IK Multimedia Amplitube VST PC

I've been playing guitar for 19 years. I have an LP Custom Plus, a Fender Strat, and a Carvin C-66. I play rock & blues primarily. I use Amplitube with Cubase 5.1 on a G4 Mac under OS 9.1.something. Though I have studio monitors I prefer using headphones for playback

Very straight forward in use. Copy protection (though understandable) is a pain in the ass! There needs to be an easier way to keep thieves at bay! When my computer needs upgrading I won't be taking Amplitube with me. My PODxt sounds better and doen't have copy protection.

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it? That's very subjective but I found it easy to dial in clean and slightly dirty sounds. Ball-breaker Marshall stack tones were more difficult!

I found Amplitube to sound better than most amp modelers (except the PODxt) but I always end up tweaking the presets. It's a matter of taste!;-) As previously mentioned, the mids are highlighted which is fine when working with a mix but is somewhat lacking when the guitar is the only instrument in the mix! But, that's where the EQ comes in!

As complex as a saturated tube sound is it may be some time before any digital modeler will capture it's sound convincingly, if ever.

With it's pain-in-the-ass copy protection guarding against illegal usage, I feel this product is over priced by about $100! While it's a decent unit, it's not THAT good.

On the other hand, one of my favorite features is the ability to change amp models AFTER the original signal has been recorded. Yes, I can do that with my PODxt, but not on an airplane!

If I could have only one (PODxt or Amplitube) I'd choose the PODxt hand down!

I've been playing guitar for 12 years, and my main electric guitar is a Fender Strat Ultra.

For a long time, I wasn't interested in vintage sound, and I was rather looking for textures, sounds that were surprising, fun to play and fun to hear, because I'm primarily a composer/arranger who plays guitars.

I've owned a valvestate 8080 for 7 years, and used it without knowing what I was dealing with, without knowing how to get to the sound I had in mind, and discovering other sounds. I used numerous multiFX stuffs from digitech, roland and boss with or without this amp. Those multiFX were nice for surprising sound, but definitely far from being vintage or warm and subtle. Then I got around the first POD from Line 6. At that time, my ears were still far away from being skilled at detecting the "tube authenticity". But the POD got me interested in the topic.

Just before the POD, I had bought a Mesa Boogie Formula Pre, and this taught me a lesson. The unit was a marvel for clean sounds just as much as its distortion was horrible. I slowly began to realize what was brought by the use of tubes, but the concept was still very vague.

I got into the POD Pro which sounded better than the first POD, and had great connectivity features for my homestudio. But I was hoping Line 6 would release a plug-in for VST/DX platforms, like their ampfarm plugin for Pro-Tool.

The POD Pro was a very nice unit, very versatile, but there was a lot of things I was unable to achieve ; sounds I had found by micing my valvestate with a Beta 58 or a AT4033 were impossible to get with it. The POD Pro, just like the POD 2, always gave a very processed sound with limited dynamics and an emphasis in the medium frequencies, and often in the low mids. The more time passes, the more I regretted having sold my amp and my Mesa Boogie, but well it was ok.

Then Amplitube came out. Not so long after Line 6 released the POD XT. I have both.

Amplitube is very easy to use. There are not many amps and cabs to play with. I believe AmpFarm has more amps and cabs, than amplitube, but they're both far behind the PODs.

Amplitube partly compensate for the missing amps and cabs by the ability to choose between two mics and between two placements for them. It's not as interesting as having more cabs and amps, but it does bring more possible sounds and textures, although a bit too subtle sometimes. The POD XT in comparison is superior : it has 4 very different mics (actually 2 + 1 with 2 variations), and the distance can be defined on a scale of 1 to 100. The two mics from Amplitube aren't as different and you can only place them "close" or "far".

The interface is divided in three pages : The amps, cabs and mics page, the stomp FX (Wah, Delay, Flanger, Chorus, etc) that are processed "before the amp", and the digital FX (Parametric EQ, Reverb and Delay) that are processed "after the amp". You can easily automate them in your sequencer. I often draw a Wah line in Cubase SX, and it works very well. I only wish the wah would sound "fuller".

The interface is a bit dull for my tastes, a bit too grey. Amp Farm is beautiful in comparison : each amp brings its own design on screen, based on the actual design of the real thing it's imitating.

This is something the users of the POD XT can have too now, when using Line 6 Guitarport software to edit their patches ; it's a beauty and very easy to use.

The Copy protection of Amplitube is a pain, and if I had known about it, I wouldn't have bought the plugin !

Amplitube is rather versatile and has some nice simulations.
But it has most of the weaknesses and strengths of the POD 2 or POD Pro :
- Dynamic is weak, far from the subtle compression of a real tube amp.
- The sound is always emphasizing the mids, giving to every patch the same overall signature.

These were the two main weaknesses of the former PODs, and Amplitube has them, but not as badly. It's more defined, it has more highs and more dynamics.

But these weaknesses can be considered as a strength for some users ; why ? Because the frequencies emphasized are usually the ones that are often left to be heard in a mix. Also, the flat dynamic response makes your guitar easier to blend in your mix, and makes the use of a compressor almost useless.

So, Amplitube can work good for the wall of guitars type of sound, or for some guitars lost in other sounds. But it can be a bit too limited for songs in need of a raw and full guitar sound, like a blues trio mood. It can do the work, depending on what sound you're after, but it's definitely not able to cover all situations.

In this regard, The POD XT is far superior : the feeling you get when playing through it is really closer to the feeling you get when playing through tube amps. Also, a wider range of frequencies is used, depending on the type cabs and mics (4) you choose, and I've been able to get really close to the kind of full sound I had when micing my valvestate. I've been unable to do the same with Amplitube, even worse with the older PODs, no matter how hard I tried, because of the lack of definitions, lack of dynamic and the theft of some high and low frequencies.

Overall, Amplitube is a very nice tool and is the first serious amp simulation for VST applications. That's why I got into it so fast ; this was something I had dreamt of and it was the first to be convincing.

Unfortunately, I've also become very critical and demanding in terms of tone, and only the POD XT simulations can respond as of today.

I almost regretted having bought amplitube now that I have the POD XT, I think it's a bit too expensive for what you can get out of it. But it has no real competitors (Warp is extremely limited, and Revalver is nice for sound design but not for Amp simulation). And it's very convenient to have this kind of tool as a plugin. I use it for songs that are not based on electric guitars, but require a warm tube sound for them. Being able to tweak your sound after you've recorded your part is great, being able to save your settings with your song is great. Doing all this with the POD XT is possible, but far less convenient than with Amplitube.

Also I use Amplitube on other instruments to dirty them up a bit and it does it very nicely.

To sum up, it's the best and the most useable guitar amp simulation plug-in available for VST sequencers, at the time I write this review. But it could be far better. It's better than the first generation of PODs in terms of sound quality, but not as good and versatile as a POD XT.

I still wish Line 6 would release some kind of POD XT VST/DX Plugin !

I've been involved in computer music for about two decades. I'm using Amplitube in SONAR version 3, on a Pentium 4.

This is yet another product that sells to the Windows market but refuses to adhere to accepted Windows conventions.

About a third of the interface contains a graphic of amplifier tubes that is totally useless, it just takes up space. There should be an option to hide that graphic, thus reducing the required screen size.

The interface knobs are quite intuitive, as they resemble a real guitar amp.

The menu to select presets is really clumsy, they don't stick like normal Windows menus. Also, the screen doesn't update well, so you're often left with manu fragments covering some Amplitube knobs.

Automation is NOT SUPPORTED in SONAR, although it is apparently fully supported in ProTools and somewhat supported in Cubase. This is a MAJOR fault.

Manual is OK. I found the marketing demo (from Amplitube website) more informative than the manual.

There is no bypass switch. There is no default preset that bypasses Amplitube, I had to make one myself. There is no way to compare presets while you're editing them.

I emailed customer support a month ago, and haven't heard anything back.

Sound quality is great, it really does sound quite like a guitar amplifier. Presets are useful. CPU usage is OK.

Overall: Good sound, lots of irritating and missing things from the interface, non-existent customer support, and no MIDI automation in SONAR DX. This will be a stellar product if the vendor gave us a serious upgrade.

I play electric guitar since 6 year ago.
I use cubase sx `s software to work. Well , i tell you that i try to make music similar to "SUEDE, PLACEBO, COLDPLAY ", something like that.
I work with a pc pentium 4 , windows xp.
the primary listening equipment is, soundcard to headphones.

I work with "mark of the unicorn 2408 mkII" interface and is so cool, i don`t have any problem.

I've been making music for over 15 years and have been an avid electronic musician since the mid 80's and started off using Windows 3.0 and a Gravis Ultrasound audio card which was upgradable to 1 meg of sample memory (the first sample based wavetable audio card on the market at the time with 16 bit playback and 8 bit recording) ;-) ahh those were the days.. since then I've been an avid user of soft synths and sequencers and have pretty much used everything thats on the market today..

This Review is for the new Amplitube VST/Protools guitar amp emulator plugin by IK Multmedia. www.amplitube.com I use the windows version with Cubase VST/32 5.1. This plugin was developed to emulate a guitar amplifier, much like the Line 6 pod, xt or Behringer v-amp or Digitech Genesis. It's entirely software based though. No hardware required except for the low latency ASIO sound card that you bring along. You'll also need to own either Protools or any modern day VST capable sequencer software package like my favorite Cubase VST/32 It's also possible to use programs like SonicFoundry Soundforge if you have a program that will bridge the VST to the directX. The Cakewalk company who makes products like Sonar, and Guitar Track Pro makes something called, Cakewalk VST Adapter which will let you use software that can accept DirectX plugins, accept a VST plugin like Amplitube. I've never tried it though. I mention this, because a lot of guitar players don't want to mess around with complicated Sequencers which have their own learning curve. And finally, I believe that the people who make Amplitube also have a program that will let you use Amplitube as a stand alone application. I read it about on their website and I think it's free once you've purchased amplitube. It's amazing how far software has come in just the last couple of years..

It's very easy to use. It installs easy as pie too. It does have some heavy duty copy protection that requires you to register online and gain a special password unlock key based on your own computers identity. this means that you can only install it on one pc at a time and if you reinstall windows or change to a new pc, you will have to contact IK Multimedia and deal with them to figure it out. I'm not sure if they will simply provide you with a new unlock code.. it may require additional fee's. Piracy is a serious problem for these companies now-a-days and if you consider that you can essentially emulate a Line6 Pod or XT with software, everyone is going to want one for free. I believe they have a faq on their website which will explain everything about registration. You should probably read it before you take the $399 plunge.

As for sound, it simply rocks. I feel it's as good as the Pod 2, Pod Pro, Pod XT, etc. Much better sounding than the Behringer V-Amp or the Digitech Genesis (or GenEx) units. It doesn't have as many amps to select from as a pod 2 or pod xt, but the ones that are provided sound as good as the best ones you'll find in those units. It comes with some effects pedals, (chorus, flanger, wah, distortion box, etc.) and they all sound pretty good.. funny enough, the wah sounds just as bad as the pod 2 or pod xt. None of these modeled wah effects ever sound good.

It also comes with a post effects channel which has digital delay and post eq, etc. This really makes for any sound you can imagine. Also as far as the amps go, you can individually select the wattage of the amp, the cabinets, the pre-amps. This makes up easly for not having as many modeled amps as some of the hardware amp emulators.. and it might actually provide more sounds. I'm pretty happy with what I can come up with.. you also get the standard volume and tone and presence controls that you find on a real amp or with a Line 6 pod, etc. And these are really well modeled.. very rich and dynamic.. they sound nicer than the pod tone controls..

Also, you record your tracks unprocessed, which allows you to go back and change the plugin settings for an entirely new sound. Once you like the sound, you set it to hard disk for final mastering. this is really handy in case the guitar you recorded has too much treble, or you want it to sound less distorted or whatever.. you can't do that with a pod xt.

You can also log on to the Amplitube website and download new patches that other people have created. I've never tried this though.

To sum it up, it sounds incredible. And if you're thinking that it's hard to imagine software working as well as a Line 6 Pod, (trust me, I felt the same way), then simply go to www.amplitube.com and download the demo.. It's easy to get a fat tube amp sound or even a heavy metal sound. It sounds fantastic.

You will however need to get a low latency sound card to get real time processing of the tone. Otherwise, with an ordinary sound card, you will hear a small delay from the time you hit a note and the time you hear the tone. The software comes with it's own ASIO drivers that you can use in case you don't have any.. but if your sound card sucks, and you try to get low latency it will give a weird broken up digital sound that will hurt your head.. I purchased a Creative Labs Audigy 2 card (don't use the audigy 1 since the latency isn't as well developed. The audigy 2 barebones non-retail un-boxed vrsion costs $70 and gets 2ms or less latency with it's ASIO drivers. Thats plenty for nice real time processing. You'll also need at least 1.2gig cpu and at least 190 megs of ram for the plugin to work correctly. (who doesn't have that these days?).

I'm very happy with this vst plugin and see it as the future of guitar recording. I can almost see Line 6 freaking out about now! Also, this is only version 1 and it allready kicks the pod xt's ass! It can only get better from here! You can download a demo from www.amplitube.com and also read cool reviews from various magazines... an NO I don't work for these guys.. it really does sound this good..

The price tag of $399, puts it in the same price range as the Pod XT. It sounds every bit as good as the pod xt or pod 2 but you have the advantage of it being software. You can use a low latency laptop to play it live.. but it's really for the studio.. it saves you a big headache in that regards..

Also IK Multimedia make a big stink about having a proper input into your sound card.. they say you need to use a mixer or something that provides the same impedance (hi-z) to get the correct sound levels and good tone.. i just plug my guitar right into the line-in of the audigy 2 and it sounds just fine.. you may want to read the website to see what they mean exactly.. maybe I could get a better tone by inputing into a mixer first.. i'll give it a try soon and see if it sounds even better..