I was one of the early AA users, back then there wasn't even nebula 3.

Despite cpu load they sounded really good at the time if you give enough headroom to the plug-in. But was risky for mastering (odd random artifacts when headroom decreases) and for guitar amps only good for a clean channel type sound. The owner wasn't a good programmer and their business model changed to worse overtime and I quit using them.

Computers got crazy strong since then but their programming never got more efficient, I used to adjust nebula parameters for better quality before rendering but this isn't possible with aqua and the prices they ask to me are simply insane. I think I spent around 20 euro to get nebula 2 at the time and we had constant free releases from developers, was a good deal back then.

PS; I googled that surrey amp and listened a video, smooth tone but the (super slow) attack makes it very unrealistic.

 

Last edited: Jan 5, 2021

That's your problem, clean your ears or get a proper computer that can handle the best sim on the market. You're clearly the one smoking something. Don't ever compare Neural DSP with SURREY Guitar Amp Suite, it's an abomination.

 

I am not a fan boy, you're just mad you're not getting this for free cos it's not cracked. Anyone with working ears knows the king is SURREY Guitar Amp Suite without even trying, its one of the best plugins of 2020 point blank. Good luck!

 

Is this really true? What do a buffered eq-pedal and a di-box have in common or is it only a low-cost but also different sounding solution to get a good guitar-signal into the box? Indeed i tried a lot of different di-boxes and never get a better sound worth 100 to 300 dollars. The sound was mostly only subtle different to "wannabe"-di-inputs on my usb-interface.

 

The witchcraft they got going on has to do with their machine learning algos to emulate what's going on through hardware circuitry. The only two amp sim companies I know that are using this tech correctly is neuralDSP and Mercuriall. I wish more plugin companies start using it, cause nothing really sounds like it.

 

Im a seasoned guitar player, 23 years or so playing guitar (and everything else). owns few vintages guitars and amps. I can confirm it (interface) makes a huge difference because back in 2012 or so Im using Focusrite Scarlett and then I upgrade to Apogee Duet, the difference it made was surprising. plus apogee has some soft clipping on its pre so you can crank (a little) the signal the way you would to an amp. I stopped playing with hardware (amps, pedals) and went fully (not really but 9 out 10 of time) software since last year. I just got myself an SSL 2 interface and can say it is good for the price and you get the muchly hyped 4k (and SSL plugins bundle, 4 free, the rest 6 months). Im not sure what do you mean by a high-end di-box can you pls give some suggestion, so I can take a look at them ?

 

As far as high end DI Boxes go, there's Little Lab Redeye 3D Phantom and RNDI are often mentioned. More common is Countryman Type 85. Personally I use Warm Audio Active DI Box.

 

Acustica Surrey and Virgo are insanely good. I combine them with Ownhammer cabs (load them in STL Ignite) and combine mic positions e.g. 421 with 414 with rear and room mics.

 

I own a UR-44 extrernal sound interface and i always record guitar/bass DI, the moment i got the Radial J48 DI i got "something" that was missing from my tone , the difference is subtle but my tone feels kinda more "alive" now through ampsims. Its not night and day, but the difference is there. If anyone is recording for more than demo results, a DI is a must imho.

Now about neural , i did not like Nolly at first (dont hit me...) i just fiddled around with it for couple minutes... The second time i was stunned! Also abasi is my least favorite (for now)
Even if i compare my best tones from other ampsims... still neural sounds great without even playing around with the mics or anything tone related... NDSP plugins are just ridiculously good!!! Helix on the other side never impressed me... To me it feels like everyone is overhyped for it and it does not sounds as good as other ampsims in its tier (ex. TH-U) I never got it why but a lot of people swear by it and still i find it to be kinda "flat" i dont say it sucks but it does not seem to be great too ! Maybe thats me...

 

For the Helix, try a 3rd party IR, see if that makes any difference. Obviously if you are so inclined to give it another try. I may be biased because I use the hardware live.

 

Adding "analog" style saturators/eg/compressors does wonders for the tone with Neural Plugins(or pretty much anything for the matter). And I completely agree with Helix sounding like trash. It's lifeless in comparison to the stuff Neural or Mercuriall has..

 

The helix just doesn't have that "feel" like Neural or Mercuriall. It doesn't react dynamically to the playing, nor does it have that extra sonic dimension of said plugins. IR's only help to a certain extent. The cleans are okay, but as soon as you start to push the gain on that plugin, it's fizz to my ears. This isn't me fanboying, Objectively, The Neural and Mercuriall stuff are lightyears ahead in ampsim modelling compared to Helix.

 

Guys i 've tried 3rd party IRs but still helix native is not my number 1 choice. Actually i ve tried almost every ampsim! I really enjoy the cab sims from neural. Now i have to try neural with ownhammer IRs just to to experiment.
Also Helix hardware vs software has a huge difference !!! Offcourse the hardware version sounds killer !
Another fact is that taste is different from one person to another, so thats a huge factor about chosing the right ampsim.
Maybe helix native is just not for my taste, that does not make it a bad ampsim at all offcourse !!

 

Well, to be honest, as premium as a DI Box can be, it's just a very simple piece of circuitry which will filter DC, possibly making your tone cleaner and impart an EQ curve plus some very subtle compression caused by the transformer, which is the expensive bit...It (normally) doesn't even impart saturation, because DI's must be clean. Of course, this is considering a passive DI.

That's why it's possible to emulate a good DI Box in the box, like the DIFIX plugin does pretty well. It's not rocket science, and if you know your way around making some guitar pedals, making yourself a premium DI is extremely simple...Like I said, the more expensive part is the transformer. The rest of the components is very cheap.

I'm a fan of the BOSS EQ pedal before hitting the interface because it takes care of possible impedance inconsistencies (buffer) and the EQ bit allows you to extract several different flavors from just one guitar with a very good quality analogue EQ.

It's all about personal taste, in the end.

Oh, and I also recommend buying a good quality power strip, one with line/emi filters. It can make a big difference to get rid of some DC noise, specially if you're into single coils.

 

See, because I have the Helix hardware, I learned how to use that to get the best from it becuase I was using live. I got my tones in say an afternoon, then went using it live, and was maybe 6 months - 1 year before I stopped "tweaking" and settled. I think the dynamics react wonderfully on it with most things, but as I have said in other posts, it needs to move air, be it an amp, FRFR or PA.

I whole heartedly agree with you both though about Native. Out of the box it doesnt sound in the same league at all, and given there ARE so many excellent choices, with the Neural stuff being as good as it is, AmpliTube 5 again upping its game, why anyone would choose Helix Native over NDSP unless they are already using the hardware and want to take the tones out on the road or match the software and hardware is a mystery. If you get into it, its phenomenal, its for "tweakers", but its harder work than it reaaaaally needs to be, and I dare say that now more people are trying the Neural stuff and seeing the quality, they will have a lot more people that will be wanting to see them make the plugin better.

 

Don't know if IK upper their game with Amplitube 5, but 4 has a horrendous quality to it. Out of the box tone you can usually identify if it's A4. Just a bad tone if you ask me. Plastic-esh or something.

 

AT5 sounds better because of their new cabinet system, which is very smart by the way, but I was not impressed...They got rid of most of the fizz, but a huge part of its gear collection is made by really old stuff with outdated code. There are some good amps and pedals here and there, but it takes a while to find them among that big pile of junk.

Don't get me wrong. AT5 is fun, but not even close to Neural DSP in terms of quality.

 

Yeah out of the box processors work best for stage use. Boss gt stuff is famous for sounding dull for recording yet blends so easy on stage.

But its unfair to expect them sounding just as good as plug-in cause of dsp limitations. Best trick to me is rather than adjusting to ear, matching them to a plug-in's tone of choice. Likely still won't sound as good but on stage will get the crowd going.

 

I bought the Strymon Iridium 2nd hand and it kills everything I'd every used in pure software, but I haven't yet dove into this Neural pond yet. By what the buzz here is buzzing on about it sounds very promising. For me it isn't how it sounds in a mix as one these days can shine a turd beautifully with hamburger helper plugins, but rather the feel, the interplay and fine sensitivities under my hard earned calluses, picking hand and the amp/cabinet(s) that I'm plugged into.

 

S

Stunning piece of kit, and I dare say benefitting from being a piece of hardware compared to an algo, if you buy you put more time in than with a “freebie”. I remember seeing a guy with a pre-pedal, can’t remember the make, going to a shitty amp, one of the best tones I have heard.

And completely agree about playing right, you have to feel it when playing, and let it be tweaked to the mix later.