Positive Grid enters the iOS amp modeling arena with the new BIAS app, an amp modeler, designer and processor in one.
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Aside from playing with modeled amps, Bias lets you build your own virtual amp from scratch with impressive control over a variety of parameters.
Positive Grid has built up quite the reputation with their musician friendly iOS apps: JamUp Pro and Jam Player. However it looks like they are planning to fry even bigger fish with this amp modeling app, signaling their entrance into a market currently dominated by big name companies.
Note that they are coming into this saturated market with guns blazing, even describing the app as “the world’s most complete, accurate and versatile guitar amplifier modeler and designer”. It may sound like a ridiculous claim, but reviews have been consistently good.
Bias starts out with 36 amp models that are based on popular vintage and modern amplifiers. Some of the amps that were modeled even come from the 1940s. Every amp model is said to be meticulously engineered to have immediacy, sensitivity and realism.
Having these modeled amps at your disposal, you are then given the choice to use them as they are, or customize the amps to your preference. Just like customizing real amps, you can swap out the tubes, preamp transformer, tone stacks, cab and mic of your virtual amp. You can even change the tube’s bias which probably gave the designer the idea for the app’s name.
You can also create your very own custom amp with the app’s intuitive app designer interface. It will let you swap out tubes, preamps, distortion circuits, tone stacks, boutique power stages, custom-built transformers and cabs with specially matched speakers. This makes the app applicable to all guitar players regardless of style preference.
Bias Product Manager Calvin Abel said: “Ask any guitarist what’s most important in a guitar amp app, and you’ll get the same answer: great tone. We didn’t think we’d be pushing the boundary by merely adding more bells and whistles to an amp simulator, so we threw out convention and focused instead on how to create the most delicious tone in as many flavors as possible. The result is BIAS, which allows guitarists to change preamp tube types, edit preamp voicing, adjust bias, audition various transformer types, swap out loudspeakers and cabinets, move microphone placement and much, much more. Never before have guitarists had such a broad palette to create their own dream amps and distinctive signature sounds.”
If tweaking the sound is not enough, you can also customize the look of the virtual amps by changing the name, amp panel, tolex and knobs. Like most of the latest guitar apps, Bias easily integrates with other iOS audio apps. Other features include noise gate and room simulator.
BIAS is now available at the iTunes App Store, with a tag price of $19.99. You can visit Positive Grid for further details.
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This app might find its way to our list of the best Amp Modeling Software!