Peter Hodgson of "I Heart Guitar" Blog talks about his secret weapon, X-GEAR presets, plus a plethora of ways to get different sounds and tones with AmpliTube Fender. Let's get started!

"The Champion 600 is designed to have a little more gain than the original classic Fender practice amp, and it's an amp of simple pleasures..."

"The '59 Bassman - Careful use of this control is one of my secret weapons when using AmpliTube."

"I really dig the '65 Twin Reverb model..."

TIP: "Now, as a longtime AmpliTube user I like to use X-GEAR to combine modules from different AmpliTube versions, and I really enjoyed using my Telecaster with the Screamer overdrive pedal from AmpliTube 2 into a pair of virtual '65 Twin Reverbs from AmpliTube Fender, with some nice tape echo effects to spread everything out a little."

"The '57 Deluxe is another one that really comes to life with my Telecaster."

TRY: "Set up a two-amp rig like the Bassman/Deluxe combo, don't be shy about the reverb, flip to a neck single coil, and tell me you don't feel like you're in the middle of a Texas flood."

"The '64 Vibroverb - I also had a lot of fun boosting AmpliTube's guitar input level to really drive this model, somewhat akin to using a clean boost pedal with a valve amp."

"The '65 Deluxe Reverb - I especially liked this one for shimmery indie tones, and in combination with the '64 Vibroverb."

"The Vibro-King Custom is home to some browner classic rock tones, especially with the aid of a 'FAT' switch."

TRY: "Crank up the reverb and some tape delay, reach for that whammy bar and you're in Shadows territory."

"It's quite uncanny how IK Multimedia has managed to reproduce all the things I love about the Super Sonic – thick growling top end, smooth round midrange, and a loose but not messy low end."

TRY: "If you get the chance, try out the Super Sonic combo too – it has an extra gain stage compared to the head version, and sounds even better."

LISTEN: "Here's a little blues clip with the Super Sonic model."

MH-500 MetalHead - "Good lord... cutting treble, tight punchy bass, and solid midrange which can, of course, be scooped right out for the classic solid state death tone beloved of metal monsters everywhere, myself included."

LISTEN: "How does it sound? Check it out for yourself."

"The Bassman 300 bass amp is extremely interactive and very addictive. Imagine two channels – clean and distortion – which can be used singularly or blended seamlessly."

"TBP-1, the AmpliTube model mimics the 'cut only' passive tone stack in the Vintage Tube Tone section, so this is a great one to enhance the quality of a great-sounding bass."

"But what of the pedals? AmpliTube Fender has some cool effects."

"Fender Blender - The range of tones is huge, from subtle to freaking sick, and I had a lot of fun using a Radial ProRMP reamp to use AmpliTube Fender's Fender Blender model with my Marshall DSL50 head."

"Wah Pedal - is switchable from 'Cryin' to 'Clyde McCoy' modes and has minimum and maximum frequency controls to really dial in your tone (especially cool for fixed-wah sounds in Clyde McCoy mode)."

"Fuzz Wah Pedal - Has a selectable fuzz effect, which is satisfyingly dirty and authentic."

"Fender Phaser - Its 'stroberriffic' pulse is hypnotic too, in the best, most psychedelic way. I especially like combining this model with a delay model."

"Tremolo - You can look at it as a way of adding awesome Fender tremolo to any amp you like (especially handy if you use X-GEAR)."

'63 Reverb - Here you get controls for Mixer, Tone and Dwell, great for those Hank Marvin moments."

"TRY it with some of the blackface models at around medium volume for some great indie tone."

"Fender Tape Echo - There's a huge range of control here and while I'd love to have a stereo option, it's certainly more than able to handle all your mono delay needs from the warmest straightforward repeat to the warbliest modulated stretchy tape sounds."

"TRY it in a chain with the '63 Reverb model placed after it."

"Compressor - is good for either subtle dynamic processing or the kind of ultra-pinched compression that works extra well for single coil country playing."

"And this is just the amps and pedals! Read what he also had to say about the cabinets, mics and rack effects available on AmpliTube Fender."

SUMMARY: "Those players who really love the Fender tone – and there are a lot of them – this is as close as you're likely to get to the real thing without spending all day in a music store and earning the ire of the staff for your 12th straight rendition of 'Couldn't Stand The Weather.' The fact that Fender has given their official stamp of approval is proof enough that IK Multimedia."