I tried some other things
before settling on Amplitube (and, for a number of years, I got good results from the stock GarageBand amp/pedal sims; they're not terribly "realistic", but you can coax usable tones out of them, with some effort and tweaking). And, I do still keep an eye on things out there. There are some very fine free amp-sim plug-ins, in fact, and they can be fun to mess about with -- but I can't think of any that really cough up the kinds of amps that I tend to want to use most frequently. (So user mileage may vary, depending on your preferred genres.)
Amplitube has largely backed away from the modular, more user-configurable modelling strategy explored in AT2 (though the "cab room" in AT4 is a notable and significant exception!), and I understand that decision (which is also probably more practical given the emphasis on officially licensed models of gear), though the only other major amp sim maker that I keep an eye on has pretty much gone the other way, focusing on extensive modularity in their gear modelling. I mean, tinkering with the guts of amp models is good geeky fun!
That said, it's not something I've cared to invest in. AT4 gives me pretty solid results with a wide range of gear, and the Custom Shop sales approach has been user friendly for me. I'd like to see a refresh of some older models, and I'm sure everyone as a list of "
how can this be missing!?" gear, but yeah: I can generally achieve what I want to in AT4.
Still, I think the future will be challenging for audio-plugin manufacturers (guitar amps, stuff for mixing, whatever). I mean, the general level of quality has come
so far in recent years, that I think almost any level of variation in tone between models of the same/similar gear from different manufacturers is almost down to the level of variation in tone between individual examples of physical gear. I think the battle in the years ahead is going to be about:
- range of models (i.e. just how much "stuff" a given manufacturer has on offer),
- options for use (i.e. how much you can play with signal paths, or useful controls/features that weren't part of the original gear but are useful to modern digital musicians, etc.),
- user friendliness (because with great power comes great possibility for confusion
and so manufacturers will need to design interfaces and "ecosystems" that help their newbie customers learn how to effectively manage the awesome array of high-quality options that their more experienced clients will want).
In other words, the technology makes it relatively easy to produce and run very high-quality modelling software -- approaching the point where real experts will struggle to distinguish in terms of tone (if we have not already passed that point). So the question will then become one of convincing clients that the awesome potential power of a product is most easily accessed and implemented through one's own particular product. A challenge there is the array of different use-cases for different kinds of users.
by livesforrap » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:39 am 
