Showing posts with label home studio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home studio. Show all posts

RODE NT1A Cardioid Condenser Microphone Review

RODE NT1A Cardioid Condenser Microphone
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If you are in to producing/engineering and want a super mean condensor mic without spending alot of cash, this is one to get; very cheap with an extremely expensive sound. It does not have any polar switches or any built in eq's, but most all DAW's do have eq's and phase reverse abilities. Plus, its better to cut freq's that are there, then to try and boost freq's that aren't there; the latter is impossible actually. I'm telling you, don't let the price tag throw you off; this baby makes everything sound good. I've used it on vocals, acoustic guitars, drums as an overhead/ride mic as well as a room mic for ambience. I also have a matched pair of NT 5's that are also absolutely amazing. Rode is a great Australian company that makes amazing mics with a 10 year warranty; yep...10 years. Get one, you won't be dissapointed. Remember though, bad acoustics = bad recording sound.

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The original NT1 was voted "Best Microphone at Any Price" by the editors of Electronic Musician magazine. The NT1A delivers performance usually associated with higher priced microphones. Features: large capsule (1") with gold-plated membrane; cardioid polar pattern; ultra low noise, transformerless circuitry; state of the art surface mount electronics; heavy-duty satin-nickel finish; internal shock mounting system; gold plated output connectors; true condenser (externally biased); full frequency response. The NT1A will blow you away! Ultra low-noise, transformerless circuitry.Cardioid polar pattern.Large capsule (1") with gold-plated membrane.Surface mount electronics.Heavy-duty satin-nickel finish.Internal shock mounting system.Gold plated output connectors.True condenser design (externally biased). WARRANTYAll RODE products are warrantied for 1 year from the date of purchase. Your purchase may be registered ?on-line? or by mailing the warranty card. The RODE Warranty covers parts and labour that may be required to repair the microphone during the warranty period.The Warranty excludes defects caused by normal wear, modification, shipping damage or failure to use the microphone as per RODE's Instruction Guide.

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ART Pro MPAII Microphone Preamplifier Review

ART Pro MPAII Microphone Preamplifier
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Can you find a better sounding mic pre with more functionality than the ART Pro MPAII? Absolutely. Can you find a better mic pre anywhere near this price range? Not in my experience.
The controls are intuitive and the sound is excellent. My only two complaints are:
1.) The stock tubes that come with this unit are CHEAP. If you get this, I would recommend ordering a pair of high quality tubes as well. I went with TungSol 12AX7 Gold Pin tubes, and the difference in sound was substantial. l'd probably have bumped my rating up to 5 stars if the stock tubes had been better.
2.) It would have been nice if ART had put the XLR inputs on the front of the unit next to the 1/4 inch inputs. As it stands, the XLR inputs are on the rear. I have my components mounted in a stationary rack integrated into a desk, and hooking up mics can be a bit of a chore. This is a small complaint, but it's something to be considered.
Beyond that, this is a great buy for someone looking to see big improvements in their sound without spending vast sums of money.

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CAD Large Diaphragm Supercardioid Condenser Review

CAD Large Diaphragm Supercardioid Condenser
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I have a modest home studio, and my recordings have received kind comments from listeners and fellow engineers alike. Though I am on a budget like almost everyone else, I take my equipment seriously, and believe that one is better off saving for what will deliver widely-recognized quality, rather than trying to economize by buying the minimum you need to get a recording done. When you buy too cheap, you often end up spending 3x what you would have spent (for the good stuff) in money lost through trade-ups--because you just can't get happy.
My personal philosophy out of the way, I have respectable gear that can help me tell the difference between a decent mic and a wannabe.
I tested the e100s through a Metric HALO ULN-2 extended, Logic Pro-9, ADAM A-7 Monitors, and various reference quality headphones, including the AKG K-701 and Ultrasone PRO 750s.
I used the mic by itself, X/Y with a Peluso CEMC-6 SMC, and in an M/S configuration with a RODE K-2 Tube mic. I recorded both vocals and acoustic guitar (this last being my personal favorite for showing up crappy wannabe equipment. Transients, fundamentals, and harmonics from a quality guitar are a great test for mics, pre-amps and monitors, and I have two guitars I tried: a Martin D-35, and a Larrivée LV-05e).
The e100s didn't disappoint. It delivered nicely textured, transparent sound, and as a bonus (especially for those of us who want to make clean, quiet, acoustic recordings), it wasuncannily, blissfully, quiet. I mean quiet. Did I say quiet?
My ULN-2 has something like a 125dB S/N Ratio, and this mic made it worth the investment. Holy-moly. I've used Neumann, RODE, Peluso, MXL, etc., etc... this mike is the quietest of them all...even quieter than the TLM-103.
Great sound. Dead quiet. Buy it.

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Focusrite ISA428 Four Classic Microphone Pre-Amps and High-Quality A/D Conversion Review

Focusrite ISA428 Four Classic Microphone Pre-Amps and High-Quality A/D Conversion
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Very versatile preamps! I've had them for 3 years and wouldn't dream of getting rid of them! Very clean, but colorful (in a good way). I've used them on everything from drums to voice to symphony to bass & keyboards (direct). No complaints. I've done shootouts with preamps that were much more expensive and I won't say the ISA428 blew them away, but it came closer than it should have considering the price difference!

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Apogee Duet - Audio input adapter - IEEE 1394 (FireWire) Review

Apogee Duet - Audio input adapter - IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
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I bought the Duet to use with my Aluminum iMac and Logic Studio 8 and have had zero problems with the unit. The interface is very streamlined so you have to get used to using a single, multi-function knob for everything. The quality of conversion between analog and digital is head and shoulders above anything else near this price level. It sounds as good as units costing 3 times as much due to the designers' emphasis on quality sound. To get the high quality conversion at this price you are limited to the line outputs and headphone output levels being permanently linked. Some people find this a drawback, so be aware before you buy if this feature is something that is a deal breaker for you.
The small form factor is nice because as anyone with a home studio can attest to, space is not a luxury we have. I didn't pick this for its portability but as it is the size of a paperback book I can imagine it being very easy to tote around with a macbook/pro.
The included Maestro management software is straightforward and lets you set the unit up in seconds with a very easy to understand user interface. Configuring my iMac to use this as the audio input and output took less than a minute from reading the instructions. Making Logic label its mixer to match is equally simple. One thing I found convenient is how OSX lets you still use the iMac's built in speakers for the system alerts so that an error message gong sound isn't sent out through your 100watt studio monitors. You can set the output level of the system alerts separate from the duet's outputs.
The breakout cable is securely attached and the plugs are labeled with big, clear markings so changing hook-ups is easy. It has phantom power if your mics require it, which is set using Maestro.
Most audio interfaces in this price range try to win you over with more I/O channels or other add-ons instead of making the best sound conversion. They trade quality for quantity with predictable results. Apogee decided on doing a simple 2 channel interface, a single physical control and top shelf A/D/A converters so the result is the best 2 channels you can get. When you want more channels without sacrificing quality then you can step up to their Ensemble line.

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Shure PGDMK6-XLR 6 Drum Mic Bundle Review

Shure PGDMK6-XLR 6 Drum Mic Bundle
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I recently purchased this set of microphones and all I have to say is... I love them!! Definitely a very good buy!

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SE Electronics Reflexion Filter Pro Ambience Control Review

SE Electronics Reflexion Filter Pro Ambience Control
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In my home studio I record in a Whisper Room, which is a terrific sound booth. However, due to it's relatively small size I did hear a boxy quality especially when working a louder volume. The filter works as claimed and smoothed out the 'rough edges' so to speak - highly reccomended!
H2

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Behringer B2030A Active 2-Way Reference Studio Monitor (Set of 2) Review

Behringer  B2030A Active 2-Way Reference Studio Monitor (Set of 2)
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I purchased these with the assumption that I was not going to get the quality sound I wanted as opposed to KRK monitors (WAAAY overpriced) for my small studio. Boy was I wrong! The sound quality is better than expected to say the least. They're HEAVY, thus you won't be too worried about knocking them over (like the smaller KRK's or M-Audio Studiophiles I've seen). Took these over to a friends house for mixdown of video's he's been working on, and adjusted the settings for his video editing hardware and room dynamics. He then changed his mind after about some 5 hours of video editing. Not the best, but I'll be putting my money into what I can use rather than a name (KRK, JBL, Tannoy, Genlec are just TOO much. . .even for just one monitor). And it'se never about what you got, it's what you do with it.
There are going to be reviews bashing them, but when I have audio engineers telling me "good choice, cuz the KRK's are sometimes WAAY too bassy", I feel I've done my job and research into finding what I can afford.
Just a quick note. . .do give these "burn in" time. meaning give them some time to run before going all out on those mixes. Similar to tube preamps for guitar heads/cabs. . .burn em in slowly so you can get the full effect later. I haven't had these long enough, but I can say they are the best part of my studio.

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Mackie Onyx 820i FireWire Recording Mixer Review

Mackie Onyx 820i FireWire Recording Mixer
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After an existing audio interface went bad, I ordered the Mackie Onyx 820i as a replacement (not from Amazon), setting out to love the thing. I did at first, but after noticing some limitations, I am exchanging it for a different setup. My biggest gripe is the low output to the DAW. At detent, the highest level captured in a waveform was -22dB. At full gain (firewire send is pre-fader, so gain is only option for adjusting level unless you route everything - and I do mean everything - through a preamp) I was capturing -16dB, regardless of instrument (this introduced a lot of noise when recording guitar). A follow up call to the vendor from which I purchased it revealed that other customers had noted the same characteristic. Some would argue that this is just fine when recording in 24-bit, but I'd prefer to make that adjustment on my own rather than having hardware make the decision for me. Gripe #2 - no control panel. The only setting you can adjust outside of the DAW software is buffer size.
Maybe this thing needs someone smarter than me at the wheel, but all the same, I'm going with a different interface.

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Behringer Eurodesk SX2442FX Ultra-Low Noise Design 24-Input 4-Bus Studio/Live Mixer Review

Behringer Eurodesk SX2442FX Ultra-Low Noise Design 24-Input 4-Bus Studio/Live Mixer
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Bought this mixer to have the whole band on ONE mixer...... This solved the problem with channels to spare and added some beautifull extras. The busses where great for isolating the whole drumset, vocals etc..... And sending dry sounds to the house PA. The fx are great that no extra gear has to be hauled. In live performances we need minimal fx so these are awesome. Still have to try it out in my studio setup to see the performance there but I don't think I'll be disappointed. Great product and great handling.

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Tascam US-1800 USB2.0 Audio/Midi Interface Review

Tascam US-1800 USB2.0 Audio/Midi Interface
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I bought this unit partly because it came with a nice audio recording program called cubase. I like the interface but trying to register and run the free software has proven to be impossable. Great interface but don't buy it hoping to be able to use the software the company behind the Software has made it impossable to use their product (Steinberg). Interface is really usefull and easy to use. 8 xlr, six 1/4" plus midi and spdif(digital) inputs to connect to your computer with a single usb cord. Four assignable outputs. Phantom power to boot on the xlr ins. Very clean sound and I haven't add any problems with latense. Used it to record my band live, no problems running all 14 analog inputs and spdif at once for 15 tracks.

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Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio - 8 Track Review

Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio - 8 Track
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This is an outstanding system for demo recording and I am sure it would also be useful for live recordings with some added components.
After much research, I purchased the Tascam DP02 Portastudio instead of the Boss BR900CD. I had previously used the BR900 with much success and had my mind set on it for quiet some time. I kept my options open and the DP02 seemed to be the most comparable system. Despite some reviews stating the DP02 did not allow you to hear the effects while recording, I decided on it due to the on-board high, low, and reverb adjustment options. (I did not want to transfer to a computer for mastering) I was going to add an effects processor and pre-amp for the mic, but found all effects do play through recording.
The system has a lot of built in guitar (acoustic and electric), drum, bass, and vocal effects. It took me only a few hours to record several tracks, master them, and burn them to disk. Only being able to record to 2 tracks at once is a small drawback, but if you are doing all of your own recording shouldn't be a problem.
READ THE MANUAL!
Although it is not the easiest to follow page to page, if you know how to find what your looking for it's in the manual. For those of you that want to sit down, push record, and be on your way, you may want to look for a simpler system. Once you get it down, the DP02 is quite easy to use, but not something you can just turn on and go without some instruction. The trickiest part would would be mastering, but it is by no means difficult if you follow the directions.
All around this is a great system for a home studio and possibly more.
P.S. Thanks to Amazon for having the lowest price, and quick delivery.Just a quick update. May 29, 2010. I have put many hours onto this Portastudio and can say it has absolutely been worth it. The volume on the final track can be a little tricky, but nothing some time and patience cannot overcome. It has not given me any trouble and has never locked up as some people have said. Great piece of equipment for a very fair price.

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With a classic, well-known interface that's easy to pick up by new users, the 8-track Tascam DP-02 Digital Portastudio sports dedicated controls for level, pan, effects send and EQ instead of the menu-cursor interface found on most other recorders. You can make music with two hands with the DP-02--just reach and twist a knob when your creativity strikes. The DP-02 records to a 40 GB hard drive, and it includes a multi-effect processor, stereo reverb and CD burner for CD masters and song backup.
A pair of CD-quality XLR mic inputs includes phantom power for condenser mics and a direct guitar input. High and low EQ controls for level and frequency are provided for every channel. It also includes a multi-effects processor, stereo reverb, even a dedicated stereo channel for recording your mix. You can transfer tracks and mixes to a computer using USB 2.0, or burn a master disc in the CD drive.

Key Features
Two XLR mic/line inputs with phantom power for condenser microphones
Eight-track recording at uncompressed 44.1k/16-bit audio quality
Portastudio-based interface with volume fader, pan, effect send, high and low EQ controls per channel
EQ frequency button to access high and low EQ shelf frequencies
USB 2.0 interface for transferring tracks, mixes and backup files to a computer
Dedicated stereo master track for mixdown
Internal metronome and bar/beat display for song position
Headphone output
Stereo line outputs on RCA analog and S/PDIF optical digital connectors
40GB internal hard drive
Multi-effects processor with guitar, bass, vocal and drum programs
Stereo reverb processor with send/return controls for multichannel mixing
Built-in chromatic tuner
Built -in CD-RW burner for CD mastering and song backup


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Allen & Heath AH-ZED-12FX 12-Channel Mixer with USB Interface and Onboard EFX Review

Allen and Heath AH-ZED-12FX 12-Channel Mixer with USB Interface and Onboard EFX
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Great unit once I got A good one that worked right. Perfect size/features for a home recording, and live performance. I do some ripping/remixing for my radio show.
1st & 2nd machine didn't have a working CODEC. A&H knew exactly what was wrong when I called and had repair people lined up in my area to fix it!!!
I sent it back to Amazon 2X before I got a good one.
Amazon was very helpful in getting squared away.
Check all feature on arrival. JM

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Complementing the existing ZED series, the ZED FX has been developed around an FX chipset purely for the new model. Our DSP engineers have been working hard, crafting and refining beautiful reverb algorithms. The effects are available nowhere else - this quality and integration is only available from the ZED FX. The ZED-12FX is a 12 channel mixer with USB interface and onboard EFX. It has 16 essential time-delay effects which add to the already bulging feature set. The mixer is ideal for small groups who don't want to carry around an effects unit with their gear but who still want great quality FX at their gigs and on their recordings.

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Sennheiser e835 Dynamic Vocal Microphone (3 Pack) Review

Sennheiser e835 Dynamic Vocal Microphone (3 Pack)
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Hi there, I'm currently using a single Sennheiser e835 Dynamic microphone. It delivers professional quality sound. Now when you hear that, your thinking... it means whatever your mind wants it to mean. Basically when i say its got professional quality, i mean.. it'll suite you... for whatever you have to record. It does an amazing job for my podcasting studio delivering great variance between highs and lows. As long as your between 1-4 inches from the mic you will get amazing quality sound, everything outside that will be ignored. I often times have my tv going, my music playing or i'm having a conversation at the same time as having a podcast, and all i have to do is move the mic away from my mouth. The 10 year warrenty is very good, and the construction of this microphone screams nothing but quality. The Shure Sm57 and 58 havn't been changed since.. *cough* 1957 and 1958. In these last 40-50 years we've come up with a lot of better tech to go into a mic, this microphone hosts some of that. The cage on top is also much more durable than the Shure models. I believe i'll be happy to have this microphone for 10+ years.

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PreSonus FireStudio Mobile Review

PreSonus FireStudio Mobile
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I have had this one for 3 weeks now, and have been using it for recording since. I'm using it to replace the Mackie Onyx Satellite I have (which doesn't work with Win Vista) in my home studio.
The first thing I "must" notice was the 4 rubber feet at the bottom of the unit keep coming loose. Presonus didn't do a very good job gluing these to the unit. I got tired of sticking them back on and just leave them off, but that's harmless. Maybe my unit is a pre-release unit or something, cuz I got it 1 week before the supposedly release date of 10/22.
The second issue is the noise I got when plugging my condenser directly into the Mic/Inst 1 (and use the 48V provided by the unit). Quite a bit of noise at 1/2 of the knob. I ended up turning the gain on Mic/Inst1 down to minimum, and have my condenser go to a Studio Projects VTB1 pre-amp instead. WIth this setting, I could crank up the VTB1's Input Gain to 40/60, and Output Level to max (12), while leaving the Mobile's Input Gain at just 1 click above the minimum. I now have no noise on the line. So the preamp on the Mobile is very noisy. I'm using an AKG C414B condenser as my primary mic.
There is no issue with the software driver. Presonus is always good at staying on top with their drivers. Installation is easy. The Firewire connection is very reliable.
The bundled StudioOne software seems very easy to use. But I'm not using it as I already have Cubase 4.5. It's probably just a good starting out software, just like Cubase LE.
I would recommend upgrading your PC should you have anything slower than 2.4GHz. When the CPU is too slow, you're gonna get pops and clicks in your recording, and that usually is not the Audio Interface box's fault. In my case, I have an over-clock i7 Quad Core CPU.
Based on my past experience with Presonus interface (I had a Firepod in the past), Presonus stuff are reliable, their preamp is probably a little noisy, though.

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Rocktron Gainiac 2 Tube Guitar/Bass Preamp Review

Rocktron Gainiac 2 Tube Guitar/Bass Preamp
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For the money, this a very decent preamp. I really have to review it with 4 stars, although I feel for the the average musician it would be a 3. First lets get to the pros:
Its rugged, small, and compact. I bought 2, one was a backup I never used. They stood up to the wear and tear of touring. The Gainiac II has a VERY awesome clean tone, the classic warm tube sound. I actually know a lot of bands that have used this preamp to record clean tones. Its wonderful and really can't be beat IMO. The distortion channel is also very good. A nice clear sound, not the static fuzz that extreme distortion causes. Great for hard rock/80s (I used to cover some Van Halen songs that it was perfect for). I wouldn't say its going to give you a death metal tone without pedal assitance, but if you want a clear responsive distortion, this is it. I saw a lot of complaints on Musician Friend's website that the Gainiac lacks a thickness and tone, but I honestly cannot hear it. I used DiMarzio Evolution pickups and the Apex Aural Exciter in front and powered it with an ART Sla-1 power amp so perhaps that is why I never heard this lack of tone.
Ok the cons:
The tube is very hard to get out. Don't get me wrong, its an awesome tube but there is always room for improvement. The Gainiac II is noisy on the overdrive channel. This can be solved fairly easily with the power amp and a good noise gate. I used the noise gate on my processor and it fixed everything right up, but some may not be as fortunate to have a good gate. There is only one output on this unit, which I got by fine with. There are no effects, just a clean and overdrive channel, which was ok for what I was doing. Also, there is no on/off switch and the AC adapter is fairly large. Recording directly into a computer gave kind of a rough tone but I'm not a recording expert.
My verdict is if you're looking for a preamp/power amp guitar rig, give this little unit a try. Its hard to fine the good Line 6 preamp that used to sell for $500, and the only other preamp I would ever consider is the Prophecy (which will break bank). You will have to do some tweaking, but for the money I think the Gainiac deserves a little attention and some surprising tones can be achieved. Also, for the price, you can afford to decide if the pre/power setup will be right for you. If this isn't something that you want to keep on a live rig, it will always be there for tracking down cleans in studio.

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Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 - Kontrol Version Review

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 - Kontrol Version
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There's not much I can say that isn't already covered by professional testimonials, video reviews, and product demos.
In short, Guitar Rig 3 is an extremely versatile, powerful effects system. The hardware is extremely solid-- I've carried this thing around to live gigs, stuffed it in a backpack as carry-on for a plane ride, even spilled a little bit of beer on it (not recommended). The worst I've done is dinged it with a falling mic stand. It put a small scratch on it (similar to scratching the paint on a car door), but that's about it.
There's definitely a slight learning curve for the software itself, but you can download the demo from their website to see if it's too much for you to handle. All the help and tooltips are plenty to keep you moving along-- and spending more time playing music and less time twiddling knobs. However, the cool part is that if you like twiddling knobs and settings, you can spend countless hours dialing in all kinds of vintage, modern, or never-heard-before sounds. My friend, (a lead guitarist who owns an analog guitar pedal company), despite being a bit of a sound purist, was really impressed with the sheer number of tones I can emulate. Sometimes, the sounds have a tendency to be a little bit 'digital' sounding if you don't adjust them properly, but the software upgrade to Guitar Rig 4 supposedly improves some of this. (I haven't tried it yet myself). My solution was to add an analog pedal (Philosopher's Tone) to the front of my effects chain.
I use an Intel-based Macbook Pro and a Peavy KB3 amplifier.
PRO TIP: a keyboard amp is the way to go since they have a higher frequency range that allows you to get the full range of tones out of the software. If you go with a specific guitar amp, you may severely limit the variety of tones the software can produce. The software itself effectively mimics all kinds of vintage amps--more than most people could ever afford to own. This may seem unintuitive, but if you spend a little time on the Guitar Rig forums, you'll find this out from others' experience too.

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