Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro is a virtual guitar amp that can be used as a standalone or plug-in for Mac and Windows (VST, Audio Units, and ProTools RTAS). One problem I have encountered over the years has been trying to get a great tone in my home studio using a live amp while still balancing my playback. Feedback and bleed through have always been an issue.
While I have tried recording with multiple plug ins I have found some to be cold and sterile…until now. Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro delivers warm Marshall, Mesa Boogie and Fender tones with a variety of amp and speaker cab options. The options for switching out cabs and heads is countless. Do you want to see what a Marshall will sound like on a 2×12 vintage Vox cabinet go for it. Interested in hearing a Silverface Fender head on top of a 1960 Marshall cabinet Studio Devil can do it.
The Silverface/1960 Marshall setup is one of my setups by the way and Studio Devil nailed it perfectly.
What really blew me away was how authentic the guitar effects sounded. The Tremelo is awesome. I was able to conjure us some great Univibe tones as well as some good old fashioned Nashville Fender Twin tremolo.
Also impressive is Phaser. The Phaser has some very cool boutique phase settings. What makes the effects so cool is the analog feel controls and ability to put the effects pre or post preamp. If I could get this phaser in a stompbox my vintage phaser would be going in mothballs.
Studio Devil’s patented vacuum tube emulation technology is the result of a passionate quest to reproduce the inspiring tonal character of coveted tube amplifiers. Recognizing that virtually all tube amps are built using preamplifier stages based on the 12AX7A triode, we believed that if we could emulate this preamp stage then we could configure our software models to reproduce the effects of virtually any tube amp.
We began by physically building actual 12AX7A tube preamps. By taking electronic measurements of their distortion characteristics, we were then able to develop digital signal processing models to mimic these distortion curves so that they could be emulated in an audio plug-in. We spent time tweaking and adjusting the components of these preamps to discover how they affect your guitar’s sound, and we incorporated this into Studio Devil.
With our accurate tube model in place and sounding great, we returned to the schematics of some of the world’s best tube amplifiers to learn the best ways to configure and chain our tube models together. We selected a handful of coveted amps to represent the various guitar playing styles that Studio Devil delivers, and we used their schematic drawings to configure our plug-ins to reproduce their sounds faithfully.
Not only is Studio Devil Amp Modeler Pro a great tool in the studio but it is also great on the road. Imaging being able to bring a musicshop worth of amps with you anywhere you go on your laptop. I am more than impressed with this software I am blown away. Studio Devil also develops Studio Devil Virtual Guitar Amp II and Studio Devil Virtual Bass Amp Pro which we will be reviewing both of in the upcoming weeks.
For those of you that would like to get a feel for how powerful this piece of software is Studio Devil British Valve Custom is a free download on the Studio Devil Website. This is not trialware; it is a free Marshal Stack for your PC or Mac …go for it.
