I'm still wrapping my head around PreSonus giving us amp sims that are light years beyond the original Ampire in a free update and also making them available for use in other programs. But now that they're here, let's take advantage of them before PreSonus's accounting department changes its mind.
The new amp sims do not supplement the old Ampire, but replace it. New Studio One owners will have only the new amps; existing users will find that the legacy presets were removed. If you need to get the older presets back because you used them in pre-4.6 projects, simply install the Ampire XT Classics extension-but I'd recommend redoing any presets with the new amps, because they sound so much better. (The Ampire XT Metal Pack works with the new Ampire, but you may need to re-install it.) The PreSonus Knowledge Base has an article with everything you need to know about making the conversion from the old Ampire to the shiny new Ampire XT.
Why Bi-Amp?
Bi-amping a guitar amp is useful for the same reason that most studio monitors are bi-amped-just as you can optimize the speakers for high and low frequencies, you can optimize the amps for high and low frequencies. For example, with heavily-distorted chords, the high strings will be equally distorted and relatively indistinct. With bi-amping, the lower notes can have a big, beefy distortion sound, while the high notes ring out on top-which is the subject of this Friday tip.
Let's take a bi-amped preset apart to find out how it works. This preset is available on the PreSonus Exchange, so if you just want a cool, crunchy rhythm sound, go ahead and download it. But the real value here is learning how to make your own presets, because this preset was made using my guitar, pickups, strings, playing style, pick, and follows my musical tastes. It's unlikely you play guitar in exactly the same way, so it's worth tailoring any amp sim preset-not just this one-to your own playing style and gear.
Recording the Guitar
Guitars are mono, but to play stereo games, we need to convert a mono track to dual mono. This allows using processors like the Binaural Pan.
Record a mono guitar track with Channel Mode set to Mono.
Change Channel Mode to Stereo.
Select what you recorded.
Choose Bounce Selection (ctrl+B). Now your guitar part is dual mono (e.g., the same part in both the left and right channels), so Studio One recognizes it as stereo.
The FX Chain Multipreset
Fig. 1 shows the FX Chain block diagram. The Splitter is doing a Frequency split; frequencies below 924.7 Hz go to the left split, while frequencies above that go to the right split.
Figure 1: Bi-amp Multipreset block diagram.
Next up is choosing the amps, and setting their parameters (Fig. 2). The left split uses the MCM 800, a revered British amp that can marshall its resources to give big, beefy sounds. The right split's VC30 amp is known amongst the vox populi for its bright, ringing high end, so the two amps are ideal for delivering the desired result.
Figure 2: Left split (on top), right split (below).
Now let's enhance the amp sound with some EQ, reverb, and stereo imaging to spread out the reverb a bit more (Fig. 3).
Figure 3: Final touches for the bi-amp multipreset.
The EQ adds the equivalent of an amp's bright switch. With a non-bi-amped preset, you have to be very careful about adding brightness because it can emphasize any artifacts caused by intermodulation distortion. But that's not an issue here, because of the VC30's a clean high end. The gentle low-frequency roll off simulates more of an open-back cabinet sound. The reverb is sort of a cross between a spring and room sound, while the Binaural Pan spreads out the reverb signal for a wider stereo image. The pan setting is fairly conservative; feel free to widen things further.
This multipreset makes an excellent template for further adventures with bi-amplification. Of course, this just scratches the surface of what's possible with these new amps-so stay tuned to the Friday Tip of the Week for more applications.
Download the Crunchy Rock Rhythm preset here!
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I'm still wrapping my head around PreSonus giving us amp sims that are light years beyond the original Ampire in a free update and also making them available for use in other programs. But now that they're here, let's take advantage of them before PreSonus's accounting department changes its mind.
