Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Amplitube

[ves_morales]

May nabasa ako na article sa isang recording magazine, nag blind test yung mga pro recording engineers kung real amp or amplitube yung pinapakinggan nila. madaming nag akala na real amp yung amplitube and amplitube naman yung real amp. Nasa gumagamit din talaga yung results.

yup yup!!! nasa tao din yun sir kung marunong gumamit kung panu nila mapapatunog na real amp ung amplitube =)

[starfugger]

I hope Eleven does not make me regret buying my new Marshall MK2 Lead.     Nothing beats owning a MV Marshall and a non-master Marshall Plexi.

i don't think amps will ever go out of fashion.  it's our exposure and familiarity with their actual room and mic'd sounds that enable us to get the best settings on an amp sim. 

[marvinq]

amps and amp sims will both have their places in the recording process. to bring out the best sound in an amp, it has to be in a good room. amp sims don't have to deal with such a requirement. i have no doubt in my mind that there will always be a difference in an a/b setting. but to actually be able to listen to the radio and pinpoint consistently which ones used an ampsim would be way more difficult. of course there are unquantifiable factors, like being able to be inspired by the sound of an amp (or an ampsim).

[MYN11]

I have a JSX head with TripleX 4x12 Cab, a Vetta Combo, Amplitube, Guitar Rig, PODxt Pro, POD Farm, and I'm loving all of them live or in the studio. It's better to have the best of both worlds. ELEVEN here I come 

[skunkyfunk]

amps and amp sims will both have their places in the recording process. to bring out the best sound in an amp, it has to be in a good room. amp sims don't have to deal with such a requirement. i have no doubt in my mind that there will always be a difference in an a/b setting. but to actually be able to listen to the radio and pinpoint consistently which ones used an ampsim would be way more difficult. of course there are unquantifiable factors, like being able to be inspired by the sound of an amp (or an ampsim).

this. 












AND PODS SUCK.

[ves_morales]

this. 












AND PODS SUCK.

why naman sir??? =)

[MacoySIN]

There is also this thing, minsan im sure may chances din na mas maganda pa yung tunog ng amp sim compared sa tunay na amp.

"well this is a real amp, of course this sounds better than that blah blah".

can't argue with that because you can never sound a 100% like the real thing but for sure you can get great results with amp sims too. i've been using amp sims and real amps for years. iba iba din talaga ang results pero i wont hesitate to use an amp sim kung mas bagay sya.

but you know, if there is one thing i learned, it is that a great majority of listeners don't care if that's a real amp or not. they hear the song as a whole, not the amp cabinets or what not. amp sim or real amp, if it sounds good then it sounds good.

[ves_morales]

I agree with you sir and I'm one of those na hindi ganun pinapansin un ginamit na amp or kung gano kamahal ung mga ginamit na amps or kahit sa ibang gears like the drumset basta as long as na maganda yung output ayos!!! and para sakin kung maganda nga yun amps mo nakacabinet ka nga and then hindi ka naman marunong gumamit and hindi mo mpalbas yun gusto mong tunog useless depende din sa gumagamit siguro kahit anu pa amp or ampsim basta as long as na magnda ung output =)

[marvinq]

yes sir. it's the music that matters. if it sounds terrible, it doesn't matter if you used a real amp with expensive microphones and preamps. if it sounds good, and you used an ampsim, there's always somebody who'll tell you it would've sounded better with a real amp. but that's just because they couldn't admit that they were impressed. haha.

[ves_morales]

yes sir. it's the music that matters. if it sounds terrible, it doesn't matter if you used a real amp with expensive microphones and preamps. if it sounds good, and you used an ampsim, there's always somebody who'll tell you it would've sounded better with a real amp. but that's just because they couldn't admit that they were impressed. haha.

Sir Apir!!! ahahaha

[titser_marco]

can't argue with that because you can never sound a 100% like the real thing but for sure you can get great results with amp sims too. i've been using amp sims and real amps for years. iba iba din talaga ang results pero i wont hesitate to use an amp sim kung mas bagay sya.

Agree, agree. Use the tool that the job requires.

[marvinq]

...or make do with what you have at that particular moment. who cares if you have a rare amp at home when there's an ampsim that your client is totally happy with? baka mawala pa yung inspirasyon pag binalikan mo. o yung kliyente. haha.

[skunkyfunk]

There is also this thing, minsan im sure may chances din na mas maganda pa yung tunog ng amp sim compared sa tunay na amp.

"well this is a real amp, of course this sounds better than that blah blah".

can't argue with that because you can never sound a 100% like the real thing but for sure you can get great results with amp sims too. i've been using amp sims and real amps for years. iba iba din talaga ang results pero i wont hesitate to use an amp sim kung mas bagay sya.

but you know, if there is one thing i learned, it is that a great majority of listeners don't care if that's a real amp or not. they hear the song as a whole, not the amp cabinets or what not. amp sim or real amp, if it sounds good then it sounds good.

The quest for amp simulation in the studio has been here for decades.  Even the old Motown recordings did direct to board guitar recordings but thank God there was no distortion on most of them.  Cab sims and load boxes, as well as iso cabs have all been invented in order to make guitar recordings easier without having to worry about unfavorable acoustics of a room.

The dawn of digital modelling had promised to solve all these issues, but what most guitar nuts agree to is how uninspiring the dynamics of amp sims are.  If you play high gain (which is highly compressed) it won't be much of an issue especially if you use EMGs.  But if you play bluesy or mid-gain stuff where you want high responsiveness to pick attack, amp sims seem to fail at that.  And in recording, being inspired is the key to good results.

If you want to use a real amp, the next question is "what  amp should you use?"  If you see a REAL Peavey Bandit in the recording studio, can you use that to get a saggy Mesa Boogie Recto sound?  Maybe not.  Even with the best pedals.  So as a fallback, amp sims are there to get closer to the sound without having to borrow or rent a Mesa Boogie Rectifier.  But given the chance, source out equipment before setting foot to the studio.

I guess this is pretty parallel to sampled drums and real drums.  You want that famed 60s Black Beauty Snare drum sound.  But you don't have one, so some drummers would use a drum sample of a BB.  But then again it is the call of the producer if the BB snare sound is what the music calls for.  

[skunkyfunk]

why naman sir??? =)

Seems you've missed a lot of action in here in the past.

[starfugger]

some artists work VERY fast.  they just don't care if it's an amp sim, or a real amp, or a screeching cat you're using for that matter as long as it gets the job done.  they care more about capturing the energy of the moment.  you just can't obsess about the tiny details when working with such artists/producers.  the best you can do is prepare the tools of your preference waaaaaay before the sessions begins, making sure all knobs and effects they could possibly want and need are readily accessible for the tweaking.   but discounting amp sims altogether in situations such as these is plain counter productive.

[skunkyfunk]

I guess the biggest endeavor of amp sims is how easy it is to record, and not worrying about how to massage the tone later.  Using a dry parallel DI guitar sound is common but some just think hooking up an amp and miking it is too time consuming so they use amp sims. 

I haven't used Eleven yet, but IMO there are a lot of hardware ampsims that can do the job well like the Vox Tonelab, Yamaha DG 1000 and the newest ones from Korg.  Further up the line is the Fractal Audio Axe FX (which is very expensive).   

 

[skunkyfunk]

Actually you can also use cab impulses as amp sims.

[starfugger]

Actually you can also use cab impulses as amp sims.

pwede 'to thru an IR app, but it wouldn't be as tweakable as using, say, amplitube.  you'd have to chain a bunch of impulses or effects for things like tone control, compression, gfx, amp head/ amp cab etc.  besides doesn't amplitube and most other amp sims use IR technology?

[BAMF]

The quest for amp simulation in the studio has been here for decades.  Even the old Motown recordings did direct to board guitar recordings but thank God there was no distortion on most of them.  Cab sims and load boxes, as well as iso cabs have all been invented in order to make guitar recordings easier without having to worry about unfavorable acoustics of a room.

The dawn of digital modelling had promised to solve all these issues, but what most guitar nuts agree to is how uninspiring the dynamics of amp sims are.  If you play high gain (which is highly compressed) it won't be much of an issue especially if you use EMGs.  But if you play bluesy or mid-gain stuff where you want high responsiveness to pick attack, amp sims seem to fail at that.  And in recording, being inspired is the key to good results.

If you want to use a real amp, the next question is "what  amp should you use?"  If you see a REAL Peavey Bandit in the recording studio, can you use that to get a saggy Mesa Boogie Recto sound?  Maybe not.  Even with the best pedals.  So as a fallback, amp sims are there to get closer to the sound without having to borrow or rent a Mesa Boogie Rectifier.  But given the chance, source out equipment before setting foot to the studio.

I guess this is pretty parallel to sampled drums and real drums.  You want that famed 60s Black Beauty Snare drum sound.  But you don't have one, so some drummers would use a drum sample of a BB.  But then again it is the call of the producer if the BB snare sound is what the music calls for.   

I think I see the problem here.

1. You say the problem with ampsims is the way it sounds while you track.

2. As guitarists, we both know that the minimum speaker size for decent sound on a guitar amp should be 12 ".

3. Sounds from Amplitube come from our reference monitors.

4. Have you ever seen a studio reference monitor with 12" drivers ?

Dunno. Could be.

[titser_marco]

I dunno about this, BAMF, but I happen to like 10in speakers on some amps. Hehehe, sorry sabat ng sabat. Carry on friends

[BAMF]

I dunno about this, BAMF, but I happen to like 10in speakers on some amps. Hehehe, sorry sabat ng sabat. Carry on friends

Well yeah. When you're playing clean, and some small Fenders and even the Vox Pathfinder is sterling in that department. Try even a slightly hotter than usual overdrive on a 10 incher and you will start hearing that "krrrkkk".

Besides, which reference monitor has 10 inch drivers ?

[skunkyfunk]

I dunno about this, BAMF, but I happen to like 10in speakers on some amps. Hehehe, sorry sabat ng sabat. Carry on friends

Supah Revehrb foh tha win!

[skunkyfunk]

pwede 'to thru an IR app, but it wouldn't be as tweakable as using, say, amplitube.  you'd have to chain a bunch of impulses or effects for things like tone control, compression, gfx, amp head/ amp cab etc.  besides doesn't amplitube and most other amp sims use IR technology?

Actually digital amp sims employ CONVOLUTION algorithms.  IR is  just one of the concepts of the convolution algorithm being employed.  If you knew how the output signal would come out with an impulse signal input, then you could approximate the output of ANY input signal if you know the impulse response.


 
I wish I continued my ECE and went to DSP but God said I should be a tube/analog geek. 

[starfugger]

convolution.  doh! <slaps forehead ala homer simpson>

yeah but you know what i mean.

BAMF, if i'm not mistaken we are currently using a 4x10 closed back cab, and a fender stage 112 with a 12 inch cone.  both sound awesome given the right situation.

[ves_morales]

...or make do with what you have at that particular moment. who cares if you have a rare amp at home when there's an ampsim that your client is totally happy with? baka mawala pa yung inspirasyon pag binalikan mo. o yung kliyente. haha.

yeah and you dont need to be a walking encyclopedia for amps and tell it to  everyone pero hindi mo naman talaga nasasatisfy yung client mo or even yourself haha