Carte Blanche - Need your advice

G'day all,
 
I've been away from this forum and also my love of recording music for too long, but circumstances in my life have collided to bring me back. I've had some personal good news & bad news which will bring me back to recording.
 
The bad news.....my wife is divorcing me and taking pretty much all of the $1M house that we have built over the last 17 years.
 
The good new.....I am going to have a) a lot more free time, b) more disposable income c) Sole decision on what my money gets spent on!
 
So I am going to put an end to trying to scratch around with the best shareware and freebies I can find and want to get fair dinkum. I am running Sonar HS 6 on a laptop with Intel i7 CPU M620 @ 2.67 GHZ 2.67GHz 4G RAM (2.86 usable?) 32Bit operating system on Windows 7 -> Presonus Audiobox.
 
As I say, I've been out of the loop for a while so I would love your input on the state of the art for the following. I play/record mostly rock but lately have been getting more experimental:
 
Drums - I have been using Session Drummer 2. I love the GUI of the but the sounds are not what I need. What is the state of the art for rock drums? Make me sound like Mike Portnoy....
 
Bass - What is the best bass plug in?
 
Guitar - I hav a gorgeous 5150 amp that I love for recording with a mic shoved in front but circumstances being what they are and having to move into rental accomodation I may need to keep the noise down. I recently downloaded the free version of Amplitude and havent had a chance to really play with it yet. Is there a better one out there?
 
Strings/Synths etc - Let me know
 
Thanks for any help or advice you can give me.
 
Glenn

Komplete and X1 producer will get you most of what you need. (and a lot more besides)
 
But a few other things to consider.
 
I prefer Amplitube to Guitar Rig - but I use virtual guitars and amp sounds are a matter of taste so YMMV.
 
If you specifically want a Mike Portnoy Drum sound there is a "Dream Theater" kit by Steven Slate Drums in Metal and More expansion pack for SSD EX http://www.stevenslatedrums.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=67  Steven Slate EX could be a good place to start as it does not need the full version of Kontakt and it can get you on a crossgrad path to the full version.
 
Toontracks Superior Drummer and EZ Drummer is something else to look at.
 
For bass Komplete comes with Scarbee MM base, the NI Scarbee Pre and Jay bases are also excellent. Many swear by Trillian as the ultimate bass VSTi.
 
For Strings Kirk Hunter Rock and Pop http://www.kirkhunterstudios.com/products_pop_str.html
 
Free stuff. Well get the Native Instruments Komplete Players http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/komplete-7-players/ and Yellowtools Independence Free http://www.yellowtools.us/ , and for effects the free packs from Blue Cat http://www.bluecataudio.com/Products/Category_0_Freeware/  For guitar amps and effects check out ACME Bargig http://www.acmebargig.com/
 

this spammer   takes the cake for being a ARSE, he just copies and pastes in several other threads, but to copy Glenns situation sucks..

Wow thanks guys, good complete info.

I at least have this to look forward to.

I will wade throught these options when I find out if any of the $$$ from the sale of my house trickle through to me but my initial thoughts are that I might upgrade to Producer X1, get Komplete and(?) Kontakt as well as a good drum VST, I like the sound of the Steven Slate Portnoy kit.

And thanks for your kind thoughts about my situation Beagle & Musicman......advice to all, never take what you have for granted 'cos it can bite your arse very quickly and savagely