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Topic: New VST Plugins

Hi Guys

I have mainly been using my PODHD500 recently (but not for recording). So I am wondering what new plugins I could be looking for - I was thinking of giving guitar rig 5 a go as seems to have good reviews - but is there anything similar on the market I should be consdering as well.

I would really like something I can use for recording bass, acoustic, vocals and electric all in one if possible.

Also I am still using ezdrummer for drums - is this still the best one out there or are there better?

Any advice on what you guys are using would be great!

Re: New VST Plugins

always input your preferred sound via line in or microphone
dont try to create it with a plug in..( you will have to monitor the i/p and you
will have latency ) plugins are great for timping the recorded sound afterdwards
ie..eq compression ets....ez drummer is as good as any other rhythm source ( inc live drums )
if it is programmed right ..but never base your music on drums...any great tune can be played to
a metronome or even less...record bass as per guitar then compression and ' editing 'can
tighten it up to the drum track ( if youre recording to a sequencer )..multiband compression is a must for sorting recorded sounds
record your vx dry as a bone and only use limiting/compression to eliminate 'overs'
use a good mike for anything acoustic

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Re: New VST Plugins

Interesting stuff. I might have to quiz you further on some of these points!

So don't you rate the guitar rig type effects?

Re: New VST Plugins

I have to say...I am huge GR5 fan....The problem I have found (any ideas Poly) is..if I use GR5 as a VST i seem to suffer from a loss of quality....Where as if I am using it as an amp sim just on the computer it's far better quality .

The same can be said for my Line six pod farm..... Which you can place before a daw and record the modeled sound with out using it as a VST...You can't do that GR5... default/sad  default/sad  default/sad

Imagine if the words of Imagine ever came true.....

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Re: New VST Plugins

its all a matter of experimenting..but..get your original sound right to start with
i'd never use a plugin to ' achieve ' a sound..but do use them to enhance what iv'e
already recorded..this is how i work..perhaps others will input their preferences
i think latency is the biggest problem when working with plugins in real time

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Re: New VST Plugins

whats the GR5...tried to google it with no joy

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Re: New VST Plugins

Guitar Rig 5

[youtube]/watch?v=bWXjRj3AUWg[/youtube]

Re: New VST Plugins

the sounds in the vid are very impressive and native instruments know what its all about

jamesd74 wrote:

if I use GR5 as a VST i seem to suffer from a loss of quality....Where as if I am using it as an amp sim just on the computer it's far better quality .

i suppose a recorded guitar put through the gr5 ( VST ) has not got the same attack and
punch as it has in real time ( sim ) ..thats why its best to get your sound right then record it
you need your sound right when you're playing in any case to give you that extra bit of
drive.....image playing a raunchy AC/DC with a clean tinny sound...you probably wouldn't get
to the chorus

you can always tweek the sound using it as a plugin afterwards

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Re: New VST Plugins

is the gr5 standalone...how do you record with it??

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Re: New VST Plugins

So Poly, do you feel that these computer based guitar sims can never really work unless you had one computer as the sim and then mic' ed up to another to record? (or similar setup)

I have a computer upstairs and I reckon I could get away with using it a lot more for recording however all my amps etc are down in my cellar. So I am looking for a simple way to just plug in an record away.

Re: New VST Plugins

if the sim will run in standalone mode..ie work independant of the daw..and depending how you
set things up..you should be able to use the simulator and patch it though to an input
of your preferred  DAW on one computer. .i think there is dedicated software that will allow you
to do this..i use two computers..one with cubase..and another with lots of third party VSTi
but it could also have an amp simulator..these progs must be ' standalone ' though

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Re: New VST Plugins

http://www.virtualaudiocable.net/ to use one computer ..this is a starter
google for this type of software

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Re: New VST Plugins

in a nutshell: a plugin used in real time will have latency ( delay ) so you might
get a great sound but..when you try to track your sound it  will be 'echo'y' ( unless you dont listen
to the sound your recording )which will have to happen to get a sensible recording musically

if its in standalone and  using virtual cables ...you can hear any sound you prefer
with no latency...(just like coming out of your stack) ..from your computer speakers
..what you hear is  what you record.............thats the plot

amp simulators are a fantastic thing to have for home studios ..but the feel
has to be as the amps and setups they're simulating

this is a solution (  hopefully ) using software only....if you've got boxes with other types of interfaces
then there will be different scenarios

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Re: New VST Plugins

I think I get the idea here.

But the concept I kind of liked of doing it the other way was that once recorded, if you felt you had too much delay or didn't quite like the amp sounds you could adjust it after the event. Of course I wouldn't want to sacrifice sound quality to achieve this.

I am guessing that with this cable software you are using the standalone version then creating a virtual cable into the input of the DAW therefore recording what you hear. But ultimately isn't the computer still dong the same amount of work that would have caused the latency anyhow?

As another option, is it possible to use the standalone sim to hear the sound but actually just record teh dry guitar and then apply the VST after?

Re: New VST Plugins

an amp simulator wouldn't be any good if it had latency.so i  am assuming they
have zero latency ( i dont use them personally )the latency in cubase is caused by
the soundcard/buffer sizes and all that. if the buffer size is too small ( less latency )
then you get spluttering and all other annoying artefacts associated with using small buffer sizes when recording..if you monitor straight off your simutator you're  listening in real time..the signal
is then passed on to cubase ( any sequencer ) via virtual cables so the latency of the sequencer  is of no consequence
( if you try to monitor off your sequencer latency will be an issue )
all you're trying to achieve is hearing the sound in real time..i monitor from a mixer
before  its passed  to cubase..so..no latency

sometimes delay is part of the ' sound ' and is necessary to create special effects at
certain tempos..other than that always record dryish with enough effects to give you
inspiation...you can always add more reverb/delay when mixing
you can also pass it through the simulator to modify the sound if you need to
latency is not an issue here

whether you can record dry while hearing the effects depends on the software capabilities
perhaps you might be able to do it with virtual cables ie. spit the input ..one cable going to
the sequencer and the other going to the simuator...monitoring off the simulator and recording
dry into the sequencer

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Re: New VST Plugins

K i have tried the virtual cable...I can't get it to work...I amusing my Line six UX 2 as a sound card..The problem I think is the ASIO driver....If I change the play back device to VC it no longer regonises  the sound card....

Imagine if the words of Imagine ever came true.....

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Re: New VST Plugins

i've just tried the peavey revalver ( to see what the plot is )and there is latency
depending on your soundcard and driver setup. so if your're going to use a computer as a separate soundsource ( with no special interfaces ) it seems you've got to have a
low latency system ( as olley suspected ). ASIO4ALL drivers would help speed things up if you haven't got a pro sound card
as far as the virtual cables is concerned..i think a diploma in patience would be required its too complicated and very user unfriendly ...but then again i'm trying to do everything
in a few seconds flat
JAMES: how do you record with your simulator??

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Re: New VST Plugins

My UX2 is set as my computers sound card.  If I open Pod Farm I can remove any amp sims and just record a dry signal...The pod farm mixer allows me to control the recording output volume. This in turn is just picked up by Reaper, or Cubase, which ever one I am recording with.

I usually use Reaper...(I got a full working version with my Peavy Vypyer) I know it free online as well....

Then I set a GR5 as a VST and Moniter the sound to get the feel when playing.....

The UX2 has its own ASIO driver which seems to work very well to be fair......I have no noticeable latency...I also have a very powerful desk top as well.....I don't really understand Computer Specs But I have a quad this a terror bit of that and 8 GB of the other..... default/roll  default/roll  default/roll

I have a mirror setup on my mates Laptop so if I go to his house to record there is no messing about...On his Laptop we hit latency problems.....So I put that down to the computer......

Imagine if the words of Imagine ever came true.....

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Re: New VST Plugins

I just skimmed this thread, I know a thing or two about recording...

I find it interesting that people are finding it difficult to record using something like GR5 (having latency problems and such...) I think it's a decent plugin although personally I dont think its worth what they charge for the full version. Another one to check out is Amplitube 3, they have a bunch of officially licensed simulated gear from people like Fender and Orange and the unofficial copies seem great too.

The whole advantage in my opinion especially when recording at home, is that what you hear coming out of your speakers (or headphones) when you play through these kinds of things is exactly what will be recorded, as opposed to playing out of your amp and putting a mic infront of it which will not sound the way you hear it sitting in your room, plus you need the right mic's and preamps to get it sounding nice.

The latency issue i would guess to be a hardware issue, you do need a decent computer as to not have noticeable latency, if you are getting latency you should try adjusting the audio buffer size in the audio settings of your plugin or DAW....

I play a: Jackson/Charvel Model 6
Through a: Marshall TSL100, Roland JC-120, ZenDrive
I make guitar tutorials and reviews here: http://bit.ly/axetuts
And you can follow me here: http://www.twitter.com/reageorge

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Re: New VST Plugins

Olly wrote:

Hi Guys

I have mainly been using my PODHD500 recently (but not for recording). So I am wondering what new plugins I could be looking for - I was thinking of giving guitar rig 5 a go as seems to have good reviews - but is there anything similar on the market I should be consdering as well.

I would really like something I can use for recording bass, acoustic, vocals and electric all in one if possible.

Also I am still using ezdrummer for drums - is this still the best one out there or are there better?

Any advice on what you guys are using would be great!

Hi Olly, Great subject btw and good question there are some really good virtual guitar amps on the market and I tried guitar rig demo when researching what plugin to use for my guitar amp emulator.

After much researching, I settled on Amplitube Max which is a fantastic amp plugin which gives much flexibility to mold your sound via amps, stomp boxes, mics, recording rooms, etc.

I find that recording with AmpliTube is very easy and gives a lot of versatility and choice so you can't fail to get the sound that you are looking for. I record in the box using Ableton live as my DAW and have recently finished my album "Visitations" using Amplitube as my go to amp plugin.

I also used EZdrummer 2 on the album which I think is a fantastic drum plugin, if you want to check the album out and hear the plugins in action you can click the link below for my Soundcloud page, cheers.

https://soundcloud.com/eljay-15/sets/visitations-1

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