AMPLITUBE II
Features: If you get all warm feeling inside at the sight of GAZILLION choices, then you'll love Amplitube 2. Of the three contenda's in the Virtual Amp Shootout, Amplitube 2 has the most features by miles and miles. I mean, its' amazing, but it's also kind of ridiculous just how much tonal variation you can get out of Amplitube 2.
Let's start with pre-amplifier sections. Your choices are: American Tube Clean 1, American Tube Clean 2, Modern Tube Lead, American Tube Vintage, Tube Vintage Combo, British Tube 30 TB, British Tube Lead 1, British Tube Lead 2, Modern Hi Gain, Solid State Clean, Solid State Fuzz, Solid State Lead, THD BiValve, Bass Pre Amp. All of these are repeated in the power amp list, with the exception of the Bass PreAmp which is coupled with Bass EQ. So, since you can match any preamp with any power amp, you have a total of 13 pre-amps and 13 power amps you can mix and match creating a staggering 78 possible combinations (not including the Bass stuff). But wait, there's more: you can also choose what type of tube design you want (50W EL34, 100W EL34, 50W 6L6, Single Ended Class A), what kind of cabinet (1X12 Open Vintage, 2X12 Closed Vintage, 2X12 Open Vintage, 4X10 Closed Modern, 4X10 Open Vintage, 4X12 Closed Vintage 1, 4X12 Closed Modern 1, 4X12 Closed Modern 2, 4X12 Closed Vintage 2, 1X15 Bass Vintage, 4X10+tw Bass, 1X12 Bass), what kind of mic (Condenser 87, Condenser 84, Condenser 414, Dynamic 57, Dynamic 421, Dynamic 441), whether you want your mic placed far or near, on axis or off, and in a room with a lot of ambiance or little, 12 rack effects and 20 pedals. Oh, almost forget, there's a tuner too. And a noise gate. And a pan knob.
It's insane, it really is. But in a sort of cool way, especially since all the graphics change as you change settings, mics, speaker cabs and stomp boxes. Like I said, if twiddling knobs gets you excited, read no further. Put your clothes back on and run out to your nearest retailer and by Amplitube 2. Or leave your clothes off and order it online.
Interface: Even more amazing than all of Amplitube 2's features is how the interface places everything within easy reach. Microsoft could learn a thing or three from these guys. Even Apple. It's incredible how well organized and intuitive Amplitube 2's interface is. I've never even opened the manual, and yet, I've never felt lost or confused (at least because of Amplitube 2). Amazing.
Sound: You would think that Amplitube 2 would be a Jack of all trades and master of none, but not true. The amp sounds are all convincing to my ear, with a special kudos to British Tube Lead 1, which nails a classic Marshall tone for me. The Fender tones are good, not great, and the others I can't judge too well since I have never owned the actual amps they model, but I wouldn't say any of them sound bad. As for how true the mic models are, I have no idea. They do create a big range of tones, though, so if you're super picky, you should be able to find the perfect mic and placement for you. I also can't judge the stomp boxes or rack effects either. I mean, they sound fine, but tons of effects just isn't my thing.
DIGIDESIGN ELEVEN (Note! I'm reviewing a pre-release demo; the full-release version will have a lot more features, according to Digideign.)
Features: Eschewing Amplitube 2's exuberance of equipment options, Digidesign's Eleven is more restrained in its nature, but still pretty damn flexible. Consider: for amp heads you can choose from 10 models ('59 Tweed Lux, '59 Tweed Bass, '64 Lux Vibrato, '64 Lux Normal, '65 AC Hi Boost, '67 Black Duo, '69 Plexiglas, '82 Lead 800, '85 M-2 Lead, '89 SL100 Drive, '89 SL100 Crunch, '89 SL100 Clean, '92 Treadplate Modern, '92 Treadplate Vintage, DC MOdern Overdrive, DC Vintage Crunch); for cabinets your selection numbers 7 (1X12 Black Panel Lux, 1X12 Tweed Lux, 2X12 AC Blue, 2X12 Black Panel Duo, 4X10 Tweed Bass, 4X12 Classic 30, 4X12 Green 25W); and for mics you have eight (Dynamic 7, Dynamic 57, Dynamic 409, Dynamic 421, Condenser 67, Condenser 87, Condenser 414, Ribbon 121), each with an on-axis or off-axis switch. To top it all off, there's a speaker Breakup Slider that goes from:
1) Dude-Check-Out-My-New-Cones- to
2) Dude-You-Did-Not-Just-Take-A-Leak-On-My-Cones-Then-Pass-Out-And-Put-Your-Head-
Through-One-Of-Them-Right?
Kinda neat.
As for the graphics, like Amplitube 2, they change depending on the setting, but they're not as visual, so it's a little harder to gauge what's going on at a glance.
Interface: For overall intuitiveness, it's great. I was able to figure out how to use Eleven with very few trials and even fewer errors.
Sound: I can judge only judge two from personal experience -- the Marshalls and the Fenders. First up: the Marshalls. Eleven can't seem to muster the punch and presence of the Amplitube 2 Marshall tones. Is Eleven maybe a touch smoother? Yes. But if you're trying to get a snarling Fuck-You-I'm -A -Marshall tone, is smoothness your goal? It sure as hell isn't mine. That said, I like the gritty break-up of Eleven's '59 Tweed Bass setting (it wouldn't make Niel Young cringe). Speaking of Neil, running the '59 Tweed Bass through the 1X12 cabinet produced a tone reminiscent of Hey Hey My My from Rust Never Sleeps -- albeit not that reminiscent. There's something about a real tube being pushed to just below the point of melting that I doubt digital will be able to recreate anytime soon. Still, I gotta give Eleven props: the Tweed tone with everything on 10, including Speaker Breakup, is cool. The more modern sounds are, well, more modern. To me, they sound like a fuzz box into an overdriven tube amp and that's just not my thing. NOTE! If you're a metal dude, don't even listen to a word I say. I have never wanted a Soldano, or a Boogie Rectifier or a modern Marshall. And what of the Vox tones? Who knows? They certainly don't sound like the Beatles to me, but then the Beatles were spawned of a superior race, so who the hell knows if any line of computer code can ever sound like The Beatles.
SOFTUBE VINTAGE AMP ROOM
Features: Vintage Amp Room (VAR) definitely graduated from the school of less is more. For a modern software plug-in, VAR's feature-set is kind of laughable. Until you consider the magnitude of discipline exhibited by VAR's coders, which is akin to that of a monk, Trappist-style, or a SEAL. Seriously. The guys who developed VAR could have headed down the Easy Street and put every feature under the sun into VAR, but instead, they controlled their urges of want and focused on doing a few things very, very well. There are but three amps: a Marshall, a Fender and a Vox, all vintage. There are no choices in cabinets, and the mic is what it is, though you can move it around a lot, which is something neither Amplitube 2 nor Eleven allows you to do. Stomp boxes? None. Rack gear? Zilch. Fancy mixing and matching of preamps and power sections? Nada.
Interface: Given VAR's dearth of features, you would expect a basic, even boring interface. Oh, but grasshopper, you would be assuming, and that is a grave and egregious error. For VAR has the coolest interface of all. To change amps, one merely 'slides' the stage to reveal the amp he desires, just like in a real studio, where you would set up a few amps and then slide the mic to the amp you want to track with. Wickedly simple. Simply wicked.
Sound: Let's start with the Fender tones -- "Brown", as VAR calls them. I once owned a pre-CBS Bandmaster, complete with a two twelve cabinet, and when I first dialed up the Brown setting on VAR, my old amp is what I heard. The highs pop with bubbles of tone that sparkle over the lower registers, and down deep there's throaty growl underpinning the spectrum above. There's punch galore and grit too, plus balls a plenty. A great, great sound. The White, or Marshall, tones are also good, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has ever come close to the sound that first washed over me as I strummed the opening chords to Smoke on the Water through Rich Erickson's Marshall half-stack back in the '70s. VAR comes closer than Amplitube 2 or Eleven, but does it actually get close? Not really, but it's still damn cool. And the Vox tones? Hell, I have no idea. They sound cool, but I have never owned a Vox, and I cannot speak one iota of truth about the authenticity of VAR's tones.
Next up: The Conclusion.
