GR4, impressions?

I like the interface too,

 

Valid point, especially when hosted as VST as someone else mentioned. UI design that will please each of thousands of users isn't easy. And despite any misgivings I might have about some of GR4's design it's still much more intiutive and straightforward than many others. I played around with Amplitube demo today (it's an annual ritual) and what a cluster of a UI that is.

 

I have to disagree: When you are trying new configurations and rigs, it is and will be forever annoying and slows down the building process. A much better solution would have been: a general lock / unlock all elements key like in the Reaktor GUI.
But thats just me...

 

Just got my GR4 upgrade the end of last week and I LOVE IT!

The simulations are much better then those in GR3, and the control room is awesome.

Plus, I like the new interface and the changes made to it.

Great job NI!

 

I've been playing around with the demo more, so I will continue my impressions.

Reverbs: The Iceverb is my favorite, but I was able to get them same results from the studio reverb, a split, and the pro filter. It's a fun unit to experiment with and get new soundscapes from. I wish it had a stereo throughput, though, like the other reverbs.
When I first heard of the Octaverb, I thought it was going to be a reverb whose tail is octavized, giving a very ominous and deep sound (I tried it - pretty cool sounding). When I heard it was going to be 8 different reverbs, I had high hopes for something similar to the lexicon reverbs. Even though the octaverb is its own unique batch of reverbs, I wish it were more like the lexicon reverbs simulating real spaces like Hall, Arena, Garage, Room, etc. The octaverb modes all seem to have the same flavor - they're all kind of gritty and low resolution. They're not as smooth as the studio reverb. I do like that the two new reverbs don't decrease the overall volume like the studio reverb does. A reverb should add more to the overall sound if anything. I would still like a reverb that is fully customizable: room size, diffusion percentage, graphic frequency response, low/high cut, tail length, dry/E.R./reverb mixer, and width.

Amps/cabs/control room: I don't have any of the real amps to compare with, so I don't notice the improvement in sound quality. I trust everything sounds better, though I prefer the GR3 cabs. I'm glad they included them. Did they use a new technology for the new cabs, or did the model completely different cabs? I'm also not a big marshal fan - I only use maybe 3 amps: the gratifier, ultrasonic, and twang reverb. none the less, the hot plex and jump seem like nice amps to add to the collection. I wish they would've chose a new bass amp, hi gain amp, or matchless instead, but oh well. in time. As for the control room, I still don't know how to use it the way it was intended. All the mics sort of sound the same to me. The cabinets&mics component had drastic differences per mic and cab combo, but the control room seems to be more subtle and precise.

Other pluses: the pitch pedal sounds great! it's way more stable. Also, I love the new rig kontrol options. no more having to choose between modifier and controlers. hopefully 8 per switch is enough . momentary switches! heal switch for the exp pedal! I'm still holding out for a new rig kontrol, but I will upgrade to GR4 solely for the new control scheme. I like the new look, how it's more realistic. you can put the looper anywhere!

Other disappointments: no more "x" (easier to just click rather than click and drag or click and delete), having to double click in the library, I keep on accidentally replacing components by dropping new components on top of them, still no wide screen view or resizable window (hint: show all components and presets on the same screen), Rig Kontrol still numbered 1-2-3-5-6-7, the on/off button for each component is really small - I wish it were touchscreen friendly, still no text input for parameters, right clicking = left clicking, ...all these seem like little things that could be easily fixed in an update.

to end on a positive note, I really love the new control scheme a lot.

 

just bought it, started making some patches. I hate the new browser. It's very difficult to use compared to the GR3 browser. It takes too many clicks to make a new preset. The way things are setup, it is more organized, but it discourages the user from making new presets and experimenting. I've already accidentally deleted some presets. hopefully they will bring back the workflow of GR3 in an update.

 

I also deleted some presets by mistake. I only wanted to remove one component off the rack and accidently had marked a component preset before. This is one of the worst things in the new browser. I hope the update helps.

 

Once I got used to it I found just dragging components out of the rack to be a very satiafactory of deleting them

 

First I would like to thank NI for this fantastic tool. I think after years and years of trying and spending loads of cash for all kind of gear I finally found the holy grail! No matter what, I'm gonna use GR4 in studio and on stage.

Again: Thank you guys and keep it up!

Amps are great, I love each one of them.
They are more authentical, three dimensional and warm!
The new control-room is an improovement and a step in the right direction.

For those who are looking for a Howard Dumble sound:
Try the Tweedman with treble- and/or gainbooster. It's pretty close!

After working with it for a while I even got used to the new interface.
Two things I would like to have remained from GR3:

1. Choosing out of the drop down-menue of the component-list of each amp and effect
2. Copy and paste with the right mouse-click

That's it for now ...

 

I really Like GR4, though i did not use 3 so little to compare with. I also would like an x, as others have mentioned. Is there a way to solo components within a rack. That would be useful for me to see what each part is doing within a rack.
would prefer less clicks and the preset system i don't like. would prefer them to be within each component.

overall its great though

 

Peppik said:

1. Choosing out of the drop down-menu of the component-list of each amp and effect
2. Copy and paste with the right mouse-click

+1 from me on both of these.

 

Thanks Scott

those two are the ones that bother me the most

 

I come from Guitar rig 2, I have bought 3 and now 4 upgrades and I must say that the job done on amp simulators have been grown so much in the time from older version... Between 3 and 4 I noticed a big step up in quality between, for example, lead 800 and Jump. Jump now is my favorite amp, on my opinion it has got a very good dynamic response, better than 800 and if you use it in combo with control room the overall result il very bright and near to reality.
Low Quality on my opinion has been improved a lot, compared with guitar rig 3. So now I can use it on my eeepc 1000HE with a good final sound, without worry myself about cpu usage and cracles and drops (or if I want to put 1 eq more!), expecially if I buid more complex patchets and if I ever wanted to use it live .
Hi quality, uses more cpu than guitar rig 3, but I think it has been increased proportionally if we consider the better sound we have in Low Q...
I'm looking forward to install next update that includes cool plex and mastering FX!
Finally, thanks to N.I., for the very good job (as ever) made also for this GR4!

Bye

Andrea

 

I don't understand why NI can't provide the mics used in the new "control room" as available options in the mic/cabinet component. My impression of the upgrade is not positive. I expect a lot more for the upgrade price than just a few new effects, amps, and a GUI makeover. I personally don't think the sound is any better or worse than in GR3. The marketing behind the control room is laughable. I think you have more control of mic selection and placement (as minimal as it is currently) in the mic/cabinet component than you do in the "control room". Nice try, but I ain't falling for it.

 

While its true that you have more options in the cab/mic module, none of them sound anywhere near as good as the control room.

 

Perhaps that is true. Two rhetorical questions as follow-up. Why are GR3 owners forced to upgrade to achieve better sound quality? Why haven't the improvements been made to the cab/mic module? Seems like these are things that GR3 owners have a right to expect (as updates not upgrades). One more rhetorical question: Do the changes made in version 4 really warrant a full version jump?

 

Well, in my ears GR4 has a far better sound than version 3. At least one can say it sounds different The control-room is just the cream on the ice-cake. If you look f.e. at the Gratifier in GR3: it sounds very muddy in the mix. That's different in GR4 where it's far better defined. Funny thing is that the Gratifier in version 4 sounds warmer than in version 3 !

I like the fact that the control-room stands on his own, simply because it's an adition to the great mic/cabinet options. It's like having three drawers: matched cabinet + cabinets/mics + control room. Take what you want from each drawer and don't get confused.

I didn't mind paying 69 Euros for the update. The guys at NI do a great job and this has to be rewarded. Nobody forced me to update. If I'd like GR3 more I'd simply stick to that.

If I compare GR4 to other guitar-software products I'd say GR4 is better. It sounds even better than the LINE6, Roland, Boss hardware-stuff. I own the POD X-3 Pro, Boss GT-10 and the Roland VG-99 which I liked very much untill I heard GR4!

Price-performance ratio: look at what you pay for the new Digidesign Eleven Rack or the Two Notes Audio Torpedo VB-101 (which btw. is only a mic and speaker simulator)! Considering the fact that nowadays nearly everybody has a strong computer/laptop, spending prox. 500 Euro for GR4 and the Rig Control3 is a far better choice.

That's just my opinion ...

 

I like the new interface! Clean.

 

You may not like this reply, but...

With any product, you buy it 'as is'... any updates and upgrades that are put on for free are a bonus as opposed to a right. You should expect bug fixes, but enhancements? Nice if they happen, but you can't complain if they don't IMO.

NI have a habit of putting a freebie or two on a while after releasing a product and then minor tweaks after that. I think that's fair enough. When GR3 came out, it didn't have the Orange or the Hiwatt (IIRC). These were added a while later. With GR4, they are adding the Cool Plex and, who knows, maybe we'll get other stuff for free.

You can't go on improving the current version of any product indefinately otherwise you have no business. A 2 year product cycle in software seems pretty fair. I've had GR3 since it came out and I just updated to 4 fairly cheaply. I don't feel I've been robbed. Had I bought a L6 Pod hardware device and then they brought out a Pod XT 2 years later, would I have the right to complain that my Pod couldn't be updated for free?

 

Sorry, but they have been included in the first release of GR 3.

GR 3.1 added noiseless algos
GR 3.2 added 64bit support


GR3 owners should not complain, by the way. You got a full product, feel free to upgrade any time later.