Leonard Smalls Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 I've decided I may need a guitar... And I realise it's heresy but as I'm reasonable on keys but have never played an actual guitar in my life, I thought I may get better (or at least quicker!) results using a virtual instrument. So does anyone use one? Which are best in terms of playability, sound, believeable-ness and versatility? I've done a trial of Music Labs Les Paul and found that I could get some good results with it, but it was not at all intuitive and had virtually no amp sim/presets etc. Shreddage or Orange Tree better? Heavier 7? Ample Sound? Bearing in mind I don't really want to get into buying an actual guitar and amp and effects and learning how to use and record them all, would I be better just biting the bullet and doing this? And if anyone's got any ideas for good jazzy sax VSTs, what are they? I've got Iowa University free one, which is clunky but can sound OK with loads of midi editing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said: ...So does anyone use one?... Mostly Kontakt VST's, I've used these with success ... Shreddage are good, although not what I'd call 'intuitive'.Some experimentation is required to get the best from 'em. Evolution Electric Guitar, Strawberry are worthy, too; maybe a bit simpler to work with. They sound 'right'. The Ilya Efimoff range are excellent, electric, acoustic, nylon and bass. It can become expensive, of course..! Pettinghouse are worth a look, as is Session Guitarist As independent VST's, the Amplesound range are excellent, with a more 'keys friendly' interface and a wide range of expression. For Sax, have a listen to the Embertone Sensual Sax; it's quite expressive; a useful timbre, and very 'playable'. Mostly, though, for sax, I use samples, and mess around with them until I get it to 'fit' (or not..!) Hope this helps. Of course, non of this matters if a fuzz-wah flanger octaver is to be slathered over the lot..! ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 53 minutes ago, Dad3353 said: a fuzz-wah flanger octaver is to be slathered over the lot. I always use this on everything, especially vocals! Shall look into the others - ta! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 So far it's looking like Ample Sound or Orange Tree for full featured or Session Guitar for less effort option... I've only got free Kontakt - not willing to pay £350 for the full version so Ilya and Pettinhouse are out. And annoyingly, the sensual sax too. Though Vienna Orchestra sax looks good. Anyone tried Session Guitarist? Is it any use for solo stuff rather than mainly strum patterns? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgiver69 Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Check the UJAM guitars they sound very good and are very easy to use. https://www.ujam.com/guitarist/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 5 hours ago, Mcgiver69 said: Check the UJAM guitars they sound very good and are very easy to use. https://www.ujam.com/guitarist/ I got the Ujam ones they do great chunking and with some FX , waves gtr3 , I quite like them , but for thrashing , an open tuned guitar is reasonably straightforward to perform on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anzoid Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 AAS Strum GS-2 (https://www.applied-acoustics.com/strum-gs-2/) is pretty good, with some interesting presets and add-on packs. Sits well in a mix, but more aimed at rhythm than lead. Worth waiting for a sale though as full-price is a little high. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erax Sound Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Musiclab do variants based on a Strat, Les Paul, Acoustic, 8 string and Rick. Not massively expensive either. I have used them a lot and nobody can tell the difference. https://www.musiclab.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 7 minutes ago, Erax Sound said: Musiclab I've tried the demo version of the Les Paul one... The sound was OK but I didn't like the interface or lack of explanation - wasn't wiling to spend $149 especially as it has virtually no effects or amp modelling either. I'm currently demoing AmpleSound's Les Paul - it's similar sounding to the Music Labs (i.e. varies from completely believable to completely fake, depending on how you play it!), but it has the advantage of telling you what each button does (to some extent at least!), and has some amp/cab options and limited fx. Shame Orange Tree and Shreddage don't do demo versions as they both seem to have more versatility - though I suspect that all have a steep learning curve... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erax Sound Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 7 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: I've tried the demo version of the Les Paul one... The sound was OK but I didn't like the interface or lack of explanation - wasn't wiling to spend $149 especially as it has virtually no effects or amp modelling either. I'm currently demoing AmpleSound's Les Paul - it's similar sounding to the Music Labs (i.e. varies from completely believable to completely fake, depending on how you play it!), but it has the advantage of telling you what each button does (to some extent at least!), and has some amp/cab options and limited fx. Shame Orange Tree and Shreddage don't do demo versions as they both seem to have more versatility - though I suspect that all have a steep learning curve... I got really good results with it, but then again, I use amplitube. They all require people to read the manual and dig in a bit. As with all things, practice makes perfect. I wouldn't say that it's that expensive, but if you're looking for a really good amp sim thrown in then I think that will be difficult to find. Something will have been skimped on in that case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Amplitube 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 18 minutes ago, SH73 said: Amplitube 4 That's not a virtual guitar... It's amp/cab/fx modelling. I've got Bias FX but weirdly, Ableton has just decided it doesn't recognise it as a compatible VST so mebbe I'll try the free version of Amplitube if I can't fix it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mcgiver69 Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 2 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: That's not a virtual guitar... It's amp/cab/fx modelling. I've got Bias FX but weirdly, Ableton has just decided it doesn't recognise it as a compatible VST so mebbe I'll try the free version of Amplitube if I can't fix it! Try Tonelib GFX, there's a free version on VST4Free http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=3003 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 4 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said: That's not a virtual guitar... It's amp/cab/fx modelling. I've got Bias FX but weirdly, Ableton has just decided it doesn't recognise it as a compatible VST so mebbe I'll try the free version of Amplitube if I can't fix it! I've downloaded the free Bias FX this week and it works fine. Have you rescanned vst in properties in Ableton? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 9 hours ago, SH73 said: Have you rescanned vst in properties in Ableton? I have! It's actually only worked once, and that was with glitches so it's possible the free download was a bit upgefuktgemache, as they would say in Germany if they didn't actually speak the language 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 44 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said: I have! It's actually only worked once, and that was with glitches so it's possible the free download was a bit upgefuktgemache, as they would say in Germany if they didn't actually speak the language 😁 Mine (free version) works fine. Have you tried uninstal then re install. Not sure if it's still on free download offer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 7 hours ago, SH73 said: uninstal Just done that and it's working fine now... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quatschmacher Posted June 23, 2020 Share Posted June 23, 2020 Scarbee’s VSTs are wonderful. I know he does a funk guitarist one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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