Marcello Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Hi Guys, what's your opinion on the best guitar amp sims? I have purchased Overloud THU long time ago, and I have always used it. I was pretty satisfied until now, hundreds of amp sims, heads, different cabinets, you have unlimited options. But I have to say that is not really straight forward, I mean at the end I always end up tweaking knobs and adding multiple EQs to make it sound better, and I'm not always 100% satisfied with the sound. I have now tried a trial version of Brainwork bx_rockrack V3 which works a bit differently, and sounds really good, I mean I select the amp sim I want and I don't need to do any EQ it sound good as it it, and quite more realistic I have to say. Anyone ever tried these 2 amp sims and made a comparison? What's your opinion? Any other better option to suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 Brainwork rockrack Overloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Have you tried the demo of IK AmpliTube 5 yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 (edited) 14 minutes ago, abacab said: Have you tried the demo of IK AmpliTube 5 yet? No didn’t, but I guess I’d have to make a comparison with those I mentioned. I think brainwork one doesn’t have effects pedals but it’s purely focused on the realistic amp sound. And has less multitude of gear but is quite good, it sounds better than Overloud thu to me. Edited May 16, 2022 by Marcello Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, Marcello said: No didn’t, but I guess I’d have to make a comparison with those I mentioned. I guess brainwork doesn’t have effects pedals but it’s purely focused on the realistic amp sound. I'm not a guitarist, so that's why I suggest a demo as opinions can be subjective. I do use it as an amp and cabinet sim on my virtual guitar and bass tracks, and it sounds very realistic. If I did play guitar, I couldn't imagine needing much more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Stanton Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 or simply get all of them... Amplitube, BX, TH-U, Waves GTR, etc etc so you have choices... some may be better than others for different materials and instruments (e.g. an electric piano). i have a bunch of the free "tube amp" types as well - bundle those with a nice convolution speaker cabinet + a reverb and some VST effects and you can get some nice guitar/bass amps that generally sound realistic (if that's what you want), or far out (e.g. Z3TA+ as the effects ? ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsinger Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 I have TH-U. My wife has been working at home during the pandemic so I've set up all my amps for silent recording. If I come out of the power amp TH-U is my go to for speaker sim/cab emulation. I can also get a lot of good sounds from their amps, but haven't been using the amps as much lately. I haven't tried Brainwork bx_rockrack V3, but I have PA's Overdrive Supreme 50 which I like, as well as the PT100, bx_bassdude, and bx_megasingle. S-Gear seems most like real HW to me. The way the controls work and the way the amps react to my playing they seem like HW amps. I use it a fair amount. I like Amplitube 5 as well, but it's a CPU hog, you'll want a more recent CPU/chipset for it. I like the Chicago amp in Guitar Rig 6 and they have a lot of nice fx. I keep S-Gear, TH-U, AT, and Guitar Rig up to date. I'll likely pick up more amps from PA and Nembrini as well. Compared to the price of getting a new amp, these emulations seem like a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Marcello said: But I have to say that is not really straight forward, I mean at the end I always end up tweaking knobs and adding multiple EQs to make it sound better, and I'm not always 100% satisfied with the sound. Well, yeah. That's how it goes. Even with real amps. Edited May 16, 2022 by bdickens 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 24 minutes ago, rsinger said: I like Amplitube 5 as well, but it's a CPU hog, you'll want a more recent CPU/chipset for it. I can't argue with the advice for decent system specs when running it, but it will also depend on the size of your project, and how many instances you plan on running concurrently. For just a few tracks, probably not going to be a showstopper. Another reason to demo before a purchase. That's the only way you will know how it performs on your setup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bradley Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Used to use Bias FX. Sounded fine, but what a sluggish UI, and everything about it screamed "designed for iPad". These days I swear by Blue Cat's Axiom. Very CPU efficient, and if you've got the screen space you could have every single module in your signal chain open with the knobs tweakable simultaneously. (Rather than the 'one-at-a-time' of Bias.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsinger Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Good sale on AT 5 - $99 for the standard edition. Certainly, worth checking out. If they have another group buy this summer, you could add a lot of collections as well. https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/amplitube5/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacab Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 2 minutes ago, rsinger said: Good sale on AT 5 - $99 for the standard edition. Certainly, worth checking out. If they have another group buy this summer, you could add a lot of collections as well. Yep, I racked up the equivalent of AT5 MAX during the IK Group Buy last year. Already had AT 4 MAX, so got a cheap upgrade to AT5 Standard (which includes the enhanced impulse and speaker modeling). The GB then provided me with freebies for all of the extra AT 5 collections that come with MAX! And the year before I got AT4 MAX included in the a Total Studio Maxgrade sale. Always best to wait for a Group Buy or a Total Studio sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Posted May 16, 2022 Author Share Posted May 16, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, bdickens said: Well, yeah. That's how it goes. Even with real amps. Well the point of having amp sim for me is not to have to eq too much, if you are a sw engineer making amp sim I suppose you should have already eq the bloody amp in a way that I can use it straight forward. Thing that worked perfectly with the brainwork bx_rockrack. I think in thu they probably put too many things in the recipe and at the end if you don’t match the right head with the right cabinet doesn’t sound great, then you always end up cutting bad frequencies or trying to come up with mids, while brainwork has less but better, keep it minimal but more realistic. I compared the jcm 800 of both and brainwork one sounds much better. Edited May 16, 2022 by Marcello Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 Yeah, but the point of someone developing an amp sim is to - well to simulate an amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsinger Posted May 16, 2022 Share Posted May 16, 2022 1 hour ago, bdickens said: Yeah, but the point of someone developing an amp sim is to - well to simulate an amp For the most part I agree with you. I like amp sims that behave like HW. However, I have a Roland VG-99 and it has a Marshall sim that you can crank without getting any noise. There's something to be said for that. I think there's room for different philosophies, but if something's modified it should be noted ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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