IK Amplitude shop

[seamonkey]

IK has opened up their Amplitube custom shop

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It's a cool concept. You download an register a free Amplitube 3. Amplitube e 3 includes a few bass amps. It's actually pretty amazing just by itself for free.

Then you can buy amps, cabs, mics, effects through the amplitube store. Each piece individually.

You can try anything for 2 days.
If you like it, buy it.
No longer do you need to buy packs that include amps/effects that you just won't ever use.

Official, Ampeg, GK, Fender, Orange, amps and cabs are all there. I expect IK to expand this exponentially.

Unfortunately your DAW needs to be on the internet. With a firewall and a hole punched through to IK, this should be fine.

This is a very smart move by IK, and great for those who like to mix and match to find the special sound they need.

I don't know enough yet if they're extending these models to iPad/iPod versions - that would be cool. Total modeling solution in your pocket. We'll see.

 

[Brian at IK]

Thanks, Mikey!

Yes, we will be expanding our gear, and we have some pretty exciting stuff in the works. Look for more officially certified models from even more top gear manufacturers!

Bassists with a bit of the funk will be particularly interested in getting their Bootsy on with the new Nu-Tron III pedal available in the Custom Shop right now.

You only need to connect to the internet once to authorize your custom shop gear. You can then go back to being offline, if you like.

 

[seamonkey]

Hey Brian at IK

What does "officially certified models" mean?
Is this just sanctioned from the manufacturer?
Is there any blind testing done to be sure you match some golden reference?

 

[Brian at IK]

Officially certified means that our models pass certification by the manufacturers, and earn their stamp of approval. These companies are of course very protective of their reputations, and very particular about their tone, and they don't put their names on our models until they verify that we have lived up to both.

 

[MrTAteMyBalls]

Thanks for the heads up this sounds like a fantastic idea.

I just want to add that the software is called amplitube with a B....as in tube amp. not amplitude with a D. I see it typed in message boards all the time as amplitude. If I am missing something there please let me know. Sorry to be a nazi about it. My wife called "neopolitan" ice cream "napoleon" ice cream for years until i couldn't take it anymore and had her sound out the word. I blew her mind that day.

 

[seamonkey]

@Brian - good information.
Yes I see name brands on the products for Amplitube. To me this is a much higher level of quality that the manufacturers are putting their names on these models.

An issue with modeling in general is that naysayers claim it doesn't sound like the original. Now I expect the models are derived from a golden standard, and no two physical amps sound the same. Yet, it it seems just like an endorsement from the manufacturers, not blind testing, not null testing to prove the sound is the same.

I guess this debate will never end. But I can say I like these models and this method of selling. For me it's a big win. Especially on how easy it in to pull in a demo a piece of gear.

In any case, if you're in the market for a hardware amp/cab, Amplitube is also a great way to try out some combination's to see what you like, before trying to physically locate the hardware. It also lets you buy amps that are no longer in production.


@MrT - sorry about the spell check.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

...My wife called "neopolitan" ice cream "napoleon" ice cream for years until i couldn't take it anymore and had her sound out the word. I blew her mind that day.

My wife for years called an antenna an "an-tan-na". As an electrical engineer who's worked with antennas, it bugged the heck out of me. I tried and tried to make her sound it out. I think she eventually got it, or I just learned to ignore her and substitute the correct pronunciation. Not sure which...

 

[lowfreqgeek]

I recently started getting into plugins and the IK Custom Shop sealed the deal for me. I spent a couple days with the Bassman model and will purchase it after I've spent time with some of the others and decide what I can use and what I can't. It's GREAT to be able to spend a couple of days with each one before purchasing.

I'm also seriously considering some of the mastering series plugins now. The Amplitube models have convinced me...

Excellent business model, too; give away a useful tool, sell some more useful tools a la carte for a good price, gain the customer's trust and hook them, then sell them more expensive stuff. I like it!

 

[Brian at IK]

@Brian - good information.
Yes I see name brands on the products for Amplitube. To me this is a much higher level of quality that the manufacturers are putting their names on these models.

An issue with modeling in general is that naysayers claim it doesn't sound like the original. Now I expect the models are derived from a golden standard, and no two physical amps sound the same. Yet, it it seems just like an endorsement from the manufacturers, not blind testing, not null testing to prove the sound is the same.

The manufacturers test the models. They make sure they not only sound the same, but also that the knobs match the tone too. So if you own an Orange AD30TC or a Fender '65 Twin Reverb reissue, you can copy your settings and get the same tone in AmpliTube.

Keep in mind that AmpliTube does not reproduce the sound of an amp live in your room. That is impossible for reasons that should be obvious. What it does is reproduces the sound of the amp as it sounds recorded through a mic (you can mix in DI too.) This should go without saying, but sometimes I see people complaining that AmpliTube didn't blow their hair back when they hit an open powerchord through their computer speakers...

So anyways, it is difficult to reproduce the exact, identical sound as the hardware under similar circumstances because there are so many variables and deviations between the hardware we modeled and the control group you are testing against. But you will get a sound that is within the margin of error.

As for the models being derrived from a Gold Standard, how does an SLO-100 from Mike Soldano's private collection grab you..?

I guess this debate will never end. But I can say I like these models and this method of selling. For me it's a big win. Especially on how easy it in to pull in a demo a piece of gear.

In any case, if you're in the market for a hardware amp/cab, Amplitube is also a great way to try out some combination's to see what you like, before trying to physically locate the hardware. It also lets you buy amps that are no longer in production.

This is a big win for our strategic partners, too, and they know it. It is one of the selling points for these big name brands to get onboard. But it doesn't help them if our models aren't accurate or don't sound good. And they wouldn't sign off on the models if that was the case. And you can see that they have. So you know that these brands believe they are being well represented by our official gear models.

BTW, we prefer to spell it AmpliTube. Invalid Link Removed

 

[seamonkey]

Automatic spell checkers prefer "amplitude"

My only beef now is: "More Bass models please". Amps, Cabs, and Effects.

I also discovered I get like half off if I use jam points, or whatever they're called or spelled.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

So... As I mentioned before, I tried out the Bassman 300 Pro/15" cab/AKG C414 combination over the weekend. I'm working on a project with a friend in Nashville (I'm in New Mexico), so I sent him a couple tracks with the Bassman to see how he liked it.

He loved it and wants more, which means I'll be purchasing the Bassman model for sure so I can complete the rest of the tracks. Great marketing scheme - it worked on me!

Only question now is how one acquires Jam Points? "Like half off" sounds good!

 

[Brian at IK]

You aquire JamPoints with every purchase. You get an automatic 8% back in JamPoints. Plus we've done fun stuff from time to time like giving free JamPoints for uploading presets to the Preset XChange.

 

[Brian at IK]

My only beef now is: "More Bass models please". Amps, Cabs, and Effects.

I also discovered I get like half off if I use jam points, or whatever they're called or spelled.

If you want more bass stuff at once, I'd recommend getting Ampeg SVX. It will unlock all the Ampeg models at once, for less than it costs to buy them à la carte at the Custom Shop.

SVT Classic, SVT-4 PRO, B-15R, BA-500, plus 6 officially certified matching Ampeg cabs, an Ampeg SCP-OCT Octaver, Ampeg SCP-OD bass overdrive, a bass wah, and 5 other pedals, all for $129.99. You can purchase it directly through the Custom Shop from the COLLECTIONS tab.

I'd also highly recommend the Green BA250 model of the Trace Elliot AH250, and/or the officially certified Fender Bassman 300 PRO. Both of these are incredibly versatile. The BA250 is my goto bass amp. Both are killer for an aggressive tone. If you like something fat and jazzy, then you can't go wrong with the 360Bass, modeled on the Acoustic 360. I use that when I want an omnipresent, shapeless lowend rumble.

And of course you gotta get the Nu-Tron III. Even if you never use it on a song, it's just too much fun not to have!

 

[seamonkey]

People here know I love Ampeg SVX (ad naseum)
But some models, well I just haven't found a practical use for. Just not my tastes.

Now Fender looks really good, and Green, and Trace ... more of these please.

"Nu-Tron III" isn't that spelled "Mu-Tron III"?

You know I getting it.
Now I do have some plug ins that do exactly the same, but having that pass by the originators and their approval counts for a lot of time savings in me looking for the right Mu-Tron III sound. It's there at IK!

 

[Brian at IK]

The Mu-Tron III wasn't officially certified by Musictronics. It's sort of hard to do that when they no longer exist. That's why it's slightly misspelled...

But you can rest assured, our Mu-Tron model is just as accurate to the original as our officially certified gear from Ampeg, Fender, Orange, T•Rex, Soldano...

 

[GMSweet]

I jumped onto the AmpliTube bandwagon this weekend as well. I had previously tried the Ampeg SVX plugin, but having an SVP-Pro in my rack already, I just didn't see the need for a bunch of Ampeg sounds. I think the shopping model is fantastic and the pricing is just about spot on. I've already added the Bassman 300, Green 250, TBP-1 and a mishmash of cabs. I just need to figure out what to use the last 25 credits on!

I'm not sure what all is in the works, but I'm hoping that the relationship with Fender will bring a few more SWR offerings (Grand Prix, MM Preamp, etc) and hopefully you can forge some new relationships. Perhaps a BBE BMax, Genz Benz Shuttle, MarkBass, TecAmp. Of course there are other studio pres that would be nice as well (Avalon 737, UA 6176, API, etc).

I'll be spending more time with AmpliTube in the studio, but based on what I'm hearing, I may look at converting any future live sounds to AmpliTube as well. I have dreams of a Windows 7 Tablet running AmpliTube into a micro power amp into a full range cab like a fEarful. I'm going to pipe it into my SWR California Blonde next week to see how it sounds. All in all, pretty exciting stuff.


Good job and thanks!

Matt

 

[Rickett Customs]

Don't know if anyone else has run into this issue, I use PT LE 8, Once I had installed Amplitude, Now I cannot start protools, it stops at loading Bombfactory plugins and freezes up...... Uninstalled amplitude, ran a repair on PT, reinstalled the plugins....... still does the same (probably something still in the registry), looks like I'll be re-installing protools, minus amplitude. UGH, I hate doing all that work again...............Thanks IK multimedia (PT worked fine the day before, no changes......this particular machine is used for one purpose only: Recording and that's all)

 

[Brian at IK]

Matt, have you tried the GK or 360Bass amps yet? GK will give you tight and punchy, 360Bass Preamp will give you warm and fat. These two cover opposite ends of the spectrum. I've found great uses for both of them.

Jason, please contact our Tech Support! This is what they're there for.

 

[GMSweet]

Brian,

I have the Audifexx versions of the GK plugins that I'm still playing with (I grabbed those before I knew you folks were working with GK). I demo'd the Acoustic but found the bottom end too loose for my liking. I'm sure I can do just fine with what I have, but who doesn't want a few more models to choose from. I'm looking for big but articulate bottom end with a lot of control over the mids since my bass puts out a ton of rich mids and a sweet top which I'm working on toning the GK models down.

One thing that may help would be to see if the web folks could get a more "model specific" search engine going for sharing user presets. In a tool dominated by guitar models, us bass players have to dig to weed through all of the guitar stuff. Back when I dabbled with a Line6 Bass Pod, I found Line6's commitment to bass players lacking and I eventually stopped using the product. I think bass players and recording engineers would appreciate the ability to filter the user presets down to specific models or even groups (like "Bass amps").

Again, it looks like a great launch and the sales model works for me. I could see myself purchasing more credits in another few months to load up on some favorite amps and cabs. I'm not much an an effect guy so those don't really draw my interest.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[Rickett Customs]

Brian,
Thanks for the tech link, but sometimes all it takes is bad taste in my mouth and I'm done.
Since it's actually another plugin that has went kaput (Bombfactory), I don't see where it going to help, being that it would be an avid issue........Unless tech support is going to help me through that? If they can, then I will call....but If I get told that I cannot be helped with this issue, I WILL HAVE AN AXE TO GRIND WITH THIS PRODUCT.

It's nothing personal, I just had to cancel a recording session due to this recent turn of events......