Re: RME Firewire 800 and Guitar Amp Sim

["Doug Cox" <uncledig@gmail.com>]

Kris:

My recorder is fried and I don't have a good, convenient way to record for you, but I do own a GT-2 and can confirm that it does the Fender Tweed clean to crunch sound very well.  It's instrument level out, though - so you'll have to boost it somehow.  I think I remember reading that you're already facing that problem elsewhere and are using your outboard mixer to bring things to line level.

This discussion brings me to a place I've been before, but have never found a matching solution.  Does anyone know of a good (free?) VST that JUST does guitar poweramp and speaker emulation?  It would be very convenient to use my outboard instrument and preamp tools (ie, stompboxes) and just let my laptop handle the final tone shaping.  All of the "guitar amp simulator" VST solutions I've tried have been WAY too CPU heavy.

Doug

On 8/27/07, Krispen Hartung <khartung@cableone.net> wrote:

Thanks for the response on this. I'm sort of back where I was before, using
my Roland MicroCube or getting a better amp sim box...doesn't sound like the
FW800 amp sim is that convincing. Plus it's $1500!

Years ago I used to use the ADA micro-cab (the original). I always thought
that produced some very nice tone, but I'm avoiding rack size gear.  I
recall someone on this list recommended the SansAmp too.  If anyone has one
of those SanAmps, like the GT2, I wouldn't mind hearing something like a
jazz tone sample...the sample on the Tech 21 site are far from a traditional
jazz tone. The only one on the site, which is for the classic SansAmp, sound
sort of Mike Stearn-like. I'd like to just hear something that resembles an
old blackface Fender 1X12 amp, with the high end rolled off, beefy bass, and
enough gain so that if you play hard, it starts to break up just a bit.

Kris


----- Original Message -----

> Krispen Hartung wrote:
>> Can anyone comment on the speaker emulation filter and tube sim/limiter
>> of the FW800? Someone on the Max/MSP list commented that it was one of
>> the best amp sims they've used. See below.  Is any other high end
>> firewire audio interface offering ann amp sim?
>>  I am now focusing on how I can get the most natural electric guitar/tube
>> amp sound on my system, BEFORE going into the laptop (so, no tube amp
>> VSTs, etc). I need to do it with the audio interface, or by adding a real
>> tube amp or high end tube amp simulator (hardware)
>
> Hi Krispen, Group,
>
> It has been some time since I have messed with the speaker
> emulator/limiter feature on the instrument input of my FW800 but...
>
> When I originally got the unit I played with those features with my Strat
> and a few other guitars and found that for my tastes it was just an
> add-on/gimmick feature that did not improve the sound. It probably depends
> on what sound you are looking for, and it would be worth trying it
> yourself, but I don't expect to use that feature when going direct with my
> electric guitars. I much preferred the instrument input with those
> features turned off.
>
> Someday I would like to find a nice portable preamp to drive my otherwise
> clean/direct setup with, but for my tastes, those features were not in any
> way a decent substitute. Having said that, I am sure that someone loves
> those features and uses them everyday. ;-)
>
> Peace,
> - Sam
>