Anyone playing amp sims live?
- Thread starter ParsonsMatt
- Start date
many years ago 
, at the time when guitar rig 1 was released, i played it live one time at a small local gig,
old Laptop with Win Xp Home, about 768MB Memory,, Behringer FCB1010 Midi Floor Controller, and a Tascam US-122 USB Soundcard,
it worked not so bad, the only annoying thing was that i had somehow a groundloop hum from my laptop into the PA
that could only get rid of when using the laptop via battery, but the battery was not so strong, so i had to go with that hum
and to get rid of the SwitchingTime between Clean and Distortion Tone, i made 2 different rigs in one Preset, but with a A/B Blender in it,
Rig A, was the clean, Rig B the Distortion
Saved in 2 Presets:
1 and 2
Preset 1, the Blender was set full at A
Preset 2, the the Blender was set full at B
so when switching back and forth from a to b, only the blender value changed, and the software havnt had to reload the rigs
it was very comfortable because it was an easy and fast live rig, no long setup times, no heavy weigth.
, at the time when guitar rig 1 was released, i played it live one time at a small local gig,old Laptop with Win Xp Home, about 768MB Memory,, Behringer FCB1010 Midi Floor Controller, and a Tascam US-122 USB Soundcard,
it worked not so bad, the only annoying thing was that i had somehow a groundloop hum from my laptop into the PA
that could only get rid of when using the laptop via battery, but the battery was not so strong, so i had to go with that hum
and to get rid of the SwitchingTime between Clean and Distortion Tone, i made 2 different rigs in one Preset, but with a A/B Blender in it,
Rig A, was the clean, Rig B the Distortion
Saved in 2 Presets:
1 and 2
Preset 1, the Blender was set full at A
Preset 2, the the Blender was set full at B
so when switching back and forth from a to b, only the blender value changed, and the software havnt had to reload the rigs
it was very comfortable because it was an easy and fast live rig, no long setup times, no heavy weigth.
My bandmate uses amp sims live and in practice. He posts here under the name if6was9. He basically runs through a firepod into his PC with the output going in a SS poweramp and into his cab. He only uses free ampsims for the job, he was using Wagner but has switched to some of the newer Nick Crow ones. People are always commenting on how interesting the setup is and how good it sounds. It so versatile a setup, you can get an amazing clean tone from it too by using loads of reverbs/delays and stuff.
yes indeed, such a setup can be extremly versatile,
for example
if your soundcard has 2 HI-Z Inputs you can use a simple A/B Splitter Footswitch (Like Little Lehle) to split the guitar Signal to one of the two inputs
in your vst host you are running 2 instances of your choosen amp sims and effects, and route them all togther to the same output,
and for example, you have a delay on one instance, and you switch with the a/b box, the delay will not be cutted off
you could also programm that all in your vst-host internal and switch via midi, with programs like "ploque bidule" it works like a charm.
for example
if your soundcard has 2 HI-Z Inputs you can use a simple A/B Splitter Footswitch (Like Little Lehle) to split the guitar Signal to one of the two inputs
in your vst host you are running 2 instances of your choosen amp sims and effects, and route them all togther to the same output,
and for example, you have a delay on one instance, and you switch with the a/b box, the delay will not be cutted off
you could also programm that all in your vst-host internal and switch via midi, with programs like "ploque bidule" it works like a charm.
Flat Fifth Fury
Member
My current rig is direct. It's an 8 space rack based on a POD XTpro. I hand the FOH two XLR's and we are set to go. Except for differences in PA and room tone my sound is totally consistent from night to night. I get my monitor mix and all is well. Certainly for small gigs it beats the pants off of my old double 1/2 stack and 12 space rack rig.
DanLights
Santa Hat Forever
yeah this is what I'm aiming to do with my bass setup with my bass v-amp. Except I send one output to the FOH dude and the other output I plug it to whatever amp they have on stage for monitoring purposes. Will try that our for the first time in two weeks on a gig
supahd
Member
- Aug 5, 2008
- 74
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StefTD
Member
nah, they used the Fractal Audio Axe-Fx (not really sure about Meshuggah, but I think they did).
I did it very often, Wagner Sharp into my old Engl 30/30 poweramp and than into my cabinet, sounded really good.
Played with my laptop and Ampeg SVX at a rehearsal once through the pa, the pa was halfway good and the sound with Ampeg SVX was fucking nice.
I did it very often, Wagner Sharp into my old Engl 30/30 poweramp and than into my cabinet, sounded really good.
Played with my laptop and Ampeg SVX at a rehearsal once through the pa, the pa was halfway good and the sound with Ampeg SVX was fucking nice.
TheDriller
Member
digitaldeath
Member
Just curious...how?
I just don't trust laptops enough to use them live. My old band tried to push me into using one live so I could trigger drum samples etc. but I was just against it. As a drummer, I've enough shit to be carrying around anyways!
If I were to play guitar on stage, I'd use a POD or Axe-Fx etc. but I'd defo use in-ear monitors too.
Edit: The guitarist in my old band use a Pod XT Pro live, sounded shit when the cab was miced IMO - probably would've been best to go direct to the PA really.
if your laptop is setup for audio use only and you set your amp sims, fx, etc so that you are always in a safe cpu usage area only, it shouldnt be a problem, of course the vsts you use needs to be stable in itself, but thats something you can test, at home or rehearsal,
i have used my laptop on several experimental/noise music gigs and sessions and it never crashed or had problems, and sometimes the cpu load was in a very critical high area.
but i do you understand very well, if i would play in front of a big audience i wouldnt take a risk neither.
cheers
digitaldeath
Member
I meant, how did he hear it live (I quoted him)? I'm unaware if he's another Irish Sneapster is all!
TheDriller
Member
how else?
great player and a great guitar through a great sim into a great cab.
and he knows how to dial in a tone, unlike half the schmuck "guitarists" out there.
Edit: just saw the post above ^,
yeah i attended the same college course as him and have seen his band too many times to count.they just keep getting better and better.
digitaldeath
Member
how else?
great player and a great guitar through a great sim into a great cab.
and he knows how to dial in a tone, unlike half the schmuck "guitarists" out there.
Edit: just saw the post above ^,
they just keep getting better and better.
Cool, haven't seen 'em live myself yet. I've only played in Limerick a handful of times really.
DanLights
Santa Hat Forever
personally, I'm going for using the amp sim (in my case a bass v-amp) direct to PA, with a secondary output to the real amp on stage for monitoring AND in-ear monitoring, just in case. can't go wrong with all that security hahaha. I'd use the in-ear mainly because one of my bands uses sequenced keyboards
P.S. it's either a pod xt live or a pod xt pro, never heard of a "Pod Xt Pro live". just pointing it out
digitaldeath
Member
P.S. it's either a pod xt live or a pod xt pro, never heard of a "Pod Xt Pro live". just pointing it out
Jesus Christ, everyone seems to be taking everything I say wrong - I meant when playing with the Pod XT Pro on stage/in front of an audience ie. He used a Pod XT Pro when playing live (hence capitalisation when saying Pod XT Pro but not on the word 'live').
Well, next practice I will be giving the laptop rig a shot. Here's hoping it works! I may be selling my cabinet...
