Amplitube Fender review
By MNJ
| Posted in Music Technology
IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube Fender, which can be used as standalone software or as a plug-in, is the result of a collaboration between two companies at opposite ends of the industry.
Big name software plug-ins for studio gear such as compressors and reverbs have been around for some time but there haven’t been as many made available from the guitar manufacturers. And no wonder – offering not only the actual names of specific Fender amplifiers either past or present, but the sounds and features of them as well is a tall order. Guitar players who have owned and used Fender Twins and Deluxes for years and know what a Fender amp sounds like are not going to be easily fooled by a ‘close enough’ attempt to emulate their treasured classics. The amp tones have to be spot-on for anybody to take the product seriously. So does AmpliTube Fender pull this off? Let’s find out…
Having had AmpliTube 3 for a few weeks now, the layout of the AmpliTube Fender software is familiar territory to me, and although there is less to play with, the 12 amps, 12 cabinets and nine effects offer plenty of choice to discover the distinct tones that Fender amplifiers are so revered for.
Pulling down the preset menus for each model brings up the familiar black face or tweed panel graphics from the 60′s Twin, Deluxe and Vibroverb as well as the 50′s Bassman and Deluxe. The modern era Fenders are represented by the Champion 600, Supersonic, Vibro-King, pro Junior and Metalhead. There’s a couple of bass models included too – the Fender 300 head and TPB-1 preamp.
As one of the aformentioned aficionados of Fender amplifiers and having owned and used at least one each of the 70s models at some point including a much missed Vibrolux Reverb with 2×10 speakers, I felt the need to head straight for the Twin Reverb model. This piece of software will stand or fall by how good the Twin is, having represented and been at the heart of the Fender amp line for so long. I ignored all the presets with the added effects and plugged in a Nocaster Relic, dialling up the ‘Classic Clean TW’ patch.
Having previously bemoaned the fact to colleagues that I find it hard to get decent classic clean tones from modelling software, I shall complain no more. Talk about nailing it. The bright switch does what it always did, and the vibrato depth and speed and the classic Fender spring reverb all add to an extremely authentic recreation of an all-time classic amp, to my ears anyway.
Next up was the ’65 Deluxe Reverb, the real black face version of which is revered by guitarists everywhere. I called up the ‘Clean Blackface Deluxe’ patch and found it a little darker in tone than the Twin, with the break up a little earlier, just like a real one. By pushing the volume a bit harder, the Telecaster sounded wonderful, and after I’d recorded a couple of test tracks to listen back with various patches, I was totally sold.
IK Multimedia has done a great job here and the package is worth getting just for the couple of amp models I’ve mentioned. You will need the hardware pedals to control the swell and wah effects properly but quite honestly, the effects are the least interesting feature here apart from the quite luscious ’63 Reverb in all its glorious brown livery.
I’ve heard all the Fender amp simulations on nearly all the guitar software packages, and I’ve always been less than impressed with the results. A Tele through a Twin is a very special sound which was unavailable on any software emulation, until AmpliTube Fender came along.
Tags: amplitube fender, fender bassman, fender deluxe, fender supersonic, fender twin