EQ Magazine - January 2009 - (Page 60)

GEAR HEAD FREAK SHOW. WAVES GTR SOLO ($140) Similarly to Guitar Rig XE, Solo is the “greatest hits” from Waves’ GTR 3. It has Clean, Drive, and High Gain amps (along with a Bass amp); each has various algorithms, giving 10 amps total, as well as plenty of effects. Solo can also work in stand-alone mode. What you don’t get: At almost three times the price of GTR Solo, GTR 3 ($380) is clearly the flagship product. But Solo makes the right decisions about what to include. While lacking GTR3’s 25 amps, Solo’s 10 options cover a broad range of sounds. Solo has 10 cabinets instead of 29, and 13 effects instead of 26; but again, they’re the important ones—Solo even includes a harmony synthesizer. The additional effects in GTR3 tend to be variations, such as multiple “flavors” of distortion. The biggest difference is the architecture. Solo offers a fixed “pedalboard” with four effects and the amp (effects can be placed before or after the amp as desired). GTR3 lets you load up to six effects in “pedalboards” that are plug-ins in their own right, and can go before or after the amp (you can instantiate as many amps and effects as you want). However, while GTR3 is more flexible, some will find Solo more streamlined and less intimidating. What you get that you didn’t expect: Solo’s effects are based on the same algorithms as Waves’ bigbucks product line. They’re very clean, and work extremely well with other instruments (e.g., vocals and drums). So, you’re getting a bundle of Waves effects at a righteous price. What’s more, luthier Paul Reed Smith—universally recognized as one of the industry’s best—has been heavily involved in the GTR project, from loaning his own amp collection for modeling to doing “reality checks” on sound quality. Although Solo is not as flexible as some other guitar modeling programs, few would argue with the stunning sound quality. The bottom line: People often wonder what’s “the best” amp sim, but really, each has its own personality—just like real amps. As a result, one program may work better in an application than another. That said, the availability of superior “lite” programs makes it possible to own a “collection” of amp sims without busting your budget—interestingly, GTR Solo and GR XE cost less than GTR 3 or Guitar Rig 3 by itself, with change left over for strings and picks. GTR Solo gives that great Waves sound quality, and the amp emulations are spot-on. It’s a winner. www.waves.com The sound is so freakishly good, it’s sick. Our TRION microphones are like a spike of adrenaline to the heart of your tracks, nailing the rich CAD sound in a vintage, edgy design. TRION 6000: multi-pattern condenser. TRION 7000: Dual element ribbon. TRION 8000: Multi-pattern tube. Affordable? Of course. Because an ear is a terrible thing to waste. Beneath those funky graphics lie Waves’ processing algorithms, and they sound very good indeed. This example shows two effects before the amp module and two effects after, but there are no limitations as to which modules go in which slots. CADMICS.COM 60 EQ JANUARY 2009 www.eqmag.com http://ww.waves.com http://www.cadmics.com http://www.cadmics.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - January 2009

EQ Magazine - January 2009 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Bob Dylan The Killers Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Microsoft Windows Vista Apple Mac OS X "Lite" Software Roundup "Lite" Software Gadgets & Goodies Sounds Room With a Vu

EQ Magazine - January 2009

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