inaheartbeat
I am not a guitar player but I use the amp sims with Real Guitar LPC. I personally get kind of overwhelmed by all the choices with amp sims because I really am not familiar with how a guitar player would typically route signals through different pieces of gear. I have GR5, HeadCase, and TH2 full version. I just happened to get lucky with the TH2 full version and tripped over a guitar tone I really like. It is hard to say it is my favorite but I found Guitar Rig 5 just a bit overwhelming for me. The HeadCase stuff was even ten times more overwhelming. I am sure all of this is wonderful but it is hard to invest huge amounts of time in a learning curve for this stuff for me.
Hard to say if buying even another amp sim would be the way to go. Simple and great would be wonderful but I suspect there really is no such true animal. I wish I knew as much about all that stuff as I do about synths.
Any suggestions welcome!
Now that everybody is asleep, I am going to try and answer your post. I tried earlier but, "I'm not in the mood to be trolled." I know what I am talking about, I played in bands for years. In bands in NYC, and Los Angeles, and I used a real Marshall, and real Stompboxes.
1. I downloaded headcase the other day. It wouldn't initialize in Renoise, I uninstalled it. Tonight I stumbled on a thread @ Reaper Forums. I downloaded headcase again. I tried it in standalone, "I couldn't tell what I was supposed to do." I opened Reaper, I loaded headcase.. OK. I get it now, "headcase is reaktor," for guitar players. Cool. Not my thing.
I don't want to go to deep into this but here is my thing, "I prefer," Rapture to Reaktor, I just like to make some sounds, and focus on that. I like Oxium, and Sugar-Bytes Unique more than Reaktor. I like simple things, that make sound. Its nothing against Reaktor.. Because Reaktor is an amazing software.. But, modular, infinite, totally complicated software is not my thing. PD, Max, Reaktor, Vaz, Headcase, etc, etc, etc.
Should you buy yet another Amp Sim? Probably not. I'm not. I am going to make do with Guitar Rig v5 Pro. I'd consider an upgrade to v6 when the time comes. Why? Because, it is my personal opinion, from playing in bands, from using real world amps, and stompboxes, and hearing real cabinets in real rooms, on real stages, that these amp sims are close, "but no cigar." That goes for all of them, they all have flaws.
What is guitar tone? Its very simple. Guitar tone = signal flow + processors.
Now, here is my big opinion that
I believe I got trolled for earlier, but people did not have an open enough mind to give me a shot.
"If GuitarRig, or all other amp sims, are trying to emulate the real world, would you not get the best tone out setting them up as if it was the real world."
I can tell you, that I am getting way better tone, than the Factory Presets, and way better tone than I thought I could get, by following precisely how I used to setup my guitar rig in real life.. my guitar rig as in, "my guitar into real world stomps, into amp, into cab, etc."
Even when recording, in a studio in 1992.. There would never be a delay device, after a cabinet.
Until you hit the mixing desk.
Signal flow is key: In real life...
Guitar signal/cord comes out of a guitar and goes into --- > stompboxes first ---> preamp 2nd --- > power amp 3rd ----> Cabinet 4th ---> microphone ---> mixing desk ----> PA system ( master track )
There's a couple of other little differences between, "real life and amp sim." The first you can not do anything about, "the sound of the distortion." The second, you have to take notice: The way the EQ operates.
In the real world, on a real amplifier, "there is no real audible difference between 50% wet, and 51% wet." In the software world, each click of each knob, can produce extreme changes. The key to a really slick amp sim sound is attenuation.
Cheers