Guitar Rig
Guitar Rig is a powerful guitar effects software from Native Instruments, featuring 54 effects, 17 amps and 27 cabinet emulations.
It is easily one of the most popular software used by home recording guitarists, thanks to its combination of great sound quality, flexibility and sleek interface.
After almost a decade, Guitar Rig has grown to be one of the most complex and feature-packed guitar effects software. The current version Guitar Rig 5 carries a truck load worth of gear, which you can mix and match in a myriad of ways. It highlights the advantage of having digital amp and effects modeling – getting tone versatility without having to buy, carry and setup multiple amps and effects.
To prevent any copyright issues, all the virtual gear available have pseudonyms that are easy to “get”. The name hints on the particular brand of gear, while the graphical interface also does the same. A good example of this is the “Citrus” model, which as you may have guessed, is bass on a 70’s era Orange amplifier.
The current number of amps available is now 17, although not as many as others, they do emulate some of the most popular amps in history from old Bassmans to modern high gain amplifiers. The virtual amps follow the original multi-channel design and control knobs of the amp they are based on, allowing for closer tone approximations. There are also extra “Expert Parameters” where advanced tone shaping can be achieved, like adjusting the power supply, reducing supply voltage, and even setting the age of the tubes inside the virtual amps!
Although their amp simulations are good, Guitar Rig’s true strength is its 54 modeled rack type and stompbox effects. These effects provide impressively accurate reproductions of classic hardware devices. And not only that – you can get multiple flavors of all essential guitar effects giving you quality and versatility at the same time.
For instance, you can choose between 11 overdrive, distortion and fuzz units to drive your sound, with each one having the same parameters available as the hardware they are based from. There are also plenty of modulation, filter, compressor, limiter, reverb and delay effects to keep even the most versatile guitarist happy. And the beauty of having all of them in digital form is that you can chain them together the way you want them to without worrying about pedalboard space, cables and budget!
For hardcore tone seekers, this software offers multiple tone mixing options. You can align 8 virtual mics at a cabinet of your choice, or you can have 8 of these custom setups in one! Extensive virtual cabinet mic’ing maybe overkill to others, but it may come in handy for some.
Aside from being very useful for recording, this software is designed to be compatible with a special foot controller, which turns your computer into an ideal effects processor for live performances. This means that you can have the exact same sound on your record and on your live performances.
Go to Native Instruments to download the Demo version for Mac & Windows.
The full version of Guitar Rig 5 is currently retailing for $199. The Guitar Rig 5 page also offers an in depth look at what the software can do.
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