IK Multimedia AmpliTube 3.5 Review
IK Multimedia is letting you choose what amps and effects you want in AmpliTube 3.5. Mike Hillier heads to the Custom Shop.
Manufacturer: IK Multimedia
Website: http://www.ikmultimedia.com
Over the years AmpliTube has grown from a fun tool to an almost essential part of our workflow, making its way onto nearly every production we work on. The amps and effects have reached such a level of accuracy that even when solo’ed in a track it is close to impossible to tell it’s not the real thing. Our productions are now peppered with different guitar sounds; the amps and effects chosen specifically for each task rather than simply from what we had available to us at the time of recording.
If the bundled amps and effects in AmpliTube 3 weren’t enough, IK Multimedia also sold several expansion sets (such as AmpliTube Fender) to further expand your arsenal. However, if you needed only one amp from the Fender collection or one effect from the Jimi Hendrix version, you still had to cough up for the full bundle. But with the release of AmpliTube 3.5 this is no longer the case – IK Multimedia has added a Custom Shop application that provides users with the option of purchasing amps and effects individually. Existing users can upgrade to the new version for free, but, excitingly, new users can download a free version of AmpliTube, which comes with nine stompbox effects, four amps, five cabinets, three mics, two rack effects and the tuner.
Like the full version, AmpliTube 3.5 Free gives you access to the Custom Shop, enabling you to expand your amps and effects arsenal as and when you require new models. This system lets you choose which amps and effects are added to your collection, enabling you to pick and mix amps and effects from the full version of AmpliTube with those from any of the expansion packs. What’s more, IK has added a selection of new amps and effects, and the intention is surely to keep expanding the selection every few months.
To the Shop
Buying new amps and effects from the Custom Shop is fairly simple. You buy credits in packs (starting at a minimum of 20) for €14.99, with cheaper per-credit prices the larger the pack you get. The biggest pack (500 credits) costs €224.99 (45c per credit). Modules start at five credits, which might get you a new amp cabinet model, microphone or simple stomp effect. Prices rise in blocks of five, with some effects costing 15 credits and some amps costing 20.The app itself behaves much like a web browser, with different amps and effects on different pages. We had some issues using the scroll wheel on our mouse, but other than that it was all very simple. Once you’ve purchased your credits and found the module you want to use you can try it, which adds the module to your AmpliTube for as long as you keep the Custom Shop app open. Alternatively, you can buy it and add it permanently to your copy of AmpliTube. The trial system is great for testing amps and effects before you buy them, ensuring you know exactly what it is you’re getting.
Presets for all of the new amps and effects are automatically added during installation, so in day-to-day use you may find yourself accidentally launching a preset with an amp or effect you don’t have. When this happens an error message is displayed telling you what the preset requires and that module simply isn’t loaded. It’s a shame that there isn’t a Buy or Try button included in the error message to instantly add that effect, as launching the Custom Shop, browsing to the right module and then clicking Buy/Try could be something of a groove-killer during a busy session.
Out with the old
In addition to the new Custom Shop, the 3.5 update does include some minor changes to the main AmpliTube software itself, including a new preset browser that displays a graphic of the signal path of each preset as you browse through them. This is really useful as you can now get a much better idea of how any given preset is likely to sound rather than simply judging by the name of the preset.And those at the cutting edge will be pleased to discover that the new version is 64-bit-compatible, meaning it will run without a bridge inside 64-bit DAWs such as Cubase 6, Logic 9 or Sonar x64. The practical advantages to this are minor, since it simply means that the software will be able to access more RAM, which is unlikely to be an issue for AmpliTube anyway. But it does future-proof the plug-in as more DAWs become 64-bit and 32-bit code is slowly dropped. MTM
9/10 Verdict - With a free starter version and an ever-expanding amp and effects line-up, AmpliTube is set to become the industry standard.
WHY BUY
+ The Free version is an absolute no-brainer+ Expand your selection of amps and effects as and when you need to
+ Incredibly accurate emulations
WALK ON BY
- Credits system not as transparent as simple cash pricesScore: 9/10
This review first appeared in Music Tech Magazine issue 100
Filed under
Reviews,
Software,
Software Effects
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