Jan 9
V-Amp2 Rocks
Ok. So I bonus myself a bit at the end of the year so I can continue (as in the infinitive) to upgrade my project studio. One of the things that I’ve been wanting is an external guitar effects processor. I’m not much of a guitarist, but since it was the first instrument that I learned, I sometimes find it easier to lay down electric guitar tracks with a guitar rather than sequencing the part via MIDI. The drawback to recording live guitar tracks is that - due to latency with plug-in FX - I’ve been recording guitar tracks dry and adding FX to the track afterward. That’s a problem because it’s hard to “get in the groove” listening to a dry (no amp; no nothing) guitar.
All that said, I didn’t want to spend $200 or more, since most of my stuff isn’t guitar-oriented, and I just don’t play enough to warrant a significant expense in that department. So, I did a bit of Web shopping, and read glowing reviews on this little item: Behringer V-Amp 2. For under $100 (eTailer price with my ASCAP discount), I figured that I didn’t have too much to lose. I didn’t! The unit comes with a foot switch, a canvas carrying case, and a bunch of nice presets. If the numerous presets weren’t good enough, you can download editing software, and hundreds of more user-contributed tones from the Behringer website. The MIDI control of parameters also looks promising.
How cool is this?
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These little things are great. I started with one for my little home studio and then purchased the Pro version for my guitar rig. It packs all of the effects of a guitar effects processor (delay, chorus, flange, etc.) with a “software” representation of some great amps and cabinets.
I typically use post insertion when I am recording with this device. That way I get the tone I want from the device along with the clean signal to disc. This frees me up to be able to go back at mix down and add any effects I want without affecting the original track.
I too paid less than $100 for the VAMP. The only complaint I have is in the saturated preamp simulation (like a British Hi Gain Amp, or a driven rectified amp). There seems to be a wash similar to a short reverb when changing patches via MIDI. Other than that it is great! Cool…very cool.
The post insertion is an excellent idea! Thanks for the tip.