Psychobillybob


I think this is a preference to what kind of music you record...I almost would NEVER use an amp sim to record metal etc...but for clean/blues/classic...TH2 is really good...

It all depends on how you place stuff in the mix...and metal is an artform

TH2 Metal Demo

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

i would like TH2 a whole lot more if we had been given the full version.

sharke

 To be honest I'm not that keen on the clean sounds in GR

I always use the Cool Plex module for clean in GR5. Remember to ALWAYS use the Control Room Pro module for cabs (the 2x12 American cab is a favorite of mine.), the other cab modules should really be thrown away or at the very least just for when you're strapped for CPU power. 


I think Guitar Rig can produce clean tones as good as anything out there if you choose the right components and tweak them a bit. 


GR's problem is that they still have all the crap original amp models in there (such as the Vox and Fender Twin), together with the old Cab modules (Cabinets & Mic, Matched Cabinet and Control Room), so it's easy to be disappointed when browsing presets. 


Sven

I found that they all are great but you really have to fine tune them to your own taste , Or should I say Recipe . Every time I get a new tube amp it takes me awhile to get all the little nuances right . The lite versions don't give you all the tools you need to get that formula you want. The presets of these software and modeling goodies could be better  . Some are better than others in the preset department. It helps to have one of those PRS impedance matching Boxes or a good direct box. for any of them. I love that TH2 full version!! and Waves GTR3   

So far, I'm liking the TH2 sounds. I was never impressed with Guitar Rig sounds. 

I was put off by the th2 interface. I finally figured some of the quirks about it out and I like the clean sound just fine. But I usually did fine with GR5. It took me about a year to come down to certain sounds that I like in GR and my favorite AMP has been the rectifier. I can go from sparkling clean to heavy metal. Having played the Dual Rec and Mini-rec through a 212 mesa cabinet, I can honestly say Mesa is well developed in GR5. I go for a brown sound with the Plexi and have had some fun with the Cool and Hot Plexi. As for TH2, I tried the Clean and Crunch presets. Both were reasonably well reproduced... I just prefer my amps to be mic'd. I'll use amp sims to play around with but when time to lay a track I'll go back to the amp. There is a fullness to the sound that comes through that I can't readily duplicate on amp software yet. Having played since the late '70's my hardest thing to get past is digital reverbs for guitars. I love the spring sound of my old Yamaha G100 stack.

I've upgraded to full TH2 and I really like its sound.
The menu structure is pretty lame but maybe it's just me.

In terms of sound I'd say I like ReValverMK3.5 best.
Then comes TH2 and then Guitar Rig 5 Pro.

But, and that's a huge point for Guitar Rig: It killes all of them in terms of fx!
GR has so much more from DJ fx to a great reverb unit...you can do so much more with this programm.
Still the Amps sound much more realistic in ReValver and TH2.

But I have a use for all of them depending on the situation.

For distortion and effects, I think GR5 wins. On a cleaner or semi-distorted tone, AmpliTube is really strong.  TH2 is ok, but the producer edition didn't do enough for me to buy the upgrade.

I've had TH2 for a while, bought it when it came out. Also have Pod Farm, GR5, Amplitube and S-Gear + some other stuff, demoed Revalver for a while but never pulled the trigger. I've found that which guitar you use has a lot of effect on which ampsim to use, some of my guitars are very picky and some works all around.  

Sad to say TH2 haven't been much in use, I find it a bit of work to tweak it. It's good for clean sounds and crunch, but I think it lacks some of the punch I get from the others and it's more neutral sounding. My favourites are Pod farm and GR5 all round, Amplitube for my Strats and Teles and S-Gear when I want it to sound like a guitar amp. I have around 2000 presets in Pod Farm and GR5 making it easy to find a fitting preset and tweak it, paired with lots of effects it makes them very versatile.  

I've always found that digital amp simulators (hardware or software) never really cut it for me - maybe because I have at one time or another owned originals of many of the fx they claim to emulate (and at least three or four of the amps). I find back to back comparison with a valve amp and the "original" fx rapidly reveals emulator's flaws both in sound quality and how they respond to the guitar.

When I use an amp sim I use Sansamp pedals which I find closer to the "real thing".

However, I have to say that the basic amp sounds in TH2 are, in my opinion, pretty good. I can actually see myself using them at times. I'm much less convinced by the effects, with the possible exception of the spring reverb. It's not quite the same as my Fender re-issue '63 valve reverb but it's surprisingly close. Now if it could be put in front of the amp and cabinet sims.....

I like the lack of presets, by the way - it's no different to your starting point with a hardware fx/amp rig after all.