AmpliTube Metal - Released THIS month!!!

[stag]

Man are you smoking the same shit Squid is, or what? a 1000€ is a lot of money around here. I don't think that stomp I\O it's expensive because it sells at this price... it's because from the specs and what comes with it it's not worthy.

You can get MOTU Ultralite ans GR3 for the same price. Now that's a boutique setup to play live. Or the Mac fellows could trade in the Ultralite for the Apogee Duet, just to had that boutique scent more vivid. All this assuming GR3 controller has worse i\o, which remains to be seen. Converters, i don't know too but at first glance i'd put my money on GR3... All i had to do is hook up my 400€ boutique D\I: Ampeg SVT.

The small letters are a bitch, anyway MR BD you should go back and re-read this thread, it seems you are swayng OT, or else

[blank/diod]

The small letters are a bitch, anyway MR BD you should go back and re-read this thread, it seems you are swayng OT, or else

If you go back and re-read this thread you'll find that Bradster and I had an ON topic discussion about the USD vs. the EUR, where I argued that the record-low value of the USD has a negative impact on prices for European products. He then argued that other companies such as NI, Props etc haven't raised their prices and I showed that this isn't the case -- they're all in the same boat as IK.

Man are you smoking the same shit Squid is, or what? a 1000€ is a lot of money around here. I don't think that stomp I\O it's expensive because it sells at this price... it's because from the specs and what comes with it it's not worthy.

It's €849 with AT2 and X-Gear included, and whether it's worth that or not is a hypothetical matter at this point because nobody has effing tried it yet. If Stomp I/O isn't all that, I'm sure the same magazines who were blown away by the AT software products will tell you so in due time. If I gave you a final verdict on Stomp I/O after only seeing a picture of it, *then* you should be asking me what I'm smoking.

You can get MOTU Ultralite ans GR3 for the same price. Now that's a boutique setup to play live. Or the Mac fellows could trade in the Ultralite for the Apogee Duet, just to had that boutique scent more vivid. All this assuming GR3 controller has worse i\o, which remains to be seen.

I have no doubt that IK is perfectly aware of GR3 pricing strategy and if they're aiming a few notches higher they're obviously confident that Stomp I/O is all that. (I have no first-hand experience with the GR3 Kontrol box but I'm assuming it's better than Kore where the knobs allegedly kept falling off.)

[Amberience]

$1000 is around £490. For that sort of money, I'm seeing things such as a Marshall JCM900 100watt (and 50watt for cheaper) combo second hand or a Marshall JCM2000 DSL combo, second hand. Now they are great amps.

But the attractive thing about an Amplitube setup is the portability, and the wide-wide berth of sounds you can squeeze out of that small rig. BUT... how much are you going to have to pay for that?

The price of a modest laptop, the Stomp i/o, and the software is going to be at least double what the price of the amps above would be - maybe even triple! And at the end of the day, you'd still need a PA or monitoring speaker of somekind to plug the amplitube setup into.

At this rate, it is cheaper to get a full valve amp and a handful of pedals!! Either way you'd get killer sounds, so the only arguments left are financial ones.

EDIT EDIT EDIT: Apologies. I put 1000 DOLLARS but I see Mr B/D said 1000 EUR. At any rate, we've been corrected. It is 849 EURO... which is £590 - so add another 100 onto my original figure. Sure, you get AT2 with it, so if AT2 is all you want, then its great. But you'd still need to account for a laptop and a monitoring solution.

Tbh, after all that, I'd just rather get a tube amp and plug in and play. Not faff around with a laptop, especially not in a live setting.

[blank/diod]

EDIT EDIT EDIT: Apologies. I put 1000 DOLLARS but I see Mr B/D said 1000 EUR. At any rate, we've been corrected.

Uh... it's "€869/$1,049".
869 EUR = 590 GBP.
1049 USD = 520 GBP.
You haven't been "corrected", you've converted list prices for different continents with different VAT rates and different currencies.

[Amberience]

Sorry, I'm confused because Stag put 1000EUR in a prior post, and I confused him for you. But my point remains, that once you've spent all the money you would spend on getting a fully functional Amplitube and Stomp I/O rig, you could have bought a really capable tube amp. If you get a combo, then you're still able to take it around to rehearsals and gigs, and it will be loud enough for both.

[stag]

869€ then, i'm sorry.

[blank/diod]

Sorry, I'm confused because Stag put 1000EUR in a prior post, and I confused him for you. But my point remains, that once you've spent all the money you would spend on getting a fully functional Amplitube and Stomp I/O rig, you could have bought a really capable tube amp. If you get a combo, then you're still able to take it around to rehearsals and gigs, and it will be loud enough for both.

Well... sure you can get a tube amp for that, just like you can get an entry-level 61-key synth for the price of NI Reaktor -- but the idea of AT+StompIO isn't to substitute a single combo amp, the idea is to not have to lug around 14 amp heads, 16 speaker cabinets, 21 effect pedals, 11 rack FX and 6 mics, and to be able to record the sound of a woodstock-sized guitar rig without your neighbors even hearing so much as a pin drop. If you want entry-level from IK you can get the StealthPlug for 99 bucks, AmpliTube Live included... Tracktion and T-Racks EQ too IIRC.

[Squids]

First of all, let me declare that I am not smoking anything! But, I really do think that Stomp IO is TOTALLY worth the money without question. Yeah, I can see how the pricing around the world varies a bit and that's frustrating. Believe me, we've had to change esoundz to sell in Euro conversion prices overseas for some products and it's a little bit more. We make up for it with epointz and extras. But, either way, I STILL think it is worth the money!

Here's how I look at it, being a gearhead myself. When you want a piece of hardware that is deluxe you pay more for it. For example, I have a Nord Stage 76. You can GET keyboards for much less but this one is REALLY cool for a variety of reasons and it costs a LOT more than an M-Audio keyboard. But people still buy it because of its proprietary sound and features. So, if you are an AmpliTube or prospective AmpliTube user, to have a solid hardware to software interface with 6 expression pedal inputs, tons of on board switches, parameter knobs that can tweak everything and anything in the software... and the software has a framework to run other "powered by AT" software which happens to include some JUIIIIIIICCCCCCCYYYYY stuff like the official AMPEG bass amps and effects, the official recreation of Jimi Hendrix's HIGHLY desirable vintage rig of stomps and effects plus the answer to people's high gain needs with the upcoming AT Metal... and then who knows what else... it sounds like a deluxe system to me! Okay, so it costs more than you'd like. But look what you get!

If anyone is used to something costing more than you'd like but you WANT it and find a way to get it, this would be guitarists. Okay, keyboardists and drummers too. Hardware can be pricey. But guitar players get Gibsons, Fenders, Rickys, Gretsch, Godin... some NICE guitars are usually in the $2,000 range and go WAY up depending on if you want... Then there's vintage amps and their prices. To get a variety of flavors in hardware to even come close to what you get in software these days would cost tens of thousands. We all know THAT of course. You might still want to spend that amount of cash on a cool tube amp instead. It's anyone's choice. That choice has been available for over 50 years! But then again, you can't DO the same thing with just a tube amp either. The latest technology, such as Stomp IO, X-Gear and AT powered software, allows you to do so many incredible live and studio things! You can do sound design with authentic character modeling and control every parameter as if it had a CV input on the pedal and amp...in the hardware world that'd be a DREAM mod!!!! Then mixing and matching components of ALL of those different amps from the various AT2, Ampeg, JH and Metal? It's like having a virtual amp shop where you felt comfortable taking apart expensive vintage gear (which you'd never do in hw). Then there's re-amping, using it in mixes, using it for performance effects (imagine having one exp be a wah, another a volume, another be rate on the phaser, another be drive on a distortion, another be throwing the delay of a Memory Man model and another STILL for something else?).

So, to me, when something is proprietary in its sound and features (and expandability too), the price tag is what it is. You can't compare apples with apples so it is really just a question of "Do I want it?" and then "Hmmm. How can I justify the expense?" and then you either sell something or save up or if you have the funds you just bite the bullet. That is if you really WANT it! If you can get by with less then you can always do that. You can use X-Gear with an interface and midi controller and get some mileage for less money. But it's not the same. It costs more for all of the benefits you get.

It's an endless debate on the value perception and I know what I say isn't going to change everyone's minds. Maybe some. Others will go on and on and think I am "high" for saying it. But, I'm not. I've been a pro musician for 25 years buying gear and I've seen it all. I've taken out loans to buy gear before (thinking I'd be getting a record deal! haha woops, don't do that btw). It's still just my opinion and my perspective on value. But it's educated and experienced. Worth considering at least. And thanks for reading this far! If you're still reading... don't you have something more fun to do than read really long posts on KVR? Just saying. (and kidding, sorry for the long rant!)

Cheers.

Oh, if you DO decide it is worth the money or if you want a little extra like $100 in epointz or a R.A.W. Universal Groove Kit for FREE when you pre-order Stomp IO then go here: http://www.esoundz.com/details.php?ProductID=1770

[blank/diod]

Squids, the press release is a little unclear on what exactly is included. There's one sentence that reads...

"StompIO also includes a built-in body-handler for easy portability and cable securing and a rugged metal expression pedal for immediate Wah and Volume control (€79.99/$99.99)."

The price at the end sort of suggests that the pedal is optional. But further down it reads...

"Plus the StompIO also comes with the new AmpliTube X-GEAR (€79.99/$99.99)"

...which we know is included, so the price here would indicate its estimated value rather than an additional cost.

Am I correct in assuming that the €849 package includes

StompIO
AT2
X-Gear
Expression pedal

?

[Hink]

I guess I'm not a true guitarist

[Squids]

It does come with X-Gear and it has a value because I think there will be some cases (like with Stealthplug) where if you want to buy just X-Gear you can... not sure. But at least you know it has a value (but it is included anyway so don't worry about that part).

As far as the exp pedal being included, I don't think so. Those are optional accessories. Again, I am a consumer too! Sometimes when I've gotten something it comes with lots of extras and sometimes it doesn't! I just bought a couple of EV5s for my Nord Stage (I really love that thing... I play with this local Pink Floyd tribute band casually just for the fun of it shhh). For Stomp IO you can use up to 6 and the IK pedals are really nice (also made in Italy... really close to where they made the Thomas Organ Vox Wah actually) or you can use something else like these Roland EV5s which are pretty good!

I LOVE expression pedals. Honestly I wish KEYBOARDS had 6 expression pedal inputs. I used to have this thing called an RMI Keyboard Computer II and it actually had a pedal board with 5 or 6 exp pedals for it. Really cool!

Hink, whatcho talkin' bout Willis?

[asseca]

As far as the exp pedal being included, I don't think so.

Copied from the IK-store order-page:
PRE ORDER NOW! Free shipping for pre-orders only. Includes AmpliTube X-GEAR & Expression Pedal

[Lunch Money]

I guess I'm not a true guitarist

I'm not sure if this was directed at me, but it's getting exhausting having even my friends intentionally take what I say the wrong way. I hope you're not mistakingly creating a dimetric opposition ("a true guitarist or not") where there isn't one. I already know you're a guitarist, I already agreed that "tool" can be a synonym in some cases, and redshift has implied agreement that he doesn't really consider himself a "guitarist," nor does he care either way.

The point was, "redshift, you're making strange and incorrect blanket statements about guitarists, are you not one?" but somehow, if that statement was directed my way, you've transfered that to something completely different. The original point was that it's wacky to expect that all "serious guitarists" spend tonnes of money on their tone. Why not take issue with that?

f**k but it's frustrating around here sometimes.

[Amberience]

Well.... I *could* sell my iMac, I don't know how much for, but lets say £600. So, £600 in the kitty. I have no savings, so that's it.

That isn't going to buy me stomp I/O, a laptop, and a Atomic Amp, which you'd surely need something that is FRFR for Amplitube (or any modeller) to be any use in a live setting. But it would probably be a very excellent rig to take around with you.

For recording, stomp I/O is certainly not worth it. Not when you can get better quality recordings for a fraction of the price.

[blank/diod]

As far as the exp pedal being included, I don't think so.

Form the IK-store order-page:
PRE ORDER NOW! Free shipping for pre-orders only. Includes AmpliTube X-GEAR & Expression Pedal

OK, I deciphered the press release correctly then. Makes sense to include it, and it's nice that you can place it anywhere you want, unlike the GR pedal which is stuck on the main unit.