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guitar amp apps
I have 30 years experience playing guitar, mostly high gain stuff, but I also play a bit of blues as well. I have not had a guitar for 5 years and I have been really missing it so I was considering buying a new guitar and using the ipad apps....in terms of quality how do the apps on the ipad sound...will I be happy in terms of quality compared to a real amp? and to be honest I just cannot afford a real amp....
Thoughts?
Comments
There have been a lot of discussions of this topic on the forum and many extended sound examples posted. I recommend spending some time reading those discussions and listening to examples people have posted.
For many, the answer is Yes the better apps can stand in for an amp...and mostly benefit from an IR such a short the ones from Ownhammer.
First of, you will need some decent audiointerface. Irig with audio jack plug isn't an option for good sound, better avoid it.
Th-u delivers the best guitar amp tone on iOS, imho. It has free limited version. But I'm a clean amp guy with large board of pedals, so ymmv
i currently have an m-audio audio interface
is bias the best app for guitar amps? so im going to be buying new guitar so since i will be using an amp will a cheap guitar do the trick? or does it matter since thr sound will be coming thru the amp itself?
Most will say TH-U or Nembrini are the best. Some like some amplitube IAPs. Not many seem to prefer BIAS. Spend some time searching the forums here. A lot has been said and a lot of audio posted.
since i need to buy a new guitar for this to work, i'm wondering if just a cheap guitar will work, my way of thinking is that the sound will be coming from the app, unlike a real amp where a high quility guitar would need to be used if i was playing thru a real amp...so in this situation, will a cheap guitar do the job since i will be using apps....am i right with thinking this way??
I like the bias software. Their business model is confusing at best. It is very flexible, but I have their amp sim and their effects app that work together to give you all that flexibility.
For me, high gain stuff works pretty well with most amp sims. Really clean is mostly OK. It's the edge-of-breakup touch controlled distortion and tone that I find all amp sims to be lacking in still. It depends on what you want though. Most anything can sound pretty good in a final mix. Nothing feels satisfying to me when I just want to sit down and play my guitar. I've stopped using guitar sims altogether unless I have to play with headphones. I'd suggest heading over to YouTube and listen to people demoing the various sims to see what sounds good to you.
There are lots of really good cheap guitars now. Shop around for awhile and you'll be able to find a great guitar for not much money.
I have an irig pro and it seems ok. What is better for iPhone/iPad?
The quality if the guitar's sound is as important with an amp sim as with a real amp. Also, guitars don't need to be expensive to sound good.
Can you recommend a clean guitar amp app?
What do you look for in a clean amp? There are many good clean amps but which one woukd be a good fit would depend on what you like. A lot of examples have been posted that will give you a chance to check many of the available amps out.
Another option is an analog amp sim pedal. I use one of these, and use that to run my guitar into a mixer. It’s a lot cheaper than an amp, it’s analog so it has no problems with the “edge-of-breakup” stuff, and your live sound is the same as your recorded sound.
I use an Ethos Clean I picked up cheap, but you might be surprised with something like the Joyo American Sound for blues. Really really cheap, and good.
Was asking about an iOS amp app for iPhone/iPad. I want decent clean tones not distortion etc.
Yeah, this can be a fun way too. I DIYed a couple of JFET based analog amp sims and they work surprisingly well. I did one of a Marshall 18W where I found the schematic on the web somewhere and that worked well enough that I decided to clone an old Ampeg Gemini VI that was my favorite amp I've owned. I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.
I actually haven't tried it, but it would probably work pretty well to take one of these and do a little EQ and cab IR and get something really usable.
how much do you have tpo spend on in ap purchases to get a good sound..im trying to figure ou how muchni will have to soend to get a good hight gain sound
Start with the free TH-U and see what you think of the Darkface (which is sort of a generic Fender clean). Using a good IR will improve it's sound.
What clean amps do you like? Different clean amps (no breakup) can sound very different. My JC-120, for example, sounds very different from a Twin which sounds different from a Mesa Boogie (set to a clean sound) which sounds different from a Vox...
What do you like?
Mooer's "GELABS - Effects & Guitar Amps" has a great collection of amps and FX that are all free. They only charge for if you want "slots" to save "presets". Mooer also has a hardware modeler so they treat this product like a marketing strategy to sell more hardware. You can hear all their software for free. I find I can spin up a setup before a session and after a while you get good at re-building you favorite configs. 2 slots cost around $5 and you can overwrite the slots as you improve your current pair. Sometimes the slot IAP's go on sale.
It also has this "cloud" feature where you can download configs created by other users and that can help you quickly learn what's possible without hours of experimentation. Just hours of cloud tests. I think the cloud applies to the app and to the hardware modeler.
I think it's close to TH-U and has the free benefit. TH-U is really good at getting you
to invest. It also has "modeled" rig library products that are also like crack.
Don't forget to watch Florent Roux's (@flo26) IOS Amp demos to help you decide. Nembrini's are also good options for metal and he demos all the good options.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDtM5Bzx9w6IqYFiJj8t1Pw
I haven’t found a sim that gets the tube amp edge-of-feedback sag feel. If feedback is part of the sound you want, a loud amp seems necessary.
You can get it with amp sims, too -- but as with "real" amps, feedback is the result of the guitar's strings resonating in sympathy with the signal coming from the speakers -- and that requires volume. You can do it with an amp sim if you are using speakers and crank it up enough.
20th anniversary Flying Haggis.
Who knows whether it will make you happy. But as someone who has played guitar for over 30 years. If I didn't have one for a while, I'd be happy with a $100 3/4 nylon acoustic.
I spent quite a bit of £££ on iOS guitar apps over the last couple of years.
Then I bought a Pod GO. This thing is amazing, sounds and feels like the real deal with dozens of different amps and FX (with more being added with each update). It is amazing for live playing, has a headphone out and is a USB audio interface.
I still use the apps as they are very convenient but had I bought the Pod GO first I might not have felt the need to get any of them.
Might be out of your budget at around £300-400 but may be worth considering.
You could start with AmpONE. It's a free app but sounds very good.
https://apps.apple.com/app/id936560060
I have full versions of Bias FX2, Amplitube and Overloud THU on my iPad and iMac. All of them give a great guitar sound so you could choose any guitar app.
I have searched and searched but I’m not findind different opinions for these amp sims for metal as they do cost a bit and I’m limited on funds which should I buy for high quality distortion for metal? AmpliTube? Bias2? Nembrini? I’m looking for different height distortion sounds but also the ability to play some blues if the mood strikes me so what are your thoughts?
Nembrini Cali reverb 3 channels, or Nembrini Brown Sound, Or Nembrini 8180. Make sure you pick up the PSA1000 and The Boss as well.
Try this beta of Rhino for free and see if you like it…
https://testflight.apple.com/join/vuKZiMjs
Try Overloud TH-U for free. Plenty of metal and blues amps and effects available with the free demo. Create an account and log in and you get even more free stuff including some rigs…
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/overloud-thu/id1478394489
Try Amplitube for free and see if you like the metal and blues options…
Try Bias FX2 for free, or the even better Bias Amp.
Try GeLabs for free…
You need to try these apps and see if you get along with the user interface and if you generally like the sounds. Our opinions on what’s best don’t matter. You may find more than enough good stuff at no cost to you.
Nembrini has great amps for both Metal and Blues, they are single amps and not an app of a bunch of components. You can try them all free on desktop.
Go ahead and try all these apps and see which sound and function best to you. After that maybe some of us can help you spend money…
If you read through the threads, you will see some TH-U rigs that are highly recommended.
Fart around with some of the free options from Nembrini and Overloud first and take it from there.
Personally I'll never go back to AmpliTube or Bias2.
If I had to pick one amp from what I own to recommend for both metal and blues, I'd go with the Nembrini Cali Reverb. It might need a distortion pedal in front to really do some metal, but there are free and inexpensive distortions from Nembrini and others that could do the job.
You see a few years ago I had bias1 and reallly enjoyed it but as time has passed I’m not sure if bias2 is better and also I did not know if over time if there has been better apps that has come along that were any better ya know
There is no doubt that apps have improved over the years, for many reasons, iPads and iPhones are faster and can handle more processing. Developers, quality, and stability has also improved as a result. Apps that are AUv3 have overtaken apps that are only IAA, for the most part. This has been the biggest development, AUv3, meaning you can run several instances of an app inside your DAW, it’s more convenient than IAA apps, and uses less cpu. With IAA you often have to exit out of your DAW to work within the other app. If you’re just using a guitar app standalone, IAA vs AUv3 doesn’t really matter. But if you have a multi track project in a DAW, auv3 apps allow you to run them as many times as you want, so two of the same app on a guitar track, one on a bass track, etc… an app like Bias1 being IAA can only be run once…. just because an app is old doesn’t mean it’s still not good. But developers have largely switched over to AUv3 and some older apps don’t get updates anymore and suffer form stability issues and in some cases total abandonment. Developers must keep up with iOS updates.
Back to the subject, many people like and use BiasFX2 and Amplitube, they are IAA only apps. I consider them the old generation, using algorithms from the past. Personally, I like Amplitube but to me Bias sounds digital and fizzy, and for me it’s also buggy. But that’s just my opinion. I think specifically IAA guitar apps that deal with a live instrument rather than only midi, and an audio interface with its latency and sample rate conversion, they are more prone to crashes and bugs.
The newer generation of guitar apps are both IAA and AUv3, and many will agree they sound better. Not because they’re AUv3 but because they have taken advantage of maximizing the processing power of iOS devices and also because developers and digital tech has improved. Also, many newer apps use impulse responses instead of cabinet emulation, which has always been a weak spot. For example, Nembrini amps and Overloud Rigs use IRs exclusively, and the difference is huge.
So to answer your question, many would say that for sure there is better guitar software out there than there used to be. Nembrini, Overloud, GainStage Vintage Clean, 20th Anniversary from db audioware, GELabs (IAA only), Aurora dsp. Some would say the old guard is more than good enough. Bias, Amplitube, Tonestack, VStomp.
My opinion, if you’re used to Bias1, you will be blown away by Overloud and Nembrini. The new generation of guitar apps is on another level, if we’re talking about tone and audio quality. But, find out for yourself. You can get your feet wet with every single guitar app, both new and old, at no cost to you… figure out what you like and if you can even tell the difference. Some guitar apps are so realistic they’ll make your cheap guitar sound like crap. Other apps will have some digital correction and make them sound better, at the expense of feel and dynamics. Play around and you will find your app. There’s no right answer…