EQ Magazine - June 2008 - (Page 55)

EQ, Keyboard, and Guitar Player magazines have collaborated to create a mega-source of vital amp sim info. The article you’re reading emphasizes recording, guitar, and applications. The July ’08 issue of Keyboard also covers amp sims, but from a more review-intensive standpoint, with an emphasis on non-guitar uses. So pick it up at your local newsstand. If you want to use amp sims as a “producer” to recapture classic guitar tones in the absence of a physical amp, we also have a special treat for you. “Five Essential Guitar Tones,” penned by Guitar Player associate editor Matt Blackett, is available as a special extra article online at www.eqmag.com. speaker, and not have to deal with matching an amp sound for an overdub after the head has warmed up and sounds totally different compared to the original track. Toward this end, every amp modeling software company begins by modeling the interaction of a stack or combo’s components, to varying degrees. All of the available software offers a choice of amp heads that you can combine with various speaker configurations. Some also let you mix and match preamps and/or tone stacks with power amps. Many versions offer a choice of virtual microphones and mic placement, as well as “guitar pedal” effects. The criteria for judging modeling software are the same as for a “real” amplifier. For clean tones, does the amp exhibit the slight sag of real tubes, or does it sound like we’re plugging directly into the board? For crunch applications, does the sound go from clean to distorted in a gradual, smooth manner and “cleans up” when you lower the guitar volume? How does it respond to pick attack—and is the overdriven sound “fizzy” or “warm”? We also have a standard of comparison when modeling vintage classics: Do the Vox emulations have both the “Beatle clean” and “dirty Queen” thing happening? Do the Marshalls make us want to play AC/DC and Zeppelin? Do we get that Pantera vibe from the modern high-gain monster models? Part of the digital advantage is that software gives options that are difficult or impossible to achieve with hardware. And thanks to MIDI, we can automate parameters so sounds change drastically, or gradually, as the mix progresses. Amp modeling is also useful for “reamping.” In the past, guitarists have recorded a direct signal along with the sound from miking a physical amp, and then later sent the direct signal out through a different amp if needed. Now you can simply record a direct signal, and run it through various amp models— you can even dispense with the physical amp entirely, and run the direct signal through as many amp models as you care to, re-structuring your tone at any point in the mix. BUT WAIT—NOW WHAT WOULD YOU PAY? Amps are just the beginning with some modeling packages, as they also include anything from stomp box and rack effect models to studio gear and synthesizerstyle modifiers. As with the amp models, these vary from accurate representations of well-known vintage pieces to generic sound modification gear. Here too MIDI allows a high level of control. You can modify your tremolo speed with a continuous controller pedal, or change your analog delay blend from verse to chorus with track automation. Some software allows you to experiment easily with device chaining in new ways, like placing a spring reverb and then a fuzz pedal after your speaker cabinet. COMMON GROUND Each of the four modelers under consideration offers an array of different amp sounds, various speaker configurations, and a noise gate, as well as MIDI control over multiple parameters. And, all four include presets to get you started. Most amp modelers, for legal reasons, only allude to the amps, cabs, and mics being modeled by a clever name or GUI representation in the actual software; the exact models are often listed more directly on the website or in the manual. There the similarities end, and the differences begin, so let’s explore these four different approaches to amp modeling software. For testing, I used a 1965 Fender rosewood-neck Strat, Strat-style Fernandes maple-neck, and Danelectro Pro guitars. The software was installed in a Macintosh Power PC G5, a Macbook Pro laptop, or both. I ran the program in both standalone mode when possible (ReValver MkIII and Flying Haggis), and www.eqmag.com JUNE 2008 EQ 55 http://www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - June 2008

EQ Magazine - June 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board 3 Doors Down, Hard-Fi, Paul Manousos Tool Box Panic at the Disco Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Projects Apple Loops Utility SSL Duende Mini JBL LSR4326/PAK & LSR4312SP Holophone H3-D Creation Audio Labs MW1 Studio Tool Amp Modeler Roundup Eventide Timefactor, Electro-Harmonix Stereo Pedals, Korg Pandora PX5D Room with a Vu: Blues Tunes Studios, Silverlake, CA

EQ Magazine - June 2008

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