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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/898
104 MacDirectory
REVIEW | MUSIC GAMES
GUITAR RIG 3 SOFTWARE EDITION > WORTH A CLOSER LOOK
Talent and hard work aside, perhaps the
greatest challenge for the working electric
guitarist is versatility. There is more than
one El Dorado of perfect tone and the
only way to cover the bases is to have an
array of stomp boxes and a truckload of
amplifiers or a modeling solution such as
Guitar Rig 3 from Native Instruments.
GR3 is available in a "Kontroller" edition
with software and a foot controller for
$559 or in a software-only version for
$339. A demo version with a limit of 30
minutes per session is also available.
Employing a rack motif, users can drag
and drop heads, cabs, mics, effects and
tape decks directly into the rack, tweak
away and then save the result as a custom
preset. A large number of factory presets
are available, based on a selection of 12
amps, 17 guitar and 6 bass cabinets, 4
rotary speakers, 9 microphones and 44
effects. The presets are arranged by style,
amp and artist, as well as effects and
other presets for vocals, synth, drums and
live performance, along with various
settings for Strat and LP. You can easily
create your own library in banks of as
many as 128 presets and then mix and
match them into overlapping categories
as you desire.
Live performance is enhanced by a
switching to a simplified oversized view
that displays the live preset bank, a strobe
tuner, metronome, loop machine and a
virtual Kontroller.
Installation
Installation and set-up is easy. A simple
panel is used to specify audio and MIDI
settings. Licenses, upgrades and
downloads are handled via a separate
application. The package (which also runs
on Vista and XP) requires OSX 10.4 or
higher and at least a 1.4 GHz G4 or a
1.66 GHz Core™Duo processor. Hoping to
test the app on a 1.33 GHz iBook we
found that even that measly .07 GHz
difference resulted in a refusal to launch.
By installing the app on an external
FireWire boot drive we were able to easily
move between studio and stage with a
minimum of hassle.
Hands On
Guitar Rig 3 Software Edition works well in
a dorm room or as an effects processor
for Logic, Garage Band and other DAWs.
It sounds quite good and is easy to use.
When it comes to live performance, the
need for a hardware controller becomes
immediately apparent. SE users can buy
the foot controller as an upgrade for
$289. Is the Kontroller worth the price?
After two years of trying, we have not
been able to persuade Native Instruments
to send us a hardware controller,
prompting us to take more than a passing
glance at competing hardware-based
products.
As regards tone, Guitar Rig does quite
well, but for the connoisseur of boutique
tube amps there is no getting around the
limitation inherent in digital modeling of
tube characteristics. Despite the range of
tones available, not everything is
attainable. The subtle art of surfing the
edge between clean and overdrive on a
Boogie MkIIC is not something you can
easily emulate. Frankly, the difference is
not something that will be noticed by the
majority of users, who will find enough
good tones in GR3 to keep them busy for
months. For many devotees of current
popular styles, Guitar Rig 3 will be the very
thing they need, offering a wide spectrum
from clean to crunch, an equally wide
range of tonal characteristics and ton of
effects. The looping and recording
capabilities are also very appealing for
both practice and live performance. Of
course, there is no discounting the ease of
connecting a MacBook to the PA and
dispensing with those backbreaking 4x12s,
heads, or 80-pound 1x12 combos.
Conclusion
The Guitar Rig 3 software provides the
ability to craft and store an enormous
range of sounds and it comes with an
inspiring selection of presents in a variety
of styles. It is a great as a stand-alone
solution or as a plug-in. The application is
clearly designed for use with a foot
controller and is not well-suited for live
gigs without the hardware component.
This aside, GR3 is well worth a closer look.
WORDS BY TREY YANCY
Product Guitar Rig 3 Software Edition
Made by Native Instruments