IK Multimedia has announced AmpliTube 4, a major upgrade of the guitar and bass tone studio DAW plug-in and software for Mac OS X and Windows.
The new AmpliTube offers a whole spread of fresh specs and updated gear: It now features its most advanced speaker cabinet section, new speaker modeling, 5 new British amplifiers, a new acoustic simulator pedal, an additional "effects loop" slot between the preamp and power amp sections, a built-in 8-track DAW, an ultra-precise tuner, an intuitive looper section and a whole lot more.
New Cab Room
IK says that the new Cab Room feature is "the most advanced cabinet section ever made, giving players a new level of customization and flexibility never before heard in software".
The cab room is a 3D speaker cabinet recording space that can be changed depending upon the desired "room" type and effect. Players can choose from a range of room types - from a cavernous "garage" to a full-on cabinet "dead" room - and mix the room effect and color into the overall sound.
On top of that, the cab room now has 5 distinct customization sections: There's the cabinet selection, with size adjustment, where players can choose the speaker cabinet they'd like to match to their amplifier. There's individual speaker selection where users can swap out individual speakers. There's mic selection and placement for finding each speaker's "sweet spot". There's room selection where players select the surrounding recording environment. And there's also a mixer section that lets players mix the levels of their speaker mics, room ambience, direct amp signal and overall main mix.
Dual 3D Mic Placement
Musicians can now mike their cabinets with up to two microphones in a full 3D space. With 18 highly coveted recording microphone models available in AmpliTube Custom Shop, AmpliTube 4 allows for a realistic recording environment. The room microphones can also be chosen from the available mics. This, coupled with its swappable speakers, allows for true cabinet miking with full speaker interaction making it easier to find that magic speaker "sweet spot" for a high level of tonal realism and control.
Individual Speaker Modeling
AmpliTube 4 is the first software that now sports individual speaker modeling. This lets players swap out individual speakers in their favorite cabinets at will, allowing for creative speaker combinations that utilize the many precision-modeled speakers available. The AmpliTube 4 speaker cabinet section not only accurately reproduces the tonal characteristics of the individual speakers, but it also accurately picks up the harmonic interactions between the individual speaker models, the cabinet construction and the room. AmpliTube 4 comes with 29 individual vintage and modern speaker models ranging from classic British to modern American and everything in between.
New Gear
AmpliTube 4 welcomes 5 new classic amplifier models to the mix that represent some of the best British tones from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Each amplifier has been modeled from scratch to embody a different aspect of powerfully classic British amplifier design: There's the Brit 8000, Brit 9000, Red Pig, Brit Silver and Brit Valve-Pre - each sports its own matching cabinet. These models utilise a new technology that precisely replicates the dynamic interaction between the power amp and the speakers. This eliminates the "harshness" found in the upper frequencies of some other amp modeling software. All of this new gear is exclusively available only in AmpliTube 4.
Acoustic Simulator
AmpliTube 4 is all about exploring new tonal possibilities, and its new "Acoustic Sim" model pedal turns the electric guitar into a realistic acoustic. It delivers realism and a playing experience that can be tweaked via its intuitive onboard controls. Players can choose and blend between different 3 acoustic body styles and 3 types of top material to sound like a range of different acoustic guitars.
UltraTuner
Also stock in AmpliTube 4 is an upgraded tuner section with IK's patented UltraTuner technology, with tuning accuracy to 1/100th of a cent.
Creative Connections And Effects Placement
New to the signal path in AmpliTube 4 is an effects "loop" insert slot situated between the preamp and power amp sections that can accommodate up to 4 daisy-chained rack effects. In addition to the new effects loop, any stomp or rack effect can now be placed into any effects slot. This means that stomp boxes can be used in the post "rack" section and rack effects can be used in any stompbox slot (on any pedalboard or in the effects loop section).
8-Track Recorder/DAW Under The Hood
When used in standalone mode, AmpliTube 4 now features a built-in 8-track DAW that makes recording ideas and songs a breeze. Its powerful sequencer-like waveform editing should be immediately familiar to any modern musician, making it easy for anyone to use it as a sketchpad for new ideas or as a full-featured recording solution on its own. Each track features standard treble, mid and bass EQ, pan control, level, mute, solo and record enable functions, plus there's an FX enable button that allows for the application of different tone configurations to individual tracks.
As a learning tool, players can import any audio tracks into the DAW section, define loop points and use AmpliTube's built-in speed control to slow down difficult passages without affecting pitch, and use the pitch control to change keys without affecting the speed. This feature is great for working out difficult solos or practising different leads or melodies over a series of chord changes in a backing track.
Supper Looper
Rounding out AmpliTube 4's new feature set is a MIDI-controllable 4-track looper. Dubbed the "Super Looper", it's an intuitive and full-featured 4-track looper that musicians can use to lay down multi-part backing tracks with speed and ease, and then practise leads, chords and melodies over the top.
Custom Shop
AmpliTube 4 comes with the built-in Custom Shop gear store feature that allows guitarists to add gear to their collections any time a-la-carte or in collections. Its easily browsable selection of amps, stomps, cabinets and more includes officially certified models from the likes of Fender, MESA/Boogie, Ampeg, Orange, Soldano, Groove Tubes, Gallien-Krueger, Jet City Amplification, THD and T-Rex, Fulltone, Z.Vex, Carvin, Morley, Wampler Pedals, Dr. Z, ENGL and more. In addition to these well-recognized brands, there's also signature gear from artists like Slash and Jimi Hendrix.
AmpliTube 4 can also be expanded with legacy gear from previous versions of AmpliTube via the Custom Shop. Owners of previous versions can restore all purchases and gear with the "restore my gear" feature in the Custom Shop. There's over 290 pieces of gear now available for trial and purchase in the AmpliTube Custom Shop. Gear released before AmpliTube 4 can be purchased individually or as bundles in either currency ($ or €) or in Custom Shop Gear Credits.
Price: AmpliTube 4 is currently available for pre-order at a special limited-time price of $/€99.99* or 100 Gear Credits to everyone (users of AmpliTube 3, AmpliTube CS, AmpliTube collections and new users). AmpliTube 4 will be available in October via the IK online store and select music instrument retailers at a price of $/€149.99* and just 150 Gear Credits from the AmpliTube Custom Shop.
*all prices excluding taxes.
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