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A Guitar Amp Sim Without Guitar Amp Sim
I need to know more about that. I have a feeling that I buy way to many guitar amps sims for no reason when in reality, I probably can recreate these amps otherwise.
Am I right to think that with an IR loader, a compressor, an EQ and a reverb I can recreate any amp sim? Will I miss something?
Note that this is just assumption. My knowledge in that domain is probably 30/100. I'm here to learn.
Thank you.
Comments
You'll be missing any kind of overload/distortion, which plays a big part in how an amp sounds.
Take a look at BYOD. It's essentially a kit containing the features you mentioned and lots more. You can use it to build an amp, even including multiple parallel channels. The only problem may be too many choices.
Mine should point at 2 or 3... /1000 😂... but I think you're right.
Even if I've used BST100 a LOT with Impulsation and Warmhammer IRs (and really know how to get what I want with both apps), I tend to more and more use only FF Saturn 2 for my guitar sounds. This app is SO incredibly deep and provides everything to acheive some very convincing guitar tones 👍🏻
I think of it in a couple of ways.
After 20 years I've finally stopped screwing around trying to find amp tone. I have three basic amp models, each of particular character, that I'm pleased with. I no longer read threads about new sims and don't plan to buy another, ever again. It's so nice to have that settled after so long trying to find anything pleasing.
When I do feel bored or curious, I'll sometimes goof around with the second approach above. But that's not really in pursuit of tone, it's just to scratch a geeky itch.
That's just my experience. Not trying to project that on anyone else. 😎✌🏼
I don't like distortion when I play.
Not even the warmth of a clean amp? Can you post a song that has a guitar sound you like?
Yes! Warmth or overdrive at most (Tom Morello style), but not too "heavy". It's funny because when I started playing guitar I always was looking for super heavy distorsion guitar pedal.
I like to play clean with reverb and or chorus and or compression.
Or a little bit of warmth like this:
The thing I like the most is stacking amp. The clean stage amp + the acoustic amp by the same developper sounds good together.
Big thanks to wim for his wisdom and I probably should buy Saturn 2. Is there an alternative to this app? I ask the question because I have so many apps that I probably already have something similar without knowing it.
You might get something you like if you know how the different stages of a guitar amp works. Or you could just get Tonex for free and not bother.
With a decent IR and reverb you’ve fought most of the battle and it won’t sound terrible. You would then want to further shape with some eq and saturation. A trick would be to try and mimic one of your amp sims with the speaker simulation disengaged. Depending on the saturation you are using, it’s usually good to have two different stages and an eq in between.
I’m pretty happy with my EQ, Saturation, EQ approach. Been playing live with that.
The first EQ is shaping/correcting the sound that comes out of the pickup but also defines the frequencies that should saturate the most/least. I usually decrease low frequencies to avoid muddiness and increase high frequencies to add clarity.
The saturation (doesn’t need to be fancy - using the generic saturation in AUM or overdrive in Logic) doesn’t do anything other than adding a little drive/subtle distortion to the signal. It also naturally compresses/limits the signal. IMO very crucial to get a tube like amp sound.
And the second EQ after the saturation is emulating the tone section + speaker.
It needs a rather steep high cut as guitar amp speakers usually don’t have a lot of high end. But also some decrease of mid frequencies to emulate a fenderish sound for example. Low cut/shelving can help too.
For some realism I add a soft room reverb and/or short delay. And finally send everything into a long reverb fx etc.
Yeah that’s pretty much what I discovered and what is working for me. To a degree where I like it better than amp sims. It’s very flexible, customisable and lightweight on the cpu.
I can send a screenshot if wanted.
I've spent far too much on so many of these. Not a direct answer to your question but I can get a tone I'm happy with by using the stuff Nembrini give away for free - the Crunk amp, Clon Minotaur and then a nice delay. To get the pleasing clean or only slightly warmed up tones you're after is entirely possible with this combination.
Wim I’d love to hear more about these 3 models!
I’d like to settle on a couple as well. It’s funny that when I gigged, recorded with a real amp I just had the one and was fine with it. But with software we seem to need 100 options. Also IMO it doesn’t make that much of a difference to be honest. As long as it sounds good the use of one amp or another is not going to make a song good or bad. I’d like to stop the endless search and have a couple of go-to’s. Extra points if one app/plugin could do it all so I don’t have to add one plugin for amp, then a cab sim, etc… I’m going to try out Tonex more in depth as it seems like a very straightforward, good-sounding all in one solution. I’d happily give up 7% of the quality for ease of use. Again, in the context of a song minute differences are not that important to justify an endless hassle.
Thank you for your answer. Yes, I would like to!
My opinion isn't worth much since I almost never even try to finish a whole piece anymore. I just like to play, and these are the ones that immediately suck me in and make me want to do that. On the other hand ... if I did feel like finishing stuff these days ... your stuff is totally the type of stuff I would be trying to make, so maybe not totally off the mark.
I'll always have a Clon Minotaur and/or a Rack Tube Screamer in front for when I want more distortion but honestly don't use them that much. Gain fairly low, output fairly high, usually.
Always a little bit of some kind of reverb after. I find the Nembrini Rack reverb to be just fine for my purposes. Others are just too distracting and I end up doing too much tweaking. Again - I'm just here to play, not to do a studio quality recording. I will say that I find the most satisfying reverbs for guitar in the ToneStack app. I just can't be bothered to reach for them though.
I rarely use any other FX, except maybe delay. But by the time I go there, I'm usually simply bored with my own playing and trying to find some inspiration, so it's random what I pick.
Why Nembrini? They just scratch my itch, and they're simple. I've tried many times to get along with TH-U because of the gushing about it here. It gets deleted every time. The interface, bazillions of choices, and bewildering purchase options just put me off every time. No amount of tone polishing is worth dealing with that app IMO.
There may be better options, but these are the ones that make me want to play, and I'm not going to get sidetracked from that.
Here is my AUM session:
And the EQ settings. (My pickup is rather on the dark side. Your first EQ may not need the same settings):
The mid freq in the second EQ might also need more attenuation.
I was delighted to learn (not so long ago) how Roy Clark was a huge influence on John 5 in his guitar education.
How is your guitar journey going @Montreal_Music ? Could you find a good sounding solution?
Still experimenting. Thank you for all the suggestions!