Native Instruments Guitar Rig Session

I have been playing guitar for about 6 months and wanted a software program that would open up my tonal possibilities and allow me to record my bass, drums, and vocals. I plan to build a small but solid Logic Pro based home studio in my new house, but I wanted something to play with in the mean time. My guitar is my first, a 72' tele deluxe reissue w/ 500k pots all around. The main reason I was drawn to this software/hardware package was the fact that it does everything I want for a very nice price. I paid about $200

The interface is very easy to use. setup was a snap. I monitor from the Session I/O with VERY low latency. I honestly do not notice any delay at all, and I have piled on the effects. I can play live with all the effects in GR 3 with no issues and there are a TON of very cool presets. However, I find myself tweaking with settings for the sounds that truly amaze me. Days and days of fun!

One word. Worth every penny! ok, that???s more than one word.

Seriously, the tube technology sound very good even though my very inexpensive (free) studio monitors.

I have yet to use the Mic input, but then again that is not the main reason for my purchase. It will be a fun rainy day project.

I give it a 10 for its value. Only $200!

Get this if you:

1. Play guitar
2. Want an excelent entry into the world of computer modiling and recording.
3. Are on a budget
4. Enjoy tweaking with tones and effects.

I need to add to my review (below). The Guitar Rig 3 XE software sounded awesome!!!! The issue was the 46ms delay. I did not try to send the output signal from the Session I/O interface. I might have had different results. However, I had no monitors to test this. I was trying to use my existing sound card and 5.1 surround sound setup.

I have to admit that I'm new to recording and using software to record. However, I'm a network engineer and feel very comfortable with routers, switches, firewalls, layer3 switches, etc. So I figured that I had a decent shot and figuring this out. I play guitar, bass and drums. Of the three, guitar is the strongest for me.

The software version number is Guitar Rig 3 XE which also comes with the Session I/O interface. The application used was the one that came with it Cubase LE4. However, I didn't get that far.

I purchased this software/hardware package to record and get a variety of amp sounds. The music I was hoping to make was anything from rock to metal to blues. Country, folk and other acoustic styles I have not sat down to learn.

The computer was a Dell running WinXP SP2 Pentium4, 3.20GHz, 2Gb RAM. My PC exceeded the minimum requirements by far. Purchasing an apple was not an option. This PC also had the 5.1 surround sound through a Sound Blaster X-Fi soundcard.

The hardware piece (Session I/O) is pretty straight forward given the labels. The software installation was pretty straight forward as well. YOU WILL NEED TO ACTIVATE THE SOFTWARE THROUGH. ALSO DO NOT PLUG IN THE HARDWARE UNTIL PROMPTED BY THE SETUP PROGRAM.

The software and hardware came with user guides/manuals. Save yourself time and frustration and read them a couple of times. :)

Here is where I decided to return Guitar Rig Session and get my money back. After installing the software, activating and figuring out the input/output routing, the sound was awesome....but with a 46ms (millisecond) delay. Basically, pick the guitar string and 1/2 a second later you hear the sound.

I was so impressed with the demo version at GC that I was detemined to make this work. I read and re-read the user guides, downloaded the most recent sound card drivers, downloaded the most recent updates to Guitar Rig Session and disabled the power save feature for all USB 2.0 ports on my PC. I still had the 46ms delay.

It is definitely worth the price if you an get it to work. But routing the output through the soundcard might not be the brightest idea since the analog to digital to analog conversion will be pretty extensive for most soundcards and USB 2.0.

Resolution: I'm moving to firewire (M-Audio interface) to see this improves things. Also I have decided not to route the output signal through the soundcard. Instead, I'm getting some powered monitors and and moving to the full Guitar Rig 3 software version.