AmpliTube Metal is THE definitive collection of gear for metal players. It features an insane number of the high-gain dream machines that define the raw power, tone and emotion that is Metal, and a mind-blowing collection of rare vintage and modern stompboxes. From the very first iterations of distorted sound to the ultra-modern triple rectifier multi stage cascading gain structures, you'll find the sound you've been looking for in AmpliTube Metal.
AmpliTube is fully MIDI compatible, so all the knobs, controls and presets of this gear Collection for AmpliTube can be assigned and controlled with a standard MIDI controller, or a high-quality interface like the iRig Stomp I/O, or the convenient iRig BlueBoard.
The AmpliTube 5 Custom Shop is a free software package for your Mac or PC that includes a complete guitar dual signal chain; tuner, pedalboard, amplifier, cabinet, microphone and rack effects section. It comes with 39 pieces of gear and access to our unique online virtual music store where you can purchase gear models either a-la-carte or as a complete collection. You can even create almost any rig you can dream up combining this gear collection with the universe of gear available to try or buy in Custom Shop.
The overall chain now supports up to a massive 57 simultaneous models across Stomps, Racks, Amps and Cabs. And setup is a breeze - just drag & drop any model into place, to build or re-position even the most complex rigs in seconds.
As a standalone application, AmpliTube 5 also features an integrated 8-track recorder, plus a 4-track looper for quickly capturing your ideas as they come to you. And, of course, you can mix and match your favorite gear with any and all of the new AmpliTube 5 models to create your own one-of-a-kind tones.
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The problem with all of this is it holds us back from the important stuff like writing new music, recording, and practicing. Instead, we end up in that endless search for tone and trying to make sure we have the right amp sim.
In trying to stay as close as possible to the BIAS Amp 2 sim used in the test, I wanted to find another amp sim that modeling the same style of a high gain amp. But I wanted to use a free amp sim.
Amplitube does have an amp sim modeled after the Peavey 5150 amp. But I chose to use their licensed Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier sim. This made the metal tone test a little more interesting.
*You can read more about the Amplitube Mesa Boogie products here: Amplitube Mesa
A recurring theme in many of the recent guitar amp simulators has been a lack of variety for fans of high-gain guitar tones. If you don't like, say, the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier emulation, then you've often been out of luck.
Metal can run standalone or as an AU, VST or RTAS plug-in on PC or Mac. It's laid out in the now familiar AmpliTube style - there are Tuner, Stomp, Amp, Cab and Rack sections - but it's the amp models that are of most interest here, and there are five to choose from.
There's a standard Marshall-style option, but the 150W model - based on the Peavey 5150 - is the real treat. It delivers an aggressive tone that's definitely the most gain-happy of the lot and will satiate fans of modern metal.
The tone can be further shaped by mixing and matching the virtual cabinets and mics. You can also run two setups in parallel, in various routing configurations, leading to some monster sounds and thick, stereo tones.
Metal has 14 virtual stompboxes modelled on classic units associated with metal and the harder end of rock. A version of the venerable Boss Metal Zone is present and correct, complete with the parametric EQ section that shaped many a metal tone in the late 80s and early 90s.
We also enjoyed the Big Pig, which delivers a fat, chunky tone that's much like the Big Muff from which it's derived. The Feed Distortion unit deserves a special mention, too, as it generates an endless stream of feedback - something that's difficult to produce in a software-only setup.
If you're an AmpliTube 2/Hendrix Edition user, then using Metal in conjunction with the free X-Gear 'shell' (which enables all the various AmpliTube products to be accessed as one plug-in) will give you an unrivalled range of guitar tones. It should also be noted that Metal is being bundled with IK's StompIO.
AmpliTube Metal is a popular virtual gear add-on for the freely downloadable AmpliTube Custom Shop guitar amp suite. The collection features 48 gear models for heavy metal and similar music styles. It includes a selection of high-gain guitar amps, various distortion stompboxes, and custom effects.
Taking a closer look at the included gear, AmpliTube Metal comes with five virtual guitar amps (both vintage and modern models are included), thirteen cabinets, six different microphones, a set of nine FX rack effects, and fourteen guitar pedals. Some of the highlights are the Vintage Metal Lead amp based on the Marshall JMP100 head and the Metal Lead W, which is based on the Randall Warhead 300.
Keep in mind that you will need to install the AmpliTube Custom Shop software to use the gear included with AmpliTube Metal. AmpliTube Custom Shop is a free download from IK Multimedia. It is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin formats for 64-bit digital audio workstations on PC and Mac.
Again, this offer is valid for new and existing IK Multimedia users. If you already have an account and an active newsletter subscription, skip the first two steps and claim your AmpliTube Metal serial number right away. If not, be sure to complete the process before July 15th, 2020.
If you have both plugins, you should automatically have access to the amps in BIAS Amp when you have BIAS FX pulled up. I have a post that explains how to do this here: How to Use BIAS Amp with BIAS FX
Notes: I mentioned recording two rhythm guitar tracks in the video. I like to use a slightly different tone for that 2nd guitar track. All I did here is use a different cabinet for my 2nd guitar track, which is listed above.
Both mic placements were close to the grill. For the 1st track, the mic was just outside of the edge of the cone. For the 2nd track, I moved the mic further from the cone (centered between the cone and the edge of the speaker, as you can see in the images above).
Notes: The only effect I used, in this case, was a noise gate, the MXR Smartgate. Many classic high gain amps require an overdrive pedal for a cleaner and tighter sound. But I find that the EVH 5150 III red channel does not need any help (I do use an extra boost for the EVH blue channel, which is why you see that MXR Classic Distortion pedal in the image above).
I personally record two rhythm guitar tracks for metal, or really any genre. And I typically hard-pan each of those tracks. This gives you that full, stereo effect in the mix. And it just sounds better, overall.
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