NEW: TH-U Overloud ‘67 Marshall Plexi

JoyceRoadStudios

Interesting tidbit from Guitar World magazine about Superunknown:

“Most of Cornell’s guitar tracks were recorded using a Marshall JMP 50 half stack and Mesa-Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo half stack blended together.”

Edward_Alexander

.

@JoyceRoadStudios said:

@Intrepolicious said:

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
@Intrepolicious each “Rig” they sell is actually just based on a real life amp, like a Kemper, and each is a collection of profiles in different settings of the amp, with different mics and speakers etc... some of them have baked in overdrive or distortion pedals as listed in each rig pdf. But the “Rig Player” is just an amp face into which you load each rig or profile, and each one can also be tweaked with knobs, so the profiles aren’t set in stone. In addition to the hundreds of profiles per rig, there is a preset bank for each rig which combines the Kemper like capture with fx and pedals from the th-u collection. The wording is really confusing. But it’s awesome. It’s not like their amp sims and cab emulations, these are real amp profiles that are also using impulse responses. It’s also not like Nembrini which are “analog” circuit emulations plus IRs. All of the guitar apps on iOS are sims and emulations, but the Rigs in th-u are like Kemper profiles of real amps, not approximations. They’re made after capturing those amps in real life, rather than simply modeled. In an A/B it’s almost impossible to tell which is real and which is virtual, though of course we’re not dealing with real tubes in the software realm.

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
@Intrepolicious so you have the regular amp sims, cabs, and pedals available a la carte, in bundles, or the full pack, just like Bias or Amplitube, Some of the sims are actually authorized versions like Brunetti, Randall, THD, and the rest cover everything. But it’s basically like the other big guitar apps, except it sounds better. Nembrini are single amp masterpieces that also compare favorably to th-u sims, and in many cases even sound better considering they skip cab emulation and use IRs. So these two devs are tops for me. Even if you don’t want any more amps and are happy with Nembrini, the thu pedals and fx are stellar and extensive, and I will chain them in front of any Nembrini.

Then you have the Rigs which are expensive and a separate purchase but a whole other ballgame, you’re buying “amp capture” tech in the form of many presets, that you can still tweak. You have to think of it like profiling like a Kemper. So if there’s an amp you really want, you can have it, either as “dry” rigs, presets with fx, direct bypassed, use all your other fx, etc... it sounds and plays as real as can be. I only use th-u and Nembrini. Hope this helps make you poorer 🤑

PS if you do decide to get a rig go with the ones made in collab with Choptones and BHS. The ones that are native “th-u” aren’t my favorites quality wise, though some people like them. There will be some that are rig collections, so many different amps with fewer profiles for each amp, or you have a rig that’s just one amp with hundreds of captures (too many really). Then presets banks with fx vary, some have only 10-15 presets for an amp, and others like BHS have 50 or 60. Also, each rig is an actual amp specimen, like a real amp from an actual year, vintage or modern etc... so how good a rig is can depend on how good the amp is that they had in the room. it’s all in the marketing materials. Some amps are actually from the ‘60s or ‘70s, some are re-issues or brand new, some are modded or re-tubed or some amp of a friend. It’s all so interesting.

Thanks for breaking it down in detail!

No problem! This is why I even made a random wishlist. Like, Nembrini can come out with an incredible amp sim called “Humble PCP” or whatever, and it will be a faithfully recreated Dumble ODS where Nembrini tries to model the actual circuit in their algorithm and emulation. And it will sound great, and use impulse responses. People can say it’s great in its own right but doesn’t sound like a Dumble, or it sounds exactly like one etc... at the end of the day these are “based on so and so” amps or modeled after so and so. And for sure they’re awesome.

TH-U rigs are the actual amp in the room being captured in a plethora of settings, and modeled using proprietary tech like a Kemper ( not as good as Kemper tech probably). So it’s not for me to say which guitar app is better in terms of sound quality or picking response, whether it’s Nembrini or thu or ge labs or bias etc, but the point is when you buy a Rig you’re buying the sound of the actual amp, and it sounds like the actual amp. Many people are rightfully happy with the simplicity of having just one amp like a Cali reverb, add some outside fx, and that’s that. This is all and expensive wormhole, but why wouldn’t I want to pay $20 or whatever to have an actual Matchless profile in my room, or any bucket list amp I can’t afford.

So I think I finally figured out how to use this app!

A few months back (maybe been a year almost!) I was following one of these THU threads and actually bought a “Rig” (Choptone Tone Impera) but never figured out how to use it until now!

The Rig Player! Wow, ok, so I can see where these can be addictive. So with this one, I’ve been going through the 89 “rigs” that come with it. I’ll be getting this Plexi rig next.

I don’t know if it was an update that made things a little more clear, but the app is not very intuitive to me. I guess I could have watched a tutorial or something. Anyway, I think I’ve got it figured out!

Oh, I noticed the AU in AUM is a little crashy when I try to switch back and forth from different amp models to the Rig Player thing. Anyone else?

JoyceRoadStudios

@Intrepolicious said:
.

@JoyceRoadStudios said:

@Intrepolicious said:

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
@Intrepolicious each “Rig” they sell is actually just based on a real life amp, like a Kemper, and each is a collection of profiles in different settings of the amp, with different mics and speakers etc... some of them have baked in overdrive or distortion pedals as listed in each rig pdf. But the “Rig Player” is just an amp face into which you load each rig or profile, and each one can also be tweaked with knobs, so the profiles aren’t set in stone. In addition to the hundreds of profiles per rig, there is a preset bank for each rig which combines the Kemper like capture with fx and pedals from the th-u collection. The wording is really confusing. But it’s awesome. It’s not like their amp sims and cab emulations, these are real amp profiles that are also using impulse responses. It’s also not like Nembrini which are “analog” circuit emulations plus IRs. All of the guitar apps on iOS are sims and emulations, but the Rigs in th-u are like Kemper profiles of real amps, not approximations. They’re made after capturing those amps in real life, rather than simply modeled. In an A/B it’s almost impossible to tell which is real and which is virtual, though of course we’re not dealing with real tubes in the software realm.

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
@Intrepolicious so you have the regular amp sims, cabs, and pedals available a la carte, in bundles, or the full pack, just like Bias or Amplitube, Some of the sims are actually authorized versions like Brunetti, Randall, THD, and the rest cover everything. But it’s basically like the other big guitar apps, except it sounds better. Nembrini are single amp masterpieces that also compare favorably to th-u sims, and in many cases even sound better considering they skip cab emulation and use IRs. So these two devs are tops for me. Even if you don’t want any more amps and are happy with Nembrini, the thu pedals and fx are stellar and extensive, and I will chain them in front of any Nembrini.

Then you have the Rigs which are expensive and a separate purchase but a whole other ballgame, you’re buying “amp capture” tech in the form of many presets, that you can still tweak. You have to think of it like profiling like a Kemper. So if there’s an amp you really want, you can have it, either as “dry” rigs, presets with fx, direct bypassed, use all your other fx, etc... it sounds and plays as real as can be. I only use th-u and Nembrini. Hope this helps make you poorer 🤑

PS if you do decide to get a rig go with the ones made in collab with Choptones and BHS. The ones that are native “th-u” aren’t my favorites quality wise, though some people like them. There will be some that are rig collections, so many different amps with fewer profiles for each amp, or you have a rig that’s just one amp with hundreds of captures (too many really). Then presets banks with fx vary, some have only 10-15 presets for an amp, and others like BHS have 50 or 60. Also, each rig is an actual amp specimen, like a real amp from an actual year, vintage or modern etc... so how good a rig is can depend on how good the amp is that they had in the room. it’s all in the marketing materials. Some amps are actually from the ‘60s or ‘70s, some are re-issues or brand new, some are modded or re-tubed or some amp of a friend. It’s all so interesting.

Thanks for breaking it down in detail!

No problem! This is why I even made a random wishlist. Like, Nembrini can come out with an incredible amp sim called “Humble PCP” or whatever, and it will be a faithfully recreated Dumble ODS where Nembrini tries to model the actual circuit in their algorithm and emulation. And it will sound great, and use impulse responses. People can say it’s great in its own right but doesn’t sound like a Dumble, or it sounds exactly like one etc... at the end of the day these are “based on so and so” amps or modeled after so and so. And for sure they’re awesome.

TH-U rigs are the actual amp in the room being captured in a plethora of settings, and modeled using proprietary tech like a Kemper ( not as good as Kemper tech probably). So it’s not for me to say which guitar app is better in terms of sound quality or picking response, whether it’s Nembrini or thu or ge labs or bias etc, but the point is when you buy a Rig you’re buying the sound of the actual amp, and it sounds like the actual amp. Many people are rightfully happy with the simplicity of having just one amp like a Cali reverb, add some outside fx, and that’s that. This is all and expensive wormhole, but why wouldn’t I want to pay $20 or whatever to have an actual Matchless profile in my room, or any bucket list amp I can’t afford.

So I think I finally figured out how to use this app!

A few months back (maybe been a year almost!) I was following one of these THU threads and actually bought a “Rig” (Choptone Tone Impera) but never figured out how to use it until now!

The Rig Player! Wow, ok, so I can see where these can be addictive. So with this one, I’ve been going through the 89 “rigs” that come with it. I’ll be getting this Plexi rig next.

I don’t know if it was an update that made things a little more clear, but the app is not very intuitive to me. I guess I could have watched a tutorial or something. Anyway, I think I’ve got it figured out!

Oh, I noticed the AU in AUM is a little crashy when I try to switch back and forth from different amp models to the Rig Player thing. Anyone else?

It’s not particularly intuitive, mostly because of semantics or definitions (rig? patch? profile? preset?), but once you get familiar with the layout it’s really satisfying. Overloud has never crashed on me, neither has Nembrini. It’s those IAA apps that constantly crash. But, if you’re talking about in AUM when you open the rig player and it gives you that loading/thinking window before showing the list, then yes that happens all the time. It doesn’t affect switching presets or affect midi latency, it’s specifically that one action of loading the list of rigs in AUM. It must have to do with how they’re stored or something.

Tone Impera is one of the better rigs, I particularly like it with single coils or strat types. Keep in mind that you have the 89 “rigs” when you load it in the rig player (I think of them as profiles), but in the top center of the app where you have the “Preset” banks menu, there’s also an entire preset bank for “Tone Impera”. It’s number 40 I think. There you will find 11 presets that feature 11 of the rig profiles but combined with th-u fx and pedal sims that are in the free thu. Then the rest of the bank is “empty”. So what I like to do is load a Rig player into an empty spot, and load the Tone Impera there, so that I can audition all the 89 rigs or make more presets in the same bank. Instead of just starting with a Rig player in a random place. Does that make sense? Also what’s dope is that the rig player head is fully tweakable, sag, bias, variac, tube shape, all kinds of useful knobs. For example, I love turning the definition knob down which adds low harmonic vintage distortion and offers a thuddy quality, if you want that.

A few more minor things that could help:

The upper left menu in the app has a “master volume”, I find it really helpful to turn it down to about -6db or -10db. I prefer that to having to adjust volume on every single amp. Some of them can be just a little too hot. With master volume down a smidge I never have to worry about it, can always turn up my headphone volume on the interface or daw. There’s also input sensitivity in the menu, they suggest low for single coils and high for humbuckers, but it’s really to taste. It’s just a 3 decibel boost a the input gain stage.

Metering wise, left side of the screen shows vertical input meter, right side is output, they can be pushed almost to the top with no problems, gets red only at the very top. I like to keep the input signal just above 2/3 of the way and the output as high as possible before red.

IR loading happens inside any of the cabinet sims, even the free ones. Rig player already has IRs, but if you want to load your own IR for a rig, just turn off “cab power” in the rig player and add a regular cabinet sim to the chain after the rig, and go into its menu, simple as that.

There are lots of amazing rigs that can be more versatile and extensive, both with rigs and presets. If you cut yourself off at 3-5 rigs, you deserve a medal.

JoyceRoadStudios

lol... I wish apps that I actually want would do this, nevertheless I’ll give this a look and check out their IR loader. Anyone else gonna try the Elite?

espiegel123

@JoyceRoadStudios said:

lol... I wish apps that I actually want would do this, nevertheless I’ll give this a look and check out their IR loader. Anyone else gonna try the Elite?

Is there a reason that you think the IR loader will be something special or that the amps are now on a par with Overloud and Nembrinin?

JoyceRoadStudios

@espiegel123 said:

@JoyceRoadStudios said:

lol... I wish apps that I actually want would do this, nevertheless I’ll give this a look and check out their IR loader. Anyone else gonna try the Elite?

Is there a reason that you think the IR loader will be something special or that the amps are now on a par with Overloud and Nembrinin?

No not at all, in fact since they were practically giving away this app a few months ago and are now offering the free trial, it’s not a good sign of quality. also it’s IAA, another strike against. But, it is a free trial, and the reason I posted this is because it’s interesting that they’re offering a free trial at all. I wish more iOS devs would do this, it seems so rare. It’s a matter of unlocking an IAP for a set amount of days... of course RRS does a timed trial, as does Cubasis demo.

I guess knowing in depth that the competition sucks will only make me feel better about my other purchases.

[Deleted User]

@JoyceRoadStudios said:

lol... I wish apps that I actually want would do this, nevertheless I’ll give this a look and check out their IR loader. Anyone else gonna try the Elite?

I will try it and make a demo if I think it is worth it.
Thanks for the info @JoyceRoadStudios.

JoyceRoadStudios

@flo26 said:

@JoyceRoadStudios said:

lol... I wish apps that I actually want would do this, nevertheless I’ll give this a look and check out their IR loader. Anyone else gonna try the Elite?

I will try it and make a demo if I think it is worth it.
Thanks for the info @JoyceRoadStudios.

Cool! If you do please check out their IR loader and if it works well compared to your usual method.

McD

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
Cool! If you do please check out their IR loader and if it works well compared to your usual method.

@flo26 loves his current IR app (iConvolver?) and is always hesitant to change anything that's been working well. But maybe. He generally uses ADverb2 for a reverb. But we pushed him and he seems to like TH-U now. His first impression was not great.

I haven't heard him play anything without making it sound excellent. He's got magic hands.

[Deleted User]

@McD said:

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
Cool! If you do please check out their IR loader and if it works well compared to your usual method.

@flo26 loves his current IR app (iConvolver?) and is always hesitant to change anything that's been working well. But maybe. He generally uses ADverb2 for a reverb. But we pushed him and he seems to like TH-U now. His first impression was not great.

I haven't heard him play anything without making it sound excellent. He's got magic hands.

Thanks so much @McD!
I've tried bias fx 2 elite and .......it can make it....if you have not played overloud before it😉.
To my ears,their amps sound tiny and way too compressed.
Some players will surely like it,but it doesn't fit my kind of playing.
The fxs have not impressed me at all.
I expected a much better sound from the app.
Not for me.

JoyceRoadStudios

@flo26 said:

@McD said:

@JoyceRoadStudios said:
Cool! If you do please check out their IR loader and if it works well compared to your usual method.

@flo26 loves his current IR app (iConvolver?) and is always hesitant to change anything that's been working well. But maybe. He generally uses ADverb2 for a reverb. But we pushed him and he seems to like TH-U now. His first impression was not great.

I haven't heard him play anything without making it sound excellent. He's got magic hands.

Thanks so much @McD!
I've tried bias fx 2 elite and .......it can make it....if you have not played overloud before it😉.
To my ears,their amps sound tiny and way too compressed.
Some players will surely like it,but it doesn't fit my kind of playing.
The fxs have not impressed me at all.
I expected a much better sound from the app.
Not for me.

Thank you for confirming what was to be expected! Totally agree by the way, it’s really rinky dink thin and especially imprecise in the low end. Kind of like playing through one of those 5-watt practice amps. It’s just so surprising considering how popular it is and how much exposure it has in advertising. But even on desktop, it is not highly rated. There is so much great amp stuff on desktop, Neural, Scuffham, etc.. I expect some of those amps to arrive on iOS soon. Even Overloud is a huge name in desktop, and more recently Nembrini, so I just don’t understand PG’s popularity. One thing I do like about PG is the squishy playing feel with some settings, and the tuner, but that’s it.