Do we have an Amplitube wish list?

[bruce09t1]

Could we or a moderator move this thread to an amp modelling thread? It no longer qualifies as an AmpliTube wish list thread, imho. I like to watch this thread to see what features people are suggesting. While I enjoy discussions of bias adjustment, it is distracting on this thread.

[Peter_IK]

Which amp - the Terror?

[Megamanic]

Roland / Boss Dimension C/D Chorus

HiWatt licensed amps - especially the early '70s models for those Who / Led Zep / Pink Floyd / King Crimson tones

[carlaz]

I have a question about that amp. I've been curious if the original responds to pedals the same way the amplitube model does. It sounds so good, but it's so hard to find the right pairing to make it work in some contexts. I've had a little luck with the FuzzOne in front of it.

Assuming you mean the Tiny Terror, I haven't played a real one, but I've heard that there can be an issue with pedals in that a 15w amp simply doesn't have a lot of clean headroom. Of course, that wouldn't be a problem with an OR120!

[carlaz]

HiWatt licensed amps - especially the early '70s models for those Who / Led Zep / Pink Floyd / King Crimson tones

Though the existing HiAmp model is pretty dang good, IMO. It doesn't need the blessing of the revived HiWatt company to do so.

Anyone ever play a modern DR103? I've no idea how faithful they really are. There were a coupe of other vintage HiWatt models; a 50w and a 200w, I think. That's about as much as I know! Most of the attention seems lavished on the DR103.

[Megamanic]

Thanks for the heads-up Carlaz, I'd completely missed that. I'll have to buy some credits & get that - along with that gorgeous ENGL E650.

[carlaz]

Let us not forget that the HiAmp comes with a matching 4x12 that models (as best as I understand it) the old HiWatt cabs with Fane speakers. That makes this cab model a little special alongside the vast array of Celestion-oriented cab models.

I was trying to fake up an early Iommi tone using either the JH Gold or British S100 in place of an old Laney head, with the HiAmp 4x12 for the cab (since Laney cabs also used Fanes back then). I was also twiddling with the Diode Overdrive pedal model in place of the treble booster. Those are pretty big kludges but on the other hand I felt like I was getting acceptably close to a Paranoid-type tone.

Anyway, I think the HiAmp model is great -- well worth having for those who dig the classic tones. Very much a '70s Brit vibe, but with a flavour distinct from the vintage Marshall and Orange models. Lots of clean headroom, and takes the pedal models well, IMO.

The ENGL E650 does look intriguing ... one of the relatively few pieces of gear that I haven't got but do actually think about getting but I haven't tried it! I have to admit that, at this point, I'm kind of hanging out to see what happens with the semi-mythical Amplitube 4.

[guitarkite]

Postby carlaz » Mon Jun 22, 2015 10:05 pm

Yeah, that would totally (almost) be me. I was aware of Orange historically, but their new stuff hadn't really come on to my radar until everyone started raving about the Tiny Terror in 2006-2007 -- which was exactly the point at which various lifestyle changes made me kind of drop out of playing regularly in live situations where a physical amp would be most handy.

Then Orange snapped more forcefully onto my radar with the appearance of the official Orange models in Amplitube (in ... what? 2012ish?), which quickly earned my love. I still don't have a physical amp -- and there are no official Orange distributors in my country -- but if I were going to be getting a physical amp (and had the cash), one of theirs would be a strong contender. It's a technological race to see whether a traditional physical amp or easier use of Amplitube on mobile devices will be easier for me if I ever start playing out live again!

My first experience with Orange was back in the late 80's / early 90's... The other guitar player in the band had an Orange OR-100... I used to pitch him **** that it was the only amp he could use because it didn't require him to be able to read..

Despite that, I was secretly pretty damned envious of his tone... Orange has been on my radar ever since... And though I never purchased one myself, I was still pretty pleased when Amplitube started making sims of those amps... And though I use amp sims in my current live show, if I ever got back to playing through real amps, One of those OR-100's would definitely be in my top 5.

[metropolis4]

Which amp - the Terror?

Sorry, I meant the OR-120

[Megamanic]

The ENGL E650 does look intriguing ... one of the relatively few pieces of gear that I haven't got but do actually think about getting but I haven't tried it! I have to admit that, at this point, I'm kind of hanging out to see what happens with the semi-mythical Amplitube 4.

The E650 is better known as the Richie Blackmore Signature model A lot warmer than the other metally amps e.g. Soldano. Nice & different. Great if you run single coils.

You're right about Amp4 though. I imagine a new version is on the horizon - it depends on how much they slot into it out of the box & what the upgrade options are...

[carlaz]

Yeah, I've been wondering a lot about how AT4 will be handled. The CS model is give away all the platform, then you buy models that work within that platform. Continuing that means giving away AT4 and then selling models that work within it. So, you keep making money off new customers who have no gear, but how do you make money of customers who already do have lots of gear?

Perhaps the simplest route is to just release new, previously unavailable models that will be attractive to old and new customers alike. In line with that, I would guess that there will be some reasonably hefty refresh of many AT2-era and original Metal-package models that are required to take advantage of new AT4 functionality (with the assumption that AT2-era models may continue to work but without access to new AT4 features). After all, I suspect a lot of long-time users would clearly be happy to buy a new-style "based on JCM800" model to replace the old "British Tube Lead 1" anyway. It might even be sensible to, say, let the old "British Tube Lead 1" continue working with its original functionality but remove it from the CS in favor of an upgraded "based on JCM800". Then, over the lifetime of AT4, the old AT2-era models quietly deprecate as people shift to new models.

But I don't think that approach would be conveniently sustainable over a longer term. It seems too complicated to keep interweaving different generations of models like that. The sensible thing, IMO, is to treat individual gear models like individual apps; e.g. you have v1.0 of the JH Gold, but you can choose to upgrade to v2.0 of the JH Gold (with whatever advantages over the previous model) for some nominal price. Obviously you still reach some point where you have to say "you need at minimum version X of the gear to run on the current version of the platform", but that is an issue with all app/OS ecosystems -- which is for all intents and purposes what Amplitube is. (I.e. Amplitube is the "OS" and the gear models are the "apps" that run on it -- albeit all made by the makers of the "OS".)

[Peter_IK]

Which amp - the Terror?

Sorry, I meant the OR-120

It was a 1970s era very aggressive tube amp, sounded great without pedals so I don't think there was one attached at any time if memory serves. I would expect it to be similar to other Orange amps like the Tiny Terror that take to certain pedals better than others. In my setup, I only use boost and EQ in front of it. That way I can push the amp harder (with clean, mid, and treble boosts it is like a quad-channel amp) but that's about it.

[carlaz]

Although I tend to stack ridiculous fuzz/dirt pedal excess in front of the JH Gold, I've certainly found it works well with the OR120 (and the HiAmp, for that matter!). Obviously, the specific tonal qualities and exact amount of clean headroom differ .... But, in general I find that if you dial in no more than a fairly light Zep/ACDC-type crunch on any of those amps (like, about where it sounds clean if you strum lightly, but crunches if you whack at the strings), then they all take dirt pedals pretty well. IMO, anyway!

I'm talking about the Amplitube models here, of course. Sadly, I've never been able to line up the physical amps and try the same treatment!

The modern Orange amps/models mostly have a lot more gain on tap, and I don't use pedals on them as extensively as I do with the vintage-type models. And I think the lower wattage Oranges (models, at least) don't have enough headroom to necessarily play very nicely with many dirt pedals (though it may depend on the tone you want!), though they have brilliant amp overdrive tones. (The Tiny Terror is legendary for a reason.) Clean(ish) boosts seem to work better -- for me at least -- with them.

[Peter_IK]

Oops, I forgot I also use overdrive in front of my Tiny Terror and it works very well. Just no full-on distortion/fuzz as there's plenty of dirt on tap as it is and I really like the distorted tones as they are (or pushed by one of the boosts or OD).

[metropolis4]

I'm a big Orange amp fan. I remember the first time I ever heard one in a shop; I was so excited about it I had to go back the next day and buy one. I used an AD30TCH as my main gigging amp for quite a while. I've been very impressed with the AmpliTube versions so far. There are a few other companies who have offered "Orange" amp models (line6, NI) but AmpliTube is the first digital model that I felt actually sounded like my old AD30.