks). I know a lot of other people love it but I just couldn't get what I wanted and what I got I often felt the need to fix. Just my opinion of course

[hibidy]

... i think that sometimes... no most of the time... too many options is actually crippling to creativity, because you end up playing with the stuff instead of making music.

Yep, that's me, always trying to perfect me tones.........but I don't care, I want to tweak tones!!!!

ymmrv