A bass guitar amp simulator is software or hardware designed to mimic the sound of traditional bass amplifiers. While traditional amps may be heavier and costlier, bass amp simulators tend to be lighter and cheaper, making them easier to use in different circumstances.
AmpliTube boasts an expansive library of amps, cabinets and stompboxes to choose from – and while its tone might not be top-of-the-line on this list, AmpliTube certainly provides value for your money.
What is an Amp Simulator?
An amp simulator is a digital software plugin that simulates the sound of amplifiers and other equipment. This enables guitarists to reproduce iconic guitar tones at home or studio without spending thousands for a full rig. Most amp simulators include multiple amp models as well as cabinets and effects to allow musicians to create all kinds of sounds; award-winning Guitar Rig 7 Pro offers even more.
Amp simulators typically require both an audio interface and computer for operation, and after connecting a guitar to it and installing software onto their computers, users can select their preferred amp model before adjusting gain and tone settings as desired. Many plugins also come equipped with professionally-crafted presets to help get them going quickly and effortlessly.
An amp simulator’s primary advantage lies in providing access to a wider variety of tones than physical amplifiers can. While physical tube amps may react unpredictably when used by inexperienced guitarists, digital emulators provide more consistent responses; allowing musicians to focus more on creativity and expressiveness rather than worrying whether their tone will sound good or not.
Amp sims can be used in an array of musical genres, from rock to blues, punk and country. Their versatility makes them a fantastic addition to any guitarist’s toolkit, whether that means augmenting existing rigs or creating your own distinctive sound.
Simulation amps may be great at imitating the sound of physical equipment, but they won’t replace physical amplifiers anytime soon. There’s something special about physically turning knobs and experiencing vibrations through a cabinet that digital plugins cannot match; and while some virtual amps might sound too bright or thin for some tastes, adding delays or reverbs after their simulation in your chain may help correct for that too.
Even with all its drawbacks, amp simulators still offer some advantages when it comes to convenience. For example, portable amp/cab simulator pedals such as Boss Amp Simulator Pedal offer convenient solutions with high-quality amp simulation and numerous useful tools, such as effects loop and headphone jack for silent practice as well as USB-C support for loading custom IRs.
How to Use an Amp Simulator
Though nothing beats plugging a bass guitar directly into an amp and turning the knobs, modern modeled amplifier simulator plugins provide an excellent alternative when real equipment would be impractical or undesirable. Furthermore, they offer greater flexibility than guitar players could normally achieve without upsetting neighbors! Bedroom musicians looking to experiment with various tones may find these simulators an invaluable asset.
Most plugins offer an assortment of presets to get you started, but it is important to keep in mind that these presets were designed to demonstrate the sonic capabilities of the plugin and may not work well in your mix. To make these work better in a mix environment, use them as starting points for tones before adding production-grade compression/EQ vsts just like you would a physical amp.
Keep in mind that certain amp sims have an operating window for input gain, meaning you may need to increase it slightly more than with physical amps to achieve saturation. Doing this too much however could result in clipping, producing digital distortion which is unpleasant to listen to.
Many guitar amp plugins provide you with the option of swapping out cabinets, which is an effective way to alter the overall sound. While some models mimic real cabinets through modeling techniques, others capture impulse responses of actual cabinets or rooms by using convolution processors – many guitarists find IR-based cabinets tend to sound more realistic and have more three-dimensional qualities.
Add a bit of reverb at the end of your signal to simulate the space where a bass guitar is played; but be wary not to add too much; otherwise it can quickly become unusable and become muddy. Chorus or delay effects can also often prove helpful but should never become excessive.
Setting Up an Amp Simulator
An amp simulator is software that simulates various amplifiers, cabinets and microphones to give guitars and other instruments (such as bass) an extra powerful acoustic boost by adding gritty overtones and reverberation to their sounds.
Amp simulators don’t require expensive audio interfaces or large recording rooms – instead they can be accessed from any computer with the necessary software and plugins installed. To use an amp simulator in your DAW simply create a new track and add the plugin as you would any other effect – then begin tweaking gain and tone settings accordingly.
Most amp sims allow you to select various amp models, each offering distinct acoustic and distortion characteristics. Some also provide overdrive/over-gain options similar to real amp control knobs – this way you can get anything from clean and crisp sounding amps all the way through to overdriven and crunchy sounds!
As with any amp simulator, one of the key factors when using one is keeping input levels low. A higher gain can cause more of your signal to pass through an amplifier and potentially clip or distort; to prevent this from happening make sure that input meter never crosses over into red territory and keep drive/gain settings reasonable low.
Make sure the output volume of your plugin is set appropriately so when adjusting an amplifier’s front-panel knobs, its final output level does not shift unexpectedly.
To elevate our simple guitar track to another level, we will add effects. First we will open up the Delay & Echo submenu and drag an instance of Echo Man – an adjustable delay effect modelled after classic echo pedals – into our rack. This flexible delay effect adds texture and distinct character to our track; for optimal results place this effect before amp as to “process” its sound before sending it onward. Otherwise it might end up sounding artificial.
Recording with an Amp Simulator
As an alternative to physical amplifiers and pedals, amp sim plugins can help your computer record guitar and bass performances. Simply create a new audio or MIDI track in your DAW, add an instance of your desired amp sim into it, add your guitar and start playing! Record and edit as necessary afterwards.
Most amp simulators provide various features to help you craft the sound you’re after. Some come equipped with built-in EQs that let you adjust frequency response of their model amp for closer matches to the amp or amplifier you desire, drive controls that push signals further into distortion, and mix controls that balance out guitar levels with other tracks during a session.
An effect bus is another convenient feature, providing access to multiple effects that can be turned on or off as needed. This feature can help create complex sounds such as by combining an amp sim with distortion unit and reverb or delay unit for example, making the overall effect much richer sounding. Most effects buses are organized according to type to make finding what you’re searching for easier.
Amp simulators often include effects that can enhance your tone, such as compressors or de-essers, to make your guitar sound fuller and more consistent across tracks when using a preset that has not changed across them. Furthermore, some amp sims (such as PRS SuperModels) include an Auto Input feature which automatically optimizes their sim for each track’s level – this saves time while guaranteeing that presets work on any track even with slightly differing gain settings.
If you want to add extra processing effects to your amp sim sound, a DAW provides another avenue. This could involve simple things such as adding delay or reverb effects before or after an amp sim instance or more complex steps – for instance if using an echo pedal-modeled delay effect you could add it after for added character in your music.