Famous songs using guitar sims?

[x-ray specs]

I've heard a lot about how great GuitarRig 4, Amplitube 3, or other guitar sim software is lately, so I'm wondering what well known famous artists have used these programs in well known songs?

 

Now I'm not talking about some lesser known artists that sold a few hundred albums, I want to know about those songs that were largely supported (bought) by the general public, sold probably over 100,000 units (reached at least Gold status) or more, and accepted to be as good as songs recorded with real amps and other analog equipment.

 

This is not an attack on the software programs, as I am interested in them, but would just like to find out if people are actually buying music that is made with these software based amp simulators, or if they still can't make the cut in the real business world of music.

 

Thanks.

[Anderton]

Here are some artists who use Guitar Rig:

 

http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/?content=1238&page=954

 

Not sure what songs feature it, though.

[Kalebmation]

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia is a great example of an album recorded mostly with a POD XT.

[Will Chen]

Malcolm Young of AC/DC reportedly used Amplitube 2 on 2 songs from Black Ice. Read the source here: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubelive/testimonials/NewsDisplay.php?Id=1994

 

Per a circa 2000 interview in Guitar Player, Ty Tabor used a Line 6 POD for the Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous album and live around the same period.

 

There are tons more which escape my mind right now.

 

Not entirely sure what you're looking for. Honestly nowadays what you hear on an album in the modern rock genre is not a "real" guitar tone. It's multitracked, reamped using anything and everything, multiband compressed, and remixed to get very specific tones.

[Agreed]

John McLaughlin uses Amplitube for his sound live, has a really good sound too in my opinion.

 

I agree with Will, and not just because he's the editor over at FG - there's so much distance between the basic gear the guitarist happens to like and the sound that ends up on the album that who is or isn't using this or that doesn't even influence my decisions at all these days.

[aliensporebomb]

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia is a great example of an album recorded mostly with a POD XT.

 

 

I love that album and you'd never know it was amp sims. The distorted and clean guitar sounds just shout "he's using big amplfiers in a nice sized room with cool mics". The acoustic guitars sound great too mixed in.

[aliensporebomb]

Malcolm Young of AC/DC reportedly used Amplitube 2 on 2 songs from Black Ice. Read the source here: http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubelive/testimonials/NewsDisplay.php?Id=1994 Per a circa 2000 interview in Guitar Player, Ty Tabor used a Line 6 POD for the Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous album and live around the same period. There are tons more which escape my mind right now. Not entirely sure what you're looking for. Honestly nowadays what you hear on an album in the modern rock genre is not a "real" guitar tone. It's multitracked, reamped using anything and everything, multiband compressed, and remixed to get very specific tones.

 

 

Mr. Bulbous is a great album too - it's pretty straight meat and potatoes rock guitar but a few songs have a faux leslie effect on them.

 

Definetely another one that surprises me - I could have sworn he was using real amps there.

[x-ray specs]

Thanks for the info guys.

[BryanMichael]

I thought I remembered reading some interviews with Metallica a few years ago and they said they had used the Line 6 stuff to layer parts with, in conjunction with their normal amps. Also, some band that was much more of a "rootsy" band (which I can't remember at this time) also admited that they used some Line 6 stuff to dial up certain sounds for overdubs which surprised me because they were a band that usually used "organic" tube amp sounds and vintage gear.

[Will Chen]

I thought I remembered reading some interviews with Metallica a few years ago and they said they had used the Line 6 stuff to layer parts with, in conjunction with their normal amps. Also, some band that was much more of a "rootsy" band (which I can't remember at this time) also admited that they used some Line 6 stuff to dial up certain sounds for overdubs which surprised me because they were a band that usually used "organic" tube amp sounds and vintage gear.

 

 

Maybe Jimmy Stafford of Train? That dude uses everything, Marshalls, Orange, Bogners, Line 6, Vox (tube and modeling). You really don't know what your hearing with that guy...

[hugbot]

It honestly seems kind of arbitrary to ask for songs which are "largely supported (bought) by the general public, sold probably over 100,000 units (reached at least Gold status) or more, and accepted to be as good as songs recorded with real amps and other analog equipment." to evaluate modelling gear, you think 99% of the general public can tell the difference between a modelled and non medelled amp?

 

And anyway most popular songs live or die by what the rest of the band is doing, not how "real" the guitar sounds.

 

I tend to prefer real gear to modelled but I admit thats more of a subjective "feel" thing than becasue it couldnt work on record.

[BryanMichael]

It honestly seems kind of arbitrary to ask for songs which are "largely supported (bought) by the general public, sold probably over 100,000 units (reached at least Gold status) or more, and accepted to be as good as songs recorded with real amps and other analog equipment." to evaluate modelling gear, you think 99% of the general public can tell the difference between a modelled and non medelled amp? And anyway most popular songs live or die by what the rest of the band is doing, not how "real" the guitar sounds. I tend to prefer real gear to modelled but I admit thats more of a subjective "feel" thing than becasue it couldnt work on record.

 

 

Yeah, but tehy've done "shootouts' with well respected producers and engineers...and sometimes they can't tell the difference right there in a studio (depending on the amp) So, the bottom line is that when it comes to the SOUND of the thing in a recording- there often isn't much difference, or at least not enough to matter. The other thing is that people are so focused on making a modeler sound like something so specific, they don't ask themselves if the tones they already make are "musically useful" So, instead of "is this a good clean tone?" They ask "Does this emulate every nuance of a Fender Twin Reverb from 1968???" which is really unnecessary.

[SomeoneYouKnew]

well!! there are many songs that had been sunged usng ony guitar.. one of the that i likked is the intrumental of the noting else matters ... great guitar players .. u must see the video at youu tube u will enjoy ,,, regards

"sunged"
lol.

Say goodbye to the advertising link in your sig.

[Anderton]

Well, I deleted Virgin Devils' posts, thanks for the heads-up.

But it's a GREAT name for a band

[yeagermeister]

Porcupine Tree - In Absentia is a great example of an album recorded mostly with a POD XT.

 

 

Actually that album was recorded on a Bad Cat Hot Cat.

 

Their latest album, The Incident, had a lot of POD modelling on it though.