Guitar Rig 2 vs Real, Expensive Recording Rig

[brandondrury]

Don't you ever fear that some of your sessions will start sounding a bit too similar if everyone's using your amp (despite tonal changes), especially since you swear by the dead center royer technique on the floor wedge?

Not at all. When you factor in different bands, songs, guitars, players, etc the tones are usually dramatically different. If I listen back, I can't remember which amp is the Rivera on any specific recording.

I finished a modern rock, prog, metalish kind of thing. One guy used an Gibson SG and Boogie Recto-verb. Another guy used a PRS and a Rivera. I don't have a clue which one is which. I can't remember who was doing what.

Of course, it needs to be said that when I say the Rivera ends up on so many recordings, it may only be a clean part or something.

Brandon

[lolzgreg]

Oh okay, just wondering. I haven't really done enough recordings to justify the statement I put out, but I'm glad someone who has could. I know a studio that my friend interns at in New Jersey records a lot of hardcore bands and on their hardcore sampler, every band sounds the same (not just the music, all the tones).

-Greg

[brandondrury]

Well that's a different situation. When you take similar bands who want similar tones with similar instruments with similar arrangements you will get a cookie cutter sound.

I have a VERY random way of working. I intentionally don't measure mic distances (for later recall), I don't use presets, I don't write down amp settings, etc. It's just my style of working.

I try something new every session so even if I did have a template, I'd still mess it up with SOMETHING different.

Brandon

[man called aerodynamics]

I've been using Guitar Rig 2.0 for a while now since I live in an apartment, and can't record with my Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue.
Recently I had a chance to get the Fender over to a friend's house and get my guitars going through the tubes again.
Obviously, the amp is probably the BEST choice if you're looking to capture the feel of a vintage tube amp. The Fender, pushing through the air, sounded rich and beautiful.
That said, I would recommend Guitar Rig 2.0 for anyone interested in laptop recording. It is THE solution to getting good guitar sounds. In particular, the emulation of vintage amps (Tweeds, Vox, Fender Twin), is fantastic.
I have been tweaking more and more on GR 2.0 to get the sounds I want, and I have to say I have been able to emulate some good classic rock tones with the amps/cabs/fx of Guitar Rig. And that is the key. You have to invest some time with the plugin to switch out amps, cabs, fx...in addition to mic selection and placement. If you're willing to put in the time, you can find THE sound for your needs. And I have been messing around with the Guitar Rig 3.0 demo....and it is just slightly better in amp emulation than 2.0. So much, it had me reviewing my back statements to see if I could purchase it!!
I am a vintage type guy....nothing replaces tubes and wood for me. But for home recording, this is the way to go. I am not really a high gain metal type player, but (my opinion)...it appears that its easier to get those sounds quickly with not much difference between what I hear recorded on metal records and what it coming out of GR 2.0.
All in all, I would love to be like the Black Crowes and have access to boutique amps, high end mics, vintage guitars, etc, etc. But I don't. I am sitting at my desk trying not to annoy my girlfriend....If this is your situation then GR 2.0 is the solution. Add Ezdrummer and a midi controller, and you have the tools to make a great home recording!
er...ya gotta have some songs first, though
Brandon, keep up your excellent work!

[brianinogang]

I would recommend Guitar Rig 2.0 for anyone interested in laptop recording. It is THE solution to getting good guitar sounds. In particular, the emulation of vintage amps (Tweeds, Vox, Fender Twin), is fantastic.

NO it's not. theres a better program. use the ReValver mkII. i'll admit, guitar rig is a very flexible guitar program. lots of presets to begin with. BUT the cabinet/amp impulses used in this program is not that great. Thats why a lot of people are saying that there's still something wrong with DI if compared to real time recording. with ReValver, you could create great impulses. I mean "create". not just select amp types and cab types and mic and its placement. i mean you could create your own.read about it at guitarampmodeling.com. you can create impulses depending on what type of sound you want. in guitar rig you only have the mic placement, amp simulator and cab simulator which are all given presets. you'd still mix with given presets which is why it had its limitations when it comes to emulating guitar sounds. If you want to use guitar rig with your own impulses, i suggest you get the plugin called voxengo boogex. or kefir. run it with guitar rig on your DAW. the sequence should be guitar rig to boogex or kefir. on these plugins, you can load your impulse. just close off the cabinet presets on the gr2. i mean close it (by clickin x on right top of the cabinet window) to have a fizzy crappy guitar sound and then use the boogex/kefir (with your impulse of course) as your external cabinet. sounds great compared to basic gr2/amplitube. try it. you'll be much happier without disturbing your girlfriend. anyway i hope this helps. by the way conventional way of guitar recording is still the way to go (for me). thanks everybody and keep good music flowin. heres a DEMO to let you know what i men

[brandondrury]

I've got to admit, I have not been able to get these kinds of sounds by tinkering with Guitar Rig 2. There is something not-quite-there about Guitar Rig 2, but very usable in situations where outstanding rythm guitar tone isn't a priority.

I was shown this Revolver mkII just yesterday and for the heavy stuff it wins hands down. That sounds like a good real amp to me!

Brandon

[man called aerodynamics]

Downloaded demo of Revalver this a.m.
Wow!
I have to admit that compared to GR 2.0, this is a better emulation.
I will have to do more comparisons, but at face value it does sound better. My real testing will come when compare GR 3.0 and Revalver MK III. Again, I am less interested in high gain settings and more in classic rock/blues tones, so that will be my real test of its capabilities.
Well...another thing here...I noticed that the academic pricing for Revalver is significantly LESS than any discounts that Native Instruments offers.
So for me, that is a REAL selling point. In fact, its a little less expensive that GR 3.0, so really that should settle it for anyone, right?
Thanks for the info re: this awesome plugin!!!!

[brianinogang]

no problem bro. i'm glad to share what others have shared me in this forum. and to add about the revalver, i just discovered that you could sequence the tubes themselves in this program. im not so sure about this but it looks like it when i tried it. i think maybe it also has some features to set the wiring diagram of amps(not sure ok) to make it dual or triple recrifiers. i saw some wiring diagrams there. try it if you havent people. the preset used on the demo i posted was a triple rectifier mesa boogie impulse used with the kitty power amp preset(wich i think is also mesa coz it looks similar). i think they create impulses by recording real time and interpreting the signals to be simulated by ReValver afterwards. if you're into the technical aspect of building amps, then this would be a great program to get busy with. as for me, im just on the listeners bench.hehe.(i'm not an employee of the makers of Revalver just to be clear)eheheheh. anyway glad to be of some help(if ever i was..) see ya guys!!!! real time amp recording is still the best for me at least. thanks

[brianinogang]

my first time recording DI. i used guitar rig 2 and loaded an impulse. these things really get closer to real time recording by the day. i played with "play that funky music" as a sample track to demonstrate guitar rig 2 combined with an impulse. this is all unprocessed. it's the rawest stage of this clip.

[lolzgreg]

Originally Posted by brianinogang

my first time recording DI. i used guitar rig 2 and loaded an impulse. these things really get closer to real time recording by the day. i played with "play that funky music" as a sample track to demonstrate guitar rig 2 combined with an impulse. this is all unprocessed. it's the rawest stage of this clip.

It sounds pretty darned good to me, but it could just be your playing

Smooth wailing Brian!

-Greg