Guitar plugin differences?

[deeaa]

I'm trying to get some discussion going in some forums about guitar plugs/modelers...I think many of these are basically the same, and the differences really mostly lie in the number of options etc. the basic sound is VERY much the same in all.

Here's two samples of plugin sound, in which one costs 30 times the price of the 'lesser' one.
Is it really worth 30x the price? And which one do you really even prefer?

[aullucci]

I picked sound one. But there is not a 30-level multiple of quality between them. Are you planning to reveal the models?

[deeaa]

I picked sound one. But there is not a 30-level multiple of quality between them. Are you planning to reveal the models?

Sure. Let's have a few votes first.

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[aullucci]

I'm interested in learning more about plugins - I'm still a noob. I've had Bias Amp for a while, and just started using Ampire that came with Studio One. I like some of the Bias plugins a lot. I'm too new with Ampire to have much opinion, other than it's not quite as customizable or thorough as Bias.

[rrobbone]

They both sound just fine to me, and they'd each potentially have a place depending on your goals. I chose sound one, as it had more highs. This would make it a bit easier to work with, IMHO, as it sits more in the area of the frequency spectrum I normally would place it in a mix.

I have a synth that's so incredibly good sounding (and incredibly flexible), that it's hands down my favorite noisemaker. So far, in all of it's updates, I've spent $750 on it over the years. I use it a lot, not because it's expensive, but because when I ask it to do something - it consistently delivers. Every time I dive into it, I hear something new.

I also use a lot of really inexpensive or free plug-ins as well. I use one called the "Sausage Fattener" on some aspect of every song I produce. I spent $20 on it, I think. It's everywhere in my productions - sometimes on the main bus. It's every bit as "valuable" to me as the $750 plug-in.

About a month ago, I was out with the fam. We were going into a store and I accidentally hit my keys on a hand rail. It made a noise I thought was interesting, so I went back and recorded it while I tapped different items on it. I've been tinkering with it as a basis for a distortion impulse. That's free, and the basis for potential new tones is everywhere if you have the software that allows that sort of experimentaion.

It doesn't matter to me where the source ever comes from... Sounds good = is good.

[nomadh]

Sounds like a tweak of the tone know between them.

[deeaa]

Interesting that many here prefer #1, in other places I've posted this #2 gets the votes hands down.

Well, the first one is Cali by Neural DSP (99;- now) and the last one is Dominator by AudioAssault (5€).

I had a bunch of others as well but the difference between all of them is very similar.

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[DonM]

I go with 1, but really can’t tell any significant difference.

[doc-knapp]

I prefer #1.

[Narsh]

I went with #1 also. Neural stuff is crazy flexible.
Look what you get with the Nolly or Plini Archetypes. The Nolly plug in is nuts, and Parallaxe for bass is absolutely insane and well worth the $$$. I'm a strong believer in that you can make most tones sound darn good with enough tweaking but how much time do you want to spend tweaking tones vs. playing/recording. Time is money

Now I know that not everyone can blow $2500 on an axefx but there is plenty of middle ground these days. We are all very lucky to be in the current state of all things Effects Processing/Amp Sims.

Anyone remember Using StudioDevil and LePou? LOL

[deeaa]

I'm using an old Boss GT-8 now, and it's been great...but for the second guitar the jury is still out...we have an AxeFX II Ultra unit as well but so far haven't been able to get anything very good out of it. Still trying, though. Over the weekend we have a full day booked to try and squeeze something usable. But we also have a GT-10 for backup, and of course Amplitube 4 as well, if we still can't find good tones out of the axe Amplitube at least will certainly deliver. But it'd be good to be able to use the axe fx unit as then it could also be used live with the same sounds, just like I use the Boss GT-8 live.

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[Tonray's Ghost]

Really comes down to very similar but #1 has more high frequencies and #2 has more mids. There is a guy on youtube (Leo Gibson) who does these great comparisons between high end and low end Multifunction units...and with an Equalizer pedal he pretty much gets them to sound virually identical and very close to the real amp.

[Chocol8]

YouTube video comparisons are a bit lacking for a number of reasons including the fact that the audio is compressed. If you want an idea of what recorded sounds will be like in your own YouTube videos (a reasonable use case) they are probably valid. As for how an amp or modeler will sound and feel in your music room, practice spot or at a gig, they are useless.

For example, with the right IR and settings, I can get recorded tones from a modeler to sound very close to recorded tones from my main Twin Reverb. Live in the room, even using a CLR which is a very good FRFR, they aren’t that close. I wouldn’t be surprised if the difference between those two modelers is much easier to hear and feel when playing them live.

[Tonray's Ghost]

YouTube video comparisons are a bit lacking for a number of reasons including the fact that the audio is compressed. If you want an idea of what recorded sounds will be like in your own YouTube videos (a reasonable use case) they are probably valid. As for how an amp or modeler will sound and feel in your music room, practice spot or at a gig, they are useless.

For example, with the right IR and settings, I can get recorded tones from a modeler to sound very close to recorded tones from my main Twin Reverb. Live in the room, even using a CLR which is a very good FRFR, they aren’t that close. I wouldn’t be surprised if the difference between those two modelers is much easier to hear and feel when playing them live.

Yeah of course...but I think the point of the videos is that for the average schlub..unless you are a pro musician or in the industry needed the latest and greatest tools...it really won't make that much difference...cerrtainly not for 8x cost.