# Poll: Favorite Amp Sim developer(s)



## dyross (Oct 8, 2022)

Hey folks,

There's a couple of threads on amp sims, but no polls (that I've found), so I wanted to start one (I want data!). Also, I thought I'd allow top 3 choices, rather than just one, to avoid everyone just voting for Neural DSP and calling it a day 

Happy to add any devs that I'm missing.

Cheers,
David


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## ALittleNightMusic (Oct 8, 2022)

I have a Quad Cortex - it is superb. You might want to add Fractal to your list, as they are generally considered top of the amp sim heap (though my QC sounds just as good as my Fractal IMO).


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## xepocal (Oct 9, 2022)

Would like to see VTarAmps added to the poll!


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## Houdini (Oct 9, 2022)

My primary instrument is electric guitar. I've been playing in bands (pop, rock, grunge) and my own stuff (prog rock) for the past 12-13 years. Lately I've been a bedroom player only, so I developed a computer based setup. 

My main guitar plugins are some suites from Neural DSP (mostly Nolly), S-Gear 2 and Line 6 Helix Native. They have solved my GAS for the past 3 years, let's hope it stays that way.


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## heanjurrera (Oct 9, 2022)

Check out Mixwave. Their Benson Chimera is absolutely incredible.


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## IgneousOne (Oct 9, 2022)

My current favourite:





SaturnLO TRIAL - DiBiQuadro Audio


Get 15 days FREE TRIAL FORMATS AVAILABLE: VST3, AU The Best Saturn Lead Overdrive on EarthSaturnLO is a highly-accurate in the box reproduction of a classic boutique Lead Overdrive guitar amplifier which defined the standard for modern hi-gain amplification, with its unparalleled sound...




dibiquadroaudio.com




Have always rated Nebula Cabinet libraries.

On the list:
Overloud Rock Guy is great 

Certainly not tried them all out !


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## shropshirelad (Oct 9, 2022)

I own 10 of those listed but always end up going back to Scuffham S-Gear.


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## bbunker (Oct 9, 2022)

So is this meant to only be amp sim 'plugins'? Fractal makes amp sims as well, of course. So - when you say Neural DSP, do you just mean the plugins and not the quad, then?


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

Thanks for all the responses!



xepocal said:


> Would like to see VTarAmps added to the poll!



Haven't heard of this, but added!



ALittleNightMusic said:


> I have a Quad Cortex - it is superb. You might want to add Fractal to your list, as they are generally considered top of the amp sim heap (though my QC sounds just as good as my Fractal IMO).





bbunker said:


> So is this meant to only be amp sim 'plugins'? Fractal makes amp sims as well, of course. So - when you say Neural DSP, do you just mean the plugins and not the quad, then?



I originally intended just plugins, but I added some hardware to the poll as well.



heanjurrera said:


> Check out Mixwave. Their Benson Chimera is absolutely incredible.



Added Mixwave.



IgneousOne said:


> My current favourite:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Interesting, will add.


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

One thing I'm liking about STL Amphub so far, which I've only just started using, is the automatic input level listener feature. One thing I've found is that if you don't get the input level right, the gain structure of the amp sim doesn't work properly - either its too weak, or it gets oversaturated too easily.

Since most amp sim devs don't tell you a specific input level range to shoot for, the automatic compensation is nice. I know that United Plugins and Melda have a similar feature, too, but I don't like their modeling quite as much (so far).


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## Release (Oct 9, 2022)

Softube AmpRoom, Neural and Schuffham are the top 3 for me right now. 

It wasn't really until I bought the Marshall add-on bundle in *AmpRoom* when it jumped from pretty decent to WOW! _THAT_ is the Marshall tones I was looking for. I wasn't super impressed with any of the built-in amps on their own but adding the separate Marshall cabs made all the difference to me.

For high-gain tones, *Neural DSP* is hard to beat. Gojira, Plini and the Soldano are the top 3 for me but all three offer a MUCH wider range of great tones than just high gain. The effects section with Neural are my favorites out of all the sims I have.

As for *Schuffham*, I had it a long time ago and really liked it but drifted away. When 3.0 came out I upgraded the old license and fell in love again. Great sounds right out of the box and just the addition of the drive pedal opens it up even further.

If I can add a fourth, I'd add *AmpliTube*. Soooo many options and if you're not a tweaker, I'd probably look elsewhere. But once you play with it long enough, some pretty amazing tones are in there. It's _almost_ great, but not quite there yet IMO.

*Helix Native* is amazing as well, but for me, it takes even longer than Amplitube to find exactly what you need. 

*ML Sound Lab* has some nice ones but their delay and reverb need some serious work to bring them to the levels of the others. Plus, their preset system needs a LOT of work IMO. Great prices tough.

I have 2 or 3 *Brainworx* sims and while their nice, they seem to be noisy and something's missing for me that I can't put my finger on.

I haven't played any of the *Audiority* sims but their pedal plug-ins are _definitely_ worth it.

I demo-ed a few of the STL offerings and they didn't do anything that I couldn't get from what I already own (but I'm sure if I owned it I'd have a different opinion).

No matter what anyone ends up with, it's pretty amazing how many GREAT options there are. Just demo as many as you can. Just be sure to stagger how you do it so you can spend the entire trial with each one and really see what it can do.


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

For the 20 people who voted NDSP so far, I’d love to know if you’re finding they solve problems that others don’t, or just you tried it, liked it, and never went back?

What don’t you like about some competitors?


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## Release (Oct 9, 2022)

Neural has a very polished (mixed and mastered) sound to it and the fit in very nicely with the stuff I play. They just sound "big" from the start. I jump back and forth all the time between most of what I have so they're not exclusive, but as far as Neural goes, if you just want to plug in and play, you get _instant_ gratification whereas some of the others it takes a little more time.


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

Release said:


> Softube AmpRoom, Neural and Schuffham are the top 3 for me right now.


Tried, and mostly like all of these.



Release said:


> It wasn't really until I bought the Marshall add-on bundle in *AmpRoom* when it jumped from pretty decent to WOW! _THAT_ is the Marshall tones I was looking for. I wasn't super impressed with any of the built-in amps on their own but adding the separate Marshall cabs made all the difference to me.



I bought the Plexi when it was on sale super cheap and honestly not jiving with it. I find it super honky and easily oversaturated. I mostly use external IRs, so maybe I'm missing the magic of the Marshall cabs. But can they really be better than a good Marshall IR pack from Ownhammer / York?



Release said:


> For high-gain tones, *Neural DSP* is hard to beat. Gojira, Plini and the Soldano are the top 3 for me but all three offer a MUCH wider range of great tones than just high gain. The effects section with Neural are my favorites out of all the sims I have.



I have Petrucci, Wong, Henson, and Cali (so all the _other_ ones, haha). I like them all for different reasons, but I never feel like I have the touch sensitivity / gain structure right. I'm not much of a high-gain player (hence the Wong and the Henson).



Release said:


> As for *Schuffham*, I had it a long time ago and really liked it but drifted away. When 3.0 came out I upgraded the old license and fell in love again. Great sounds right out of the box and just the addition of the drive pedal opens it up even further.



Love S-Gear also. Currently, I'm having trouble beating the Stealer for classic Marshall tone, even compared with the Softube Plexi.



Release said:


> If I can add a fourth, I'd add *AmpliTube*. Soooo many options and if you're not a tweaker, I'd probably look elsewhere. But once you play with it long enough, some pretty amazing tones are in there. It's _almost_ great, but not quite there yet IMO.



Yeah, I just find the interface too clunky and the cabs not as good.



Release said:


> *Helix Native* is amazing as well, but for me, it takes even longer than Amplitube to find exactly what you need.



I demoed it and was really impressed. Not sure it's worth the price compared with others.



Release said:


> *ML Sound Lab* has some nice ones but their delay and reverb need some serious work to bring them to the levels of the others. Plus, their preset system needs a LOT of work IMO. Great prices tough.
> 
> I have 2 or 3 *Brainworx* sims and while their nice, they seem to be noisy and something's missing for me that I can't put my finger on.
> 
> I haven't played any of the *Audiority* sims but their pedal plug-ins are _definitely_ worth it.



I tried ML and hated the pedals and presets. Maybe not fair, but enough to turn me off. Not as much experience with the others.



Release said:


> I demo-ed a few of the STL offerings and they didn't do anything that I couldn't get from what I already own (but I'm sure if I owned it I'd have a different opinion).



Fair enough!



Release said:


> No matter what anyone ends up with, it's pretty amazing how many GREAT options there are. Just demo as many as you can. Just be sure to stagger how you do it so you can spend the entire trial with each one and really see what it can do.



Agreed, thanks so much for the response!


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

I'm a bit surprised that brainworx got the next highest vote. Is it because they're relatively inexpensive to collect via PA sales? Do folks who love them think they still stack up against other modern ones?


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## ALittleNightMusic (Oct 9, 2022)

dyross said:


> For the 20 people who voted NDSP so far, I’d love to know if you’re finding they solve problems that others don’t, or just you tried it, liked it, and never went back?
> 
> What don’t you like about some competitors?


Well I use the QC and the interface blows away every other modeler I have owned (Kemper, Fractal). That makes creating tones faster which makes for more playing. The sound is excellent as well - definitely on par with Fractal in my side by side experience. All the big amp modelers have excellent tones these days - there’s almost no difference if you tweak them (and know what you’re doing).


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## Draco Solis (Oct 9, 2022)

Am I blind or is ReValver just not on here? That's what I've been using for a few years now and it's been serving me well. I could probably get better, but I'm not really suffering for sticking to it.

Although I don't think I'll vote either way only because, aside from LePou, it's the _only_ amp sim I have so I don't think that should amount to much.


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

Draco Solis said:


> Am I blind or is ReValver just not on here? That's what I've been using for a few years now and it's been serving me well. I could probably get better, but I'm not really suffering for sticking to it.
> 
> Although I don't think I'll vote either way only because, aside from LePou, it's the _only_ amp sim I have so I don't think that should amount to much.



Added ReValver.


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## Sophus (Oct 9, 2022)

Magix Vandal is missing. An oldie, but works well. 

And Ugritone impulse responses are very recommended to be used with your favourite amp aim.


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

Sophus said:


> Magix Vandal is missing. An oldie, but works well.



Added!



Sophus said:


> And Ugritone impulse responses are very recommended to be used with your favourite amp aim.



Probably should do an impulse response dev poll next!


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## Awoo Composer (Oct 9, 2022)

I use Amplitube 5 MAX and ToneX MAX. I have had no issues with either of them. I was looking into the Ugritone impulse reponses to see what kind of sound I can get combined with those as well, although I think the VIR tech in AT5 works pretty well to my ears (which to be honest have a hard time telling much).


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## Honigdachs (Oct 9, 2022)

I like ML Sound Lab because they have a very good simulation of a Mesa/Boogie Mark V and a very good Friedman. I also usually prefer their cabinet sim software (MIKKO) to first-party IRs. For example when I'm using the NeuralDSP Petrucci plugin, I bypass the Neural IRs and go through MIKKO. I'm also getting very good results with the direct-out of my Katana Artist Mk2 and the MIKKO IRs.


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## Justin L. Franks (Oct 9, 2022)

Nice to see Scuffham S-Gear getting some love, in the #2 spot right now. For light breakup to medium gain, I haven't found anything I like better.


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## elucid (Oct 9, 2022)

Justin L. Franks said:


> Nice to see Scuffham S-Gear getting some love, in the #2 spot right now. For light breakup to medium gain, I haven't found anything I like better.


Yeah, I agree, it's really interesting to see it fare so well but perhaps it's not so surprising. S-Gear is incredibly amp-like in sound and IMO is unbeaten in terms of _feel_ to play through. Its evolution has slowed for the last couple of years (but picked up again with the just-released V3.0) but that really doesn't matter if you love what it does.


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## sostenuto (Oct 9, 2022)

Use all (25) Kazrog Thermionik + Recabinet - Remastered.
Added Guitar Rig 6 Pro recently.
Not confident 'senior ears' can now sort with current top-tier choices ^^ ( _above_ ).
_Listening _here with interest. 👂🏻


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## Arbee (Oct 9, 2022)

Thanks for this thread, I own S-Gear and really like it but seeing the love for Neural DSP here it made me take another look at DSP. Having done that, I'm not hearing a quantum leap from S-Gear to DSP, but maybe there are other ease of use factors in favor of DSP? And there are so many DSP choices. Wong resonates most with me so far (though Petrucci does hit a real primaeval adolescent nerve )


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## dyross (Oct 9, 2022)

heanjurrera said:


> Check out Mixwave. Their Benson Chimera is absolutely incredible.



Checked this out today, and it's pretty nice! How do you like it compared with something like the Tone King, or other Fender-style sims?


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## Justin L. Franks (Oct 9, 2022)

Arbee said:


> Thanks for this thread, I own S-Gear and really like it but seeing the love for Neural DSP here it made me take another look at DSP. Having done that, I'm not hearing a quantum leap from S-Gear to DSP, but maybe there are other ease of use factors in favor of DSP? And there are so many DSP choices. Wong resonates most with me so far (though Petrucci does hit a real primaeval adolescent nerve )


Neural DSP is much more well-known. S-Gear is a sort of "hidden gem", I'm actually a bit surprised so many people here know about it.

And I agree that Neural DSP puts out great products that sound wonderful. But even with my crappy guitar playing (piano is my primary instrument, with a large gap in my skills between them), S-Gear works better for me. It just feels more like playing an actual tube amp, which is something that all modelers have issues with.


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## heanjurrera (Oct 10, 2022)

dyross said:


> Checked this out today, and it's pretty nice! How do you like it compared with something like the Tone King, or other Fender-style sims?


actually I haven’t tried the Tone King yet! 
I’d say the Benson is more on the side of Vox-style amps than pure Fender cleans all in all, which is generally more my kind of jam. I like the cab section with 4 different mics for tone shaping - feels like a good way to compensate for the simpler controls in the amp (volume/treble/bass + bright switch). it also plays along really nicely with my pedalboard.

As an added benefit, it’s also M1 native unlike the Neural stuff (my only issue with them at all the moment). I wonder what's taking them so long tbh.


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## Jaap (Oct 10, 2022)

Before Neural DSP took over my (guitar) life, I was using Bias Amp mainly for the plugin guitar work and at the time I like it, but pfff, once I discovered Neural DSP (first Plini, then Nolly and later on way too many more...) I never cared about any other anymore tbh. Then I also went with the Quad Cortex and I love it to the bone. I can create everything out of it that I want. If I want classic rock sounds for playing with my Gibson, I can. If I want some spicy cleans for my Fender, no problem. If I want more modern cleans or very high gain for the Strandberg, consider it done! 
It's a beast and for me it gets all the work done. Now I am waiting patiently till the plugins also will be available in the Quad Cortex.


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## marius_dm (Oct 10, 2022)

IMO, for authentic tones IK Tonex stands alone. I've never tried any of the Neural DSP plugins but I did have a Quad Cortex for a short while but I've returned it.


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## SirkusPi (Oct 10, 2022)

I'm glad the operative word here is "favorite" and not "best." Realism is not necessarily my main goal so much as effects that work with the particular music I'm making and that I've just gotten comfortable using.

With that in mind, I just went with the three I use most frequently, although there are others I like and also regularly use (like Neural and Kuassa) that simply didn't make the "top three used" cutoff. 

I was a bit surprised to see one of my selections, NI's Guitar Rig 6, doing moderately well (kind of in the middle, at least as of this moment). For all the complaints I read in forums about how it doesn't sound authentic--a debate I am not going to engage in--it seems others find it very usable too! It certainly has its defenders in forums as well, but for some reason I assumed it wouldn't do well in the face of more "authentic" competition in this poll.


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## SirkusPi (Oct 10, 2022)

Also, I note that Otto Audio (with its excellent 11 11 11 amp sim) is not listed among the choices. I wouldn't have voted for it in my top 3 anyway--I don't do super heavy that often, which is what 11 11 11 specializes in--but it is very good, so for the sake of completeness should perhaps be a choice.


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## dyross (Oct 13, 2022)

I've been playing with STL AmpHub this week and I have to say, I'm impressed by both the quality and quantity of amps. I've been comparing it with a bunch of other options (with same IRs etc.) and I find it's impressively easy to dial in tones that I'm looking for (clean to crunch) and feels real enough while playing live.

As mentioned above, I really like the input gain listener feature, which ensures the signal I'm putting in is gain-staged appropriately (always a source of stress for me with other amp sims).

For those that didn't vote for it, curious if anyone has tried and not liked it, or just haven't learned to love it yet


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## soulofsound (Oct 15, 2022)

SirkusPi said:


> Also, I note that Otto Audio (with its excellent 11 11 11 amp sim) is not listed among the choices. I wouldn't have voted for it in my top 3 anyway--I don't do super heavy that often, which is what 11 11 11 specializes in--but it is very good, so for the sake of completeness should perhaps be a choice.


I tried installing the demo and failed. That is something. The amp sim seems interesting though.

Pretty much everything said here in the thread, is my experience, too, apart from the Neural snobbery: it is good but i do not think it is in its own category. Pretty much all of the other popular amp sim plugins are equally useful in their own right. I'd give a mention to Mercuriall, too. Their TriAxis model is pretty great.
Guitar Rig is underrated, though, looking at the poll.


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## AudioXpression (Oct 20, 2022)

I had very satisfying results with the Overloud-THU.


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## zzz00m (Oct 20, 2022)

soulofsound said:


> Guitar Rig is underrated, though, looking at the poll.


My impression of Guitar Rig 6 is that it's strongest point is as a sound design tool. The presets can dial up some interesting and unusual stuff, blending some stock NI FX with guitar stuff.


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## antret (Oct 20, 2022)

I may have been the only one to vote for Waves. I use their PRS bundle of amps and quite like the 2 lower gain models. I like using them with different cabs though, more often than not. One neat feature of theirs is the ‘auto align’ IR function. You can load dual 3rd party IRs thru their interface and it will auto align them. Plus volume balance. Neat feature for sure, but if you don’t like the amp sims it’s a bit overkill just to load IRs (you can bypass the amp sim…


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## antret (Oct 23, 2022)

I have a second to chime back in on this topic:

ML Sound Labs is another developer that I use often. I have the JCM 800, Plexi and the Flagship 2.0 bundle. For me, I find when what is on offer works, it works well. Cryptic for sure, but I feel that the range of tones in these seems a bit more limited than others... for example, once you start dialing back the gain or input volume, the feel and the sound become very 2 dimensional. Basically, there seems to be a narrow sweet spot in these sims. 

The ML Sound Labs Mikko cab thing, on the other hand, is one of my faves! The whole set up makes dialing in the cab sounds very easy for me. It just seems to make more sense and is way more fun than searching thru my IR files to mix and match. I don't have all the packs (you get a bunch with the essential bundle), but I did add on the Mega Djent and Mars Silver. I know the idea isn't revolutionary (moving mics around a cab), but there is something about this setup that makes it quick and easy.

I recently picked up the the MTurboAmp and MCab. I like the fact that the amp sim doesn't really try to be anything (accurate models of something specific was never a huge concern for me... as long as I can get something I like out of it, I'm okay with it. ) and you can (relatively) easily make adjustments to the gain stages to alter the sound. Probable easier to destroy the sound than to enhance it, but that could be all user error on my part.  Plus I do happen to like the randomize feature. Some very, very unexpected results.

MCab is a slick and unique tool. It seems like it just keeps the EQ info/curve of the cabs and then lets you add different resonances and character to the 'cab profile' after the fact. I think its claim to fame is that you can load/analyze a folder full of IR's (say a 57 on your fave cab at a number of distances/locations) and it will create a 'composite profile' of the cab with that mic. Also, there are some interesting stereo type results to be had. I like dialing in some very subtle width. The only issue I have is that once I get past 1 instance of the plugin, the other ones spike my CPU in what seems like pulses.... 10% to 100% every couple seconds even if not playing back the track (in Studio One 5). My computer is getting a little long in the tooth, so that could be something. 

My sleeper fave are the amp sims from Audio Assault. I don't play BROOTAL metal at all, so that seems like a strange developer to like. I have the Re-Amp studio, The Crown, Shibalba and Bulldog (I guess the least BROOTAL amps on offer). Firstly, not necessarily a huge fan of the cabs (though I do have most all of the SeaCow Cab packs... hit or miss), but I think the sweet spot on these amp models is pretty good. There is a real usable range as you dial back (and crank up!) the gain. I think ReAmp studio isn't quite up to the same level as the others are, but there is a lot of variety to be had though and with different cabs I think you can get some nice results (this goes for all the models).

I just wanted to add a few extra cents to the discussion.


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## Draco Solis (Nov 3, 2022)

So, I know I said before I wouldn't say anything, but after thinking about it, I guess my experience so far might be worth hearing.

I've only really owned ReValver as a paid amp (before then, LePou served me quite well when I had nothing at all...and no idea what I was doing), and while I have been tempted to look into others, ReValver kinda just pulls me back in and keeps me wanting to stick to it. And I guess the biggest reason for it is that it's pretty much exactly what I need. It's decently priced, focused on the sort of sound I want (primarily metal, but can do a bit of other stuff as well), and has a decent selection of amps without overwhelming me with hundreds of options.
Personally, I don't like the idea of spending $100+ dollars for what's essentially just one amp. Maybe I would if I were only focused on rock and metal, but I'm not. I also don't like the idea of paying a pretty hefty sum for a bundle of hundreds of amps, most of which I likely won't ever use. Doesn't feel like a good investment of my money in that sense.

I guess in that regard, ReValver hits a pretty good middle-ground that I'm happy to take, and I think I'm pretty satisfied in staying with it until V5 rolls around.
Just give it a few more years, I'm sure it's gonna happen.


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## dyross (Nov 3, 2022)

For folks who have the Line6 Helix (native or otherwise) - how good are the older models?

If they released amp models in the original version, are they significantly worse than the new ones? If, for example, I used a great IR (e.g. from York) for them, would their datedness be detectable?


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## dyross (Nov 7, 2022)

Coming back to my own thread after a bunch of time playing around.

I have to say that the Plexi model in Audified's AmpLion 2 might be the best I've found for the classic Plexi sound. It's responsive, gainy but not harsh, and I don't hear the the fizz / digital issues that I hear with some others.

It seems that I'm the only voter for this developer here, so guessing no one else has played with it. They have a free demo if anyone is curious.

(BTW, I'm _only_ using the amp model - I'm comparing all other amp models using the same IRs (York) and same room reverb (7HP). I can't comment on their effects or their cabs at this point.


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## webs (Nov 16, 2022)

After about a month with it, I'm going to suggest that Tonex is underappreciated here. 

Yes Neuraldsp sounds great for the 'heavy' tones, and plays well.

But for Clean to Driven? I think Tonex is serious bang for buck, especially due to the user-submitted tones you get access to on tone.net. 

I think the sound samples on tone.net do NOT do the captures justice and strongly recommend trial-ing for yourself as every impression changes with the guitar, pickups, strings, etc that you use. I found multiple captures where I *liked* the sound sample, and disliked it with my gear, and vice-versa.

Almost didn't bite on Tonex as I never clicked with Amplitube that much (though I am coming around to see its value, especially when paired with tonex, which can be used inside Amplitube.) I went MAX version thinking I needed the fancy boutique amps, but in reality, I'm finding my favorites are the user-submitted ones, so any plan that can access those may be the optimal approach. 

I haven't used a number of the poll items, so the vote seemed a bit funny/unfair, but i have used kuassa, uad and plugin-alliance (and therefore some of the softube, brainworx, and nembrini offerings.) All have their place, and one might reach for one over the other for a particular application, but there are FAR more useful guitar (and bass) tones in tonex than I expected (by a longshot!)


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