Recording - July 2016 - 51

even export that tone to the iOS version of
BIAS Amp to take it on the go!
BIAS FX
Guitarists love pedals! They spend days
rearranging pedal boards, finding new
textures, trying new gain stages... all in the
name of finding great tones. BIAS FX has
an impressive collection of popular guitar
pedals that cover a huge sonic range. It
lets you build the pedalboard that you've
always wanted, with full control over the
order and settings on each device.
There are two screens that create BIAS
FX. The first displays the signal chain,
laid out from left to right. You have the
ability to swap the order, change the
amp model, adjust the microphone and
cab, and also split your signal chain into
a dual-amp setup. To the right of the
amp, you have the option to put timebased effects pedals, as you would do
with an effects loop. The second view is
an overhead look at your pedalboard.
Here, you can easily adjust settings on
the individual pedals and amp. BIAS FX
also has seamless integration with BIAS
Amp, allowing you to run your custom
pedalboard creations directly in line
with the tones you create using BIAS
Amp. All you have to do is import your
saved amp profiles into BIAS FX.
The Dual Amps feature on BIAS FX is
really fun to experiment with. This allows
you to split the signal from your pedalboard and route it into two different amp
models, blending the two tones together.
I love to double track my guitar parts
using different amp models; the ability to
blend two amp profiles in the same chain
can create huge tones, and ultimately
save time from having to do two passes
to get the same result while mixing.
BIAS FX Desktop comes loaded with
30 different effects including 25 pedals
and 5 rack processors modeled after
high-end analog gear, 12 amp models
(plus unlimited amp models imported from
BIAS Amp if you have it), and dual signal
path processing. The Professional version
bumps that up to 32 amps, 52 pedal
effects, and 10 rack processors, plus support for MIDI and DAW automation.

Final thoughts
After you've built your perfect amp or
FX chain, it's time to show it off.
ToneCloud is Positive Grid's sharing platform that allows BIAS users to upload,
share, and download other users' custom amplifiers and pedal chains. There
is a variety of content available to download, including both user and artist presets... everything from warm clean jazz
tones to moshpit-worthy metal tones.
Users are able to browse through popular amp and FX models and search by
musical genres or keywords. Uploading
your creation is simple-there is an
upload button at the top of the screen
next to the saved file name. This feature
is also great for accessing your favorite
amps on the iOS application to always
have access to your tone.
Both BIAS Amp and BIAS FX are great
in their own right, but the ability to
seamlessly connect the two programs
brings things to the next level. I'll warn
you in advance: it's very easy to lose
track of time while swapping out different transformers and tubes in your custom amplifier, creating your own tone
from top to bottom! The interface makes
it easy to see exactly how to adjust the
settings you are looking for-there was
very little time spent trying to learn any
complicated routings or layers of pages
to sort through.
BIAS Amp really shines with overdriven tones, it translates very well in the
mix and sounds full and musical. Saving
your settings and downloading them
through ToneCloud to your iOS device
makes gigging with your BIAS settings
very easy to do, as long as you have an
interface to connect to your iPad or
iPhone. The iOS version also supports
Inter-App Audio and Audiobus compatibility, meaning you can route the output
of the BIAS app into another app for further processing or recording.
BIAS FX and BIAS Amp are rock-solid
options if you are seeking ways to get
great tone in the box. The ability to fully
customize and integrate every part of
the tone makes the BIAS programs tough
to beat, especially for the price.

Delivery: Web download
Formats: standalone, VST, RTAS, AAX Native for Windows 7 SP1 or better
(32 or 64 bits) or Mac OS X 10.7 or better (plus AU for Mac);
iOS 8.0 or better (standalone).
Copy Protection: watermarked installer tied to online user account
License: single user, two simultaneous installs
Documentation: Online help documentation, FAQ, and tutorials-no PDF
manual
Prices: BIAS Amp Desktop/Professional, $99/$199 (iOS $19.99 plus in-app
purchases); BIAS FX Desktop/Professional, $99/199 (iOS $29.99
plus in-app purchases)
More from: Positive Grid, www.positivegrid.com

RECORDING JULY 2016

http://www.royerlabs.com http://www.positivegrid.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - July 2016