TheGuitarHero Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I know I pretty much asked the same question a few months back but this time I'm gonna go into more detail, because right now I am very serious about buying one. I need a guitar synth software that is very realistic sounding. especially with sweeps and finger tapping. It also has to work in fl studio 7. I want something very manual. something that I can adjust the amount of palm muting, strength of the picking, speed and timing of a vibrato ect... this is not essential, but I would also like it to synthesize bass guitars ministry of rock sounds very promising but I dint know if I'm spending extra for the drum samples and distortion, which I wont use anyways. I would like to spend something around $300 - $400. but if it makes a significant difference, I'll spend up to $500. I would like the recommendations to come from people who have experience with guitar synths. or even better, both guitar synths and real guitars. thanks in advance, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tensei Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqGJ8y67SU8 As a guitarist I can safely say Prominy LPC is the closest I've hear a synth come to a real guitar. It's $350 for either the clean or the distorted version and $600 for the full version, though I'd personally only buy the distorted version (mostly because I almost never use clean guitar). As far as I can tell from the video it has a good variation between PMed and open notes, harmonics, vibrato, legato and basically everything you asked for. http://www.prominy.com/les.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGuitarHero Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 holy crap! I watched the video and that is simply incredible. I think I'll pick it up this weekend. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I wish there was a good guitar synth built in, Slayer (Fruity's default guitar) is downright dreadful, pretty much good for anything but guitar sounds, it does have it's uses, but it rarely works for an actual guitar riff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I advise AGAINST the distorted version of Prominy. Get the clean and run it through software amp sims. Otherwise you're stuck with a single tone that you can never change. There are a number of great free amp sims (like the Simulanalog suite) not to mention all the stuff like Amplitube, Gearbox, and Guitar Rig, plus lower-cost/cut down versions of these plugins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanthos Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Seconded on zircon's opinion. For that matter, you can still, I think, get Guitar Rig at an upgrade price from Native Instrument's website if you buy any one of their single amp simulators and register it first; that's how I got my copy. and it worked out to big savings over the full version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tensei Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I'm going to be a dick here and say that the clean guitar version is still not the way I would go with this. Yes, you can create your own tone by using custom amps, but first of all, the site states that the clean samples have been recorded with a realistic amount of room ambiance, which is NOT something you want to hear through your amp. My second problem with clean samples through a distorted amp is the fact that the clean samples will MOST LIKELY (Correct me on this if I'm wrong) be recorded with a clean guitar in mind, thus you won't hear typical high gain effects along the lines of pickslides, unison bends, whammy bar antics and artifical/pinch harmonics. They may seem a bit futile, but believe me that these techniques are VERY important for anything resembling a convincing lead, and I'm quite sure you would be missing out on these if you go the clean guitar->amp modeller way. And finally, how often do you need to dial in another tone? I can confidently say that most recordings in one musical style, I've been using the same guitar tone, with often just some minor tweaks like less/more gain, a bit different EQing and if necessary added stompbox effects along the lines of Phasers, delay, reverb etc. Most of the variety comes from the post-processing. My point is, every guitarist has his own favorite tone, and won't deviate a whole lot from it on any short term. Yes, you might not be able to dial in some bluesy tweed tones, but you can definitely apply minor tweaks to the tone where necessary, so I guess it really depends on kind of music you want to make. In the end I guess it comes down to versatility vs. realism. Anyway, my 2 cents on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Most guitarists I know actually change their tone all the time... I'm not even a guitarist and every song I've done that has used guitar has a slightly different tone (though I can only change so much with Lyrical Distortion.) So I'd say it's extremely important to have that flexibility. Maybe if you only do ONE style, one distorted tone is OK, but look at Sixto... he uses a different setup with every track he does, pretty much, even ones that are in the same style. Plus as far as I'm aware, the clean samples are the same as the distorted, except they're just not recorded through the amp. Seems like if they recorded 140,000 samples that they wouldn't RE-record everything for the distortion version. I could be wrong on this, but I dunno, seems like a lot of extra work for them. Plus "natural room environment" does not necessarily mean a lot of ambiance... so logically you should be able to reproduce all of the sounds by amping the clean library, no problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Don't get the distorted version over the clean, you'll get better tone all around by amping the clean files. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGuitarHero Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 I was actually planning on getting the clean version since I already have guitar rig 2. Im guessing it has everything that the distorted version has, just without a distortion software built in right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Yes. But it's not a "distortion software"... the samples themselves are just pre-distorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanthos Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Meaning that if you don't like the distortion, good luck trying to get something different out of the samples that doesn't sound muddy. ESPECIALLY since you have GR2, clean samples will be better. As Tensei points out, it's admittedly not as good as having samples recorded by plugging a guitar directly into a recording device; the samples will take on some of the characteristics of the room. Both sets of samples are limited; I just think the clean version will be less limiting given what you have (GR2) and what you seem to want to do with it. If you have the cash, by all means buy both versions, but if you can only afford one, I'd go with clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vurez Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I have both. I got them pretty much when they first came out and I must say I rarely use the distorted version at all. The clean version usually ends up sounding much more real after going through an amp/effects processor so I go with that one. I must warn the library is huge and is a memory hog. It's also kind of a pain to sequence with as well even though it's the best sounding electric guitar library out at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephyr Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Sorry for hijacking the thread, but I was wondering what your opinions are of the sample fusion guitar samples, I haven't gotten around to trying them yet, but since I'm a beggining re-mixer I'm not quite hardcore enough to buy any of those sample sets, and some of the samplefusion ones are free for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tensei Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I have both. I got them pretty much when they first came out and I must say I rarely use the distorted version at all. The clean version usually ends up sounding much more real after going through an amp/effects processor so I go with that one. I must warn the library is huge and is a memory hog. It's also kind of a pain to sequence with as well even though it's the best sounding electric guitar library out at the moment. Out of interest, (because your post pretty much proves I was wrong) are the clean samples really exactly the same as the distorted ones, except not recorded through a distorted amp? I'm still wondering about whether the guitar techniques that would only sound right on high gain (pinch harmonics, pickslides and the like) are present in the clean library as well. I guess it depends on whether the creator made the library with the usage of amp simulators in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vurez Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Out of interest, (because your post pretty much proves I was wrong) are the clean samples really exactly the same as the distorted ones, except not recorded through a distorted amp? I'm still wondering about whether the guitar techniques that would only sound right on high gain (pinch harmonics, pickslides and the like) are present in the clean library as well. I guess it depends on whether the creator made the library with the usage of amp simulators in mind. They are pretty much the same. You can swap out the sample patches between the two libraries without totally changing anything. What I mean is, you can sequence something using the clean guitar and then if you want you can load the distorted version instead and nothing majorly changes aside from the tone of the distortion samples. I can't remember if the distorted version had a few extra patches or not though. I'll have to look at it again and let you know. I don't use it that much as it can be a bit of a headache with all the different patches you need to use to get a convincing sound. I do wonder if someone could make a good guitar library that works like Garritan's Stradivari Violin. As far as what zircon stated, I'm pretty sure the creator of the library said the distortion is a seperate recording and not just the clean samples put through an amp/effects processor. I could be wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 What about Virtual Guitarist 2 or Amplitube? In fact, I'm pretty sure I remember you use the latter, Zircon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Amplitube is a VST effect; a simulation of various guitar amps, cabs, pedals, and effects. It does not actually produce sound on its own; eg. it's not an instrument. VG2 is pretty cool for rhythm parts, from what I hear, but I don't think you get a lot of control over the phrasing... then again I haven't used it. Check the video & audio demos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunahorum Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 is there anything that sounds like a guitar like in your tal tal mountain heights remix zircon? Is that a zebra or vanguard patch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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