Hi, been out of the loop for some time but have started playing around with recording....just starting out and looking for some guitar effect options. At the moment AmpliTube 5 SE is on offer for about 40 euros..aprox $62 AUD. Not sure if this is what I would be happy with but would be interested in any thoughts if anyone has used this. Looking for options on some distortion at odd times but mainly trying to get my 72 SG Gibson to sound like a Strat. You may say best of luck with that. Second part is some options for my Alesis V25 controller. Again AmpliTube has Sample Tank 4 offered at the same price. Anyone familiar with this module? Cheers
BIAB 2026 UltraPAK Xtra packs 1,2,3,4,5,6,13 2019 and 2018 49pak LENOVO THINK PAD i5 Windows10 pro, 16g i7 64bit Allen and Heath Z10fx mixer Alesis V25 controller
amplitube is great. but i use amplitube 3 which came free with BIAB until recently. i tried a more up to date version but with their presets it was always trying to sell me something. when i chose one of tehir presets i needed to buy an extra amp or fx pedal etc.
amplitube custom shop 5 is free and if you can get it to use the BIAB presets you should be fine.
maybe you don't needs presets, its fairly straightforward and you might get the sound you want by just paying around with the stuff you get free.
to get the gibson sound like a strat you'll need a fair amount of eq! i have my humbuckers coil tapped to give single coil sounds and its not a bad compromise.
Just wondering now if this deal at 39 euros is only an upgrade rather than a stand alone module. I have only the free version which offers very little. Trying to contact them to see if I need a paid version for this.
BIAB 2026 UltraPAK Xtra packs 1,2,3,4,5,6,13 2019 and 2018 49pak LENOVO THINK PAD i5 Windows10 pro, 16g i7 64bit Allen and Heath Z10fx mixer Alesis V25 controller
I am a huge Amplitube fan and find it to be kind of an indispensable tool.
There are some pedals such as the acoustic sim pedal that used in conjunction with the jazz 120 amp will do amazing things to a piezo acoustic electric.
On the electric front, I have never ceased to be amazed. Mind-boggling program. If you can go all out on it, do it. I have never been disappointed.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
I am a huge Amplitube fan and find it to be kind of an indispensable tool.
There are some pedals such as the acoustic sim pedal that used in conjunction with the jazz 120 amp will do amazing things to a piezo acoustic electric.
.................................
Thanx for that information David. I'll definitely give that a try.
Dad, how will I know when I've become an adult.
When your day is ruined because they rearranged the grocery store.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
If it plays nice with your system, freeAmp is pretty cool too. I was impressed with the options for a free VST. rekkerd.org seems to still have links, otherwise it seems to have disappeared.
Caveat, you may find that version 3, or 2.5 or 1.5 works best with your system. It was a little buggy at times, but a pretty cool free guitar amp sim.
I also like 3rd bass (for bass amp sim) linked on the same page. Not always a fit, but sometimes makes the bass sound more live with a little tweaking. Too bad Fretted Synth couldn't stay afloat
https://rekkerd.org/fretted-synth/ /one of the things that impressed me was simply moving the mic on the graphic from center to the corner of speaker made a difference. Lots of hidden little features for something free. //fun to play with
Last edited by rharv; 11/24/2112:35 PM.
I do not work here, but the benefits are still awesome Make your sound your own!
Thanks again, have bought the SE Version and seems ok but probably need a better interface. At the moment using the 10fx mixer but getting some latency playing live. All good…thanks
BIAB 2026 UltraPAK Xtra packs 1,2,3,4,5,6,13 2019 and 2018 49pak LENOVO THINK PAD i5 Windows10 pro, 16g i7 64bit Allen and Heath Z10fx mixer Alesis V25 controller
If the goal is to get your SG to sound like a strat, I will offer a different plug-in solution: a cheap strat copy.
This is almost assuredly cheaper to get a strat sound, particularly position 2 and 4 tones.
Maybe I have just been lucky, but in the past 4 years, I’ve purchased a full body thickness Squier Affinity strat, and a Peavey Milestone sorta-strat, each was $25. The Squier needed filing on the frets, which became a project and the Peavey became a gig guitar. Both sound like strats (the Squier is half way through becoming a dual lipstick pickup guitar with parallel and series wiring like a Danelectro.
The point is that if you have the room and the patience, there are so many decent strat guitars out there that your fastest and cheapest path to the chime of a strat is to just get one! If you want to buy new, Harley Benton, Stagg, SX, all make gig worthy and recording worthy copies for $129 roughly here in the US
To that point, I have a used white Mexican strat I bought at the Guitar Center, I think, for a few hundred about 10 years ago and it will smoke any other guitar I have played, anywhere, for any price.
It will simply burn the house down and I have played nothing that compares to it at any price, anywhere. It doesn't really even need effects--just a Fender Twin will do.
I am convinced that guitars have nothing to do with price or label--at all. I went through two music stores and played every single guitar they had for about four or five hours before I took home the Mexican Strat. There were $6,000 guitars that sounded just awful.
So, yeah, if you want a Strat sound, go to a store and spend a day playing every thing they have. That is my suggestion too.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
My suggestion is not about getting an acoustic sound out of an electric with the amplitube acoustic sim pedal and the Jazz 120 amp, it is about applying those to an acoustic electric. (Hope that was clear.)
There are amazing things you can do with the acoustic sim pedal using that Jazz amp to create and adjust new body sounds and really enrich the tone of an acoustic electric.
It's wild.
Tell me how it works for you.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
My suggestion is not about getting an acoustic sound out of an electric with the amplitube acoustic sim pedal and the Jazz 120 amp, it is about applying those to an acoustic electric. (Hope that was clear.)
There are amazing things you can do with the acoustic sim pedal using that Jazz amp to create and adjust new body sounds and really enrich the tone of an acoustic electric.
It's wild.
Tell me how it works for you.
David, I did understand about the acoustic electric guitar into the Amplitube set up. I just never had thought about your method. I will let you know how things work out after I try it.
Thanx again about that suggestion.
PS - if you want to get an acoustic sound out of an electric you might want to try ReGuitar:
to get the gibson sound like a strat you'll need a fair amount of eq! i have my humbuckers coil tapped to give single coil sounds and its not a bad compromise.
EQ will help, but even that won't be quite close enough! There's a fair bit of phase cancellation with humbuckers, given that they're essentially mixing the frequencies at two different positions on the strings. To do a really accurate sim you'd need a bunch of moving notch filters at frequencies relative to the two magnet positions on each pickup, as the frequencies being notched out change depending on the note and which string it's played on, and that doesn't even account for everything since some humbuckers intentionally mismatch coils and magnet strength and etc etc...
Originally Posted By: David Snyder
I am convinced that guitars have nothing to do with price or label--at all. I went through two music stores and played every single guitar they had for about four or five hours before I took home the Mexican Strat. There were $6,000 guitars that sounded just awful.
So, yeah, if you want a Strat sound, go to a store and spend a day playing every thing they have. That is my suggestion too.
I second that. Having worked at a guitar shop, I can assure you that price tag does not necessarily mean quality. We had a number of very high ticket instruments that played so poorly they should've slashed a zero off the sticker - one arrived from the factory with a 4-inch crack running down the neck and the paint was running into the crack, meaning it was cracked before painting and whoever painted it, whoever added the hardware, whoever did finishing fretwork, whoever strung and tuned it, and whoever QC'd and boxed it ALL missed it! Price tag at the time was around $4000.
Comparatively, the absolute best guitar I own is a Japanese-built Jackson electric, which was traded in when I worked there. I ended up paying under $300 for it, complete with Seymour Duncan pickups and the nicest gig bag I've ever had. The second best guitar I own is a 1981 Ibanez Strat knockoff that I paid $100 for complete with some very nice sounding ceramic pickups that a lot of people seem to despise on paper - personally I'd pit it against anything at least 10 times the price.
And, funny enough, one of the best playing guitars I played there was a hot pink Squier Strat with Hello Kitty all over it. Shoulda bought it. Oh well.
That said, back on topic, I've had mixed luck with plugins trying to change the inherent tone of the instrument, however I had good results from the old Peavey Revalver plugin doing a fairly realistic job of making humbuckers sound like single coils. To get accurate emulation they made you strum the guitar into the plugin to have it figure out the frequencies/overtones coming out, so they knew what needed to be EQ'd or whatever.
Originally Posted By: MarioD
PS - if you want to get an acoustic sound out of an electric you might want to try ReGuitar:
I don’t know if you can get Monoprice products in Oz, but Clicky here these Indio series guitars, including this strat copy for 80 USD WILL absolutely sound like a strat.
I don’t know if you can get Monoprice products in Oz, but Clicky here these Indio series guitars, including this strat copy for 80 USD WILL absolutely sound like a strat.
Today's the Last Day of the Band-in-a-Box 2026® for Mac Special!
Order before 11:59pm PDT today (May 15, 2026) to save up to 50% off your Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® upgrade and receive a FREE Bonus PAK loaded with great new Add-ons to use with this new version!
Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac - Special Offers End at 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th, 2026!
Order before 11:59pm PDT on Friday, May 15th and SAVE up to 50% on most Band-in-a-Box® version 2026 for Mac Upgrade packages... and that's not all! With your version 2026 for Mac purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks... that's 222 NEW RealTracks available with version Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac!
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® today for as little as $49! Check out the Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all available purchase options.
Learn more about the Free Bonus PAK and 49-PAK here.
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202 New RealTracks Released with Band-in-a-Box 2026!
With Band-in-a-Box® 2026, we've released 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 468-488) in a variety of genres—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Funk & World (Sets 468-475):
Our new jazz, funk & blues RealTracks include a groovin’ collection of RealTracks and RealDrums! These include more requested “soul jazz” RealTracks featuring artists Neil Swainson (bass), Charles Treadway (organ), Brent Mason (guitar), and Wes Little (drums). There are new “smooth jazz” styles (4), which include a RealTracks first: muted trumpet, as well as slick new smooth jazz brushes options for drums. Blues lovers will be thrilled—there are more “classic acoustic blues” styles, including guitar (5), bass (4), and drums (10) with blues master Colin Linden, featuring understated and tasty background acoustic soloing, plus brushes drums and acoustic bass. There are also new electric blues RealTracks, including electric blues with PG favorite Johnny Hiland (3) and soulful electric slide guitar from Colin Linden (4). If you love funk & gospel, there are great new options this year, including gospel organ (3) from Charles Treadway, as well as new funk, tango, and rock ’n’ roll drums (3) and bass (1). And for big, bold arrangements, we have uptempo soul horns (4) featuring a three-part hip horn section with options for a full mix or stems of each individual horn — plus an accompanying rhythm section (4) of drums, bass, guitar, and electric piano!
Rock & Pop (Sets 476–482):
Our new rock & pop RealTracks bring a powerful mix of requested favorites, fresh genres, and modern chart-inspired styles! We have more of our popular “Producer Layered Acoustic Guitars (15)” featuring Band-in-a-Box favorite Brent Mason. We’ve continued our much-requested disco styles (10), and added new Celtic guitar (5) with a more basic, accessible approach than our previous Drop-D or DADGAD offerings. There are also highly requested yacht rock styles (17), inspired by the smooth, polished soft-rock sound of the late ’70s and early ’80s — laid-back grooves, silky electric pianos, warm textures, elegant harmonic movement, and pristine production aesthetics. Fans of heavier styles will love our new glam metal (13), capturing the flashy, high-energy sound of ’80s arena-ready guitar rock. We also have a set of rootsy modern-folk rock (18), with a warm, organic sound combining contemporary folk textures and driving acoustic strumming. And we’ve added lots of new modern pop styles (16) — the kinds of sounds you’re hearing on the radio today, featuring exciting new drums, synths, and cutting-edge RealTracks arrangements.
Country, & Americana (Sets 483–488):
Our new country & Americana RealTracks deliver a rich collection of acoustic, electric, and roots-inspired styles! We have new country pop (9) with legendary guitarist Brent Mason. There is also a potpourri (14) of bouzouki, guitars, banjo, and more, perfect for adding texture and character to contemporary acoustic arrangements. We’ve added funky country guitar (5) with PG favorite Brent Mason, along with classic pedal steel styles (5) featuring steel great Doug Jernigan. There are more country songwriter styles (8) that provide intimate, rootsy foundations for storytelling and modern Americana writing. Finally, we have “background soloing” acoustic guitar (12) with Brent Mason — simpler, but still very tasty acoustic lines designed to sit beautifully behind vocals or act as a subtle standalone solo part.
And, if you are looking for more, the 2026 49-PAK (for $49) includes an impressive collection of 20 bonus RealTracks, featuring exciting and inspiring additions to add to your RealTracks library. You'll get new country-rhythm guitar styles from PG Music favorites Johnny Hiland and Brent Mason, along with modern-pop grooves that capture today’s radio-ready sound! There are also new indie-folk styles with guitar, bass, 6-string bass used as a high-chording instrument, acoustic guitar, and banjo. Plus, dedicated "cymbal fills" RealDrums provide an added layer that work very well with low-key folky styles with other percussion.
The 2026 49-PAK is loaded with other great new add-ons as well. Learn more about the 2026 49-PAK!
2026 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK for Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac®!
With your version 2026 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons for FREE! Or upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2026 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 27 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 25 new RealTracks and 23 new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 12 new RealStyles.
MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
Artist Performance Set 19: Songs with Vocals 9
Playable RealTracks Set 5
RealDrums Stems Set 9: Cool Brushes
SynthMaster Sounds Set 1 (with audio demos)
iOS Android Band-in-a-Box® App
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2026 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyle.
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
MIDI Styles Set 93: Look Ma! More MIDI 16: SynthMaster
MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
RealDrums Stems Set 10: Groovin' Sticks
SynthMaster Sounds & Styles Set 2 (sounds & styles with audio demos)
XPro & Xtra Styles PAK Sets On Sale Now - Until May 15, 2026!
All of our XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs are on sale until May 15th, 2026!
It's the perfect time to expand your Band-in-a-Box® style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs. These additional styles for Band-in-a-Box® offer a wide range of genres designed to fit seamlessly into your projects. Each style is professionally arranged and mixed, helping enhance your songs while saving you time.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-10 includes 1,000 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 includes 3,700 styles (and 35 MIDI styles)!
The XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs are not included in any Band-in-a-Box® package.
The XPro Styles PAKs 1-10 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
The Xtra Styles PAKs 1-21 are available for only $29 ea (reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the Xtra Styles PAK Bundle for only $199 (reg. $349)! Listen to demos and order now! For Mac or for Windows.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version as they require the RealTracks included in the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box today with XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAK Sets!
With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.
Whether you're exploring new features, checking out the latest RealTracks or Style PAKs, this is your go-to guide for Band-in-a-Box® 2026.
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