What plugins are you using for guitar in GP?

GP for Guitar and Bass Players
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I’ve had a quick look but I can’t see any similar threads, so here we are.

I’m adding my guitar setup to GP5 (cover band) and wondered what everyone else was using in the way of amp sims and effects plugins. Due to years of reckless software purchasing for studio recording I seem to have the choice of Guitar Rig 7, Amplitube 5 and a whole bunch of Plugin Alliance-distributed amp sims and effects, but have never used any of them in a live setting so don’t know how they compare for CPU demands, latency or anything else. Is there anything I should know about before I start putting things together?

Many thanks.

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I use Plugin-alliance bx-rockrack, Suhr PT100 and Fuchs Overdrive Supreme 50.

Eq: MEqualizer from Melda Productions. Also Plugin Alliance bx_console Focusrite SC

Reverb: MConvolution from Melda.

Phaser: MPhaser from Melda.

Panning delay: I use in one instance Triad from Unfilter Audio. Byome should also be a possibility. (This is using a cannon to kill mosquito, but is does the job)

As a last resort limiter I use TDR Limiter 6 GE

The most cpu consuming is Triad.

I have a license for Guitar Rig 7 Pro, but I’m not convinced yet

Most of the plugins I mentioned are often on sale, especially PA. Never buy the plugins from PA for the full price!

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ML Sound Lab plugins
Scuffham Amps S-Gear
Overloud TH-U
Neural DSP plugins
(previously, mostly Guitar Rig and Amplitube)

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Definitely get yourself a copy of ToneX.

I use:
Compressor - Klanghelm DC8C
Pitch shift - Kuassa Whammo!
Drives and Amp - Pretty much all ToneX, plus some of the Mixwave Benson pedals
Modulation - Audiority Chorus Ensembler (Boss CE1) and Electric Matter (EHX Electric Misstress) and then Melda tremolo and vibrator
Delay - Valhalla Delay
Reverb - Valhalla VintageVerb, Valhalla Supermassive, Eventide Blackhole
EQ - Tokyo Dawn Labs Slick EQ and Hornet TotalEQ

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Using mostly Line 6 Pod Farm, it’s old but works well with low CPU usage. I bought Tone X as a replacement but seem to keep falling back on Line 6 stuff.

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NAM. Neural Amp Modeler. Pretty widely accepted as the most accurate modeler/profiler. That’s my main sound with IR’s. Then a bunch of effects by Melda production.

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S-Gear, TH-U, Blue Cat Axiom, BC AcouFiend (controlled feedback!), Valhalla Delay, a few Kuassa plugins, MG2 (and eventually MG3), TDR Limiter, Eventide Instant Flanger, KilHearts TapeStop, Pulsar Echorec, Submission audio LockOn tuner (set up to open and close using a button on my Luminite X/Y controller) and a few others I can’t remember right now. My goal with my setup was to avoid having to use any sort of pedalboard. My laptop, RME Babyface, and Luminite M1 are installed in a standard briefcase with a side-mounted A/C power receptacle. That’s my “one-man-band” setup, where all effects/amp changes are done automatically, per song, with variations, or rackspace changes, and using the streaming audio file player to automate just about everything. With bands I use a MIDI foot controller, the 10-switch one from Luminite.

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I’ve yet to run into a guitar effects chain that really taxes CPU for me. Compared to typical keyboard VST cpu and memory loads, guitar stuff tends to run pretty light on resource consumption.

Bottom line advice for me is that if you’re going to use a “package” like Guitar Rig, Amplitube, TH-U, etc. then they’ll all do what you want so just pick something you like working with (from a workflow or user interface perspective) and go.

I’m one of those people who can’t resist changing stuff around for the sake of changing stuff around. If you’re that kind of guy, picking something and plowing through will get you where you need to get. It’ll do what you need, and nobody that’s listening (other than you) is going to notice the difference between one set of plugins vs. another.

I don’t think in the history of guitar performance anyone has left a club and said, “that was a good show, but the dude was clearly using an optical compressor and really needed a VCA-type.” Most of the time nobody in the crowd can tell a '58 Les Paul from a made in Mexico strat.

I’ve used primarily TH-U for the past 6 or so years, or whatever it’s been since TH-U replaced TH3. I also mess with NAM, ToneX, and a bit with Melda Guitar Architect recently. I’m starting to like Guitar Architect because the user interface fits my “messing around with stuff” workflow better than the others. Or maybe just because it’s my latest toy, and I like new toys.

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Thanks everyone for your answers - much appreciated.

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How is that Luminite? Just ordered an M1 and F10 myself.

Kuassa Whammo for an octaver. Lower CPU usage than Kuassa’s Meloditron/Hamonitron, if maybe not quite as nice sounding.
Neural DSP Morgan Amp Suite, also using it’s pre amp compression, overdrive and tremolo FX
Blue Cat Chorus
Valhalla Delay x2
Valhalla Vintage Verb x2
Valhalla Shimmer (for the wierd stuff)

I have a number of other guitar plugins, but for my primary playing (church music) it’s Morgan Amp Suite 99% of the time.

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I’m happy with my Luminite stuff. It all works as expected, now that I’ve gotten past the learning curve associated with the M1. I have two of those now, one on the pedalboard for when I play live with bands, the second one mounted in my laptop briefcase, for when I do solo shows without a pedalboard. The only thing I have to do to switch between them is change which one’s MIDI out goes to my RME Babyface Pro. Easy enough.