I'm torn between toys and other toys

[Tarktones]

So I'm making a studio purchase in the next few weeks and I'm trying not to go overboard on things. So I'll be updating to Pro Tools 7.4 (a big jump from 7.0) and I'll also be getting Amplitube 2.

My original intent was also to pick up Logic Studio but I'm contemplating leaving that for when I get a project come along that will need more than 32 tracks. It would cost me about the same to leave out Logic and Amplitube 2 and go for IK's Total Effects bundle and also get a mediocre bass guitar to lay down bass as well.

I know Rawk uses a lot of the IK stuff (at least Amplitube, Ampeg and T-Racks) and he gets some awesome results with it. Anyone want to share their opinions on the IK bundle or share if they think it's a viable tradeoff?

[brianbfw]

I can vouch for all of them.

I have logic 8, got it right after the price decrease and i love it. Very nice redesign, and intergrates so easy with my Apogee symphony setup. never a snag. only limited by the horcepower of your computer.

I have Amplitude 2, X-gear, and Amplitude Jimi hendrix.

i'll put it too you this way, 2 years ago i would have never considered an amp sim, it was always an amp and an SM-57.

for the past 4 months, pretty much 80% of my guitars tracks have been recorded with IKmultimedia (amplitude) software. sounds fantastic.

i still love the tube amp, but i'm using amplitude to fill the gaps of the sounds i don't have, mainly (soldano, certain marshalls, boogies). even have great stomp boxes that are very convincing.

i love not having to mic, and the sounds really are convincing.

download the demos - i'm sure you'll like them

[smileywiley]

This doesn't mean much of anything, but I did try out Amplitube 2 for a while.

My impression was that it offered awesome clean sounds, very good overdrive sounds, good rock sounds, but was somewhat lacking in the metal department. I then downloaded the new Amplitube Metal, which helps a lot, but still doesn't offer that huge, wide sound of micing a real amp.

It really all depends on what kind of music you're doing. If you tend to have little need for heavy guitar sounds, go for it! It's the best sounding modeler I've heard, with Line 6's new floor pod coming in a close second...

[BostonGuy]

I own both the Amplitube 2 plug in and the Peavey Revalver. As previous posters mentioned it depends on the style. The Amplitube has amazing clean tones. To my ears the Peavey has the most realistic overdrive/ distortion (probably the most realistic I've ever heard from any kind of emulator, line 6, pedals, etc). So the Peavey plug-in is especially good for highly saturated tones, and it's a bit more tweakable there. The Amplitube has some great 'in between' tones ... bluesly, just breaking up, but not yet pushed over tones...

[Tarktones]

Wow... I'm not gonna lie. I'd written off ReValver because I don't associate Peavey with awesome amps (mostly because they've got a good share of the 1x12 solid state combo market and I've never been wild about their tone), but wow ReValver has a level of tweak to it that I've never seen before. That is really impressive. Thanks for the tip. I will definitely give it a try.

[5454stevef]

Wow... I'm not gonna lie. I'd written off ReValver because I don't associate Peavey with awesome amps (mostly because they've got a good share of the 1x12 solid state combo market and I've never been wild about their tone), but wow ReValver has a level of tweak to it that I've never seen before. That is really impressive. Thanks for the tip. I will definitely give it a try.

Dang, I didn't know anyone was making a product with component level modeling. I gotta hear that. I always thought the ultimate would be if someone would design a product that would allow you to fiddle with the component values and possibly even topology of an entire circuit. Maybe now it's close to being possible, with faster computers etc.

Of course the true grail would be a box of tools that would allow you to assemble an amp sim from scratch at the component level, and model the performance of each component in real time. I know circuit simulation has been around for years in electronics design, but how cool would it be to be able to try out amp design ideas, that you could play thru without massive latency, all without risking being electrocuted... You could sit down with the Tube Amp Book and build a virtual version of almost anything in there, or cobble up weird Frankensteinian hybrids at will.... And you could do things like have it "age" components so that their values would drift randomly, just like a real amp... heh.. I get almost giddy thinking about it. lol.

For some reason, Peavey's site has not been coming up for me, I'd love to hear some samples - do you know if they have any online?

SF


SF

[RawknRoll]

Definitely!!!

Just go with the t-racks bundle for i think 550 that's what i did. Very good buy.

[Tarktones]

Steve,

Unfortunately they do not have audio demos. They do, however, have a demo of the software you can download. I had trouble getting to the site too for a little bit; just come back a few hours later and it'll pop up for you.

[5454stevef]

Steve,

Unfortunately they do not have audio demos. They do, however, have a demo of the software you can download. I had trouble getting to the site too for a little bit; just come back a few hours later and it'll pop up for you.

Thanks, Russ. I finally managed to get to the site, and downloaded the demo and manual. I was a little disappointed in the thoroughness of the manual, especially the section on module tweaks, but oh, well...

If the product is anywhere near as spiffy as the concept behind it, it should be really something.

Have you downloaded and tried out the demo? In one location, the manual says you could build your own amp by stringing together circuit elements like the gain stages and tone stacks they show in the section on tweaking. I wonder if there's a practical limit to how complex you can make it.

Too bad they don't have a RTAS version. I wonder if it works with the wrapper....

SF

[Tarktones]

That's my main question since I'm putting off my Logic purchase in favor of a bass.

[5454stevef]

That's my main question since I'm putting off my Logic purchase in favor of a bass.

Well, the answer is yes. I couldn't stand it, went down and installed the demo at my studio. I didn't give it the full-blown workout in plug-in mode but it appeared to work fine after configuring it in the wrapper. It works great in stand-alone too.

This is a pretty eye-opening product IMO - I barely scratched the surface and I want it already.

I spent most of the past couple of hours messing around with the "tweaking" features. Very impressive - if you've spent any time futzing around in the innards of amps, you'll appreciate the ability to change the values of the various passive components that surround a tube gain stage - you can change the supply voltages, plate resistor values, coupling caps, cathode bypass caps, pretty much whatever. It's kind of odd that the coupling cap value is specified by cutoff frequency rather than capacitor value, but I guess it makes some sense.

I wish it had more circuit elements - as far as I can tell, there are two basic circuit modules - gain stages and tone stacks. But the ability to affect subtle changes in the dynamics and tonality of the tube stage by tweaking component values is very convincing. One interesting thing is that, by ill-conceived gain structure, you can create a really horrible sounding amp just as easily as if you were slapping tubes together without paying attention. You can also do things that are not possible on a real amp without blowing it up, such as running power tubes at unrealistically hot biasing.

The preset amp sims are very nice - I have not personally played thru many of the amps represented but this sounds very good. Best "Fender" sim I've heard. You can tweak the tube parameters of the preamp, driver and power amp tubes of the presets too.

I'm not a metal guy at all, too damn old, so I can't speak to the metal type tones, but the clean and crunchy stuff is terrific.

SF

[cdanddvdpublisher]

This is a pretty eye-opening product IMO - I barely scratched the surface and I want it already.

SF

that's a great endorsement right there...

[BostonGuy]

Oh yeah, I forgot about the VST to RTAS wrapper. I was bummed about this, but I ended needing the wrapper for something else, so it was worth it for me to buy. In any case ReValver is working just fine for me in PT 7.4 using the wrapper.

[Tarktones]

Steve... WOW! That's a pretty great review. Revalver gets +3 points.

[5454stevef]

Steve... WOW! That's a pretty great review. Revalver gets +3 points.

Yeah, it certainly gets my vote as an innovative product. I'm sure it has some things about it that aren't so great, but after only a couple hours of twiddling I didn't find them - I guess the only thing I'd change is not to have so many Peavey Amps in there... lol... Do I sound like an amp snob? I'm Fender-heavy at my place, but I actually like Peavey stuff for the most part. But the least they could have done is not have them all clustered at the front of the menu, it sort of comes across as advertising. It actually is a nifty piece of cross-sell, if the models are very accurate, they're the only company to have a way for people to try out the amps thru the free demo, and get some idea of the character of the sound. Smart people.

The way I see it, there's so much potential for customizing, there's almost no need for an exhaustive library of amp models, you can just create your own by tweaking the models or by stringing together modules.

I think if anyone else had put this product out, a lot more people would be talking about it. People see "peavey" on it, ho-hum... I had heard the name, but didn't know about the component-level modeling.

I just have to figure out a way to buy it without my wife finding out... : )

SF