Amplitube's Distortion is rather "Honky" sounding...

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ozzman1997

New member
I'm not really sure how to describe it, but the distortion I'm getting out of AmpliTube's American Lead MK III does not seem very realistic to my ears, even with a tube screamer in one of the stomp box slots. It's almost like a grinding-type sound in the upper midrange, not smooth like a Mesa tube amp at high volume. I see people on YouTube doing covers of songs, even with something like the Line 6 POD Studio, and this doesn't seem to pose a problem to them at all. My audio interface should not be a problem as it's a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 which has a generally good reputation. My question is...Is this just part of the nature of amp sims to sound that way? I'm planning on writing a song with a guitar tone like on Metallica's ...And Justice For All album, that dry-and-squishy-yet-seething-with-rage type of distortion.

I know I'm probably settings my expectations a bit too high for AmpliTube, although I am just a noob who wants a monstrous tone in the least expensive way possible. :p
 
Those presets only work in AmpliTube Metal... :( I can't seem to get a good sound out of the Rectifier or any of the other high-gain models either. I've played with input/output levels, stomp boxes, and nothing is satisfying me. It either sounds like there is too much gain (squeaky noises occur when I hit the strings) or not enough gain (chords/notes don't seem to have any "attitude" when they are played.) I heard somewhere the Lamb of God recorded an entire album using AmpliTube, so there has to be something that I'm doing wrong here...
 
For starters, I know absolutely nothing about amplitube or any other VST based amp simulator. I have an old PodXT that I've gotten useable tones out of on *some* recordings. There always, to my ears, seems to be too obvious of a difference between sim and real deal though so I don't ever use it.

All that being said, it's common practice to turn the gain levels down on an amp when recording. Less is very much more and there is a noticeable difference between what your ears hear coming from the amp and what the mic hears and translates to your headphones/monitors. Maybe try playing with the gain settings in amplitube and see if that makes it sound any better? Instead of keeping the gain pegged, try rolling it back a bit and see what happens.
 
pikingrin said:
For starters, I know absolutely nothing about amplitube or any other VST based amp simulator. I have an old PodXT that I've gotten useable tones out of on *some* recordings. There always, to my ears, seems to be too obvious of a difference between sim and real deal though so I don't ever use it.

All that being said, it's common practice to turn the gain levels down on an amp when recording. Less is very much more and there is a noticeable difference between what your ears hear coming from the amp and what the mic hears and translates to your headphones/monitors. Maybe try playing with the gain settings in amplitube and see if that makes it sound any better? Instead of keeping the gain pegged, try rolling it back a bit and see what happens.
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See, that's just it...Whenever I turn the gain down slightly, my tone just loses its balls, if you know what I mean. Even triple and quad tracking don't help that. There is also a phenomenon I am seeking, and bare with me because I'm not sure how to describe it, but most Mesa amps have this interesting characteristic when a note is struck which I can't seem to achieve in AmpliTube...On a real high-gain Boogie amp, you would notice a sort of "neer-neer-neer-neer" type of dynamic when notes are struck, as opposed to most other amps where struck notes just seem to strike plainly without this characteristic. Go on YouTube and listen to the guitar track to Enter Sandman, and pay close attention to the main riff. You'll probably understand what I am talking about, and that song isn't even considered "high-gain" by today's standards.

Once again, I'm sure I did a horrible job describing this, but you Mesa players out there probably know what I am getting at. I just can't seem to get this in AmpliTube! :( Maybe I should set my expectations lower for software and start saving up for a real amp...
 
ozzman1997 said:
I just can't seem to get this in AmpliTube! :( Maybe I should set my expectations lower for software and start saving up for a real amp...
Click to expand...
That about sums it up. I'm sure some of those amp sims are *okay* but nothing beats micing up the real deal. Good luck, hope you find a tone in there you can use until you save up for the Mesa!
 
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