software plug-ins vs hardware rack effects

db51

New member
Are there any differences in sound quality between using effects from racks vs plug-in effects? I'm new to this, so excuse me if this sounds dumb, but it seems to me the only hardware effects I would use would be those using tubes (tube compression, eq or preamp...) since you obviously need physical tubes to get "tube sound". As for the other effects (reverb, delay...) can't a "virtual" effect be just as good as the hardware one? (presuming computer's powerful enough :-))

Thanks
 
Well in theory, I guess the answer would have to be yes. I don't have much experience with plug-in FX, however I have heard that many people still seem to prefer the "genuine" external FX to the plug-in. Someone else will have to help out on this topic...
 
So far I've been using only plug-ins. I haven't used any external effects, yet. What I have to do when using the plug-ins is record my guitar dry, THEN add the effects AFTER it's recorded. So while I'm recording, I don't hear any effects on my guitar at all.

Some people say that's good, because it makes you play cleaner. Maybe so. But to me it makes it more difficult. In fact, there are times when I overcompensate for the dryness of the guitar by using too much vibrato on the string with my left hand or bend the strings too much at the end of a phrase.

Like I said, I haven't used any external effects yet, because I don't have any and really don't know which would be the good one's to get. I'm open to suggestions, though!

You can hear my guitar at http://leemuller.iuma.com. It was recorded using only plugins, so I couldn't hear any of the effects while I was recording.

Hope this helps. Geeeez, I could use some help too! :-)

Lee Muller
http://leemuller.iuma.com
 
OK, theory first:
Digital effects are digital effects, which means that you can use the exact same algorithms in plug-ins as in outboard effects, and therefore they can sound exactly the same. Analog effects are always hard to duplicate exactly, and some more than others. The hardest ones to duplicate seems to be tubes and speakers.

Now the reality:
Different outboard effects sound different. So does different plugins. You'll probably be able to find plug-ins that sound better than some outboards, and you won't have to do an digital to analog to digital to analog to digital conversion when using them. On the other hand, the best algorithms are proprietary, so you wont get that perfect smoooth reverb out of just any plug-in. To get a lexicon reverb you need lexicon, and I think they only make a plug-in for Mac ProTools...

So basically plug-ins doesn't, in themselves, sound any better or worse than outboard effects. If outboard effects sound better, it's because the makers of these have been around for longer and so know what they are doing.

If you are using a HD-recording system, go with the plug-ins. But just as with outboard effects, listen to them first. Besides, using outboard effects with HD recording means that you have to have a lot of inputs and outputs...
 
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