On Jan 1, 2005, at 5:47 PM, Peter Ostry <po@...> wrote: > I plan to settle my final :) guitar processing this year... > > Three choices for now: > The traditional way - Rocktron Prophesy. > The new but "I don't know" way - PODxt Live. > The software-only way - Guitar Rig. > I believe the sound is good with all three and I know about the > different prices and possibilities. > > I want to use it for recording and live (amps or PA) and need as much > flexibility as I can get: from clean to heavy distortion, spheric to > funky. Recommendations? > I have brought this subject back to "on topic" because my response certainly involves Logic, and I think this is something that is of serious interest to a lot of Logic users. If for recording we're talking about getting sound into Logic, first of all, don't write off Guitar Amp Pro. First of all, you already own it. Second of all, it processes VERY quickly, and will not add any extra delay of its own to the software monitoring delay, which will matter if you're relying on a software amp simulator for your "room sound" as well as recorded tone. That said, Guitar Rig is an absolute winner in every way. My personal favorite way of recording is to take a line out from a real tube amp (actually, a THD Hot Plate acting as a "dummy load" with its line out) into Guitar Rig's speaker simulations. I have set up a "Marshall Full Stack" rig of a couple of different 4x12s, each mic'd up differently, which sounds every bit as punchy as my real speaker cabinet. And if you're looking at a modeled guitars as your only tone generator, my personal take on things is that software modelers actually sound better than the POD or ToneLab. I have owned the POD and ToneLab, and I have done a comprehensive roundup of all current software amp modelers (the cover story of the forthcoming January 2005 issue of Electronic Musician). While the POD sounds good, and the ToneLab even better, the software options are even more dynamic and authentic to me, especially when EQed with a good "analog" EQ like a UAD Pultec, Sonalksis, VintageWarmer, etc. But if you're looking at taking a laptop up on stage as your sound module...it is with the greatest regret that I cannot recommend relying on Logic 7 for such a mission critical task. Moreover, until audio interfaces and Core Audio are capable of truly low-latency operation, I cannot recommend a Macintosh at all. You'll notice that Dennis Gunn mentioned his bandmate was using a Windows laptop. If you're going to take a chance on a laptop for your live amplifier sound, I'd also recommend Guitar Rig standalone on a PC laptop. Of course...if you're willing to spend the money for a PC + Guitar Rig (figure $1000 for the PC laptop, $400 for the Guitar Rig, or about $1400), at that point you might as well get a Line 6 Vetta head, a Tech 21 amp, a real amp head from Marshall, Fender, Mesa/Boogie, Rivera, ENGL, Soldano, Vox, and so on--whichever you prefer--and a small cab. You're guaranteed to have killer tone, and you'll never have to worry about an amplifier needing to be reboot. ;) And for recording, you can do a line out into Guitar Amp Pro, or a speaker IR into Sound Designer, etc. Anyway, I hope all this gives you some ideas! Orren ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.mertonfolio.com Author of: • Logic Pro 7 Power - http://www.courseptr.com/ptr_detail.cfm?isbn=1592005411 • GarageBand Ignite - http://www.courseptr.com/ptr_detail.cfm?isbn=1592004741