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Guitar Rig Kontrol and Stealthpedal


mbarsott

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You're in luck, because you can download free versions of both Guitar Rig and AmpliTube that will give you an idea of the sounds each offers. After all, if you don't like the sounds, the pedals won't matter much :)

 

The foot controllers are pretty much as shown on the web sites, and both are high quality. So if you can't make up your mind between Guitar Rig and AmpliTube because you think they both sound good, then choose on the basis of which foot controller's features fit your needs better.

 

That said, I have both GR and AT. AT makes very realistic guitar amp sounds, very warm; Guitar Rig is more flexible, and includes features that are more synth-like (e.g., step sequencers). So for example if you play in a blues band, AT is probably your best choice. But if you play dance music or hip-hop, Guitar Rig would likely be better.

 

Does that help?

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You're in luck, because you can download free versions of both Guitar Rig and AmpliTube that will give you an idea of the sounds each offers. After all, if you don't like the sounds, the pedals won't matter much
:)

The foot controllers are pretty much as shown on the web sites, and both are high quality. So if you can't make up your mind between Guitar Rig and AmpliTube because you think they both sound good, then choose on the basis of which foot controller's features fit your needs better.


That said, I have both GR and AT. AT makes very realistic guitar amp sounds, very warm; Guitar Rig is more flexible, and includes features that are more synth-like (e.g., step sequencers). So for example if you play in a blues band, AT is probably your best choice. But if you play dance music or hip-hop, Guitar Rig would likely be better.


Does that help?

 

Absolutely helps, I intend to play blues/southern/classic rock, so I guess Amplitube would be a better fit. I also downloaded both free versions. At first I didn't like Amplitube as much as I liked Guitar Rig becuase IMO it is a little less friendly and, as you said, more realistic, so I would get, for example, unwanted static noise that was somewhat the result of my amp settings. After a while I started learning more about AT and now I definitely lean towards it. Another thing that may heavily weight on my decision is the fact that I've seen rumors over the web that Guitar Rig Kontrol 3 may be discontinued and replaced by a newer model in the future.

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Hey there and welcome,

I have a StealthPedal and it's an ok interface. It does have two inputs so both my son and I can jam together, which is cool. Kinda wish it had a knob to control input gain. It only has a 2 position switch (low and hi) and I would like to be able to get my signal closer to full scale. I purchased the pedal w/ Ampitube3 as a package deal. If you buy it separately it's quite pricy for what you get IMHO. If mine ever breaks, I would probably opt for a midi perdal board / interface solution, but it's not bad for a first interface.

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Hey there and welcome,

I have a StealthPedal and it's an ok interface. It does have two inputs so both my son and I can jam together, which is cool. Kinda wish it had a knob to control input gain. It only has a 2 position switch (low and hi) and I would like to be able to get my signal closer to full scale. I purchased the pedal w/ Ampitube3 as a package deal. If you buy it separately it's quite pricy for what you get IMHO. If mine ever breaks, I would probably opt for a midi perdal board / interface solution, but it's not bad for a first interface.

 

 

Thank you! That was something I was wanting to ask about the Stealthpedal. I saw it has two inputs and I was wondering if two people can share the device. Apparently it is possible. So, how do you do that? Do you see two different inputs in your Amplitube software? If that is the case you can send each one through a different Amplitube track and have a completely different rig for each instrument, right? I was able to do that by plugging two Real Tone Cables (guitar to usb cables) into one laptop. I just didn't know if this would be the case plugging one Stealthpedal.

Well, that leads to another question... if you plug two instruments into the Stealthpedal, which one is controlled by the pedal in Amplitube's software? If I press the pedal does it act only on input 1?

I intend to get the stealthpedal for two reasons, one is to control Amplitube with my feet, and the other is to have a professional piece of gear handling the sound instead of my onboard laptop sound card, which makes pops and crackles noises every now and then. So, if not the Stealthpedal, would you have two separate pieces of gear to do that? One External Guitar/USB adapter to send/receive the sound to/from the computer AND a midi footcontroller just to control the Amplitube software with your feet? I haven't seen a lot of midi footcontrollers for sale online, and the ones I saw are way expensive. Do you have one in mind?

Thanks again for your answers.

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Yes, there would be two channels of input. I don't actually recall how this works inside amplitube becasue I only used A3 in standalone mode for about a month or so before I realized there is much more power running it inside a DAW. My DAW is a program called Reaper, and when you run it this way Reaper handles the inputs, and all the sims you care to run (or have CPU power to run). So I can either have two inputs running to the same instance of A3, or more often, I run each input to it's own copy of A3 running under the DAW. That way I can be playing my Schecter into a Dual Rectifier model, while my son can run his Strat separately into the Peavey 5150 model, each in a different instance of A3. They are completely independent so each one can be set up the way either of us wants. Also the beauty of running it under a DAW is each track can be recorded, and you can also have other play-along tracks like an mp3 of a song you are learning or backing track which might contain just drums and base and you play the guitar parts and/or sing along. We don't have a mic becasue they require power/amplification and the stealth pedal doesn't supply phantom power for a mic. I think you would have to get a separate pre-amp for the mic if you wanted to bring in a channel for vocals, and then that would use up one of the two inputs.

 

The movable pedal is a midi device, so it's only job is to send midi signals to A3 (or your DAW if you go that route). In A3, or Reaper, you intercept those signals and have them control whatever you require. So if you have two versions of amplitube running you can have the pedal control volume on one, and wah on the other, or both at the same time (which would be weird, but it is possible).

 

Yes, if you didn't use the Stealth pedal, you would need an interface like a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 (which if you look it up has some of the best pre-amps around, as well as phantom power for a mic, and gain controls for each channel). It's only 2 chanels, but you can buy interfaces like this that can have lots of channels if you need them. You would also want a midi controller like the Behringer FCB1010, which has way more controls so you could set up things like pedals to control individual presets, or turn on and off effects (chorus, distortion stomps, reverb) all within the instances of A3. So you can see that with two dedicated devices you get way more capability, but it also costs more, and takes up more space. Also, there is something to be said for the plug and play nature of the stealthpedal. It is really easy to set up.

 

Hope this helps.

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Sparky, wow, you opened a whole new perspective to me. I checked out the products you mentioned and they are not as expensive as I imagined. US$ 142 for a foot controller with 12 foot switches and two expression pedals? That is great. I also always wanted to get my vocals through the computer in live performances, but didn`t know how. Now I do. So with these multichannels USB interfaces, do you also get more than one input in your computer? I would like to get my guitar through Amplitube and my vocals possibly through a different effects processor, maybe guitar rig that already has some presets for vocals. I use Cakewalk Music Creator 6 instead of Reaper, but I think the principles are the same. Thanks a lot for your response!

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Right, each of the input channels is available simultaneously in the DAW and can be routed to the various plug-ins. The only limitations are how many inputs the interface has, and how much power your computer has to run the drivers, the DAW, and all the plugins. My laptop (about a year old) can only run about 2 instances of A3 and a couple of mp3s before it starts the pops and clicks. I suppose I could add more channels, but I would probably have to either reduce the fidelity in A3 (from HI to MID or ECO) or increase my latency. Desktops can handle more stuff because they don't have to deal with battery life / charging and heat dispation. Anyway, glad to be of help.

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Thanks again for explaining that. I intend to play in duo acts over backing tracks with my fiancee, that plays piano, bass, and does backing vocals. I guess I will get the stealthpedal for now, because it fits our current needs. I will plug her bass and my guitar into the pedal and run each input through a different rig in Amplitube, while microphones will go directly to the mixer. Possibly, in the future, I will get the equipement you mentioned, and leave her with the stealthpedal. This way we both can run instrument and vocal through different effects in our respective laptops.

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