If you can play the real instrument, you're always faster (not to speak of more versatile), no?

 

I think it depends on several factors: the role the guitar will have in the song, how demanding you are or want to be in making it sound like a guitar. I don't know if you remember, but I've mentioned here before that even though I play the guitar, many times I want to use VSTs or even clone the instrument because my guitar is of poor quality. However, when it comes to wanting to achieve a "real" guitar sound, whether with Ample Sound or Kontakt as Native Instruments libraries, it doesn't quite convince me. If you add effects like "chorus" and delay, or even distortion, you can have a very similar emulation, but if you want a clean sound, it doesn't sound the same as a real guitar at all. This is despite the fact that guitar VSTs like Ample Sound are becoming more versatile, but from my point of view, they are still not very realistic. It just plays a "tin" note, and it sounds like a keyboard rather than a real guitar.

 

it just sounds like a clean super low passed electric guitar. May be a wha being used as well and the low passed

 

"Look, OP, for me, the sound is very similar to this. I recorded my clean guitar using a standard preset from the THU VST for Jazz guitar (I believe you could achieve this with some kind of clean presets). And I used the last pickup of the guitar, the 'Neck' pickup. I think it comes pretty close to the sound you want. There are people here who have a better ear than me and might know the exact preset or if there's any kind of filter involved. But the point is, for me, it's either a real guitar with the 'Neck' pickup or a VST or guitar library selecting the 'Neck' pickup. What I have no doubt about is that the microphone is the 'Neck' pickup. By the way, I used a Stratocaster, but it could be another type of guitar model as well, like a Gibson, which has a more robust sound. So, I think it would be a matter of searching for what was suggested, like Ample Sound, and selecting the 'Neck' microphone, a clean preset, and a clean amp and cabinet. As mentioned here, it's true, Fender is known for its clean sound, but if you use a Marshall (for example), you'll get some distortion.

 

Of course but isn't the final result the most important thing? We live in different times, most of us produce tracks with many different types of instruments, which we have never played in real life and have little knowledge of, which is why a lot of sampled instruments include player elements like midi motifs etc., especially sampled drums and pianos. Problems arise when we hear a real instrument playing something we really like that's out of the standard VSTi repertoire and we have no idea how to reproduce it. It's almost like electronic producers are stepping out of their lane.

Even a wizard keyboard player would struggle to reproduce a simple guitar piece though because of the altered inversions of guitar chords. I've yet to hear a convincing lead guitar solo performed on a keyboard and I've heard many by brilliant keyboard players. Incidentally the opposite of what I said in my first post is also true - I have a midi guitar interface and you wouldn't want to hear any of my piano noodling on that.

We're spoiled with instruments we can't play.

 

I watched this interesting video some days ago about guitar tone, it was a real eye-opener.

 

You know.... I used to use and actually still use Kontakt library trombones. And of course, I had never heard a real trombone in my life, so to me, those Kontakt libraries sounded identical to a trombone. But my only reference to that sound was recordings of songs. One day, some musicians who played wind instruments moved into the neighborhood and invited me to their house. I asked them, "Hey, do you have a trombone? Can I play it?" It was almost impossible for me to produce a sound, as it's quite an art to do so, so to speak. But I managed to make it sound a little, and then he played it. I was amazed; it sounded like a completely different instrument. Later, when I went back to my PC, I got rid of all the Kontakt trombone libraries, hahaha.

 

Well, as you know, I play in the subway and sometimes I stay and chat with other musicians. The other day, this guy was telling me that the Stratocaster is one of the most versatile guitars because you can "emulate" the tone of other models like Gibson. And in a way, I agree and disagree. I mean, it's true that it's really versatile, and you can play jazz with the neck pickup. But if you're very picky, there are differences. Well, at least that's how I perceive it, and you can notice it in the highs. I had seen other similar comparison videos before. And if I watched closely, you can make it sound quite similar. In the highs, the Stratocaster has a brighter sound, while the Gibson sounds darker and more robust. From the low notes to the highest ones, a Gibson doesn't lose that robust sound, but the Stratocaster does. At least that's what I hear. But well, we're also talking about sound preferences and different points of view. When they make these kinds of comparisons, you find many "ears" with different perspectives, and they are all valid. After all, sound is a matter of personal preference. But yes, I believe that with the Stratocaster, you can be much more versatile than with a Gibson.

 

Coincidentally Ryck, thinking about songs that would be good for busking... Several years ago I was going to do Baker Street in a duo setup. I played the sax part on guitar and it worked very well. I have the multitrack I used on this if you would like it. PM me.

Link is good for 24 hours.

https://wormhole.app/d6Pz9#Dqh5oembVSy8yC8uOeS2LQ

 

I think the trick is to reappropriate the melody of a different instrument so it works on your own, rather than try to reproduce a sound exactly on a different instrument.

 

Wow, what a great adaptation, dude! It's not easy at all to adapt a saxophone version to the guitar. In fact, I'm trying to do the same with The Pink Panther theme song. My friend, who plays the saxophone at a different subway station, performs that song. Honestly, your version turned out excellent, and it's a fantastic idea. If you have the multitrack recording, I'd appreciate it. I'll message you privately about it.

 

Thanks Ryck.

 

This might help you...

https://wormhole.app/LB1XP#4CDGzV63Fp77mhEsRhmQNg

 

Also this Guitar Pro version that includes all of the original instruments.

https://wormhole.app/Yl30B#6kdYZOn5cXaKKbb4LJ-8qA

 

Oh, thank you so much! It sounds great with that accompaniment. I love those kinds of versions, although they can be challenging to play sometimes, but the result is beautiful. However, it's missing a part from the brass section that goes something like tana...tana. tana naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Well, I was figuring it out on my own and was thinking of adding a backing track. But this version is so much better. Thanks, dude!
By the way, have you ever heard a song by a former guitarist of Paul McCartney called something like 'Thanks'? It's on the album 'Paul is Live', and it's all acoustic.

 

Denny Laine? I'm not really familiar with Macca's solo stuff outside of the hits.