Amp Sim VSTs (are those gizmos?)

[Jim Soloway]

I spent a couple hours playing with the free version of Amplion today and I thought it sounded pretty good. I know people have commented on several Amp VST's in various threads and really like to hear what people are using, how they like the interface and how well they were able to get quality clean tones. Anyone?

[wzpgsr]

S-Gear sounds great and has only a handful of amps so you don’t get overwhelmed with options. Jazz tones can be had with probably each of the models—I tended towards the Custom 57 (tweed) and The Wayfarer (blackface Fender camp, with tons of options for making it more Twin or Deluxe-like, Dumble-like, Boogie-like).

Free trial to be had here. Fully functional I believe for 14 days.

https://www.scuffhamamps.com/product/s-gear

Still, and this applies to modeling in general for me, with all the knobs and hidden options and submenus and routing options and impulse responses, plus my preference for hearing my guitar through a guitar as opposed to studio monitors or headphones, I have pretty much ditched modeling altogether.

For my purposes, it’s much less hassle to run a line out from the Quilter Superblock US to my audio interface, and if I want to punish myself by sending the signal FRFR and choosing an IR in the DAW, I can do that with the Quilter as well.

[Jim Soloway]

S-Gear sounds great and has only a handful of amps so you don’t get overwhelmed with options. Jazz tones can be had with probably each of the models—I tended towards the Custom 57 (tweed) and The Wayfarer (blackface Fender camp, with tons of options for making it more Twin or Deluxe-like, Dumble-like, Boogie-like).

Free trial to be had here. Fully functional I believe for 14 days.

https://www.scuffhamamps.com/product/s-gear

Still, and this applies to modeling in general for me, with all the knobs and hidden options and submenus and routing options and impulse responses, plus my preference for hearing my guitar through a guitar as opposed to studio monitors or headphones, I have pretty much ditched modeling altogether.

For my purposes, it’s much less hassle to run a line out from the Quilter Superblock US to my audio interface, and if I want to punish myself by sending the signal FRFR and choosing an IR in the DAW, I can do that with the Quilter as well.

Thanks. I downloaded the Scuffham demo this morning. Sounded really good right out of the box but I can sure see what you mean about the depth if the rabbit hole they provide. Quite something.

[wzpgsr]

Thanks. I downloaded the Scuffham demo this morning. Sounded really good right out of the box but I can sure see what you mean about the depth if the rabbit hole they provide. Quite something.

Quick way to get started is load the American Clean preset and tweak to your liking.

[Jim Soloway]

Quick way to get started is load the American Clean preset and tweak to your liking.

That's exactly what I did. Then I recorded a passage that I often use for testing because it stresses the low end more than anything else that I play. This is what I came up with in about 10 minutes. I'm never a great critic of my own work, especially right as I'm doing it but I think this is pretty good.

[wzpgsr]

That's exactly what I did. Then I recorded a passage that I often use for testing because it stresses the low end more than anything else that I play. This is what I came up with in about 10 minutes. I'm never a great critic of my own work, especially right as I'm doing it but I think this is pretty good.

This sounds fantastic. Maybe the best I've heard from your recent experiments. The top-end is much warmer, in a good way, than some of your other posts. Maybe consider rolling just a hair off the low-end, like 150 Hz, if not even a bit lower. And not too much. Could be "proximity effect" from the mic placement in whatever IR you're using. You might keep all amp settings exactly as they are now and just pull the mic back a couple of inches in the IR interface to see if you can't bring the bass down that way.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

You might keep all amp settings exactly as they are now and just pull the mic back a couple of inches in the IR interface to see if you can't bring the bass down that way.

Why would one mic an amplifier to record with a computer-based simulation package or plug-in? Running the computer's audio out through a DAC into an amp for analog recording with a mic seems to me to be defeating the whole purpose of computer simulation. And the process would probably add audible latency that you couldn't dial out.

I've used my laptop for live performance with stand-alone instruments like Native's B4, and it's very hard to achieve 0 msec latency even with a good USB keyboard or the Roland GK3 pickup. How are you using it, Jim?

[Jim Soloway]

Why would one mic an amplifier to record with a computer-based simulation package or plug-in? Running the computer's audio out through a DAC into an amp for analog recording with a mic seems to me to be defeating the whole purpose of computer simulation. And the process would probably add audible latency that you couldn't dial out.

I've used my laptop for live performance with stand-alone instruments like Native's B4, and it's very hard to achieve 0 msec latency even with a good USB keyboard or the Roland GK3 pickup. How are you using it, Jim?

You've misunderstood what he's saying. In the software it shows a simulation of speaker cabs and mics. You get to choose from a variety of "mic-types" and you get controls that allow you to fine tune the position of the virtual-mics to the virtual speaker, both what part of the speaker it focuses on and how far from the speaker it's positioned. So it's all virtual and since it's all done in a VST plug-in, it can be fine tuned infinitely without ever permanently altering the original recording.

[Jim Soloway]

This sounds fantastic. Maybe the best I've heard from your recent experiments. The top-end is much warmer, in a good way, than some of your other posts. Maybe consider rolling just a hair off the low-end, like 150 Hz, if not even a bit lower. And not too much. Could be "proximity effect" from the mic placement in whatever IR you're using. You might keep all amp settings exactly as they are now and just pull the mic back a couple of inches in the IR interface to see if you can't bring the bass down that way.

Thanks. Both my wife and I agree with your assessment. I have all of these files uploaded to Soundcloud and I get to check them against one another really easily. I have a second direct file that I've run through Scuffham and it's also better than any of the testing I've been doing. I did play with the speaker placement a bit and I could see where it would give me more control in a much less destructive way than I'm able to do with an EQ. This is really cool stuff.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

You've misunderstood what he's saying. In the software it shows a simulation of speaker cabs and mics. You get to choose from a variety of "mic-types" and you get controls that allow you to fine tune the position of the virtual-mics to the virtual speaker, both what part of the speaker it focuses on and how far from the speaker it's positioned. So it's all virtual and since it's all done in a VST plug-in, it can be fine tuned infinitely without ever permanently altering the original recording.

Is there an adjustment for position of the cabinet relative to the virtual floor and wall(s)?

[Jim Soloway]

Is there an adjustment for position of the cabinet relative to the virtual floor and wall(s)?

No but three mics and 19 cabs.

[Esport]

I’ve been using Amplitube 4 for years and like it a lot. I experiment with a bunch of combinations and have quite a few presets saved for different applications. Since I cut my teeth playing guitar through headphones, I have no issue with how the sound “reads” when running through my DAW. I’d love if there was a Quilter amp sim to test out if it were one that got close. Add a Polytone sim to that list while we’re at it.

[feet]

Been researching and experimenting and doing this almost full time since the beginning of 2020. For me, nothing beats softube amp room. Amplitube 5 gets some use, too.

Truth is, any top tier option is sufficient. Amp room, amplitube, neural, STL, Helix, Kemper, fractal, and maybe others. Any is fine as long as you know what you're doing (that last part is key). Certain sims work better for certain goals, workflows, situations, etc, but at this stage, they don't really sound better. That's mostly user skill/error.

For the jazzing fellow, I'd also go amp room first. Between the two fenders, the hiwatt and the ampeg, you should have enough high head room cleans to choose from, and nothing out there is simpler to use. It has the best user interface in my opinion.

Best advice I could give to starters would be to run it in stereo, hard pan two irs/cabs left and right and put some reverb on a send and bring some of that in; a nice room/studio kind of sound. That should give you max "realism" for day to day noodling. Then you can slap on a bigger spring/plate/hall on a second send for a bigger sound. If it's an option, I generally prefer most time based effects on a send.

PS: one last thing. Get to know your input gain. Tailor that to your amp and guitar's output. Need more clean headroom? Bring the input gain down. Sounds a little anemic? Raise the input gain. If everything sounds a little flat or meh that's the first thing I'd check.

1180637[/URL]]I’ve been using Amplitube 4 for years and like it a lot. I experiment with a bunch of combinations and have quite a few presets saved for different applications. Since I cut my teeth playing guitar through headphones, I have no issue with how the sound “reads” when running through my DAW. I’d love if there was a Quilter amp sim to test out if it were one that got close. Add a Polytone sim to that list while we’re at it.

the upgrade to amplitube 5 is worth it, as it's worlds beyond 4, not that 4 was that bad.

[VanEpsInDeChirico]

I've mostly used Native Instruments Guitar Rig. Getting good clean sounds is pretty easy, especially if you're good at EQing and compressing. The effects and driven tones are not amazing, though. I'm considering buying a Boss Katana just for the ability to USB it into my laptop and record directly from the amp, which in my opinion has better tones and effects overall, than any VST guitar amp simulator I've used.

[dconeill]

[In re: recording made with Scuffham S-Gear, starting point "American Clean".]

That's exactly what I did. ...

Wonderful sound.