I am way out of touch.

JDOD

JDOD

therecordingrebels.com
I went into a music shop today as I wanted to upgrade my gear - find out what's new, what gear people are using and stuff.

I found out that I am mega out of touch.

I currently use a Line6 TonePort with Gearbox, a Korg Pandora, a Peavy Bandit and REAPER.

Apparently REAPER is still good.

Line6 haven't replaced the TonePort; apparently there's nothing like it any more.. the guy looked at me like I had two heads when I asked him what the latest version of the Korg Pandora was. They said people now use their Android or iPhones now as pre-amps. Is this true? What apps do you use? How do you stick it all together with headphones and cabling etc?

I don't even know where to start or what to look for anymore; I am just recording folk to heavy rock/metal, I play all of the guitars, bass and sing but process and loop the drums which I find easy and enjoyable in REAPER.

Cheers,

JD
 
What's the "modern equivalent" of a TonePort and Gearbox? There's not been any updates for it for years and it was a pain in the arse to install on a Windows 8 machine. I imagine that this problem will only get worse.
 
Had a fellow in here rehearsing with my wife. His guitar rig was an iphone (pad' maybe) setting on his music stand a few pedals on the floor and a 10" QSC two-way.

No thanks :)
 
Cheers, now that looks good. Basically, it's an amp simulator, similar to a TonePort, right? Should plug straight into the USB Port and start recording into REAPER. It does look very similar to a TonePort, is it actually just the same sort of thin? Why did Line6 not make a follow up? I thought it was really good.

What about a portable amp sim that I can use with headphone like the old Korg Pandora?
 
Hmmm, the Line6 PodStudio look just like a TonePort but in black...
 
Morning JDOD and welcome.

If you possibly can get shot of Win8. I am all 7/64 (and one legacy XP pro) and will wait for W10 or death.

The default, throwout AI suggestion here is always the 2i2 but it is poor value IMHO and certainly not the best interface for the DI'ing guitarist.

MY default AI reccy is the Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6. Since the World has moved on a bit to software effects you will need an interface with very low latency, none better than the KA6 unless you can spring for RME (maybe MOTU?) . The Ka also comes with Cubase (VST land) and a shedload, 3G, of downloadable samples.

Native Inst' are also of course the "home" of Guitar Rig.

Two extras line inputs at the back. NOTHING wrong with Reaper BTW and I think you could re-wire it to Cubase?

Dave.
 
Thanks that's quite helpful. Struggling a bit with the terminology as I got my Line6 Kit about 5 years ago and haven't really thought about it much since.

So, AI (Audio Interface) the way I get my guitar plugged into my USB Port via an external soundcard with extra bits - low latency here is the key.
Recording software - What's the posh name for this? I use REAPER.
Lastly, the amp simulation software - I currently have Gearbox but there must be millions of these about now. That Peavey one looked dead good.

Does anyone have a list of some sort of published latency "values" so you can make a comparision. I have been looking at the Line6 gear and found out that the TonePort UX2 (which I have) is actually identical to the current UX2 from a hardware point of view; so the latency on it much be alright. It works fine with Gearbox.
 
You can use your Toneport as your guitar input audio interface with Reaper, assuming there are compatible W8 drivers for it. Like Dave said, if you can revert to W7, you'll have more luck with getting help. Latency is a matter of setting your buffers correctly - all depends on your computer and drivers.
Gearbox was pretty sucky for guitar sim, but PodFarm (2.xxx) is much better, and there are many other choices for sims now, too.
Recording software = DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

Don't go back to that music store - they are obviously dealing with bedroom guitarists. There are lots of IOS devices now for plugginh in a guitar to phone or pad, and even some half-decent ones, but they are not the only choices.
 
So, Toneport UX2 is my AI - this does work with Win8 which is OK. It was a little problematic getting it installed on the new PC, downloading new drivers and stuff. Probably the PodStudio UX2 drivers.
REAPER is my DAW - I really like REAPER. Even the built in autotune is good enough to cope with my dodgy singing.
AmpSim - (Is this otherwise known as a VST? People keep using that term) - Even though I was dead impressed with Gearbox when I got it (4-5 years ago) it's pretty dated now and there appears to be other stuff around that is brilliant.

Can I run any ampsim with any AI? For example, could I run the UX with that Peavey Revalver sim (which looks amazing!)? Or will it only work with Gearbox/PodFarm?
Could I get a few different Amp Sims and choose the one I fancy depending on the situation?
 
It the question is "What's the modern version of a portable practice rig I can use with headphones?" then I'm afraid the store was absolutely correct. The phone in your pocket and any of the pile of decent interfaces and any of a number of relatively cheap amp sim apps is how people do it nowadays.
 
The trouble is the number of devices that can be controlled by pads and phones is growing - this probably what they meant, but just didn't explain it. It seems wifi connections for lighting, sound and even video links are growing rapidly so before long you won't be able to blame people for thinking the phones do the work - when it's another box being controlled.
 
Except that in this case it really is the phone doing the work. You usually want some device to help interface the guitar with the device, but all of the effects and amp sims are on the phone. It works fine for headphone practice, and even decent for half-assed recording. Heck, some people use them live! We can argue tonal quality and whatever, but that's all getting better every day, and this really is the way things are going.
 
Cheers, I can't imagine that a phone will be amazing as an amp sim. I fancy that Peavey Revalver. Phone sounds like it would be an ideal replacement for the old Korg Pandora.
 
JDOD said:
Right, so an amp sim and a vst aren't exactly the same thing then.
Click to expand...

They could be. A VST is an FX software inserted on a track in a DAW. An amp sim could also be a stand-alone software.

JDOD said:
Cheers, I can't imagine that a phone will be amazing as an amp sim. I fancy that Peavey Revalver. Phone sounds like it would be an ideal replacement for the old Korg Pandora.
Click to expand...

The phone is not the amp sim, it is just a computing device. The amp sim is the software/app.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I will persevere with the Line6 UX2 as long as I can get drivers for it. It still works and I know how to work it! I love reaper so will keep that.

Gearbox is getting a bit dated so I will try some other amp sims and listen to all the (non manufacturer) demos then see if they work with the ux2. If not I will look at replacing the ux2 with a newer A I.
 
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