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Getting a good bass tone is so hard for me, (probably because I use samples rather than record an actual bass) but I like using Guitar Rig for bass. I try to get that clean/overdriven layered sound but I never seem to get it juuust right. Drives me crazy sometimes.

Chords and chord changes. Build up some strength. Take a song like Highway to Hell, Back in Black, or even something like Green Day's Good Riddance, songs with easy chords and easy progressions. Practice them over and over until you're able to fret chords cleanly and change them quickly.

Yea, Reaper can use VST plugins. It's a pretty great DAW and not just because it's so cheap.

There are instructions on the Beta forum, though.

Happy birthday YEEAAAAH!

First I'd go here and buy the Mesa Rectifier 4x12 pack for $10. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. Second, TH1 has its own impulse loader built in, so you don't need to use keFIR. The system in TH1 is even better since it allows you to load two impulses at once and you can have two impulse systems loaded letting you mix 4 impulse files. Third, just take your time. Crafting a good tone takes patience and lots of experimentation at first. Once you pretty much know what settings get you the tone you want, it's easier to set up new presets.

The mic issue can be a pain to fix. Set your main microphone exactly where you want it, then move your second mic into place. If the second mic is even the tiniest bit closer or further away from the speaker, you'll be out of phase. Another way to fix it is in your DAW by manually moving the track left or right until the two tracks match up perfectly. You'll have to really zoom in and make the tiniest adjustments. The attenuator thing is very cool. THD Hotplates cost around $300-350 for 8 ohms. There is also something called a Weber Mass which is usually under $200. Both work very well.

I saw that a couple of days ago but haven't tried it. Seems pretty cool, stand alone Dual Rectifier model. Looks like it actually models the older 2 channel amp. Interesting. I'll have to check it out. Also, I do agree that putting microphones on a good amp will sound better than a digital modeler but it's not as easy as Brandon makes it seem. If you don't have a good mic and a decent preamp in a good, treated room where you're able to push the amp hard enough to get the speakers to move air, you're not going to get a good sound. Brandon's clip sounds like a tube amp, yeah. It sounds lively and organic, but there are touches of comb filtering and phasing from using two mics and not taking the time to make sure they're in phase, there are bad reflections from the room, and the tone itself is very boxy like the speakers had no room to breathe. Sure, you can run it through a bunch of equalizer and compression plugins, but then your tone will just end up being as digital as any modelling software. What I like to do is run my amp heads into something like a THD Hotplate, which is an attenuator and a dummy load. This let's you turn on the amp while not having speakers connected without blowing up your amp. You take the line out of the Hotplate and plug into your DAW, then use quality speaker cabinet impulses like those from Redwirez. Then you get the organic qualities of a living, breathing tube amp, the ability to crank it to 10 without bothering the neighbors, and you get the benefit of professionally recording speaker cabinets in a controlled studio space using microphones and other outboard gear that you could probably never be able to afford in a lifetime.

There was no EQ or compression.

I recorded a boatload of pinch squeals for Shreddage. They're very pinchy and very squealy, so go buy Shreddage for sure.

[18:11] <Brandon> Studio Devil and TH1 are my top-shelf amp sim things, but they still dont beat out a properly mic'ed half stack [18:12] <+sixto|cubase> i'd put any of my th1 tones up against any of your mic'd amp tones Sorry to hijack your thread, Luiza! Anyway, here's my take on that riff using Overloud TH1. Funny you should say that because that's pretty much how tube amps react. That's why alot of metal players like to stick an overdrive pedal in front of their amps.

Okay! I've tried them all and I like each one for certain things. Guitar Rig 4 has my favorite JCM800 and JMP sounds as well as really spot-on Fender Twin and Vox AC30 models. This is my go-to software for clean tones. Simply hate the higher gain amps like the Gratifier and the Uberschall model, though. Guitar Rig 4 also has the coolest tape echo model I've ever heard. I love using it in full stereo. Amplitube 3 has great Fender models in them, perfect for clean stuff. I also like the JCM 900 and 800 models pretty well. Really dislike the other high gain models. They do have really good pedal models, though, especially the overdrives and distortions. Waves GTR? Well, they have really nice clean sounds but most of the overdrive/distortion tones sound really bad like they're focused around the 3-4kHz area. Good quality Waves effects, though. Revalver MK III has really good Peavey amp models if that's what you're into. Especially the JSX model. The non-Peavey models are pretty mediocre to me, though you can do a hell of alot of tweaking to find a good sound. That's probably what Revalver is best at. The endless amount of tweaking you can do. Pretty good pedal models, too, but what I like most is being able to add your own VST plugins anywhere in the signal chain. Very useful. Line 6's POD Farm software is neat as well. Tons of guitar AND bass amps and effects, easy to dial in a fairly good tone, pretty good mic preamp models, too. The Line 6 tones sound too digital to my ears at times, but it's pretty easy to cover some of that up in a full mix. My favorite software by FAR for high gain tones has to be TH1 Overloud. Best digital high gain amp models I've ever heard, especially the Mesa Rectifier model. They model almost EVERYTHING from the amp. All three channels and every mode available on each channel. Its 5150 model is also pretty terrific and the effects are top-notch. This is probably the only amp sim software that includes an EQ with low and high pass filtering. Anyway, tl;dr. They're all lovely!

If you're not plugging into an amp and speakers or using a digital amp sim plugin you're going to want some kind of high end roll-off or a lo-pass filter otherwise you're going to have nasty, uncontrollable fizz. If you want something cheap take a look at Behringer pedals. Here's a Tube Screamer overdrive clone and here's a distortion/feedback pedal.

Weeeell, not too many guitars come stock with the kind of switching that's available on the Guthrie Govan Model (Fishy was just telling me minutes ago about the "Blower" switch and it sounds really cool) except for some of the Carvin guitars. You can get phase and coil-splitting switches installed. You might be interested in this model here. That model with a mahogany body, maple through-body neck, bookmatched flame-maple top with a ruby red stain and blackburst edges, Floyd Rose tremolo with a locking nut, abalone dot inlays on a maple fretboard, 2 coil splitting switches and a phase switch, including a form-fitted hardshell case will go for $1,299.00 (£835.14). I've never tried Carvin guitars myself but I only hear good things about them.

Torchlight with gamepad support (which is actually coming to consoles!!!). Also, Brutal Legend with less RTS-based and more action-based battles.

Hip Tanaka says "Happy Birthday, Yngwie!"

Niiiiiiiice! I loved the 3 PS3 releases. I'm ready for more!

I woke up maybe 20 minutes before 8am and right away I was thirsty as hell. It was grueling but I MADE IT. 12+ hours with no food or water or getting pissed or any of that stuff. Soon as it was 8:14pm I must have drank close to a gallon of water and ice in less than 5 minutes. All in all it was a good experience. Self control is eggsellent.

Happy birthday from your friend SIXTO.

I just watched this MINUTES ago. Soooo awesome. Would see it again and again and again.

http://www.theartsmusicstore.com/lespaulstylerestring.htm Took me 5 seconds to Google that.

Idunno about the Satch combo. That bridge pickup is pretty much what makes Satch sound like Satch. Almost like a wah pedal stuck halfway up. The typical Seymour Duncan setup is a JB in the bridge and a Jazz in the neck. Good setup for all styles of music. I liked it in my old Les Paul.

Studio music. Too many bands get help from the "ProTools" treatment and it becomes painfully obviously in a live show.

Oooooookay, I'm in for Saturday.