What would you advise for guitar plug-in?

[Jonah]

Due to circumstances I switched to a setup Guitar - Focusrite Scarlett - PC (Windows)

I am aware about Guitar Rig and a few others popular plug-ins but I never played like this and I am not a big fan of virtual stuff with plenty of options to handle etc.
I would like something pretty basic for a decent clean tone (and preferably cheap or with a free trial/demo) maybe a few basic effects but even clean tone would be ok for me.

What could you advise?

Thank you

[Bop Head]

This one is for free. Arch-Linux based, runs off USB stick.

GitHub - moddevices/mod-live-usb: MOD platform as bootable Live-USB image

[fep]

Are you running it from a DAW as a VST plugin or are you looking for a standalone app? If with a DAW, which DAW?

[Jim Soloway]

This is a model of a Twin without a lot of other bells and whistles. It runs both as a plug in and as a stand alone and it's really straight forward.

Amped Gemini (Full License) – ML Sound Lab

[Jonah]

Are you running it from a DAW as a VST plugin or are you looking for a standalone app? If with a DAW, which DAW?

I am really dumb about this stuff(((

What I have is a guitar, Focusrite Scarlett and a PC

And my goal is live playing/recording with ability to hear myself via headphones.

I have Audacity on my PC installed which I used when I recorded with the mic in the past

[Herbie]

Due to circumstances I switched to a setup Guitar - Focusrite Scarlett - PC (Windows)

I am aware about Guitar Rig and a few others popular plug-ins but I never played like this and I am not a big fan of virtual stuff with plenty of options to handle etc.
I would like something pretty basic for a decent clean tone (and preferably cheap or with a free trial/demo) maybe a few basic effects but even clean tone would be ok for me.

What could you advise?

Thank you

There is myriads of guitar amp simulators nowadays.

I do some demos with my iMac and Logic or Garageband. After many projects I have realised that the stock simulations of these multiband recording apps are ok for me. The possible finer finesses of higher quality simulations woul drown to the mix with other instruments anyway.

Logic and Garageband are not an answer with Windows. Is there any basic multitracker for Windows? Ableton? Does it have guitar amp simulations?

Good luck!

[GuyBoden]

For live playing, it's better to setup your laptop for that purpose.

The Ultimate Guide to Optimize your Windows PC for the Stage
Introduction

[Bop Head]

There is myriads of guitar amp simulators nowadays.

I do some demos with my iMac and Logic or Garageband. After many projects I have realised that the stock simulations of these multiband recording apps are ok for me. The possible finer finesses of higher quality simulations woul drown to the mix with other instruments anyway.

Logic and Garageband are not an answer with Windows. Is there any basic multitracker for Windows? Ableton? Does it have guitar amp simulations?

Good luck!

Samplitude is not basic but it comes with the Vandal modeling amp that can also be purchased as a single VST plugin. IIRC (there was a time when I was much more into digital audio stuff) it was originally programmed by a guy from Berlin who had started offering some free VST plugins some of which were discovered and used by big name mastering engineers. Later he got hired by Magix. On the third link there are two clean sound demos. Unfortunately like always on YouTube you will find only demos from harder rock genres (distorted sounds) played by folks of often questionable guitar skills. But there is a free demo version available for all Magix products (disclaimer: no affilation with Magix other than knowing a guy who worked as a graphics designer for them).

Samplitude | Pro X8 | Pro X8 Suite | The Master of Pro Audio

Samplitude | Pro X8 (Suite) | Version comparison | The Master of Pro Audio

Guitar and bass amplifier – MAGIX Vandal

Here is a video about using amp sims in Reaper which costs only 60 USD for the discounted license for private use:

[fep]

I'd advise you to start with the free version of amplitube. That has its own app so it can work as a standalone, or you can load it up into your audacity as a VST plugin. I load it into my DAW which is reaper, and that's how I normally use it. The free version has a model of a super reverb and a deluxe reverb. Those should work for you and are really pretty simple to use, the interface is just like the face of a fender amp.
The full version of amplitube is on sale for $99 most of the time. It used to be about $500. It has a ton of amps and effects and speaker cabinets, but I just have one that I like and I use, so that way I'm not complicating it.

[murphybridget837]

Due to circumstances I switched to a setup Guitar - Focusrite Scarlett - PC (Windows)

I am aware about Guitar Rig and a few others popular plug-ins but I never played like this and I am not a big fan of virtual stuff with plenty of options to handle etc.
I would like something pretty basic for a decent clean tone (and preferably cheap or with a free trial/demo) maybe a few basic effects but even clean tone would be ok for me.

What could you advise?

Thank you

For a straightforward and cost-effective solution, consider trying out Bias FX by Positive Grid or Amplitube by IK Multimedia. They both offer user-friendly interfaces, a range of clean tones, and basic effects.

[dconeill]

I have to put in a good word for Scuffham S-Gear. It comes as both a VST for plugging in to a DAW and also as a standalone. Has very good (to my ear) simulations of several Fender amps as well as a few others. Free demo, US$129 for full installation, occasionally has gone on sale for $99.

S-Gear is much simpler to use than the several other amp sims I tried, which is what I was looking for because I wanted to play not tweak. Other amp sims were probably better for extreme adjustability, so if you're looking for that try something like Amplitube. But I was looking for a jazz-acceptable sound, and S-Gear delivered that easily.

[fep]

I did a quick video to give you an example that shows that Amplitube doesn't have to be complicated.

[Jonah]

I did a quick video to give you an example that shows that Amplitube doesn't have to be complicated.

Oh! thank you so much for taking your time, I really appreciate it!

[Bop Head]

I did a quick video to give you an example that shows that Amplitube doesn't have to be complicated.

Where did you get that -18 dB to -12 dB optimum input peak from? Are you shure you are not mixing up peak level and perceived loudness metering as in Bob Katz's K-system (K-20, K-14, K-12)?

[fep]

Where did you get that -18 dB to -12 dB optimum input peak from? Are you shure you are not mixing up peak level and perceived loudness metering as in Bob Katz's K-system (K-20, K-14, K-12)?

I got that from multiple places, here is one:

Here is a recent one, he is peaking at about -22db on his input. I'm using averaging at about -18db myself and getting good results with Amplitube. By that I mean I'm getting a clean sound that will start to breakup as expected as I increase the gain knob on the amp sim interface.

Edit: This next video is specific to specific amp sims. The idea being that to have the amp sim sound the way it was designed you need to hit the input at the same level that the developers were using when they designed it.

[emanresu]

I browsed through a few of the plugins to get something that doesn't hiss or buzz even when clean sound.
Found Tonedeluxe V2 to do that first, got stuck with it because it's nice enough to practice with it. Dunno any others

[Bop Head]

I got that from multiple places, here is one:

Here is a recent one, he is peaking at about -22db on his input. I'm using averaging at about -18db myself and getting good results with Amplitube. By that I mean I'm getting a clean sound that will start to breakup as expected as I increase the gain knob on the amp sim interface.

Edit: This next video is specific to specific amp sims. The idea being that to have the amp sim sound the way it was designed you need to hit the input at the same level that the developers were using when they designed it.

I watched the first video so far but i am not really convinced yet. It seems like he is using a huge headroom and has no real good explanation for it. While the 24 bit (or 32 bit floating point internal or sometimes even 64 bit double precision) resolutions of today allow recording at much lower levels without loosing too much, recording everything peaking at -18 dBFS seems quite a lot and might even add up noise when bringing everything up later. He also has no real explanation why analog equipment should work best at -18 as he says. I remember from my days at the SAE that you should keep the VU meter of a Neve or SSL way below 0 when recording e.g. a hi-hat. But AD converters have peak meters. The only thing to take care of is maybe not to overload the analogue inputs.

I have yet to watch the second video later.

[st.bede]

If you just need a vst wraper, take a look at Plougesound Bidule. There has to be a decent free amp modeler floating around somewhere. There is also probably a free wraper out there. Especially for windows. You can avoid all the issues that make me hate my mac ever time I use it.

As far as DAWs I have used most. (On both platforms) Each has a little different flow, however once I adjust, they basically all do about the same thing.

I have settled on Reaper for tracking. Reaper is as good (if not better) then any other professional DAW.

The only downside to Reaper is that it has a difficult time with midi clock issues. Ableton has been the best for that.

I also find Reaper’s Score a bit clunky. There is Muse Score.

As far as VSTs for guitar. I have used a bunch. If I remember correctly I really liked Softtube. I have heard great thing about Neural DSP.

Last thing to remember, with any powerful program there is a steep learning curve.

[fep]

I watched the first video so far but i am not really convinced yet. It seems like he is using a huge headroom and has no real good explanation for it. While the 24 bit (or 32 bit floating point internal or sometimes even 64 bit double precision) resolutions of today allow recording at much lower levels without loosing too much, recording everything peaking at -18 dBFS seems quite a lot and might even add up noise when bringing everything up later. He also has no real explanation why analog equipment should work best at -18 as he says. I remember from my days at the SAE that you should keep the VU meter of a Neve or SSL way below 0 when recording e.g. a hi-hat. But AD converters have peak meters. The only thing to take care of is maybe not to overload the analogue inputs.

I have yet to watch the second video later.

It's not peaking at -18db, rather, average of about -18db and peaking at -12db is what I said (and I was just using the advice of others).



I looked up what Focusrite suggests. They suggest peaks at -12db which is consistent with the Reaper Mania video of -18db average and peaks at -12db.

From here: How high should I set the gain control on my interface? – Focusrite

What is gain staging?

The common misconception is that we should record all tracks as loud as possible and, when mixing, try to get the peak level on our master buss as close to 0dBFS (without actually hitting that point) as we can to end up with a ‘loud’ mix.
Recording at high levels tends to make mixing quite tedious – if the mix is almost 0dBFS already and you decide you’d like to raise the volume of one track slightly, this single mix change can send your master into the red and, instead, you need to lower the volume of all your other tracks to compensate for this.
Gain staging is the act of ensuring 'healthy' levels throughout each stage of the recording and mixing process - too low and you're not using the full resolution of the recording medium and you might run into noise issues, too high and you run the risk of overloads.
If each track is recorded well, with a sensible microphone for the application and through a good quality microphone preamp, there is no reason to try to push 0dFBS at the recording or mixing stages.
Instead, when recording, aim for a more conservative level (e.g. peaking around -12dBFS).
Recording at a lower level means there is some headroom available should the musician play a loud note.
When mixing, aim for a similar peak level at your master buss. This makes it far easier to decide later if a track needs to be turned up– since you’ve left headroom available to do that.

[Jonah]

Hi dear Friends,

thank you again for all the good advice.

I am using free version of Amplitube 5 so far, getting around with what it offers is ok for me for a start.

I have a small question: I am using Audacity as DAW, but as I found out Audacity does not allow to use plugin in real-time playing.

I tried to test free version of Reaper but I could not even get the input signal coming (though everuthing seems to be set correctly) and to be honest I get very quickly tired with software issues.

1) could you advise some simple DAW to use that sllows to use and record with plugin in live playing

2) Does Amplitube 5 Free work as satndalone? It has a standalone interface but when you switch to it the presets are all off and you hear a cleat guitar tone only, and you have to switch back to chain interface to have all the amps and FXs on

Simply put all I need is to make direct record using Amplitube sound options with no post-editing

Thank you very much in advance

[emanresu]

I tried to test free version of Reaper but I could not even get the input signal coming (though everuthing seems to be set correctly) and to be honest I get very quickly tired with software issues.

Reaper forums are great. You can get help within minutes.