Guitar Rig vs. Amplitude

I have both. I find myself using Amplitube 3 most. The sound is a little more warmer. I like having the option of going to the Custom Shop site and downloading just the amps, speakers, and fx that I want as opposed to buying a plugin with hundreds of amps that I will never use. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to be said for GR! I used it tons before I got Amplitube. I think it really depends on how you hear guitar sounds yourself. There are free trial downloads for both. I would suggest downloading and trying both of them.

I have both, and use both quite often.  I think with Amplitube 3, IK Multimedia did a great job of capturing some of the playing dynamics that had been missing in most amp sims that came before.  Is it perfect, probably not, but it's pretty damned good.  I also like using Guitar Rig Pro  and use it more often for things other than guitar these days,  I like some of the tools it has like the splitters (Crossover and Split Module) and modifiers (Step sequencer, LFO,  and Analog Sequencer) that allow for more abstract type sounds.  It works great on keys and other sampled instruments.

Another one to look at depending on the style of music you play is Schuffham S-Gear:

http://www.scuffhamamps.com/

It seems to be one of the more talked about amp sims these days, doing everything from clean to quite over driven.  I've held off buying it as I already have too many amp sims, but I'm loosing my willpower by the day as I hear more examples of recordings folks have made with it.  Now they are previewing the upcoming ModThing and I think it sounds great:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugYThEsF6ik

Personally I've always preferred Waves GTR3 over Guitar Rig - I've found the sounds (particularly the Neil Citron free add ons) to be much more realistic and usable.  It requires a dongle, which is a downer, but otherwise, I'd highly recommend checking it out.

Unfortunately I've never been able to get it working since I upgraded to a 64 bit OS and Sonar x64 (despite Waves supposedly supporting 64 bit now).  This problem is unique to my pc though, as it works fine for everyone else it seems.

GR is really nice as an FX processor and I like the user interface much better.

But, even though it's UI is frustrating, I tend to like the amp sounds in Amplitube 3 much better.

meh


Have been thinking about buying new soft amps....any opinions on these two, or other suggestions?
 
tia
meh 

If I want something to sound like my guitar is plugged directly into a classic tube combo sitting in a real room (without having to make a lot of adjustments) I use Amplitube. 
 
If I want to create some otherwordly effect laden sounds I go to GR5.  Also, GR5 can be inserted as an effect on any type of audio track.  Lots of fun as in "gee I always wondered what a Hammond organ would sound like run through a tube screamer."

Does or has anyone used Studio Devil's Guitar Amp II?    It's currently the same price as Scuffham, $79, but I haven't user either one myself.  
 
I have been using the free version of Amp Lion recently, which seems pretty good too.
 

 I have GR pro 5, Amplitube 3.5 + fender pack + ampeg pack and a few other add ons, Pod farm 2 platinum, and SGear.


My personal experience is that each have some killer sounds and some not so good ones, and I just reach to the plugin I prefer for the guitar / type of sound I would use.


Initially, I didn't like GR, but with version 5, I have been using it more and more, with great results and have found it excellent at many things such as surf guitar sounds and blues sounds.


Sgear, in my opinion is strictly blues / classic rock, but I'm sure others will have a different opinion.


Amplitube has some killer sounds too and as someone else says has a little bit more "dynamics", sounds a bit more "live", but I would say it doesn't always seat in the mix as well as others for that reason at times. It is also rubbish in terms of workflow (for instance, you add the tuner to your chain, but you stiff have to switch the tuner on as an additional steps, the routing is over complicated, and adding effects is nowhere near as easy as any other platforms where you just drag and drop stuff in one single place)


Amp farm is in my opinion the most versatile of the lot, the one that covers most bases best.


I would find it very difficult to use one only, but if I had too, I'd say I'd get the best overall sounds using amp farm.


I would so miss GR and amplitube though!!


The truth is they are all good, and I personally don't think that GR pro 5 is "better for processing other stuff than guitars". It used to be the case, it used to be great for effects, not so great for amp tones, but I don't think it is true at all now. It is a match for any other plugin.


In the end, it is up to you to try the demos and find out for yourself where your money is best spent.


hope this helps though

I prefer Guitar Rig 4/5 as I only use Amp Sims for a clean/semi clean sound,and Amplitube is more geared to trying for a dirty sound.

For Guts,or Singing lead its ALWAYS the Marshall and 25w Celestion Green Backs-No Contest,even with a cheap dynamic mic.

Apparently Scuffman are the best at real amp sounding simulation,but,I'm too convinced with the real deal,and Guitar Rig has a good enough tonal palette for clean so far.

Bob S.

For heavy distortion I prefer the Juicy 77 vst and it's free.

I have Guitar Rig and like it from the perspective I can make more interesting sounds. I tend to tinker to try to create new sounds.

I WANT to try Amplitude, but...
Amplitude has a business model that confuses the hell out of me. The demo is about useless in terms of what is included, and it doesn't seem like you can just buy the program with everything included. Well, if I can't really test it and don't what exact components I want... why would I buy it? 

konradh: Have had extraordinarily awesome experiences with NI Customer Service, but I know I'm probably the exception.

If someone could explain that to me the Amplitude business model and the true way to test it, I'd love to know.

hockeyjx


I have Guitar Rig and like it from the perspective I can make more interesting sounds. I tend to tinker to try to create new sounds.

I WANT to try Amplitude, but...
Amplitude has a business model that confuses the hell out of me. The demo is about useless in terms of what is included, and it doesn't seem like you can just buy the program with everything included. Well, if I can't really test it and don't what exact components I want... why would I buy it? 

konradh: Have had extraordinarily awesome experiences with NI Customer Service, but I know I'm probably the exception.

If someone could explain that to me the Amplitude business model and the true way to test it, I'd love to know.

There are a lot of options for sure. You can start with the free player and then add components from the custom shop. With the free player and custom shop installed you preview any component before you buy it. This shoul give you the ability to test what is on offer. This would also be the best way to procede if you want a few carefully selected amps cabinets and effects however if you want a lot of stuff this will work out more expensive.
 
I don't think there is any way to buy everthing in a single package. Amplitube 3 is probably the best place to start. I think it has most of the components for the metal and Jimi Hendrex packs included, but not the Fender or Ampeg stuff. It will certinly give you a lot to work with.
 
They Say
 

You’ll get 51 individual stompboxes and effects, 31 amplifier preamp & power sections, 46 speaker cabinet models, 15 high end stage and studio mics, and 17 post amp rack effects.

 
You can then expand it with either the Fender or Ampeg expansions or add individual components from the custom shop. The standard package give you extensive sound shaping capability and I am guessing you would not find an immediate need to expand.
 
When you register any IK software you get Jam points, effectively discounts on future purchases. So it could make sense to regester the first product before buying expansions.
 
I am not a guitarist and I use my amp sims with Orange Tree, Indiginus and Music Labs virtual guitars (and on other sounds). In this context at least I much prefer Amplitube to the Guitar Rig 4 XE version (+Rammfire) I also own both in terms of sound and the interface. However both get used.
 
My 2 penneth on NI's customer service - Call than and its excellent, email them and you can be in for a very long wait.
 

Rain


S-Gear - The finest tones you'll get out of an amp sim.

Yup!!! I have both Guitar Rig 5 and Pod Farm 2 (all models), but Scuffham S-Gear gets the most playing time by FAR!!! 


Even with all the (not all that) different models, Pod Farm sounds identical to a "vintage" '99 POD. It was a giant game-changer when it came out, but it's been surpassed many times since. What's up with Line 6 these days? Have they re-routed all their resources into making wireless stage microphone systems?

Guitar Rig is extremely flexible and I use it for all sorts of reverbs/buss effects/instruments, but S-Gear is my definite goto for plain ol' electric guitar!


Sven

Guitar Rig Tip: Everyone should try out the new(ish) Van 51 (Peavey) model. I had written it off as a metalhead/poodle rock amp (which I don't really need for my type of music) until I tried the clean channel! Warm crunch with a different flavor from all other amp models I've tried! 


Generally, I find that the new models sound a lot better than the original ones, for example I don't use the old Plex model after the Hot Plex and Cool Plex models came out. Sven




GR 5 BTW: Does anyone know of a referance list regarding all cab models inside Control Room Pro (The manual doesn't list them)? For example I use the "American 2x12" a lot and I'm curious as to what speaker the model is based on!