Good to see this is inspiring to some.

I'm doing some more guitar work today. I'm really trying to squeeze as much as I can out of Amplitube, but the minute I A/B it with cabinet impulses, the impulses still seem to have the edge.

The high frequencies just seem to rolloff more nicely. A bit of a pain, as browsing through impulses and loading them one by one to try things really isn't as intuitive as grabbing the virtual mic and moving it in front of a virtual cab. 

For anyone wishing to dabble with that stuff, using a couple of impulses just adds to the realism - just a few, say a 57 and a 421 + an ambient mic on those free Marshall impulses from Redwirez. It's about depth. 

I'm using Redwirez Mix2IR for that purpose as it's the best solution on the Mac side (available for Windows too), but there's a free Windows VST called LeCab 2 which lets you load multiple impulses. Haven't tested it but you may want to give it a try. 

But, the AT stuff could probably be tweaked to fit in the mix in the context of a demo. It's just that the impulses take it a few steps higher.

That being said, for tracking, I'm still quite happy with AT. 

I haven't used Perfect Space in a long time - it will load those same impulse but I can't remember it being able to load more than one at a time though. Maybe it does, but I'm really not sure.

If it doesn't, a work around would be to load a few instances on different busses, select a different impulse for each and blend to taste. That's what I used to do before I bought Mix2IR. 

Like I mentioned earlier, there LeCab2, a donationware VST, which works on the same principle. Haven't tried it (Windows only). http://lepouplugins.blogs...2-vst-for-windows.html

Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mix2IR - with its integrated impulse browser and the routing options, it makes trying different combinations a bit easier. Plus the folks at Redwirez are pretty cool too - it's a little company w/ a passion for what they do. I wrote to them and I had my reply within 20 minutes.

For $49, it's really a bargain, imho. 

Rain


I haven't used Perfect Space in a long time - it will load those same impulse but I can't remember it being able to load more than one at a time though. Maybe it does, but I'm really not sure.

If it doesn't, a work around would be to load a few instances on different busses, select a different impulse for each and blend to taste. That's what I used to do before I bought Mix2IR. 

Like I mentioned earlier, there LeCab2, a donationware VST, which works on the same principle. Haven't tried it (Windows only). http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com/2010/12/lecab2-vst-for-windows.html

Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mix2IR - with its integrated impulse browser and the routing options, it makes trying different combinations a bit easier. Plus the folks at Redwirez are pretty cool too - it's a little company w/ a passion for what they do. I wrote to them and I had my reply within 20 minutes.

For $49, it's really a bargain, imho. 

You nailed it Rain...that's the problem with PS. One impulse at a time...and if you don't have a pretty fast pc, loading multiple instances of it can really bog you down. I use Voxengo Prinstine Space where I can load 8 instances at once without bogging down anything. We also have a built in cab loader in our ABG stuff which helps because it's embedded right into the program. Yeah the Redwirez stuff is amazing. Their stuff will be featured in our next Head Case release.....so the owner gave the developers and beta testers his entire library of tones to work with. It's huge man...and well worth it. I would have definitely paid for this stuff if he didn't give it to me. If you think the free ones are great, wait until you hear some of the others. If this sim thing is what you're really enjoying at the moment, the more cab impulses you have, the better off you'll be in my opinion. :)
 
-Danny

 Here's a forum for amp modeling,that might help somebody http://www.guitarampmodeling.com/index.php

Danny Danzi

Rain


I haven't used Perfect Space in a long time - it will load those same impulse but I can't remember it being able to load more than one at a time though. Maybe it does, but I'm really not sure.

If it doesn't, a work around would be to load a few instances on different busses, select a different impulse for each and blend to taste. That's what I used to do before I bought Mix2IR. 

Like I mentioned earlier, there LeCab2, a donationware VST, which works on the same principle. Haven't tried it (Windows only). http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com/2010/12/lecab2-vst-for-windows.html

Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mix2IR - with its integrated impulse browser and the routing options, it makes trying different combinations a bit easier. Plus the folks at Redwirez are pretty cool too - it's a little company w/ a passion for what they do. I wrote to them and I had my reply within 20 minutes.

For $49, it's really a bargain, imho. 

You nailed it Rain...that's the problem with PS. One impulse at a time...and if you don't have a pretty fast pc, loading multiple instances of it can really bog you down. I use Voxengo Prinstine Space where I can load 8 instances at once without bogging down anything. We also have a built in cab loader in our ABG stuff which helps because it's embedded right into the program. Yeah the Redwirez stuff is amazing. Their stuff will be featured in our next Head Case release.....so the owner gave the developers and beta testers his entire library of tones to work with. It's huge man...and well worth it. I would have definitely paid for this stuff if he didn't give it to me. If you think the free ones are great, wait until you hear some of the others. If this sim thing is what you're really enjoying at the moment, the more cab impulses you have, the better off you'll be in my opinion. :)
 
-Danny

  Thanks guys for pointing me in the right direction.

A quick update... I was going to grab Waves GTR PRS interface and a few pedals Danny suggested this weekend and see where that lead me but my fiancée surprised me with... a Pod. :)

Feels like an old friend is back and I can just focus on performing instead of spending anywhere between 2 and 5 hours a night tweaking, comparing and shopping for impulses.

I was a bit worried that my ears would somehow have "matured" in a way that would make me find all sort of negative characteristics to it - I had sold mine 4 or 5 years ago -  as I have learned quite a bit in the process but, you know what -  I think I can handle the Pod's own shortcomings just fine. Nothing that bothers me half as much as with my attempts with soft sims. Plus, it frees up the CPU. :p

I still believe that the proper conjunction of hardware and software (+ impulses) can yield even better results. But it's definitely not the case of plugging into your audio interface's instrument input and dialing a tone in the software. And it isn't necessarily a more cost effective option either. 

For someone like me who tends to agonize over the slightest detail when I'm given the opportunity, I guess it's preferable to set the tone upfront, record as is and work it out from there on. Though all that testing paid off somehow.

Of course, this doesn't beat a mic'ed amp, but, being on the road, portability and the ability to record at low volume are non-negotiable. 

Still, I feel maybe this thread should be kept alive as long as it's inspiring to some - and it's not like I've completely given up on software either. So if anyone feels like sharing more tips and pointing us in new directions, please feel free to chime in. :)

A simple POD 2. In all honesty, I'm done "re-amping" for a while. I got more work done in the last 2 hours alone than I had in a very very long while. For once I'm okay with the performance and I can live with the sound - nothing I can't eq and maybe compress to a level I consider satisfying. 

It just makes things much easier in my situation (working on a laptop) - no need to worry about latency and resources, freezing, bouncing, no need to constantly go back to plug-ins and scroll through menus, copy channel settings, re-record... I can just focus on playing.

As much as I like software, I end up being non-productive as I prefer to have a feel for the tone that's as close to what I like as possible when I'm playing - meaning that even if I record dry, I usually don't just re-amp if I opt for a different amp/cab - I re-record the whole thing with the closest approximation to what I have in mind. And probably because there was always a missing link (hardware), I just never felt like I had recorded a keeper - either the performance wasn't right or I didn't "feel" the sound, or whatever. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.

Trying to capture a decent performance in that context can be pretty nightmarish.

Even if a lot of that stuff will be re-recorded in studio, which makes the whole thing a bit silly, I never previously reached a level where I felt I could let go. And doing a quick a/b test of my previous laborious attempts, even if sonically there are good things with the impulses, in terms of performance, its night and day. 

That's just me and my setup, of course.

Thanks for sharing Starise! :) Cool tone. 

The Pod 2 doesn't have as many models - 32  - still, that's twice as many as what I was used to with the first one, and I was happy with that. No USB port either, and I think all deep editing must be performed via Sound Diver or maybe a more modern equivalent. Anyway, I don't have a MIDI port, so it's out of the question.

Nevertheless, version 2 allows me to access all amps and cabs on the POD itself, which is pretty much all I need. Somehow, I'm glad that it's all off the computer. As I mentioned earlier, I can live with these tones.

The cabs are a bit darker. Doing some AB testing and comparing with the tones I had obtained via software, it made it even more obvious that software tend to sound a lot brighter - not to say excessively bright. 

I think Line 6 may have intentionally opted for darker impulses so that their emulation never sounds  harsh, even at the cost of sounding a bit muffled at timed. Almost as if they tried to reproduce the good old natural rolloff of pre-digital recordings. Not to a point where they can't be eq'ed and made brighter. So it's all good.

I've disabled the cab emulation and dabbled with impulses just for fun. The results were interesting, though I'm not sure I'm willing to spend much energy in that direction. This also seemed to confirm that their own impulses are "tuned" to avoid sounding harsh - Pod + impulses still sounds smoother and rounder than just an amp sim and impulses but the it also gets closer to that digital harshness.

At any rate, I must say I'm happy with it - the first few hours playing with it left me feeling pretty much the same way I felt when I bought my very first Marshall. Like, ok, that cares care of the problem. That's my tone, now lets make some music.

I'm anxious to share some of that stuff here - though it might take a while. 

Yup. My first software only option was Pod Farm. But I just can't get it to work. 

I thought I had finally managed to get it working using the VST version instead of the Audio Unit in StudioOne last week, but after 30 minutes, it started crashing again and corrupted the project. Fortunately, it was a dedicated test project, created for the sole purpose of trying Pod Farm, so I didn't lose anything.
It's rather sad though - I've just found out that they made it available w/o an iLock and I was pretty much sold to it - even if I now have the Pod, I probably would have bought it for the effects. 

Looking at their forums, it seems like 2.5 really is a problematic release for a lot of people, at least on the Mac platform. 

batsbrew


pignose, microphone, done!

Hotel room, Russia = Pod, headphones. ;)

Once we get back, of course, it'll probably be Marshall + 4 x 12 cab all the way up. 

in fact, i've thought about doing a 'modern' interpretation of that very thing, with my boogie..

using a Vox Brian May Deacy, as the 'preamp'.





it was only $150 back in the day....


Fans of Queen recognize the unmistakable guitar tones of Brian May. His smoothly overdriven, almost violin like guitar solos can be heard in such songs as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "You're My Best Friend." His signature guitar tone is largely developed by passing his guitar signal first through a treble booster, then through the input of a hand made low wattage "Deacy" amplifier made for Brian by Queen bassist John Deacon. The output of the "Deacy" amp then feeds an array of up to twelve non top boosted Vox AC-30 amplifiers.
Vox introduced the VBM-1 Brian May Special amplifier in 2003. Vox wanted to build a package that would combine both the treble booster and the sound of the "Deacy" amp circuit. Brian May allowed Vox engineers access to the "Deacy" amp so they could develop the circuits necessary to accurately reproduce these unmistakable tones.