Real Amp vs VST amps.

[jatinfenderr]

I am thinking to buy bias fx and bias amps vst plugins to record the guitar into DAW. One of my friend has suggested me to look for Laney irt lionheart studio tube rack amp for the same. Which one of these will be better to record electric guitar in DAW. I am not into live scenes ,will be doing studio work mostly.
Thanks.

 

[Securb]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

There are a bunch of free VST guitar amps out there that you can play with to see if VST will be the thing for you

http://www.vst4free.com/index.php?plug-ins=Guitar/Amp

 

[jatinfenderr]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

Hey. Thanks ...Going to check them now.

 

[majewsky]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

Check Line 6 Helix Native. There is a free 15 day trial and it's much more than just amps

 

[Securb]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

Studio Devil is another great one. They have a free "Marshall" as an entry-level offering. Here is a review I wrote up on it.

Hands-On Review: Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro

http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/24872/hands-on-review-studio-devil-amp-modeler-pro

 

[Coma]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

I have tried Bias FX, Bias Amp, Line 6 Gearbox/Pod Farm and Peavey Revalver mk IV. I run a real amp at practice but I record at home using amp plugs into my DAW.

Of all of those, I actually prefer ReValver. It has the same features as Bias Amp, though the circuit/amp builder interface is a whole lot more complicated. On the bright side, you can tweak literally ANY component. You also get the ACT plugin for free with it, and the interface is more intuitive and responsive than anything BIAS have put out. It also comes with the ability to load any VST into its native interface, which is really practical if you want to play around without running your DAW.

I like the Orange amp in Bias FX, and Bias Amp has a few more good ones, but overall, I'm not a fan of their products, neither interface nor sound.

That being said, I am right in the middle of recording an EP and I'm running Bias FX into Reaper. Easy as pie. But have tried with Revalver and bottom line was, neither one is any more difficult than the next. Its really all about what sound you're after and what you're comfortable with.

 

[LLL]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

BIAS? Yes.

 

[neverwind]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

Really depends on what style you are going to play.
Digital amp modelers and simulators, vst plugins or external units can work fine for low-gain stuff, but for recording hard rock, metal and beyond - they sound and feel really unnatural to me.
I've been looking for a deal on a Laney IRT Studio or Pulse myself, but either is preferable than any of the digital simulators.

 

[Coma]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

I you want the ease of recording at home but want real tube sounds, what you can do is record all takes through and amp plug into a DAW and then just re-amp the signal through a tube amp. Provided you have access to one, ofc.

 

[Despair]

Re: Real Amp vs VST amps.

I have an IRT Studio that I don't use since I got Helix Native. With a good interface, once you get used to the cab modelling quirks [they don't filter the fizz as thoroughly as most competitors, so you have to drop an EQ block after the cabinets, or EQ more aggressively in the cab model], it's amazing.

The cab/mic simulation is very good, with a good variety of cabinets/mics and with mic placement, you can duplicate studio sounds obtained by mic placement rather than trying to get there with post EQ. I've wound up scouring producer & engineer interviews for information about what mics and placements they used on different recordings, not something I paid this much attention to before...

IRT Studio is pretty nice, I found the boost a bit noisy, and had trouble balancing clean tone vs rhythm, as the mid gain tone I use I want rather different EQ from than my clean tone. That aside, it at least only has shared EQ between clean & rhythm, with totally separate EQ on lead channel. I pretty much exclusively used the 1W mode, since my Mesa Thiele EV12L was too loud for bedroom use at 15W.

For home studio use, Helix Native is just awesome. Covers most of the common effects, great variety of well-modelled amps, good amount of deep dive tweaking capabilities [like ripple/hum in modelled power amp stages, which a lot of metal players may prefer to completely kill, where vintage amp fans may prefer the realistic behavior]. It supports 128 user Impulse Responses [IR] if you prefer searching IRs rather than tweaking cab sim settings.

The Litigator model is amazing. I've been messing with different speaker pairings. Deluxe 1x12 with SM57 and 2xC12Q with R121 is great for a smooth Fendery place with an interesting grit on chords, but a pair of 4x12s, G12H30 with SM57 and G12M20 with R121, is nice to push it to a fat Bassman/Marshall territory.

One of the few factory patches that took little tweaking to make work with my guitar was 'Pick Attack Solo'. Single coil, enable the univibe and Industrial Fuzz [oscillator on] for instant Hendrix Star Spangled Banner tone. Ridiculously fun. Noisy, sputtery wailing madness with self-oscillating fuzz mimicry of guitar feedback tones.

And Line 6 is doing free updates, IIRC 7 amps and 7 effects dropping before the end of the month, plus new UI and engine improvements.