Personally, I see the Slash thing as a good thing, since it opened the door for the first (and hopefully not last) authorized Marshall. I'm hoping we'll see more of them, and not necessarily signature ones. After all, Jimmy Page didn't have a signature Marshall. 
 
I'm not really up to speed when it comes to who has their signature Marshall rigs - the real hardware ones I mean. In fact, Slash is the first one who comes to mind. Zakk Wylde, maybe. Malmsteen...


The things is that IK has to make a deal w/ the guy - and most of the time when I've read interviews w/ the big names,  whether it's Satriani or the guys in Metallica or whoever, when they talk about amp sims, they don't really make it sound like they'd want to put their name on it. They use Guitar Rig or whichever amp sim to cut demos, period - they're usually pretty clear about it.  Maybe Slash doesn't set the bar as high. ;)

Anyway, that's just my perception of it. If I were to be very serious about my tone, the last thing I'd do is try to replicate someone else's using the same gear. I've always preferred doing the opposite actually - trying to get a Marshall to sound Vox-ey or trying to get a Hendrix sort of tone using an amp he probably never used

Slash was using AmpliTube iRig on the road to write his last album. He was looking for a quick way to jot ideas down and send them to his band mates. He found AmpliTube iRig incredibly useful and perfect for what he needed. After a bit he wanted HIS tone on the go so we got to work and now....Well AmpliTube Slash is a hit. Not only did we get Slash's personal Marshall's - But even Marshall were impressed and helped us get the tone spot on! He talks about it in this video too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJNec1MEDzg

We have a longer video up where Slash gives some of the history behind the Marshall JCM Slash 2555SL. Pretty cool stuff. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZjQ1clNPA4 And I get it. Being perpetually cynical is is a good compensation tool for some people. But actually Slash is a long time AmpliTube users, and he's used our studio software on many albums, too.

Rain

tecknot


I was wondering, why Slash? There are so many other well known and much better players that have attention to their tone; Slash never enters my mind. Say, Eric Johnson, Adrien Belew, David Gilmore, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Edge, Neil Giraldo, Roger Fisher (of early Heart fame)...and on, and on. I gotta say, IK is 'jumping the shark' here. Slash is a one trick pony of a player. There's not much more to say about that. He's certainly not the only guitarist to plug into a Marshal, that's for sure. Hey, I hear Page isn't doing anything nowadays.

If I were to market a product to the masses and put a guitar player's face on it, besides Jimi Hendrix, Slash would probably be on top of my list - strictly from an advertising point of view. Not because he is the best, but he is probably the most recognizable guitar player out there. You can draw Slash with 3 lines,  and anyone who hasn't been in a coma for the last 20 years will associate that w/ guitar. Big curly hair, a top hat, a pair of round glasses - there you go. 

Plus, out of all of those really old guys mentioned, Slash is the least old. Any reason you left Santana off that list? He's old and is known for his "tone". Generally speaking, marketing your product w/ a creepy old Rock 'n Roll guitar player guy on the box cover is not the way to go. I mean think of the possibilities... Keith Richards w/ his bourbon soaked scraggly hair and leather-faced old man complexion... or Pete Townshend w/ his... oh never mind, we all know what he did...
 
Which leaves Eric Johnson... If you're going to say Eric Johnson, then I'll come back w/ John Scofield... they're both on the esoteric side as far as marketing to the general public, but at least Scofield seems to know a few more modes than EJ. Plus, with just the right Random Pitch Modifier and Random Note Gate stomp pedals, anybody could turn their plain ol' pentatonic shape #1 solo into a John Scofield Jazz Fusion Masterpiece(tm). I kid... I love both EJ and JS... certainly two of my all time favorites... could do with less vocal from EJ, though...
 
 

Of those you mentioned, Gilmour would probably be my personal pick

A BIG +1

Gilmour is a particularly brilliant illustration of the fact that it's all in the fingers. He's recorded some amazing solos straight in the board (the first lead in Shine on You Crazy Diamond). 

Otherwise, well, a strat and a Hi Watt would be the first thing I'd think of. And Amplitube features a particularly good HiWatt model (one of my absolute favorite models in AT, incidentally).

Rain


Personally, I see the Slash thing as a good thing, since it opened the door for the first (and hopefully not last) authorized Marshall. I'm hoping we'll see more of them, and not necessarily signature ones. After all, Jimmy Page didn't have a signature Marshall. 

For the sake of the discussion, and as a guitarist, I cannot imagine that Slash is putting together deals between IK and Marshall.  Certainly, IK could have gone directly to Marshall as they did with Fender.

The things is that IK has to make a deal w/ the guy - and most of the time when I've read interviews w/ the big names,  whether it's Satriani or the guys in Metallica or whoever, when they talk about amp sims, they don't really make it sound like they'd want to put their name on it. They use Guitar Rig or whichever amp sim to cut demos, period - they're usually pretty clear about it.  Maybe Slash doesn't set the bar as high. ;) 

Seems to me all the more reason to have a guitarist's guitar player to promote IK products.  If Sach and Hetfield don't take Amplitube seariously, why use a cartoon of a player?  It just reinforces an imagine of Amplitube as an inferior product. 

Anyway, that's just my perception of it. If I were to be very serious about my tone, the last thing I'd do is try to replicate someone else's using the same gear. I've always preferred doing the opposite actually - trying to get a Marshall to sound Vox-ey or trying to get a Hendrix sort of tone using an amp he probably never used

But your point here would be my point as well... Many guitarist use the same amps, processors, etc., but create unique tones/sounds.  It's the inspiration we get from other guitarists and musician alike that we pursue learning and playing in the first place.  Does Slash really inspire anyone?  Talk about setting the bar low.  (OK, that may be a pretty low blow to Slash and G&R fans - which I am not - but I would hope listening to G&R for the first time would open the door to more serious guitarist such as Randy Rhoads (talk about a Marshall user with great tone), etc.)


keith

Plus, out of all of those really old guys mentioned, Slash is the least old. Any reason you left Santana off that list? He's old and is known for his "tone". Generally speaking, marketing your product w/ a creepy old Rock 'n Roll guitar player guy on the box cover is not the way to go. I mean think of the possibilities... Keith Richards w/ his bourbon soaked scraggly hair and leather-faced old man complexion... or Pete Townshend w/ his... oh never mind, we all know what he did... 

My list is not exhaustive hence the "and on, and on" at the end of my list.  Absence of any notable guitarist is not a knock (not that I would include Richards anyway, but he does have tone).  But it's not about how old the representative is, but what she or he has done for guitar.  I am not hip to most of the modern "alternative" rock guitarist to date, but I am sure there are some good ones (despite the music they write).  Actually, the front guy for Muse comes to mind.

Which leaves Eric Johnson... If you're going to say Eric Johnson, then I'll come back w/ John Scofield... they're both on the esoteric side as far as marketing to the general public, but at least Scofield seems to know a few more modes than EJ. Plus, with just the right Random Pitch Modifier and Random Note Gate stomp pedals, anybody could turn their plain ol' pentatonic shape #1 solo into a John Scofield Jazz Fusion Masterpiece(tm). I kid... I love both EJ and JS... certainly two of my all time favorites... could do with less vocal from EJ, though... 

What is funny in this thread is that for those of us who mention guitarists, we all recognize them.  Those names are all well known to all of us who play.  So, why wouldn't having anyone of these guitarist attract players (new or otherwise) to try out IK products in general?  Keep promoting Amplitube as toy software and you are only going to attract superficial interests by those you will have no idea of how to create their own individual sound using the same tools.  And as Rain hinted at, if people want to sound like another musician, just give them that sound without all the unnecessary options.



Well, I am sure I beat this horse to death.  I excuse myself from further discussion on this point.  I hope you respect my point of view.


Kind regards,


tecknot

I don't know why you went with Slash either. You should have got Buckethead and given KFC coupons with every putchase. That would have been and awesome deal!!! ;-)

I think the idea is not to promote Amplitube as a toy as it is to also appeal to a certain audience. There's room for both.

I do not consider AT in particular as a toy - to me it's as good and as bad as the competition. It has its shiny moments, some other aspects are less glorious. But I use it just like I use Pod Farm, Guitar Rig, Waves GTR, Avid's Eleven, Logic's Amp Designer and S-Gear (well I do consider S-Gear a notch above all the aforementioned). The single fact that I own all of these tells a lot I think (well, besides the fact that I'm an addict). I'm not mentioning the collection of cab impulses.

But the point is that it's not less capable than the others. I simply think that anyone who can afford studio time and to record real amps and cabinets still opts for the real thing. Satriani and Hammet weren't putting down AT, in fact, they were talking about Guitar Rig. But I don't think they're all that concerned about brand names. The software isn't as crucial to them as it is to some of us - I don't think they'd agonize over comparisons between AT and GR and others. They use it to cut demos, and don't seem to expect to find one that'll blow them away. 

I'm not saying amp sim systematically can't work, simply that, in the long run, getting that tone can be even more complex than it'd be w/ amps and mics. I've had to rely on them extensively for the last year while on the road and the one thing that became obvious is that it's very easy to get unusable tones out of them - it's probably the easiest thing to achieve actually. It's like each model has it's narrow sweet spot where it sounds relatively close to the actual amp, but twist the knobs around and you loose it.

OTOH, give me even just a little tiny Marshall combo and it'll never sound "bad" no matter how I twist the knobs. The tones are just different and diverse, but it always sound like an amp, and, at least for a Jimmy Page fan, pretty much all of those tones are usable. ;) 

Cool discussion by the way.

Definitely! Plus its more about what you do with tools like AmpliTube Slash. Slash wrote his last album with these tools, what are you guys doing with them? Live gigging? Recording? Replacing amps in the studio? Practicing in your apartment? Jamming at the park on the go?