The Dreaded "V" Word

Ok, let's just get it out in the open, I'm going to say the dreaded "V" word. Ready?

------ Virtual Amp ------

There, now I know as a guitarist you are probably cringing in your chair and about to click on that Sweetwater ad you got via email this morning, right?
Well as awesome as I think Sweetwater is, I ask you to give this blog entry a read and check out the video below featuring a guy who is/was just like you.

Brad (guy in the video) and I have been using real physical amps all of our lives. The ever popular

Marshall JCM800 head with a 4x12 half stack, or back in the 80's 4 full stacks and 4 JCM800's.
Sheesh was that expensive!
Among other heads, amplifiers, cabinets, pedals, etc.

Remember when you'd pack all your equipment in your 86 Ford Fiesta and then some wine-o at the club you were playing would tell you that you need a bigger tour bus? or did that only happen to me? In any case, Brad here lets us know just how tired of lugging amps around he is, yet also how reluctant he is to trust a virtual amp to come up with the right sound, feel, trouble free operations and characteristics.

Most people who are new to virtual amps have a couple common concerns.

1. How can this virtual amp possibly sound as good as a physical one
2. How about the ability to get controlled feedback from amp to guitar pickup?

For the first question, I usually give them this bit of info. These days, most guitarists use a processor pedal of some type, plugged into a power amp which runs the cabinets. Well, those processors are loaded with virtual amps, just like Mixcraft or other daws. So trusting their ability to sound professional is just a matter of getting used to the idea.

The second concern is easy. You can walk up to your cabinet while running a virtual amp and get

controlled feedback no differently than you did with the physical amp head. Sound is sound, and if you loop an action and it's effect, it will feed back.

Enter the world of virtual amps! Yes, they actually sound great and are a fraction of the price of physical amps. Some are even free! Not to mention that many guitarists in national bands use them in favor of traditional amps these days.

I've created a video below which contrasts virtual amps with physical amps. I've recorded myself playing the same riff on four different setups.

1. Rocktron Maxe preamp>Peavey CS800 Power amp>Crate 4x12 cabinet
2. Shred running on a laptop>Peavey CS800 Power amp>Crate 4x12 cabinet
3. Line 6 POD HD500X Guitar Processor Pedal>Peavey CS800 Power amp>Crate 4x12 cabinet
4. Guitar>Audio Interface>Directly into computer running Shred

Check it out and see if you can tell which are virtual and which are physical.

Speaking of free virtual amps, Mixcraft from Acoustica comes with a virtual amp call "Shred" which

has loads of presets meant to mimic specific tones from well known guitarists, or the tones that you used to only get by purchasing a specific physical amp or head. I actaully use Shred more than any other virtual amp I own.

A few key points to keep in mind about virtual amps

• One suite (product) usually has dozens if not hundreds of combinations of heads, cabinets, microphones, etc. to choose from and customize , so the possibilities are just about endless.
• Any virtual amp that comes in the form of a VST2 or VST3 plugin, 32 or 64 bit, will work right inside a daw like Mixcraft. Most do come in these formats, in fact I have yet to run across one that doesn't.
• They weigh next to nothing and won't fill up your Ford Fiesta :-)
• The cost is a fraction of hardware costs.

Here's a list of my favorite virtual amp plugins that will work with daws like Mixcraft.

• Shred (Comes with Mixcraft)
• Amplitube
• S-Gear
• Guitar Rig
• Peavey Revalver
• Studio Devil VBA Pro (Bass amp)
• Cerberus (Bass amp)
• BIAS Amp

Here are a bunch of cover songs which use only virtual amps. I love recording covers to teach myself new mixing techniques!

Old School Guitarist with a New Found Love

Old School Guitarist with a New Found Love

Buddy: "Hey man check out this picture of me when I was younger."

Me: "Umm, every picture of you is from when you were younger."

The moral of that short joke is that we're never going to be younger than we are today, time moves

forward and technology changes. If you are like the guy in the video below (Jeff Payne), you might be a seasoned musician who once upon a time, recorded on a 4-track tape machine, or even an 8-track or 16-track reel to reel. Back when it was necessary to either pay out the wazoo for professional studio time, or buy loads of expensive equipment and try recording at home. How much would that cost you in equalizers, compression units, effects, mixer, A.D.A.T. machine, reel to reel... Ugg, I cannot bear to remember the home equity loan I took out for that crap in the 90's.

So what's my point with all this painful home equity loan talk? My point is that if you're like Jeff, you might be hesitant to try recording using your PC and a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), aka recording software, for fear of it being too complex or the notorious ID10T error (you might mess up your computer).

I'm here to tell you that it's much easier than you think and even you can produce some awesome tracks with minimal learning curves.

"Jeff is definitely more comfortable with a guitar than he is with a mouse". One of the quotes from the video that holds absolutely true, even to this day as he uses Mixcraft regularly. The good news that he's trying to tell you is that you can keep being terrible with a computer, but produce great mixes with Mixcraft at the same time!

Jeff Payne, starring in "Mixcraft For Guitarists - Reluctant Guitarist Changes Tune"

When I chose Jeff as the subject of that video, I knew he'd be a challenge but I also knew that if I could convert him, I could convert anybody. That means you, you old shredder ;-)

What you need

• Windows computer which uses Windows XP or higher. Preferable Windows 7 or Windows 10 (I never did like the number 8)
• Mixcraft Home, Studio, Reocrding Studio or Pro Studio 8 or higher.
• An audio interface.
• Miscellaneous cables, a microphone and your instrument.

Step-By-Step

Assuming you've already got the instruments, cabling and a decent PC.

1. Head over to Acoustica.com and grab either the free trial or a licensed copy of Mixcraft.
2. Get a decent audio interface. If you only plan to record your vocal and a guitar simultaneously, then any 2-4 channel interface will do. If you are going to record a drum set, get a bigger one.
3. Install both Mixcraft and the interface onto your computer. (Tip: Use the ASIO driver that comes with your interface)
4. Connect your microphones, guitar, keyboard, etc. to the interface
5. Arm as many tracks as you need within Mixcraft, using the various input options for your interface.
6. Hit record, and rock!

Bonus Video

Jeff is in a band these days called "The 99". Check out their video for a song called "Loud & Clear" off their full length studio album, done entirely in Mixcraft 8.