DIgital Modeling Amp Simulators, Standalone and Plugin

Danno

Blues Newbie
I've been playing around with Reaper using the Bias Amp 2 plugin for a couple of days and I don't really have any issues with it. It sounds pretty good to me, decent selection of amp models, cabs, mics and so on and very customizable in terms of amp components. And it seems to work just fine with Reaper.

I guess I'm curious about other similar software options. I've used Amplitube 3 in the past and I'm not sure it plays nicely with Reaper although Amplitube 4 is probably fine I just haven't tried it. Also very interested in Helix Native. I've been really impressed with the Helix hardware I've seen and Native is supposed be virtually identical.

Does anyone have any recommendations/comments on the various amp and fx software solutions out there?
 

Ted_Zeppelin

I’ll agree with you so that both of us are wrong.
I have Bias Amp 2 and Helix Native and use both of them with Reaper. I use Native more often but it’s probably just because I have had it longer and out of habit gravitate to it. You get a pretty good discount on Helix Native if you own a Helix, so you may as well bite the bullet and get yourself a Helix while you are at it:whistle::whistle::whistle:. Of course then you would need to get a nice FRFR speaker cab to go along with it.
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
I have Bias Amp 2 and Helix Native and use both of them with Reaper. I use Native more often but it’s probably just because I have had it longer and out of habit gravitate to it. You get a pretty good discount on Helix Native if you own a Helix, so you may as well bite the bullet and get yourself a Helix while you are at it:whistle::whistle::whistle:. Of course then you would need to get a nice FRFR speaker cab to go along with it.
Can't say I haven't thought about getting a Helix, but honestly, at this point about all I use for effects are drive and reverb and Helix is way overkill for that. As for cost, the Bias Amp 2/Bias FX 2 bundle is only about $50 less than Helix Native so there's no real advantage there.
 

Iheartbacon

Blues Junior
I have no experience with the studio devil software, but it drives the Atomic Amplifire line and though they are more limited in options, I think they sound and feel better than the Helix models. I don’t know how much the hardware influences that vs the software so I can only suggest that you look into it, and can’t offer any buy/not buy advice.
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
I have no experience with the studio devil software, but it drives the Atomic Amplifire line and though they are more limited in options, I think they sound and feel better than the Helix models. I don’t know how much the hardware influences that vs the software so I can only suggest that you look into it, and can’t offer any buy/not buy advice.
Cool, I hadn't heard of Studio Devil before. Might be worth a look... Thanks
 

dan5150

Shredding the Blues
What interface do you have? When I use a plug in for guitar tones I either use Helix Native (I use the Helix floor as my main rig so the patches work interchangeably), or I use one of the UAD amp plug-ins as I use a UA Apollo for my interface.
I really like the fact that the UAD plug ins leverage the DSP in the interface instead of the computer CPU...
 

BigMike

Blues Oldie
I use the old Pod HD500 mostly for recording and still get some great tones out of it. I reckon you could probably pick up a used one for a couple of hundred. As far as software goes, NI's Guitar Rig ain't bad. I use the Studio One DAW and have never been impressed with their out of the box amp simulator. I bought the Waves PRS amp plugins and have yet to get a tone I like out of them(Could be my lack of ability of course:cool:)
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
What interface do you have? When I use a plug in for guitar tones I either use Helix Native (I use the Helix floor as my main rig so the patches work interchangeably), or I use one of the UAD amp plug-ins as I use a UA Apollo for my interface.
I really like the fact that the UAD plug ins leverage the DSP in the interface instead of the computer CPU...
I’m using a PreSonus i2 I think? If Line 6 would give a break on a Helix if you buy Native it would be a much easier decision.
 

Crossroads

Thump the Bottom
Most I've seen online use either bias, amplitude or helix. I use bias amp2 and bias FX with PreSonus studio, and bias amp2 and bias FX live.
 

JestMe

Student Of The Blues
Please forgive my lack of knowledge ....

I have
  • a Line 6 UX - adapter to plug my guitar into my computer
  • Reaper - DAW Recording software
When you guys discuss Bias Amp2, Amplitudes etc...

  • Does this sit in between your guitar adapter and your DAW or is it an FX filter added to your DAW,
  • I also have POD Farm - which sits in between my adapter and my DAW... is this the same kind of thing?
  • I have a Mustang III v2 with a USB connection to my computer... can this be used as an adapter and/or effects for recording in my DAW...?
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
 

CaptainMoto

Blues Voyager
Please forgive my lack of knowledge ....

I have
  • a Line 6 UX - adapter to plug my guitar into my computer
  • Reaper - DAW Recording software
When you guys discuss Bias Amp2, Amplitudes etc...

  • Does this sit in between your guitar adapter and your DAW or is it an FX filter added to your DAW,
  • I also have POD Farm - which sits in between my adapter and my DAW... is this the same kind of thing?
  • I have a Mustang III v2 with a USB connection to my computer... can this be used as an adapter and/or effects for recording in my DAW...?
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

I don't have a Bias Amp but, I'll give a shot at trying to answer your questions.
Maybe others will contradict or clarify.
Here goes:
Bias Amp is a two part system.
-1 there is a physical box with controls that has a pre amp built into it, you plug your guitar directly into that instead of an amp.
-2 it has a software component that lets you shape the tone to match various amps and/or to create a virtual amp that does not even exist.

A key component of the software is is this:
When you plug directly into a computer or into just a pre amp, the tone is missing all the characteristics that come from the Power tubes, the Speaker Cabinet, the Speaker itself, the Mic & Mic Placement.
So, the software emulates all those missing parts and allows you to pick and choose your own combination of those components.

When you use a Bias Amp unit, you can use the built in selections using the on board switches & knobs or you can dive deep into the software to tweak all the components to your liking.

The software is also available as a stand alone ( Bias Amp 2) that can be loaded on your computer and used in your DAW , (like PodFarm). the same applies to Amplitube.

I think I got that right.
 
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Crossroads

Thump the Bottom
So there are generally 3 types of software amp sims? Probably more, I just haven't bumped into them.

Stand Alone PC or Ipad or Iphone which means it can run on a computer, ipad or iphone., or all 3 depending on the software. You can record this way on your computer.
You need an interface similar to your UX to get the sound into the processing device so the sound can be processed and out to FRFR speaker or mixing board, so the sound can e heard.
Amplitube, Bias Amp, Bias Amp2, Bias FX and your Line 6 pod software can all run that way so they can be used live. I have heard Helix native doesn't run live, but I don't see why it wouldn't.

Stand alone hardware.
Helix floor or Bias amp mini, amp or rack give you the ability to run live through hardware. So you only need your device Helix floor, or Bias amp and a connection to a powered speaker or mixing board. You modify your sound on your computer or ipad and then download it into the device.

Plug In
Amplitube, Helix Native, and Bais amp Bias FX can all run as a plug in. It basically "plugs into your DAW so you can process the sound. The nice part about this is you can record a "dry" signal with no amp processing and then "re-amp" later. If you don't like the sound you can apply different amps as many times as you want, because the original signal is dry. I believe your POD software can run as a plug in, but last I knew there were some issues.

Probably the biggest issue you will deal with is latency. that is dependent on your software, interface, processor and how much processing is going on.

There are many other products out there as well.

Hope that makes some sense.
 
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artyman

Fareham UK
Using a Mustang III to record through the USB is quite simple. I use Audacity (free), just select the Mustang as the input source and record, whatever patch you have chosen (preprogrammed or modified) is recorded. It's how I record for the Virtual Jam Room at the bottom of the forum.

An example using a modified echo patch recorded using the Mustang
 

Danno

Blues Newbie
Please forgive my lack of knowledge ....

I have
  • a Line 6 UX - adapter to plug my guitar into my computer
  • Reaper - DAW Recording software
When you guys discuss Bias Amp2, Amplitudes etc...

  • Does this sit in between your guitar adapter and your DAW or is it an FX filter added to your DAW,
  • I also have POD Farm - which sits in between my adapter and my DAW... is this the same kind of thing?
  • I have a Mustang III v2 with a USB connection to my computer... can this be used as an adapter and/or effects for recording in my DAW...?
Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.
Just to add a little to Crossroads' post and specifically about your first question, Reaper, and I'm sure other DAWs, will let you apply effects like Bias FX, Bias Amp, Amplitube etc to the input signal before it's recorded. So you'd be recording a "wet" signal. You can still apply post-input effects to that track as well.

And I think the answer to the third question is that the Mustang will act as an recording interface but I suspect it will send only the wet signal -- whatever sound you have set up on the amp. Something like the Yamaha THR amps will send both the wet and dry signal so you can have the direct signal available to apply effects (re-amp the signal) or you can use the output of the modeled amp or you can use both if you want.
 

JestMe

Student Of The Blues
Gentlemen! CaptainMoto, Crossroads, Artyman [great recording and paintings!] and Danno

Thanks for the helpful info. I appreciate it.

Cowboy, I guess I am trying to fall into the rabbit hole somewhat gracefully, if possible.

I have often thought about recording but the details of doing so just about make my head spin... the results being ...I do very little recording!
 

Crossroads

Thump the Bottom
I don't know what Eric's thinking, I tried kissing amps for years, kissing guitars for years, never did any good. Kissing girls however seem to work.

So @JestMe Eric's got a good point there if you download Audacity it's free or at least it used to be and you can use your you X2 with your pod tones in front of audacity a real simple way to get started.
 
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