Your tone secrets.

[carlaz]

If there's one thing I've learned about digital amp modeling, it's that the cabinet you choose can often have a bigger effect on your tone than the amp. This is as true of Amplitube 3 as it is of my Line 6 equipment. Settle on an amp you like and then audition different cabs to get the one that brings out the characteristics you chose that amp for.

The more that I've played with Amplitube, the more I find this to be the case. Changing cab models can make dramatic differences in tone -- even when just switching through the (rather mysterious) "1", "2", or "3" variations of the same nominal cab model.

It wouldn't surprise me if the same were true of real hardware rigs -- but I never had a lorry full of different cabs to casually swap in and out in order to see if it's true.

[Peter_IK]

Then on top of that you now have the multiple mics and room effect to add to the almost limitless possibilities

[carlaz]

I haven't played around so much with room size, let alone the curious "cab size", controls -- and I haven't even played around so much with the mics .... But, yes, I have noticed that swapping mics or moving them around also has a fairly substantial effect. Not the sort of thing I used to notice -- or even think about -- when most of my playing was done in a basement or a pub with a Valvestate combo!

[brianbane]

Swapping and moving mics has the most profound effect in the mix, where it is one of the more overlooked tweaks. Just a little nudge of the mic can make all the difference with how your guitar sits in the mix.

[jkoenigsfeld]

I think that thing (the Slash one) is pretty sweet and regarding how good it is, I can't understand why there hasn't been anything similar up until now. I know there is the notorious noise gate module in Amplitube and I used it, but it's just too simple, since it affects only the output.

I now use two instances of the Gate in my high gain presets: One before and one after the Overscream. The result is a much more clean tone. Thanks to that I was finally able to set the noise gate module to a far less aggressive setting. I ended up in a much more natural saturated tone than ever before and I'm very happy with that.

So, thanks IK! Anyone with opinions on that thing?

[brianbane]

That's a great tip.
Eddie Van Halen's classic Brown Sound rig had 2 MXR SmartGates. I believe one was a pedal and one was a rack, used in a similar way you describe.

A model of this particular pedal in AmpliTube is actually the fulfillment of a 5 year dream of mine!

[carlaz]

Huh, it hadn't occurred to me to use two instances of the pedal, but it makes sense. Gonna try that with some of my harder to tame high-gain presets .....

And now that it's mentioned, a version of the Smart Gate that could be dropped into AT3's rack space would not be unwelcome ....

[jkoenigsfeld]

I guess this is all specific to the individual setup, but I use the gate before the screamer in the MID setting to filter out all unwanted noise and the one after the screamer in HIGH setting to get rid of the hiss. Any thoughts on that?

[brianbane]

I would think that the MID setting should eliminate all of the hiss so there is nothing to get amplified by the Screamer.

It's common to do gating (and compression) in multiple, subtle stages so the outcome is more natural and transparent. That is how I would do it, personally.

[carlaz]

Gonna try that approach. Historically, I haven't worried a lot about noise -- but some of the higher gain amps and settings I've played with of late are noisier than others!

[obitheincredible]

True, ever since I've been cranking the new Slash Marshalls I've had to use the noise gates more and more.

[jjguitar]

I like to put the Slash Booster in front of any amp model.On certain amp models I also like to put an overdrive pedal after the booster. In my opinion the booster gives you the extra feel (closer to a real amp).
The new Orange OR50 for example sounds awesome with the booster & TS Screamer in front of it.
I´ve uploaded a preset in the XChange if someone wants to check it out.

[carlaz]

I've never in my life been able to afford the mics I've wanted and a place to record them properly, but no need now! I love that I can get the sound of a mic'd cab cranked to 11 while a train is going by 100 feed from my condo and get a perfect recording.

Amen! I also like that one can achieve the sound of the stack cranked to 11 whilst the missus and tot are asleep!