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Amplitube vs POD type thing for direct recording?


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I'm working with ProTools 10, interface is an MBox Pro 3.  I always prefer to just mic up an amp and will continue to do that whenever possible, but sometimes the spirit hits late night at the apartment, so I'm looking for the best possible amp sound/vibe while tracking direct-in at 3am/headphones/etc.

I'm looking for simple (but high quality) amp sims, run clean/cleanish mostly, and it would be very cool if I could run my pedalboard into the sim and get sounds that I am generally accustomed to. 

 

Better to use a POD or other outboard thing, or a plugin like Amplitube, Amp Farm, something I've never heard of?  I'd love to hear specifics from those of you who have tried multiple methods (PHIL!? TVD?!) and managed to get some good results.

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You know what I really like for clean tones direct? The Tech 21 Blonde V2. Any of those methods will work - Amplitube, a Pod, Guitar Rig, Amp Farm (TDM only last I heard), the Tech 21 Character series stuff... and you're right - I've tried it all, but the Blonde seems to be about the simplest / easiest way to get a convincing Fenderish amp sound direct.

 

 

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So since I'm more of a Vox man, would you recommend the Liverpool, then?  Have you tried the whole line? 

I actually wasn't expecting to hear a stompbox as the answer, but I'll look into it.  The advantage to the Amplitube/plugin route is that I'd have amp options, as opposed to just picking one emulator, but if that one emulator is significantly better sounding and feeling I'm down to try it. 

If I'd actually like to monitor the tone I've chosen as I'm tracking, how bad is the latency in Amplitube?  Is there any specific plugin that you feel has better latency, or a good way around that problem?  Using an outboard piece is also attractive to me for that reason.

I found that there's a free version of Amplitube with less bells and whistles, so I'm gonna download that and see how well it works-- if the latency/feel sucks I might try one of those Tech 21's.  Thanks, Phil!

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Amplitube has a free version with a basic amp that's pretty decent. You can try additional instruments from the custom shop. Guitar Rig has a decent demo version as well. I like amplitube best, the PC/Mac version is way better then the iOS version which has a lot of latency.

With the sans amp series you're definitely going to need som reverb. Don't get pinned down on the Vox thing, look for the amp model you like

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Damn, man.  That Liverpool sounded fantastic in that video.  One of the things I was wondering about was whether it would sound ok running pedal reverb into the Tech21-- like can you keep it clean enough and just get your dirt from pedals so you aren't sending reverb into dirt-- and that guy definitely did that. 

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Finally got a chance today to do some experimenting with Amplitube and I am really **** impressed.  Ran my board into this little Motu Hi-Z/Lo-Z thing that I picked up, and that straight into my MBox Pro 3.  Ran the buffer size at 32 and had no latency at all.  Great sound and feel and it handled the pedals like a champ.  Fun and very cool to be able to manipulate the sounds after tracking, too.  Pretty damn effortless. 

It's too bad the free version doesn't come with an AC30 model, but I am testing it out and will probably buy it out of the custom shop.

Thanks to all for the advice.

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El Gallo Negro wrote:

 

Damn, man.  That Liverpool sounded fantastic in that video.  One of the things I was wondering about was whether it would sound ok running pedal reverb into the Tech21-- like can you keep it clean enough and just get your dirt from pedals so you aren't sending reverb into dirt-- and that guy definitely did that. 

 

 

 

Yeah, it's actually better IMHO to run your reverb after your Tech 21 Character series pedal... either with a plugin reverb or even a pedal. Giving just a bit of ambience to the sound really goes a long way towards creating a convincing illusion of a miked-up amp. Otherwise, the ear isn't as readily fooled, since we nearly always hear "real amps" in some sort of acoustical environment with at least some early reflections and reverb or "room sound" on them, and not just completely dead dry. You can certainly put the reverb in front of the Liverpool, but IMO, it tends to sound best with the pedal set to a cleaner sound if you do that.

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