Been on a rampage, self reality check over the need for new stuff.
 
Going back thru gigabytes of crap on top of crap and revisiting some guitar plugs, 32 bit but worth every byte download.
 
Don't laugh, but Ampltube Live 2 is a killer. When amp 3 came out, asked the devs how to get the overdrive sounds of 2 into 3. They said it is there, but my ears said otherwise. IK dumped the authorization but was able to get Amp 2 reauthorized before going for the Warez crack. Really powerful unit. Far less options than Amp 3 or 4, but maybe part of the utility. Silly as it may be, still sounds better.
 
HEAD CASE!!!
 
As of recent, an absolute gem for guitarists. Ver 1.54 is now freeware, and you never had this option for free. Respected dev is supposedly working on ver 2.
 
Utility of this monster is to dial in a compressor before Head Case and then adjust the noise gate from within Head Case to minimize noise. The sustain is not normal, in the finest way. Niche or go to processor.
 
Crazy function of HeadCase is that elegant custom heads were created by some real sound gurus. They are distributed as jpeg files. Load the jpeg and all the info, settings are brought to life. (Four of my Outcast series in the mix, humbly submitted.)
 
Some legal crap shut down the distribution of the heads. I however have over 200 dynamite original amp heads before the site was shut down. If anyone gets into Head Case and wants more heads, pls PM me and will send a zip file of incredible creations.
 
If you do not have this in your arsenal, it needs to be. Many testify that this is the best guitar processing unit on the planet. Under the hood processing is not equalled anywhere else. This much I can testify.
 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7630363/Releases/HeadCase/FreewareHeadCase/The%20Latest%20HeadCase%20Freeware.zip
 
John

Where is 1.54 available for free? I'm probably missing the obvious.

Click on the provided link above. Should start download of the zip file for 1.54 free.

Cheers, JK, great write up!

John
 
I thought they looked familiar after doing a google search ..
Mixcraft 7 comes with a few of them .... the few I have tried in Mixcraft do sound very good ..
 

 

 
Kenny

I'm kinda terrified of .exe files, I'm assuming this has been tried and no Greek invaders have swarmed from their horse and taken over the city of Troy aka your computer?

Guys,
 
The download exe is exactly the same as the commercial rig many of us purchased. No adds, no spyware, nothing but the program. Only difference is it's now for free.
 
If I remember right, the Mixcraft inclusion was "Shred", which was the free teaser for HeadCase. More limited, but still good.
 
Think I'm correct in that the vast array of amp heads all come from the same central creation lab in the program that lets you go off the deep end. Create about anything you can think of and publish to a jpeg file.
 
There was at one time an impressive library of user designed heads. Unique both in the sounds and in the graphic artistry. None of them were really attempts to clone anything, though some of them have titles of Marshall this or Orange that. Grem cranked out a few fine sims. Things got ugly at one point, unfair attack on the dev and we had to shut down the communal sharing site. Such a loss.
 
Still have a stash of a couple hundred of these masterpieces in a zip file (should probably get Grem's permission to include his creations).
 
If you download the program and want some of the heads, PM with an email that will take attachments.
 
John
 

Friends,
 
Slaving away at the pit, but will send out the requests for the Head Case head jpegs late today.
 
Not at the computer now, but a couple points. Note that installation creates two icons for utilities in addition to the vst and standalone. Head Installer and Head Builder. The installer is the utility that loads the jpeg files and installs the new head. Select the jpeg or drag and drop onto the GUI of the installer.
 
Head Builder gets you into the creation mode, selecting an assortment of transistors, tubes, preamp, poweramp parameters. Set bias, eq, resonances, controls and their ranges etc etc.
 
Once the amp is built, you have to give it a design. I used Photoshop, Fractal Xtreme, Xara 3D and some knob graphics from the internet.
 
You then save the file as a jpeg image after the image parts are assembled in the builder. The image carries all the design data from the circuit build. Next person takes your jpeg image and installs the image thru the installer utility. There are some really fine creations and I’d be glad to try out anything you can come up with. Bit of a learning curve, but worth the effort.
 
Zip file in the mail later.
 
John

Thanks, John, for reminding me of yet another oldie-but-goodie that I need to re-acquire.
 
 

You're welcome, Bit.
 
Found the stash of heads, but I have about 150, short of the over 200 I thought were there, but some great stuff.
 
Sending out the zip per requests. Please PM if they don't get through. Anyone else wanting these, PM with an email that can take attachments. I'll send you the collection.
 
John