Guitar Rig got Owned?

RigKontrol 3, which I replaced for audio I/O by an Apogee Duet, and after that I replaced that with a Metric Halo 2882. The Duet solved all latency and sound quality problems, I got the 2882 to be able to use A/D conversion for the rest of my band also.

 

I have Amplitube and GR. I prefer GR's interface (you can see everyting in your rack easily), but I use AT because it just sounds better to me.

While we're all here together, let's have a big bitter laugh at Peavey's Revalver 3. They bought a great program (R2) and killed it. Put it in a closet somewhere. Then they "updated" it with Peavey amps. I am not impressed.

AT and GR both pwn Peavey. Too bad.

 

revalver has one of the best options...VST hosting other than that I agree

 

Thanks for the heads-up, elxsound. I just visited audiomidi.com and they're pushing Amplitube 2 for $15 for the next couple of days! The upgrade to 3 is still a pretty major expense, but this will give me a better sense of their product, and for $15, it's another sound to have on hand.

I actually like the looks of that Stealth pedal, because you can use it standalone for simple applications (where it would be very portable) or integrated with custom pedal boards of varying sizes to fit your needs. I agree the price is a little steep, though.

(And it's MIDI, and I just can't bring myself to buy an RK3 after getting jerked around so long with the RK2.)

 

Actually, from what I understand, AT3 includes an open architecture so you will be able to buy single packs from upcoming effect/amp packs, and probably even singles from the excellent Fender and Ampeg packs, instead of getting the whole entire pack.

I'm not a fanboy of either company, however you have to look at the fact that IK has authorized amp packs from companies like Fender and Ampeg, while NI does not. If IK ever gets to get an authorized pack from Mesa/Boogie, watch out.

Also, IK's user library is a bit more current than NI's.

 

Let's not lie here, the NI library is crap full stop. It's like a candy store, but, you can only get 1 sweet at a time. Line 6 has the best method...all zipped-up ready to use. It's a jungle out there as far as presets for Line 6 are concerned though.

Fortunately, GR4 does do what I want it to do. I've got over software envy anyway. I have my base 10 or so presets, another with almost 100 presets I like and just a few others like Nils. Apart from that, I'm focusing on writing and recording. I enjoy playing and making records now with GR4 running both guitar and bass from laptop to desktop pc. The pc handles recording only, no fx.

I've downloaded AT3, will try it and see how it compares. Seriously though people; forget waiting for this stuff to get good enough, just keep making music!

If the material is good enough, then, take it to a pro-studio and do it properly. Otherwise, both GR4 and AT3 should be good enough to make records. Can't wait to hear you guy's demos.

 

I downloaded the AT3 demo a few days ago. At first I was "wow". Then, went back there reviewing all of the presets in AT3 and started listening carefully.
To me, an avid vintage Marshall user, GR4 is still heaps away.

 

Yeah, the "wow-factor" is always off a few days later. The other way round with GR4. When i bought GR4 i was really, really disappointed. Months later i am very happy: The new marshalls + Control Room = champange in the box.

The new AT3 models aren't that advanced as the GR4 marshalls are, tubewise. I can accept that AT3 users rave about it. It ain't a bad software.

(if we only had a german or an american high gain monster amp charged with the new level of quality achieved in GR4)

 

That all said, I have to add the looping function of GR4 (if they ever fix the bugs...)is a tool I would not want to miss. I can even sync it to my drummers click by selecting the same bpm...try that with a hardware looper. There is just one on the market that does this and it costs more than 400 €...
The recording function with it´s 4 Tracks in AT3 is a bit like a sequencer, but available only in standalone mode, and I haven´t found a way to footcontrol it yet....

 

IMO the Amplitube interface is clunky. Clicking back and forth through a bunch of different screens gets annoying FAST. But more importantly, I've NEVER been able to get a good distorted sound from Amplitube. It's always harsh, thin, and just sounds like crap. I will admit that the clean tones in Amplitube Fender are pretty good, but I don't plan on going back to Amplitube.

 

I haven't looked at IK stuff lateley but I can agree w/ oldmanatc on IK's packaging and pricing ploys.

A couple of years ago before I had bought GR I spent a lot of time comparing the two guitar products and companies as I had not made purchases from either. GR was my first NI product now I have 7 of their main products.

My short story on IK is at the time their sofware and controller was almost double what GR 3 Kontrol was and I too didn't like IK's expansion packs for their guitar products. IK's controller looked too much liek a toy at the time, and was expensive.

It was easier for me to pick up on how the GR software worked in the demo, and as a matter of fact after spending several weeks trying out IK it took me about 2 nights with GR for me to decide GR was right for me.

I agree that tone is subjective and it's up to the individual to decide what fits. If I ever outgrow GR or get disatisfied with it (unlikely) then that will be the time to start looking for other products.

Sometimes people spend too much time looking at the next new thing without really using what they have to 100% compacity.

NI sets industry standards and after having invested my time in how their products work I can easily say that I'm here to stay as I have been happy with every NI purchase I've made, even the ones made this week.