- Acoustic Guitar Amp Vst Plugins
- Acoustic Guitar Vst
- Vst Plugin Guitar
- Acoustic Guitar Vst Plugin
- Acoustic Guitar Amp Vst
- Free Vst Guitar Amp Plugins
Did you know that Reaper had electric guitar 'virtual amp' modelers? I didn't :-P. There are several and they are included with Reaper - in the collection of plugins it comes with. The effect is a 'JS' plugin (short for 'jesusonic'), which is a Reaper-specific plugin.
Anyway, someone on our YouTube Channel was asking if there was a way to plug his electric guitar into Reaper through a regular audio interface (such as a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2), and hear it sound like it was played through 'virtual amps.'
Amp Modelers In Reaper?
AkoustiK GuitarZ – Free Guitar VST Plugin This VST has 4 acoustic guitar types. It includes an amp, envelope, fine-tuning, stereo spread, and portamento. Video: BIAS Amp 2. Just like Guitar Rig, Bias FX 2 and Bias AMP 2 are two great all-rounder guitar vst plugins. Featuring loads of different amps, cabinets, stompboxes, and other features, both of these plugins are capable of almost any kind of tone you could think of. VST 4 FREE - Free Audio Plug-ins and Archives. Ample Guitar M Lite II is a free Acoustic guitar plugin developed by Ample Sound. Instruments Effects MIDI Hosts What's new Ample Guitar M Lite II. The Cortex Amp Stack is a combination of two VST-plugins by Matthias Becker: the Cortex Guitar Amp and the OldCab (an amp cabinet simulator). The original VST's have long been out of development, in fact the creators website no longer exists, but now the VST plugins are back with an unrivalled sound quality and a modern and slick looking GUI. What is the best guitar VST you need to try? As a guitar-specific tool, IK Multimedia’s Amplitube 4 is the one to beat. While Positive Grid’s BIAS AMP 2 arguably wins out purely on sound quality, the added effects and other tools make Amplitube 4 the full package.
At first I didn't know if you could do this with a standard interface. Free vst plugin bass enhancer. I use a specific interface - the Line 6 Pod Studio - for recording electric guitar. You use that interface (the Pod) along with the Line 6 software, Amp Farm, to access dozens and dozens of high quality virtual amplifiers. This is how I recorded 'That Thing You Do.' See our post 'Cover of “That Thing You Do” – Record a Rock Song on Your Computer' for more on that :-).
For the kind of quality of amp models you get with Line 6, you obviously pay (gladly, in my case). But it turns out that Reaper has some amp models (in the effect, 'Convolution Amp/Cab Modeler') that are FREE! I was shocked. And as I said earlier, it's already part of Reaper out of the box (virtually speaking :)).
How Good Are These Virtual Amps?
Are they as good as the Line 6 ones? No they are not. But they are pretty cool! For one thing, they are free (I did mention that, right? :-P). But technically the Reaper amp modeler does not try to model the actual physical amplifier. The reason for the name 'convolution amp/cab modeler' is that it is really an 'impulse' of the the amp in a space, rather than trying to make everything sound like it was run through the amplifier.
What does that mean? Well, probably the best way to learn what that means is to check out the article here from Sound on Sound. The point is that the Reaper 'virtual amp' effect is more of an approximation than an attempt to sound exactly like a real amp.
That doesn't mean it isn't cool! See the video below for how to do it and what it sounds like:
As I show in the video, you can add distortion to the sound by loading another JS plugin (called 'distortion,' oddly enough).
Also, you can 'play live' by loading the effects on the track and arming it to record. You will have to switch on the 'record monitoring' button. All that is shown in the video.
So you do not necessarily need to have a paid virtual amp program or a specific guitar interface in order to record a cool electric guitar sound using Reaper. Have fun!
Using an acoustic guitar with an electric guitar amp might sound like a convenient idea if you already own an electric amp.
But can you do it?
And if you do will you damage any of your equipment?
And what will the sound be like?
Can You Use Electric Amp with Acoustic Guitar?
Short answer is yes you can.
But would you want to?
That will be answered later. But for now let’s just say that they are perfectly compatible in terms of the cables you use. The input jack for an electric guitar is the same size as it is for an acoustic guitar – so no problem there.
Do People Actually Do it?
Absolutely, there are people who use their acoustic guitar in an electric guitar amp.
Whether they do it for convenience, because they don’t want to or can’t afford to buy an acoustic specific amp, or if they are actually looking for a certain sound, depends on the individual guitarist that is doing it.
Is it Common?
I would say it’s not uncommon, but most people I know would have a specific acoustic guitar amp. So it’s more common to use a specific acoustic guitar amp but it’s not uncommon to use an electric guitar amp either. I’ll get into the reasons why later in this post.
Will I Damage the Guitar?
Absolutely not. The signal runs from the guitar to the amp. There is no danger to damaging your acoustic guitar by plugging it into an electric guitar amp.
Will I Damage the the Amp?
No you won’t damage the amp either. Electric guitar amps are fine with the signal from an acoustic guitar.
The Sound that You Want
Now, knowing that you can use an electric guitar amp with your acoustic, and it won’t damage either the amp or the guitar, let’s ask the question – and this post is full of questions after all! – will you like the sound of an acoustic plugged into an electric amp?
The answer to this question really depends on the sound you are after – but generally speaking the answer will usually, but not always, be no.
Sometimes You May be Looking for that Sound
I remember going to see Jay Mascis (from Dinosaur Junior but doing a solo show), opening for Sonic Youth, playing an acoustic guitar but he had it running through an electric amp.
Not only was he running it through an electric amp – he was distorting the crap out of it – and playing some wicked solos I might add.
But that was the particular sound he was after. You don’t necessarily have to play distorted if you are running through an electric amp. You can play through the clean channel – and you can adjust the EQ to an extent to get a better sound.
Acoustic Guitar Amp Vst Plugins
And some people do actually prefer the character of an electric amp with an acoustic. But those are the few, not the many. If you are looking for that kind of sound, then this is a great option.
But Most Acoustic Guitarists Aren’t Looking for that Sound
However, if you are looking to get the best sound out of your acoustic – in terms of bringing out all of the tonal qualities of the acoustic – and to get an authentic acoustic sound (particularly if you just want the guitar to sound like the guitar except amplified), then an amp designed specifically for an acoustic guitar will be the way to go.
Acoustic Guitar Vst
The sound that you get out of an electric guitar amp through an acoustic will also depend on the electric amp, of course.
Specific Acoustic Guitar Amps
Acoustic guitar amps are specifically designed to amplifier the natural sound of your guitar. They have different tonal qualities and don’t focus on compressing and distorting the sound, as a lot of electric guitar amps do.
Vst Plugin Guitar
Most people want to replicate the sound of their acoustic unplugged – particularly if they have a nice acoustic.
An acoustic guitar amp will do this job much better than an electric amp.
Acoustic Guitar Vst Plugin
Which Acoustic Amp is Best?
If you decide to get an acoustic guitar amp, the one that you get will depend on a number of factors – like the guitar you have, the purpose you are going to use it for (home, small solo gigs, playing with a band, etc) and the budget you have to spend.
How to choose the best amp is a topic for a whole post – check out the post below to learn more about choosing the best acoustic amp for you.
Other options
A lot of acoustic guitarists plug straight into the PA when doing shows. This might not be an option if you want to practice plugged in at home or for band practice if there isn’t a PA.
But if you only ever need to plug in when playing live then just plugging into the PA is definitely an option.
Acoustic Guitar Amp Vst
Final Thoughts
If you want to plug your acoustic guitar into an electric amp, that is definitely an option. Depending on the sound you are looking for and with the right electric amp and some tweaks to the EQ settings, you might even get a sound that’s just right for you.
However, if you are looking to create a sound that brings out the natural sound of your acoustic, then an acoustic guitar specific amp is definitely the way to go.
What do you think?
Free Vst Guitar Amp Plugins
Would you plug in to an electric amp with your acoustic?
Have you done this or know someone? What did you think of the sound?
Any other comments or questions very welcome, just leave them in the comments section below.