The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Several months ago I purchased Scuffham's S-gear software. My objective was just to use it for recording and it did make the recording a lot easier almost immediately. It never really occurred to me that I might also enjoy just playing through the software and I don't think I even tried the desk top app. I just kept doing what I've always done: dicking around endlessly with my amp gear constantly changing one thing or another and never quite being entirely happy. A couple things happened recently to change this.

    First, Scuffham brought out a long awaited version 3 and when I downloaded it, part of the update was an install of the desktop app, so it was there staring me in the face. And then a couple days ago I picked up a used pair of KRK Rokit 4 monitors. They're really nothing special. They were the bottom of the Rokit lineup 5 years ago and they're just small active monitors that don't take a lot of space on my desk. I picked up the pair for $200 CDN (call it $150 US). Once I got them plugged in, I decided to test them with the S-Gear desk top app. The results have been totally addictive. There's no latency. The sound is in stereo and at even low volumes I feel like it completely envelopes me while I play. It feels incredibly intimate.

    I have my choice of amp type, reverb, modulation and delay effect. The software is extremely powerful and programable but getting a workable model is really simple and I get to decide how far down the programming rabbit hole I want to dive. I'm pretty sure that any of the most popular modelling suites offer a similar experience. All it takes is a computer, an interface, and a pair of powered monitors and a willingness to be open minded. Total cost for an interface and a pair of monitors starts at about $300. I know that I'm late to this game and that some of you have been doing this with various packages for years but I really wish I had explored this a long time ago. I suspect it would have saved me a lot of money and lost time while bringing me a lot of happiness.

    I was originally planning to say that you could also probably do this with a hardware modeler and I know from previous experience that you can but I found this to be way easier and with many fewer techno-traps in the process.

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  3. #2

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    What are you using for an interface? I have an IK Multimedia HD 2. It’s OK, but I can hear a bit of delay at low volume. If I use headphones so I can’t hear the string vibrate, then it’s not as bothersome.

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by cronus10
    What are you using for an interface? I have an IK Multimedia HD 2. It’s OK, but I can hear a bit of delay at low volume. If I use headphones so I can’t hear the string vibrate, then it’s not as bothersome.
    I have a Universal Audio Volt 2.

  5. #4

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    Forgive me, it sounds all rather complex and above all, very digital to me. As if your computer room is the same as the place where the gig with audience is. Is that so? What is this all worth from a listeners perspective?
    Will you bring your computer, including the appropriate S-Gear desk top app, DI interface,and a pair of powered monitors and the open mind to your next gig or your trusty amp. Just curious...

  6. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by hotpepper01
    Forgive me, it sounds all rather complex and above all, very digital to me. As if your computer room is the same as the place where the gig with audience is. Is that so? What is this all worth from a listeners perspective?
    Will you bring your computer, including the appropriate S-Gear desk top app, DI interface,and a pair of powered monitors and the open mind to your next gig or your trusty amp. Just curious...
    I guess I didn't make this clear. This is only for playing at home. I have a Fender Champion 40 that I can use on a gig but I haven't been gigging much for quite a while where as I play at home about 35 to 40 hours a week (and I know that several people on this forum are in a similar situation).

  7. #6

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    I briefly checked out S-Gear recently and was pretty impressed with the demo vids. Appears easy to use, lots of features, and doesn't break the bank. I guess you could use it live if you had a VERY reliable laptop (if there is such a thing). The thing that's holding me back is, I'd probably never use most of the features - I'm happy with a guitar (Tele) an amp (any amp that makes my guitar louder is a good amp) and a bit of reverb (Earthquake Systems Dispatch Master is my favorite and the only one I have besides what's in my amp). I use a Behringer UMC204 interface and either Reaper or Audacity. If I want tracks, I can do a Real Tracks file in BIAB and send it to the DAW for tweaking then record myself and add any number of plug ins, normalize, render to .wav, then burn to a CD to amaze family and friends. What I'm getting at is, I don't care much about different amps and am not into pedals beyond a little reverb or delay so, for me, anyhow, way more than I need - neat though - glad you're enjoying it.
    Should the rare gig come my way, a Tele, Evans RE200, and the reverb pedal is all I need. Almost all the music I play is from a time before effects were even thought about.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
    I briefly checked out S-Gear recently and was pretty impressed with the demo vids. Appears easy to use, lots of features, and doesn't break the bank. I guess you could use it live if you had a VERY reliable laptop (if there is such a thing). The thing that's holding me back is, I'd probably never use most of the features - I'm happy with a guitar (Tele) an amp (any amp that makes my guitar louder is a good amp) and a bit of reverb (Earthquake Systems Dispatch Master is my favorite and the only one I have besides what's in my amp). I use a Behringer UMC204 interface and either Reaper or Audacity. If I want tracks, I can do a Real Tracks file in BIAB and send it to the DAW for tweaking then record myself and add any number of plug ins, normalize, render to .wav, then burn to a CD to amaze family and friends. What I'm getting at is, I don't care much about different amps and am not into pedals beyond a little reverb or delay so, for me, anyhow, way more than I need - neat though - glad you're enjoying it.
    Should the rare gig come my way, a Tele, Evans RE200, and the reverb pedal is all I need. Almost all the music I play is from a time before effects were even thought about.
    Skip, can I ask a favor? Can you show me your typical settings for the Dispatch Master? i have one here and while I can see that it's cool pedal, I'm struggling to find a sound I would actually use.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    Skip, can I ask a favor? Can you show me your typical settings for the Dispatch Master? i have one here and while I can see that it's cool pedal, I'm struggling to find a sound I would actually use.
    Jim, at the moment, I've got Reverb set @ 10:00, Repeats @10:00, Mix@11:00, Time @9:00. But to be honest, I usually just turn knobs until it sounds right. If I'm doing 'Chet', I use a little slapback along with a touch a of reverb. If I'm playing 'surf', I shut the delay off and just go with reverb - it doesn't get the 'drip' of a Fender or 'Surfy Bear' tank but OK for my purposes. I guess you know that the left side is Reverb and the right side is delay, then you can blend them with the 'mix' control. I was introduced to the Dispatch Master by a Canadian pedal steel player friend of mine named Brian Ostrom. He and his brother (fiddle player) are both in some kind of country hall of fame in Quebec. Great player.

    Hope this helps

  10. #9

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    I've done a number of Covid style recording projects (getting or giving charts and backing tracks, and then contributing wav files to be assembled by the leader). For them, I've used my ME80 to put on a little reverb (I know, a recording engineer would likely say, record dry and add it later, but the Reaper reverb plug-ins I have don't sound as good to me) and gone right into a 2i2 and thence to Reaper. I monitor with my Little Jazz. I use the EQ plug in and that's it. Recorded sounds have been fine in several styles of music.

    Last time I saw Vic Juris (sadly, passed on) he was using a Dispatch Master and sounded great.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    I've done a number of Covid style recording projects (getting or giving charts and backing tracks, and then contributing wav files to be assembled by the leader). For them, I've used my ME80 to put on a little reverb (I know, a recording engineer would likely say, record dry and add it later, but the Reaper reverb plug-ins I have don't sound as good to me) and gone right into a 2i2 and thence to Reaper. I monitor with my Little Jazz. I use the EQ plug in and that's it. Recorded sounds have been fine in several styles of music.

    Last time I saw Vic Juris (sadly, passed on) he was using a Dispatch Master and sounded great.
    Do you want some free reverb plug-ins that work perfectly with Reaper? I've got few of them (all legal). Probably my favorite is Tal Reverb II and it can be downloaded free at this link

    TAL Software

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    Do you want some free reverb plug-ins that work perfectly with Reaper? I've got few of them (all legal). Probably my favorite is Tal Reverb II and it can be downloaded free at this link

    TAL Software
    Thanks!

  13. #12

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    I friend of mine has S-Gear and some good monitors, and I’ve played through it quite a bit at his place. The models sound really good, and record really well. I use Garageband’s amp plugins for most of my how recording, which I think also sound quite good.

    That said, no matter how good the model, I find playing through a desktop rig never really duplicates the amp experience. It’s much more practical for home recording, and the end result is better than I can get micing an amp, but for practicing/playing I usually go for an amp (except late at night).

  14. #13

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    It just doesn’t feel right to me. Give me a Polytone sitting in the corner.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by vintagelove
    It just doesn’t feel right to me. Give me a Polytone sitting in the corner.
    I was scrolling down thinking I've been left behind, I'll stick with my polytone!!

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Soloway
    Do you want some free reverb plug-ins that work perfectly with Reaper? I've got few of them (all legal). Probably my favorite is Tal Reverb II and it can be downloaded free at this link

    TAL Software
    I use TAL DUB II and love it. I don’t see it on the site any more, but there’s a section for sunset plugins and it’s probably in there.

  17. #16

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    For a time I ran a signal chain like this: guitar --> interface --> S-Gear app --> Line 6 PowerCab (FRFR with its own built in speaker emulation + ability to load impulse responses). If you don't mind being tethered to a computer every time you want to play, it's not a bad setup, and sounds more like a traditional guitar cab (because it sort of is one) than studio monitors. It does take some discipline, though—with so many options to tweak I found myself chasing my own tail more than playing. This kind of setup was also a lot more sensitive to different guitars, which created more "opportunities" to fiddle with knobs.

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
    I use TAL DUB II and love it. I don’t see it on the site any more, but there’s a section for sunset plugins and it’s probably in there.
    Plugin Boutique has it for free.

    TAL-Dub-2, Free Delay plugin, Download TAL-Dub-2 plugin, Free TAL vst

    They've been my #1 source for free and legal plugins.

  19. #18

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    For various and sundry reasons, I've moved out of my mancave and into the living room for my computer stuff ... gaming, entertainment, internet surfing, etc. and I'm running my computer into our big flat screen TV.

    A standalone application like S-Gear sounds like it could work for me for practice and recording. The price is very good.


    I would also need a bass amp sim as well, but S-Gear doesn't seem to have that. Using guitar amps for my bass works, but they aren't very satisfying.

    Hauling my bass amp in and out every time I need to work on my bass playing isn't hard, but it is a mental barrier, and a computer amp sim would make it easier to grab my bass and play.


    A quick search on amp sims gets in over my head and budget real quick. A rabbit hole of plug-ins that need expensive audio interfaces to work. A standalone bass amp sim would be nice.

  20. #19

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    PLAYING THROUGH AN AMP VS PLAYING THROUGH MODELING SOFTWARE ON A COMPUTER

    is a big difference with consequences.

    These days many people got lots of guitars but no amp. If you plan to stay at home it doesn't matter (actually it's a lot easier to dial in tones at whisper volume when playing through the computer, so using modeling gear makes sense for home playing). But there's a problem:

    Assume someone plays in a band or wants to play with others and like to practice at home (very common scenario). If you always practice playing through your computer, maybe using headphones for silent practicing, then when the time comes for you to plug into a real amp you'll encounter problems. Guaranteed.

    Making a traditional guitar amp sound good on low volume can be a challenge (for several reasons) but we still have to be in control, learning how to master the amp over a wide range of output levels. We practice playing the amp as we practice playing the guitar. The amp is a part of the instrument and it makes more sense having a few different amps, than having a room full of guitars that are solely played through a computer. If you want to play with others. If you stay at home it doesn't matter.

  21. #20

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    Making a traditional guitar amp sound good on low volume can be a challenge
    Only if you use 70 year old technology.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluedawg
    ... I would also need a bass amp sim as well, ... A quick search on amp sims gets in over my head and budget real quick. A rabbit hole of plug-ins that need expensive audio interfaces to work. A standalone bass amp sim would be nice.
    You don't say what "over my ... budget" is. It would help others to make recommendations if you said what your constraints are.

    That said, there's a free emulation of the GK MB150 available. See this list of good free bass amp vsts. The same author also lists some paid bass amps up to about $300 at this list of paid bass amp vsts.

    If your budget will stretch to $150, there's an Ampeg B-15N simulator available. It only does the B-15N. See this description of the Plugin Alliance B-15N.

    Some of these
    have standalone versions (like S-Gear does), and some probably require a VST host. I've tried several VST bass amps and I regret to say that I don't recall which ones have standalones and which are host-only.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by dconeill
    You don't say what "over my ... budget" is. It would help others to make recommendations if you said what your constraints are.

    That said, there's a free emulation of the GK MB150 available. See this list of good free bass amp vsts. The same author also lists some paid bass amps up to about $300 at this list of paid bass amp vsts.

    If your budget will stretch to $150, there's an Ampeg B-15N simulator available. It only does the B-15N. See this description of the Plugin Alliance B-15N.

    Some of these
    have standalone versions (like S-Gear does), and some probably require a VST host. I've tried several VST bass amps and I regret to say that I don't recall which ones have standalones and which are host-only.

    Many Thanks ... I did see some standalone sims on the lists you linked to.

    My budget would be somewhere around 200 or 300 US$ ... at the moment.

    Lots of research ahead for me.

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by sgosnell
    Only if you use 70 year old technology.
    I think it's mostly about speakers. Playing guitar through hi-fi monitors has consequences. Guitar speakers exist for a reason.

    The electric guitar is an old instrument. Everyone is playing the computer these days. Marshall is making headphones and smartphone speakers, so that we can play back the recorded sound of an guitar amp modeled in a computer synth plug-in.

    When recording we have to make a decision; to mike the amp or go direct into the computer. There are pros and cons. But when playing live I don't want computers on stage. Leave the computers to the "DJ"s to playback their Hiphop.

  25. #24

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    In my office I have a Steinberg UR22 into Neural DSP Cory Wong plugin that I got when it was on sale. It works pretty well for clean sounds.

  26. #25

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    I use both, software or Axe Fx for recording at home or sketching. Then tube amp with cab and mike in live and recording in studio situations. As good as the soft and sim stuff is nowadays, getting a decent tone from analog system is still 1000x faster and easier for me.