Swanky Amp (release 1.4.0)

[garrinm]

I tried version 0.10.2 late last night and it's hard to comment not being able to A/B versions, but initially I thought the tone changed some — like more strident mids or something, less saturated at the same settings in the previous release, but maybe it all comes down to just the sag set point changing — so maybe sag is now less from 5 down and more from 5 up? So it's kind of a wash — I like the extended range for sag, but now seems too strident (for me personally) set below noon (a bit brittle for my taste, transistor-like). The shape of the sag envelope also seems a little different (more tame?) than the older versions where you could set set sag to be more apparent like in this latest version?

So it's fine I guess if others are happy with the less apparent sag at lower settings — there is still plenty up top for me. Like I said, hard to tell if my impressions are based in reality or not without A/B confirmation.

EDIT: After re-reading all that, one of the things I was trying to get across is that there is some point in the Sag setting where I still clearly hear sag in a recording, but no longer experience it as "feel" while playing. That point seems to have moved to a higher setting on the dial in this update.

Also, I'm not sure how useful the highest sag settings really are but it was kind of cool to be able to hear the envelope clearly again. Running one Swanky Amp with high sag in parallel with another set tighter might sound really fat — probably should give that a try (keeping phase in mind)!

I think you're dead on about the from 5 up and down observation. I extended the range both ways so that you can get it really subtle, and so that you get can an over the top compression. The over the top setting is a bit different than it used to be. I allow smaller signals to contribute more to the sag, as well as exaggerating the overall effect of the sag.

In my playing I also find it a bit harder to dial in "the right" setting. I can look into that a bit in the future but at the moment there's no easy fix for that.

If you want in-your-face-over-the-top sag try dialing in a low pre-amp gain (3-4), and a high power amp gain ~7. Then turn up the sag to 10. Just for fun .

Garrin

[guitarzan]

In my playing I also find it a bit harder to dial in "the right" setting. I can look into that a bit in the future but at the moment there's no easy fix for that.

I think it's all still there, but it is a little harder to tweak because the more apparent sag is crowded between 5-10 on the dial, with some of that a bit over the top as you said, but still workable I think, and it is more versatile I suppose.

Since development on the open source version seems to be pretty much done, a few things that might be good for the Pro version include some stuff already mentioned like O.T. dynamics and independent Cab Response dynamics, IR loader, etc — but something else that might add a lot of versatility is direct control over how balanced the push-pull power amp is — apparently, based on things I've read, a perfectly balanced AB amp (which is probably not even realistically possible in the analog world) clips symmetrically and produces only odd harmonics, while a slightly imbalanced asymmetrically clipping AB power amp introduces even harmonics. Maybe this is something that would be too difficult to implement, because I don't remember seeing such a control on any amp sims and it seems like it should be there? Seems like a bias thing, so maybe it's already covered in the TIGHT parameter or somewhere?

[jbraner]

some stuff already mentioned like O.T. dynamics and independent Cab Response dynamics,

Would something like this be possible - even when bypassing the cab and using an external one?
In other words - is it possible to build in the amp's response to a (albeit generic, since you can't know what the external speaker will be) speaker - even if it's a separate plugin?

[guitarzan]

I think it's possible just using well implemented dynamic eq or multi-band compression (maybe a bit of saturation) in series with the external cab sim or IR loader — but I'm not sure how Garrin is doing the cab response. If it's done with parallel processing like Boogex does, then it gets tricky with an external cab sim or IR loader. Phase alignment would be an issue, and parallel routing would probably be prohibitively difficult in a lot of DAWs, pretty easy in a modular DAW though. It also depends if the processing is before or after (or both) the cab sim or IR. Probably easier to just include an IR loader if the dynamics processing is parallel or after the cab sim.

One way or another, it is important that the power amp dynamics meet with another set of dynamics — the sag is sagged (power amp output meets O.T., speaker, cab, room). It doesn't always have to be dramatic, but it is always there in real life and it's all part of the elusive "feel". The first thing I did when I started using the early sims was use two compressors in series (usually with at least a filter or cab sim between them) to try to create some of that feel.

[garrinm]

Release 1.0.0 is out, along with the new website:

http://www.resonantdsp.com/swankyamp/

As discussed previously, this adds a tone stack but otherwise is just the affirmation that the plugin is in a stable and usable state.

I'll be posting in the coming days with plans for the future and/or more blog posts. I'm still planing some minor improvements (tone stack additions and maybe some work on the cabinet) to Swanky Amp as I work on the pro version, but nothing that will change how it sounds given the current parameters. This way your presets should always sound the same even after an update.

Enjoy!
Garrin

[jbraner]

[Kott]

great!

[garrinm]

Quick update: I created a Twitter and SoundCloud account. I'm planning to put some audio up on SoundCloud so look out for that in the near future.

Links are on the home page http://resonantdsp.com.

https://twitter.com/ResonantDSP
https://soundcloud.com/ResonantDSP

[prodigal_sounds]

Congratulations!

[garrinm]

Surprise update. 1.1.0 is released with 1 feature: you can blend the Fender-like and Marshall-like tone stacks. This will have no effect on your presets. Instead of a switch between tone stack F and M you get a knob so that you can blend the two tone stacks, which creates the opportunity for some interesting tones.

http://resonantdsp.com/swankyamp

Follow on twitter:
https://twitter.com/ResonantDSP

Check out the blog series on building the Swanky Amp model:
http://www.resonantdsp.com/blog/tube-em ... ion-1.html

[DaveClark]

Hi Garrin,

Congratulations on the release of 1.0.0 --- oops, I mean 1.1.0! You've done more work to create a great new amp in a shorter time than anyone I know about. You've also come out of the closet as a former particle physicist, but you're still accepted by guitarists. That's a good sign. Several times I had thought about letting people know about your questionable past life, but knew that you'd confess when the time was right. Once upon a time I worked for a former nuclear physicist. I used to give him a hard time about how so much money had been spent historically on particle and related areas in physics, but he had the ultimate comeback one day: "But Dave, it was a lot of fun...." I had to laugh and couldn't think of anything to say because I knew it was absolutely true. And I actually hope it was for you, also.

Once again: Congratulations!

Best regards,
Dave

PS: For those who are somewhat unfamiliar with physics and physicists, I should probably add that particle physics has a kind of "sex appeal" that is the envy of physicists working in other areas.

[garrinm]

Hi Garrin,

Congratulations on the release of 1.0.0 --- oops, I mean 1.1.0! You've done more work to create a great new amp in a shorter time than anyone I know about. You've also come out of the closet as a former particle physicist, but you're still accepted by guitarists. That's a good sign. Several times I had thought about letting people know about your questionable past life, but knew that you'd confess when the time was right. Once upon a time I worked for a former nuclear physicist. I used to give him a hard time about how so much money had been spent historically on particle and related areas in physics, but he had the ultimate comeback one day: "But Dave, it was a lot of fun...." I had to laugh and couldn't think of anything to say because I knew it was absolutely true. And I actually hope it was for you, also.

Once again: Congratulations!

Best regards,
Dave

PS: For those who are somewhat unfamiliar with physics and physicists, I should probably add that particle physics has a kind of "sex appeal" that is the envy of physicists working in other areas.

Thanks for the kind words Dave, and for the awesome sounding tone stacks.

[garrinm]

Looks like I beat jbraner to getting a tune out with Swanky Amp 1.0 xD (albeit with a lower production quality). Here's a demo of a few guitar tones from Swanky Amp:

https://soundcloud.com/resonantdsp/blue-tulip

[DaveClark]

Please allow me to be the first to say (about the Demo): WOW! And thanks!

Dave

[jbraner]

Looks like I beat jbraner to getting a tune out with Swanky Amp 1.0 xD (albeit with a lower production quality).

Sorry - I'm still in upgrade "this ought to be pretty straightforward" mode.
I haven't even tried it yet - but I'm almost ready!
Another day or two...
Nice demo!