I've been getting into or trying to get into playing the guitar through the pc. I have an audient id4 mk2 interface and a pair of yamaha hs5 monitors. Still figuring stuff out but at least I'm starting to get decent sounds, amp sims that sound like a nice amp.
I ended up a place called audio assault and have to say, they do some cracking amp sims for super cheap! They're always doing amp sales too. Most of their sims are about $20 US but they often do them for like $7 or even $5!
They also do decent priced cab sims with a whole load extra ir's to choose from.
Also managed to bag the friedman BE100 sim from plugin allience on sale for about $20
All the amp sims come with various pedals you might want to use plus various cabinets, speaker combos, mics, mic placement options etc.
It's a minefield!
If anyone has other suggestions I'm all ears.
Cheers!
Which DAW are you using on the PC @nsj?
Agree - there are a million and one different plugins and the danger is that you spend more time searching out the one that you want, and then tweaking the various settings, rather than actually playing/recording.
I'm using Studio One which comes with a fairly decent set of plugins and I've tried to focus on those rather than hunting out loads of others, although those are more of the effect variety rather than amp sims specifically. Waves.com is another source. Most of the providers seem to have regular "sales" - never buy any of them at the stated RRP!
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
@tv101 using traction waveform just now, seems decent. You can do looping etc with it as well as mastering and all that jazz.
Most seem to have free plugins but it's the amp sounds that are missing and what you hunt for. I've got 4 now that give me a wide variety of tones that I'm liking. Need multiple so you can have lead and rhythm sounding a bit different.
Next up, I'll need to build a bass and download a bass amp lol
@russ well at 52 I'm struggling lol. But once you get past the sound in and out part the amps are just like amps with all the control layouts like a regular amp, same with the podals.
But trying to actually record anything worth hearing is another story lol
@nsj - I couldn't think of the name of this one earlier, which is a bit daft because I get emails from them most weeks!
https://www.positivegrid.com/products/bias-fx-2
There are options there for more amp-focused plugins, which are reassuringly expensive. IIRC, I signed up for a trial version (hence the weekly emails) but decided to head down a different rabbit hole with plugins. I still sound like me, whatever amp sim I use.
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
I bet you both could get into the DAW/plugin/recording world quite easily. It looks scary and confusing from the outside, and it can be incredibly complex from the inside, but it's reasonably easy to get started and you can then decide whether to invest more time in developing your approach / skills / knowledge.
You need 2 things;
- A computer device of some flavour with some appropriate software. The most widespread available option is an iPad (any age), which handily comes with the appropriate software - GarageBand.
- A means of connecting a guitar to that device - an "interface". Literally plug a guitar into one side/end of the interface and then plug the other side/end of the interface into the computer device. Most interfaces will be automatically recognised - plug and play.
Once you've connected guitar-to-interface-to-computer and opened the software application, you can then start recording.
Even GarageBand (free, remember!) comes with a lot of additional functionality - other virtual instruments that you can "play" via a keyboard or tapping the screen and "loops" which you can incorporate into your recording. Before you know it, you've added a bass line, some drums and a bit of synth keyboards to your original guitar track, which you then overdubbed with a few lead lines.
At least, that's how/where I started. The limitation of the initial set-up is really the iPad screen/interface. More functional DAWs (Digital Audio Workstation - GarageBand is a DAW) need more screen space and more control from mouse/keyboard/controllers.
But the iPad/GarageBand combination will get you going quickly and (assuming you've already got the iPad!) inexpensively, and keep you going for a while before you feel the need to get more complicated.
🙂
Online guitar making courses – guitarmaking.co.uk
@tv101 Audio assault buddy, soooo cheap and they sound great!