GarretGraves

Good thing I asked. Last thing I need is to purchase something I can't really use to it's full potential. Thanks!

Ooooh but it looks so tantilizing. ...is that a word?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VSLEnsPro-e/ After hearing this demo I'm sold: and for 265?! That's 200 less then what I paid for EWQLSO Gold! I do have a few months to think about switching cause i just spent almost 600 on a Boss GT-100 and over 200 on Addictive Drums. (On top of 250 for new tires on my car, I've depleted my 1000 dollar tax refund. Finally) But I was just wondering if this is indeed worth the switch? Also is the Ensemble PRO 5's interface anything like the VSL Special Edition version? What are the differences?

Both of you, SHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I'm not so sure I've decided...or have i? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GT100 For 50 american dollars more, i can get this. I saw a couple of vids of Rob Marcello playing with this thing and sounds fricken sweet! And it seems it has some improvements and more features over the GT-10. I think this is the new child I shall adopt. EDIT: Aaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnddd the order has been made. Expected to arrive a day after my birthday. Happy birthday to me!

If it was an option I could afford, I'd buy a Mesa Boogie Mark V or Marshall JVM and mic it with a couple mics. Even though we have tech that emulates our favorite sounds, the original REAL sound is always better. I prefer hardware, true. However that doesn't mean I think software has no benefits. There's some awesome, almost synth-like sounds you can produce with GRig. And it's distortion and crunch aren't terrible. Actually you can get some decent roar out of it. I just love the warmth of an amp. So yeah it is a matter of preference. EDIT: Also, as for recording clean dry guitar first then tweaking later? I'd only do that if I want a clean guitar with effects like flanger or phaser and verb and delay. I don't like the idea of recording clean guitar then adding distortion after. For that, I HAVE to hear the distortion go from my amp through the mics to Pro Tools. It feels better.

Yeah I'm mostly a studio guy myself. But I've performed before and I kinda miss it sometimes. So I'm always open to the possibility. And I prefer to use live what I use in the studio.

I've put a lot of thought into this. It came down between Guitar Rig 5 or the Boss GT-10. And honestly, the GT-10 is winning because if I want to play live with my sound some day, it'd be easier to do with a hardware-based effects processor. That and the sound quality seems a bit better with the GT-10. I'm gonna have to go with the GT-10. Don't get me wrong. Guitar Rig has a vast amount you can do with and some awesome clean tones and effects that even John Petrucci would go crazy for. However, when it comes to distorted/crunch tones, it feels rather thin to me. Call me an audiophile, but there just seems to be something missing no matter what combination of mics and cabs and amps I use in GRig. And I've spent the last 2 or so days in my room messing with the damn thing. With the GT-10 I can either plug into my mixer and have at it or go through my amp and mic it up to see what effect it has. So there's more I can to with it than with GRig. Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Really? Cause I have Guitar Rig in pro tools setup on an instrument track and sending it through a bus to a couple audio tracks and playing two instances of the riff and panning left and right. SO Im recording audio. I can still change the sound post-print?

That sounds great! Well, it got better. http://soundcloud.com/soleparadigm/grig-demo A little ways through I realized i needed more gain. But before I could adjust it, it shut down because it was in DEMO mode. Time ran out. Damnit! Now I gotta start over. I should wrote this shit down. I'd also like to note that My guitar is in great shape. I got a liquifire and crunch lab pickup setup and the action and tonation are spot on. So Im pretty sure my axe aint the prob.

Tried that. I've been toying with this thing for hours. It seems the more I tweak the more of a mess I make and I start all over. And the cycle continues. I don't understand how you get tones like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1JXIvIE4U0 clearly you can get a tone like this with the rig. This guy even offers his tone for free but i can't import it without buying the god damn thing! And no I don't need that tone EXACTLY but that quality would be nice.

Tried it. It has some awesome clean sounds and effects. but when it comes to distortion, it feels weak. and when I try to bump the gain it gets too mooshy. however, if u use this for metal on a regular basis and have a sample of a preset you use then i'd love to hear it. cause with what i just went through it feels like it doesnt make the cut. yet i hear about others raving about guitar rig so i'd like to be proven wrong here.

Yeah I didn't have my Mackie 820i or maxed out RAM back then. The machine I have now is probably 10 times more powerful.

I demoed guitar rig without the hardware it comes with and I had huge latency issues. I'm assuming it's BECAUSE i didnt have the hardware it comes with. Although I have upgraded immensely since then so maybe it might be a viable solution. And yeah I figured there's no such thing as magic in this area of the music world and some pedal wouldn't give me the same quality as a JVM or Mark V. But I'm sure I can find better than what I've got for a more affordable price. SO far the GT-10 is winning me out. But not jumping to anything just yet.

For over a year or so now I've owned a Line 6 Spider IV 120 guitar amp and I've miked it with an sm57 and a sennheiser 421 on each 12" cone with the 421 dead center on it's cone and the 57 on axis just to the right of the center of it's cone. Along with EQ (in and out of the box between my amp, mixer and Waves EQ plug-in) I've tweaked the living shit outta my sound. Of course, the longer you've been recording over the years the more you notice certain things about your sound that you don't like. For instance, I play with some heavy distortion and there's this staticky sound that keeps annoying the crap outta me and it seems to originate between 4k and 8k. I've tried eliminating it by peaking the Q and dropping the gain around that point, but it takes away a particular presence. I tried adjusting all my EQ's or even eliminating the use of some or all of them. I've tried repostioning the mics on different parts of their cones and going off and on axis for each. For the life of me I just cannot seem to find a great, warm timbre in this thing. My conclusion is that I've raised my standard for what I'm suppose to sound like and require better gear. Line 6 has givin' me a great ride, but i've noticed that I haven't grown much between my Gearbox and the Spider IV. Both are Line 6 gear. And the sounds they provide are just no longer what I'm into. Now, before I go crazy and spend over 3000 american dollars on a JVM or a Mark V amp/stack, I wanna find a more cheaper solution. So I went shopping online and discovered the Boss GT-10 effects processor and the Boss ME-70. Heard some demos of each and they sound pretty good. But I'm curious to hear if there are any other recommended brands or other solutions to my ego problem. Thoughts?

Seems like a great technique for chords and such. But it seems a bit tough to use for riffs involving fast-picking. I'm still going back and doing takes to get those to match. It's funny cause u figure if u play it exactly the same way u did before it should be on the mark. Especially after playing with a metronome. Actually, what I've discovered is if you record the left side to the metronome then mute the left side and then record the right side to the metronome, you'll get better results. You might still have to redo a part or two but you'll be doing less of it. I do this because I find that the left side distracts me while I record the right. Probably because I'm trying to follow the left guitar while recording the right. That seems to not work as expected.

So you sliced and repositioned for every out-of-phase part? Sounds tedious but the sound is pretty solid. Did you use elastic audio at all?

Pro Tools 10 has a Stereo Width plug-in by AiR. Originally, I made two stereo audio tracks. 2 mics per track. (The two I use are the SM57 and the Sennheiser 421 and seperate 12" cones angled off axis in particular spots) I recorded 2 of the same riff(s) on each track and then pan each mic SEPERATELY on each track left and right. I try (sometimes too hard) to be like John Petrucci so I try to play some of the craziest shit possible with odd meters and fast paced picking. It's really REALLY hard to do this twice in the same manner. Take after take after take and patching up regions that stray off the mark just enough to be noticeable. Experimenting with the Stereo Width plug-in, I've managed to get JUST SHY of the same effect with just the one take. I muted one of the stereo tracks and made the other one split into mono and used the plug-in on EACH of the mono tracks and did some tweaking. It uses delay like you guys mentioned and it'll only use delay up to 8ms. ONLY 8! It aint too bad either. Comparing the the song I mentioned before (Lost not Forgotten by Dream Theater) the stereo "spread" if you will is not far off at all.

I have a related question. Is there any other way to make the guitar more wider other than recording two identicle rhythms on either speaker? I know it's been asked before but I cant find the thread it was on. I listen to a lot of Dream Theater and John Petrucci played some of the craziest riffs i've ever heard him play (IE, "Lost Not Forgotten" off their A Dramatic Turn of Events CD) and the guitar sounded so solid and coming through both speakers and sounded as if one guitar was recorded only once. Is there some other trick to it or is JP just that awesome as to play the same riff in the exact same way twice?

Tried downloading them but it says page not found.

Haven't bought anything yet. But thanks for the reference. Now I got a tough choice to make.

I'm sure if I try and adapt to the clips then i'd see the advantage. But I've developed such a routine ("pattern" if you will) and it's hard coded within my process. It's just more work I guess. I'll try using them on the next song I do for the project.

That's perfect! Exactly what I need! I love Pink Floyd and King Crimson and Dream Theater so I'm hella excited about this! And for 119 buckS?! Awesome! Thanks!

As with every year, Christmas has made me rich. Looking to spend on a good organ patch to load in FL10. Anyone have any recommendations? Rock organs, Plenums, etc. is what I need.

Tried that. Turns out you have to have content in that pattern before you can lock it. It wont let me create locks for blank patterns. It is a matter of preference. I like the pattern blocks. And I just dont see the harm in leaving the option to have them in. As for the ABC piano, yeah that is pretty annoying, but if there's a hotkey to switch it back to graphic then it's really not that big an issue.

I've been toying around with FL 10 for about a week now and just yesterday learned how to use their new version of the playlist. ("Locking to content" for each 'track' as you go if you're use to using pattern blocks) Is anyone else annoyed with how that's done? I understand they tried to put everything on one screen, but it seems such an inconvenience for people use to using pattern blocks. I had to do some digging to get the old pattern block playlist back on my screen. (General settings>Enable legacy pattern blocks)When I did that it gave me a message saying, "Pattern instances (blocks) are obsolete and will not appear in future versions." I don't know about anyone else, but that makes me never wanna upgrade again. I've been using pattern blocks since early 2000's or so. Such a switch would stall my workflow. Not make it better. Having to right click on every track as I go to lock it's content just adds extra frustration. Can't they just keep the best of both worlds and leave the option in to use pattern blocks? Anyone else feel the same way?