Is it more advantageous to purchase a modelling VST plug in for n track like Amplitube Live or go for a package like Guitar Port ??
I am confused about this. Please help. Thanks
Ooohhh… you are gonna get a lot of opinions on this one! What? OK. I’ll give you mine. I prefer a separate unit like a Korg Pandora, Line 6 POD, Johnson J-Station etc… The VST amp sims I have heard just didn’t do anything for me. Some guys are raving about Native Instruments guitar rig but GEEZ! That’s a lotta coin!
TG
PS I can’t comment on the Line 6 Guitar Port. Never laid ears on one in person.
I’d stay away from the Guitar Port. I am not sure what they go for these days but I think you would be better off with a used J Station.
I think the VST sims would be on par with the Port.
See what other responses you get here.
Having now read the reviews on Harmony Central etc… the j station does seem to be a valid option. Anybody else any views??
What is your price range?
I use a Boss GT-6 and love it. I’ve had a Zoom and a V-amp2 and there is no comparison. The higher end units sound better and cleaner and the amp modeling is closer to real.
Units in this catagory are the Boss GT-6 and GT-8 (there are video and sound demos at the Boss site), The line-6 XT (sound demos there as well), J-Station gets good reviews (but I don’t see them in the US catalogs anymore?), and the VOX Tonelab.
Check 'em out and pay attention to the interfaces they offer. For instance, the Boss Pedals give you analog AND SPDIF outputs as well as midi control. Don’t know what the others offer.
You will initially love a lower end unit until you use it for a while. I loved my V-amp-2 until I started needing cleaner sounds and then I realized how noisy the unit is. The Zoom was the same way.
Research 'em all and if they have a user group…go there and read…and see what questions/problems each unit has.
Good luck,
KingFish
C-T,
You can get a Korg Ampworks modeler at Musician’s Friend for $49.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7…0
I have a J-station, and it is nice, but I like the models better on the Ampworks. For live use it is not really the thing because it is plastic, the knobs are hard to read, and you can only store two user patches. For recording at home, it’s great. And it is a cheap way to get into amp modeling.
John
It all depends on what you want to achieve. There are good plug ins that will give you a decent guitar tone. I prefer the more flexible option of a separate multi-effects unit that doubles as a recording interface and as a “live” pedal. I’m happy with my Digitech RP 200, there are mnore modern versions. I am particularly happy to have a configurable pedal.
Just my two centimes.
Cheers
TusterBuster
I’ve always gone back to a real amp mic’d. Tube for me. I use a boss me-50 and I’ve used it straight in but there never seems to be much life in models…I guess because that is what they are, just models. Peavey C-30 or a Bravo if you can find one. Both have great tone and very versatile.
Cheers
Cruiser 
I have a J-Station and a pod. They don’t sound too bad going direct into the board. I’ve also tried a couple plugin amp modelers and I couldn’t get them to sound decent.
The best use I’ve found for the pod is as a preamp. Plug it into the line-input of a guitar amp and mic the cab. It has been a lifesaver several times when we wanted a different guitar tone.
The J-Station sounds about as good but it has a really nice feature - it has several bass guitar settings. I have a SamsAmp Bass Driver DI which gets a lot of use but the J-Station has some sounds that the SansAmp can’t duplicate.
I got the J-Station when they were closing them out for 99 bucks on Musician’s Friend but I’ve seen them on ebay for about the same price.
Thanks for the response. Has anyone here used Amplitube Live??
I like the sound of the j station btw.
Thanks for the response. Has anyone here used Amplitube Live??
I like the sound of the j station btw.
Just bought a j-station from ebay, so hoping it is as good as you lot say
I still say, buy, beg, borrow or steal NI Guitar Rig. 
This is a wee bit I recorded yesterday, not to demonstrate Guitar Rig, but just as a response to someone’s claim (who shall remain nameless 
), that a Strat is useless for Metal.
this topic
Note, the finger squeaks are because I stupidly mixed the clean track with the FX’ed track, and not Guitar Rig’s fault. 
Ali
Though I understand the advantages of putting a mic in front of a real amp, it’s just not pratical for a lot of people. I used the POD 2.0 for ll of the electric guitar tracks on my last CD, and it worked out just fine for me. Here’s a good example:
JPB - Faith (mp3)
The new podxt live is a great rig. If you get a Variax guitar too you can model an incredible number of possibilities. I like recording dirrectly from the pod outputs. That way you don’t have to yell at everyone in the house to be quiet. The Variax workbench is out now too and expands the guitar modeling even futher
Oh, from the looks of your post title, I thought you were looking for a vst guitar modeler.
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| Just bought a j-station from ebay, so hoping it is as good as you lot say |
J Station fan here. Don’t think you’ll be dissapointed. Work on creating your own patches. Some of the ones in the unit are OK, but others are in the the “wacky” category but can be used for a starting point.
There are plenty of patches you can d/l from the Internet.
Be sure to d/l the latest PC control software for the J-Station and hook up your J-Station (via MIDI). You can edit patches on the PC, but more importantly, save and load them on the PC.
HTH
Mark
I used to use Amplitube before I got my Vetta II from Line6. I also used a Flextone II XL a while back.
Amplitube sounded ok, but it was never that great. The biggest draw back was that it was such a resource hog that I could only run like two tracks with it tops before everything got really bogged down.
My Vetta sounds great to me. It really took a while before I started making tones that I really liked though. Finding stuff to fit in a mix is sometimes pretty difficult.
Here’s my most recent clip with the Vetta II
Holdout
Many claim that the cabinet and mic modeling is where Line6 “fall down.” They’ve also highly recommende NI Guitar Rig for that purpose. I know it’s double the purchase probably, but the amps in Line6 gear sound great and the cabinets and mics in Guitar Rig sound great. I’ve heard clips of them used together and it’s definitely better than either of them alone.