Ampkit or Amplitube?

Discuss music production with Ableton Live.
slaykent
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by slaykent » Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:58 pm

@Tone Deft

Agreed. Damn cool, but a bit expensive for a grad student (especially since I spent my spare money on a monome kit about month ago)! I was hoping to move away from guitar hardware, but I am starting to see I may have to take stuff from both worlds.

Tone Deft
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by Tone Deft » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:05 pm

grad school is for studying. ;) you'll love it when you get out, a real income and you can spring for toyz.

IMO I get all my tone without a computer. finding time to play guitar is hard enough, having that time cock blocked by a crashing computer or sudden snats and pops pissed me off for the last time years ago. that and until recently my computers couldn't run low latency and be easy on the CPU.

FWIW my electric has piezo and humbucker output (midi as well). I've learned it pays off a TON to play with the tone and volume knobs on the guitar as well as the pre-amp gain setting before a session to find a nice clean tone. then I use one of a few tones on my Pod XT that I tweaked by hand and I really like. it's all about preparation. with acoustic I do the same but I'll also walk around the room while I play/record and dictate what I'm doing, where I'm standing etc then when I go back and listen I can pick the right place/angle to play.

hope that makes sense.
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LoopStationZebra
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by LoopStationZebra » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:08 pm

Hey Gents, I just went to check out some things in the app store and came across another sim that I'd seen but avoided because of the name: iShred. I think it's got the best sound so far, and the interface is exactly what it should be....incredibly simple.

It comes with one amp that either runs clean or crunchy, and 3 FX pedals (flanger, delay, and noise filter/gate).

Some things impressed me right away:

-It's the cleanest sounding sim so far. Very little artifacting that I noticed. I cranked it through the headphones and into an amp. No feedback.

-the delay is absolutely fantastic. It's basically a reel-to-reel type machine ala' Robert Fripp (even has the reels rolling, lol), and cranking up the regen dial gives you nearly infinite delay. NICE. It's also the ONLY sim I've seen so far that also includes a tap tempo button. Major win, there.

- it's free. Addition stomp boxes run $2. The octaver, dual chorus, and phaser sound great.

It's definitely lacking the polish of the other apps, but makes up for that in clean sound and price. One thing I noticed is that the distortion/fuzz is lacking in quality (based on the samples you can listen to), but I find the same thing with the other sims as well. All in all it's worth checking out.
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LoopStationZebra
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by LoopStationZebra » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:12 pm

Tone Deft wrote: that Tone Works thing looks like a toy.

Don't knock it til you try it. Looks are one thing, but sound is another. I was skeptical as hell, until I plugged my Stick into one and started playing through an amp at my local store. The range and quality of sound was like........whoa. 8O
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Tone Deft
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by Tone Deft » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:20 pm

hmmmm GAS!! I've just had too many bad Digitech/Behringer type sub $200 boxes that were just uuuuuugly.

I forgot about the iPad stuff. I'd like to get the iPhone app with the guitar lead input so I can take the electric to the ocean on the bicycle and play, soooo much lighter than putting an acoustic on my back.
In my life
Why do I smile
At people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?
-Moz

LoopStationZebra
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by LoopStationZebra » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:21 pm

slaykent wrote: I still love my Pod XT Live!

lol, I hear ya brutha. I've got the x3 live and it's my main sound source. Beautiful piece of kit. I run it right into my Motu, then have a MIDI connection with live so that I can control the FX parameters with dummy clips/automation during a set. Best thing is that it's one of the few stomps that will give you dual channel for two different tones at once.

Like what I think Tone just said, I don't use any modeling via plugs within Live. They are just way too expensive in terms of CPU usage. Its astounding to me how many guys in that Ableton guitarists thread use Guitar Rig and whatnot. Awesome killer sound and potential, but..... 8O
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slaykent
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by slaykent » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:26 pm

@ Tone Deft

Hah, grad school has sucked away 90% of my former music making time, but I love my work. Although I do agree with you on some points, especially dialing in a good tone using those two or three underappreciated knobs on the guitar, I differ from you about get tone before using a computer. My brother gave me a copy of POD Farm last summer, and I was blown away by how far amp sims have come. Furthermore, if I later add something else to the track that I like, but does not quite fit with the tone I originally had on the guitar, it is SO much easier to not have to rerecord or do crazy EQing to get a different sound. I think this is a pretty personal preference depending on workflow, but my songs tend to change directions a couple of times before they are done. That said, CPU is always precious, and those modeling plugins are hogs. I don't how people get away with using Guitar Rig without severe track limitations.

@ LSZ

Thanks for the recommendation, I'm going to check it out!

slaykent
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by slaykent » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:27 pm

@ LSZ

Looks like we had identical thoughts about Guitar Rig. Hah.

LoopStationZebra
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by LoopStationZebra » Fri Jan 07, 2011 11:32 pm

slaykent wrote:@ LSZ

Looks like we had identical thoughts about Guitar Rig. Hah.

I'm not slamming GR at all, btw. Hope that didn't come across, because that fucking piece of software sounds absolutely KILLER. There's some grain delays and envelope filters that sound like nothing I've ever heard before. And the routing flexibility is amazing. Grrrr. Makes we wish I had a second laptop. Or that at some point an iPad GR version will be released when the horsepower increases. :twisted:
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slaykent
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by slaykent » Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:59 am

Oh I wasn't slamming Guitar Rig at all. I just makes me wish I had the CPU to justify buying it and making it a permanent staple in my Live setup.

beats me
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by beats me » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:17 pm

I was watching a couple video demos of the Line 6 HD500 and good heavens with being able to map the expression pedal to any and multiple parameters. There's a bunch of other cool shit on it but I was seriously 8O with that function.

Also It showed there was MIDI and a USB connection but there wasn't too much detail on exactly what the purpose was, even when I read the marketing description summaries. :?

LoopStationZebra
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by LoopStationZebra » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:34 pm

beats me wrote:I was watching a couple video demos of the Line 6 HD500 and good heavens with being able to map the expression pedal to any and multiple parameters. There's a bunch of other cool shit on it but I was seriously 8O with that function.

Also It showed there was MIDI and a USB connection but there wasn't too much detail on exactly what the purpose was, even when I read the marketing description summaries. :?

Yeah, I gotta check the HD500 out further. I was getting set to pull the trigger on Guitar Rig 4, mostly because my Pod X3 Live lacks some of the more bizarre modulation and delay FX and you can't assign the pedal to anything but volume and wah, but now I'm not so sure.

MIDI and USB for the HD is the same for the X3 live. USB exists so you can send and receive info from the Toolbox software. MIDI allows the X3 to recieve CCs from Ableton to control virtually any setting or parameter. For instance, I've got dummy clips set up to vary the delay speed for a certain patch using envelope automation.
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beats me
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by beats me » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:53 pm

LoopStationZebra wrote:
beats me wrote:I was watching a couple video demos of the Line 6 HD500 and good heavens with being able to map the expression pedal to any and multiple parameters. There's a bunch of other cool shit on it but I was seriously 8O with that function.

Also It showed there was MIDI and a USB connection but there wasn't too much detail on exactly what the purpose was, even when I read the marketing description summaries. :?

Yeah, I gotta check the HD500 out further. I was getting set to pull the trigger on Guitar Rig 4, mostly because my Pod X3 Live lacks some of the more bizarre modulation and delay FX and you can't assign the pedal to anything but volume and wah, but now I'm not so sure.

MIDI and USB for the HD is the same for the X3 live. USB exists so you can send and receive info from the Toolbox software. MIDI allows the X3 to recieve CCs from Ableton to control virtually any setting or parameter. For instance, I've got dummy clips set up to vary the delay speed for a certain patch using envelope automation.
I've been way off the guitar bus for a long time but am coming back and I never even thought of using an expression pedal to control anything other than volume or wah, but when I saw it also controlling things like drive, delay feedback, or multiple parameters it was a true holy shit moment for me.

Can you use the MIDI to automatically sync the delay time to your DAW? I assume the Toolbox software is for editing patches? I'm getting to the age where constantly bending over a piece of hardware on the floor probably isn't a good idea. And the USB connection is only for that? In an ideal world that should be able to be used for both the editing software and MIDI send/receive.

Also the Line 6 pedal board Tone posted looks pretty slick, but given all it can do and they omitted an included expression pedal…WTF?

LoopStationZebra
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by LoopStationZebra » Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:06 pm

beats me wrote: I've been way off the guitar bus for a long time but am coming back and I never even thought of using an expression pedal to control anything other than volume or wah, but when I saw it also controlling things like drive, delay feedback, or multiple parameters it was a true holy shit moment for me.

Can you use the MIDI to automatically sync the delay time to your DAW? I assume the Toolbox software is for editing patches? I'm getting to the age where constantly bending over a piece of hardware on the floor probably isn't a good idea. And the USB connection is only for that? In an ideal world that should be able to be used for both the editing software and MIDI send/receive.

Also the Line 6 pedal board Tone posted looks pretty slick, but given all it can do and they omitted an included expression pedal…WTF?

Yeah, you can absolutely control the tempo of delay - or any tempo based FX - via MIDI. You have to use a dummy clip to send the correct MIDI message to the X3 Live (4 notes over 4 bars, basically). What would have been more elegant would have been a true clock sync, but the Line6 folks didn't think that a priority. It was something I started RANTING about at the Line6 forum, lol. And, in true fashion, no one gave a shit. :lol: Not sure if the HD units offer clock sync. Toolbox is for editing of patches only, and that's all the USB does for the X3. Not sure how the HD works. Why they didn't use that to also carry MIDI is a fucking mystery. Basically, any guitar based product leaves MIDI as a pure afterthought. In fact, the X3 Live unit was the ONLY FX board to feature near full MIDI functionality. 8O

The Zoom FX boards have allowed the volume pedal to act as an expression pedal for quite a few years. The only manufacturer to do so, btw. Not only that, but in addition to the usual up and down pedal movement, you can move the Zoom pedal from SIDE TO SIDE, and set that to manipulate any parameter you want. So, basically, you can manipulate 2 parameters in any FX. 8O

Zoom offered no dual channel (two tones at once) option. Otherwise I would have bought one years ago, lol.
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beats me
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Re: Ampkit or Amplitube?

Post by beats me » Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:19 pm

LoopStationZebra wrote:
beats me wrote: I've been way off the guitar bus for a long time but am coming back and I never even thought of using an expression pedal to control anything other than volume or wah, but when I saw it also controlling things like drive, delay feedback, or multiple parameters it was a true holy shit moment for me.

Can you use the MIDI to automatically sync the delay time to your DAW? I assume the Toolbox software is for editing patches? I'm getting to the age where constantly bending over a piece of hardware on the floor probably isn't a good idea. And the USB connection is only for that? In an ideal world that should be able to be used for both the editing software and MIDI send/receive.

Also the Line 6 pedal board Tone posted looks pretty slick, but given all it can do and they omitted an included expression pedal…WTF?

Yeah, you can absolutely control the tempo of delay - or any tempo based FX - via MIDI. You have to use a dummy clip to send the correct MIDI message to the X3 Live (4 notes over 4 bars, basically). What would have been more elegant would have been a true clock sync, but the Line6 folks didn't think that a priority. It was something I started RANTING about at the Line6 forum, lol. And, in true fashion, no one gave a shit. :lol: Not sure if the HD units offer clock sync. Toolbox is for editing of patches only, and that's all the USB does for the X3. Not sure how the HD works. Why they didn't use that to also carry MIDI is a fucking mystery. Basically, any guitar based product leaves MIDI as a pure afterthought. In fact, the X3 Live unit was the ONLY FX board to feature near full MIDI functionality. 8O

The Zoom FX boards have allowed the volume pedal to act as an expression pedal for quite a few years. The only manufacturer to do so, btw. Not only that, but in addition to the usual up and down pedal movement, you can move the Zoom pedal from SIDE TO SIDE, and set that to manipulate any parameter you want. So, basically, you can manipulate 2 parameters in any FX. 8O

Zoom offered no dual channel (two tones at once) option. Otherwise I would have bought one years ago, lol.

Thanks for stating how guitar hardware technology has come a long half-ass way since my absence. :lol:

I remembering reading reviews, possibly on Amazon, for the iRig adapter and somebody put that it was a bad idea because his iPad broke when he stomped on it. :lol: Joke, or not. :lol:

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