New Song - Wait a minute

[Glennbo]

Inspired by the "Amp Sims vs. Real Amps" threads, I decided to play around with Guitar Rig a bit. I never use amp sims, and only have this because it came with Komplete.

Anyway, I'm playing four guitars (2 Gibson tracks, a 12-String, and a Strat) plus bass, each through their own instance of Guitar Rig.

I didn't use any of the presets in Guitar Rig and instead built my own from scratch. To add to the limitations I was intentionally imposing on this project, I also played the drums from a midi keyboard, even though I have a real set mic'd up and ready to go.

Basically I wanted to see if using amp sims and keyboard drums would limit my creativity. I've always had the attitude that if you can hit, pick, or strum something and it makes noise, then it's fair game to make music with. Here's the end result of my experiment.

I call it "Wait a Minute" at:

https://www.soundclick.com/html5/v4/...ongID=13790607
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[Jeffsounds]

Sounds good! Nice job! I think the snare could come up just a tad but other than that, I like it!

[karbomusic]

Nice! How'd the SIM thing go, any thoughts/comments on that experience? GR doesn't bother me that much but I've never tried it on an actual song which is really what matters. I occasionally pull it up and jam on it but I agree the presets aren't the place to start. I should try it on an actual production sometime which I've just never got around to doing, so many damn toys so little time.

[Glennbo]

Originally Posted by Jeffsounds

Sounds good! Nice job! I think the snare could come up just a tad but other than that, I like it!

Thanks Jeff. I did a remix and nudged the snare a bit in volume, and decompressed the bass a bit. I had it too squashed.

[Glennbo]

Originally Posted by karbomusic

Nice! How'd the SIM thing go, any thoughts/comments on that experience? GR doesn't bother me that much but I've never tried it on an actual song which is really what matters. I occasionally pull it up and jam on it but I agree the presets aren't the place to start. I should try it on an actual production sometime which I've just never got around to doing, so many damn toys so little time.

There is a warm fuzziness that is missing in the sims, but by no means are they unusable. I kind of think of it as being the difference between the "cool" preset on a video monitor vs. the "warm" preset, only with audio.

That said, I dialed up stuff with GR until I had sounds that I thought were similar to the sounds I use with the real amp, and to the point that it was fun and inspiring to play through those sounds.

I still don't get how you can play guitar plugged in direct with no effects or coloration. I would get instantly uninspired to play something, but I guess in your case you know what you are going to play and have parts already composed, where I do it as I record it.

[karbomusic]

Originally Posted by Glennbo

, but I guess in your case you know what you are going to play and have parts already composed, where I do it as I record it.

If it's something I/we've already written and rehearsed I probably have but otherwise, I don't prepare as well as I should. There are two sides to that, one is either being lazy or impatient, and the other is my more creative ideas tend to occur when I'm not trying to be deliberate so almost everything I have recorded that doesn't have proper vocals and lyrics is a jam in one form or another.

I'm off work for the next 10 days so I might take a couple hours and bang a quick improv'ish jam out before its over and use GR to see what happens.

[morgon]

That lead gtr sound is familiar to me as I use the GR Vox emulator quite a bit and of late the similar sounding S-Gear 70's Overdrive preset. Nice job all around, cheers.

[barrymk]

Sounds like a musician playing. I once watched a lead guitarist in a band I was in hand over his brand new Kramer (which sounded as bad as his crappy RocJet) to the singer's boyfriend who just made the damn thing cry with the same settings. It's not so much what you use but how you use it.

[Glennbo]

Originally Posted by morgon

That lead gtr sound is familiar to me as I use the GR Vox emulator quite a bit and of late the similar sounding S-Gear 70's Overdrive preset. Nice job all around, cheers.

Thanks Morgon. I normally play through a low watt Orange tube amp head driving a vintage Gretsch twin twelve Jensen speaker cab that is mic'd up with a Sennheiser MD421 in the closet for isolation.

I decided to mess around with GR since I have it, and after dialing up some tones I liked, decided to try recording with it. The Fender and Vox sims are my favorites so far.

[Glennbo]

Originally Posted by barrymk

Sounds like a musician playing. I once watched a lead guitarist in a band I was in hand over his brand new Kramer (which sounded as bad as his crappy RocJet) to the singer's boyfriend who just made the damn thing cry with the same settings. It's not so much what you use but how you use it.

Thanks Barry. You are absolutely right about who has the guitar having an effect on how it will ultimately sound. A guitarist I used to work with a lot before he passed away, was such a great player, he used a crappy $100 guitar that I have on a song once and it sounded like a million bucks with him playing it.

[Jeffsounds]

Originally Posted by Glennbo

Thanks Jeff. I did a remix and nudged the snare a bit in volume, and decompressed the bass a bit. I had it too squashed.

It sounds about perfect now! Good job! Think I'll just let it play your stuff for awhile...