Electric Guitar Emulators

[seanpaz629]

Its called Overloud TH1, i dont have it but i really want it!

[DejaVu]

Really if you are honest about it and test 2 supposedly identical model valve amps back to back with the same settings and using the same guitar chances are they are not going to sound identical anyhow.
If for example one has had a lot more use than the other those worn components will make a slight difference, Speaker wear, the valves inside those amps, and even how they have been treated due to their age travels throughout their gigging life will definitely impact on the sound each amp produces... I have heard some shocking sounding Fender Blackfaces, and played others that left me wanting to kill the owner and steal their prized toy. One of my closest mates has a 100w JCM Super-lead 1x12 combo that absolutely sucks, yet his brother has this tiny little Juggbox (That is a jap brand valve amp) 30W with 1x10' speaker that makes the Marshall sound like a 2nd rate toy, they both have Boogies each and Classic Fender amps as well, but that is beside the point. What I am trying to say is that even the so-called best valve amps are not necessarily good for recording with, and some of the amps or sims you'd least expect to get a good sound from may surprise you.
So while an amp sim may not exactly rip the sound of our prized JCM or AC30 top boost your chances of getting another amp of the same sort of vintage... to sound the same are not great either. At least the Amp sim will come fairly close quite often.
By the time you layer for example 2 different sim sounds on opposite tracks with bass, keys vocals, and reverb or any effects you want to add you are may not really pick what amp / pedal combo is being used or what sim is being used.
The old school amp sounds often employed stomp boxes or rack gear anyhow so how much of that prized and highly desired Valve tone was really the amp and how much was for example due to the TS808 or Small Stone stomper...?
It got to the stage not too long ago where producers were actually getting requests to dial in that "Line 6" sound for Nu-Metal recordings. These kids were not interested in cranking a valve amp to get that spine tingling crunch tone most valve purist craving guitarists dream of as their holy grail, they wanted that fuzzed out Simulated shitty distortion. I can't stand it personally, but that is just me. Still it does sell!
I have some nice Valve amps here, and access to many others through my friends, I have one fantastic sounding Solid State amp (And until a few short years back I never thought I'd ever hear myself say I like a solid state amp, but once I sold this amp and hunted around like crazy to find another one 3 years later I found one, then later bought the original back again...) it is a Roland 408, which I have gigged with but never recorded with. It breaks up nicely on the clean channel when cranked sort of like a Vox just as the edge starts to kick in, and the Overdrive channel does a reasonable Boogie x Marshall type mid to high gain impersonation. In fact one of those brothers Imentioned sold his identical 408 because in his own words, it does what his boogie does anyhow, and he likes the extra channels on the boogie Mk4.
I also have a digital emulator amp "Johnson Mirage 50" that has been used many times to record. And while the Mirage does not sound exactly like a Marshall or Vox or Boogie..., (I know coz I either have the real things or can get them easily enough) I can record via a direct line in, getting a very usable close sound, at low volumes where for example getting the AC30 or JCM super lead to sound half decent means cranking them balls loud and pissing off my neighbours...
I also occasionally use the built in amp sims inside of Logic, and some of those are really extremely good, some do absolutely nothing for me at all, but again it is a personal preference thing.
A couple of my guitar students plug straight into their laptops, and practice with sims, and for poor school kids that is an ideal way for them to be able to get a variety of reasonable user friendly sounds. While I am sure they'd dearly love to own the real amps, what they are getting is the next best thing Plus having all those variations at their disposal definitely makes them want to practice more, even if it is just so they can experiment with the crazy sounds they create.

[OldDog]

Originally Posted by Hysteria

I prefer hardware-based emulators, mainly for convenience and one less thing to take up precious CPU horsepower.

I currently use a Digitech GSP 1101............

I have been playing thru a splitter connected to both a Digitech RP20 Tube and a GNX4 and then straight into my PA for some years now. I just got tired of hauling fussy old amps around. The joy of the GNX is the wealth of patches that are available and the cabinet simulations. The RP20, while low voltage, does add some of the saturation that tube amps are known for. Combined they create a pleasing sound. I have just begun trying to record them into Sonar, but have not dialed them in yet.

On the other hand I played with the GR3 that came with Sonar and I have to admit I got some good tones within minutes of playing about.

Still none of them give me exactly the clean tones I want, I will be curious to see what I can do with bass and keyboards filling some of the sonic spectrum.

[Noodles88]

Has anybody here had any experience with the guitar emulation on Logic Studio 9? How does it stack up against dedicated amp sims?

[Audio~Geek]

I really like the GUI of the amp sims in Logic 9, but it doesn't sound quite good enough especially for High-Gain modern sounds. Even with an overdrive before it.

It's great for a freebie/stock plugin, and should do the trick for all your songwriting needs, but I wouldn't say it's album ready tones as is.

[matman]

Hi all,

Though it's hardware, the Fractal Audio Axe-FX belongs in this thread! I design rigs and program sounds with this unit and in my opinion, it's the most versatile, flexible, and great sounding modeler in the world today. A software-only version is on the horizon too. Welcome - Fractal Audio Systems / Atomic Amplifiers

If you want to hear my sounds in action, check out Dweezil Zappa on the current Zappa Plays Zappa tour. It's all over You Tube. The band is constantly on the road. With the exception of a real wah, boost, and drive pedals, the entire sound chain is 2 Ultras.

Cheers,

-m@

[Hell Atlantic]

here's a vote for Amplitube. i even have the Jimi Hendrix plug in and i love some of the pedals. i recorded one song and the bass and electric guitars were recorded on my acoustic. bass sounded muddy but i liked being able to turn an acoustic into an electric.

[bsapp]

I think the Amplitube series has great tone to them. The amps responded realistically to the nuance of my playing. When I played with a delicate touch I got that nice clean tone, more aggressive playing brought out a realistic overdriven amp sound.
The authenticity of the resulting sound is impressive.

[Karno B]

Personnally, i like the Logic Pro 9's emulation. I also like very very much Guitar Rig4 and Propellerhead's record's line 6 emulation

[professor tweed]

Very impressed with GR4 when using the control room feature instead of their usual speaker emulation.
Also would recommend Softube's Acoustic Feedback and Vintage Amp Room.