I'm just getting started with BIAB again after a few years hiatus. My guitar is fed into the computer via a MesaBoogie V Twin preamp. In the past I had an old effects rack that I would use to process the sound, give it a little bit of room reverb to wet it up. Now I'd like to bypass that effects processor and go with something software like guitar rig. I tried it once and found the sound to be acceptable but could never get the BIAB to recognize it (ie, when guitar rig was active, the sound wouldn't come out on BIAB files, and vice versa).
Does anyone have any suggestions for guitar processing software that is compatible with BIAB? I mainly just want to play along with arrangements and such.
Well, when I "playalong", I keep my amp sim software (S-gear2) "outside" of BIAB.
Most USB interfaces will allow you to adjust both BIAB & your guitar out to your speakers/headphones.
It can be done. I actually don't do it myself that way - I use my sim in Sonar. I use Revalver, which I prefer to Guitar Rig. Here is a thread on doing this:
http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=242052&site_id=1Regards,
Bob
So I'm looking at revalver, which says can act as a standalone vst plug in. The article you directed me to is from 2009....does anyone know if BIAB supports direct monitoring?
I guess my larger question would be, how do other people use BIAB if not to play along? Do you just write the music, export it out and play it externally?
A lot of people do save to a common audio format and then use another player, especially when playing live.
I've not done it in BiaB but in RB I have used FreeAmp successfully playing as direct monitor (though I don't record this way as a rule). Should work the same in BiaB.
Also works well as 'after the fact'.
I'm more likely to record the dry line of an amp out so I can adjust the sound later.
http://rekkerd.org/fretted-synth/ <-- FreeAmp link
I think I use version 2.5
If you want to run Guitar Rig from inside of BIAB, this should be down to the ASIO capabilities of your interface and BIAB, and how low of a buffer size you can go with to get latencies low enough for your tastes.
When you were using Guitar Rig, did you have ASIO selected as the driver type?
Standalone mode is something altogether different - this would have not much to do with BIAB whatsoever. This would be a capability of your soundcard and how it handles audio from multiple sources inside the PC.
If you use your Mesa Boogie preamp and external effects, this should be easy for your soundcard to handle and will involve zero latency issues.
-Scott
One unanswered question that is critical to your answer is what you are using to get the sound into the PC. What sound card are you using? To have reasonable gain in Guitar Rig or other amp simulation (Amplitude, Revalver, etc.) you'll need an interface or method with the right impedance for guitar pickup input. Most of the external USB interfaces these days have at least one channel capable for this, if you want to bypass using the Mesa Boogie V-Twin.
I have a realtek high definition audio, which I believe is integrated into the motherboard? The vtwin gets me up to the proper impedance.
I was able to do this in the past with external processing (rack mount) but I no longer have the space to have the rack, so I'm looking for a software solution.
The motherboard audio likely has a microphone in, may have a line in or may combine the two inputs into one jack. Neither the microphone or line inputs have the correct impedence for guitar or bass pickups. The input jack on an amplifier is called a high-z or high impedence input. Plug a bass or guitar directly into the motherboard jack and the recorded sound will be dull and distorted. You need something with a high impedence input or to convert the analog signal to digital outside the computer.
The most inexpensive solution is to do an online search for a guitar to usb cable. I recently bought one for less than $10.
The Vtwin has a switch that allows it to function like a direct box. I can get sound into the computer no problem. It just has no reverb, nothing to help it sound like it's coming from an amp. It doesn't sound dull or distorted.
I've never been a fan of the software based amp sims.
I always have preferred the hardware approach to guitar sound. Either get the sound from a guitar amp and mic it or use a processor like Line 6 makes (Pod series) or some other hardware based solution.
that said, you should be able to use an amp sim in BB.... Real Band for sure....
Excellent. I'm glad your amp has a built-in audio interface feature. That's a handy feature to have.
BiaB ships with 1kMultimedia's Amplitude 3 amp sim. I've used it some and though the number of models are limited, what you get seems to be easy to use and versitile. May as well give it a try.
15 Day free trial
S-Gear2 Great Amp Sim (IMHO)
I think I'm beginning to understand. The new BIAB seems to have built in plug ins for processing. This may be what I'm looking for.
Your issue is down to latency with the built-in audio interface, then. You may want to try ASIO4ALL to get a low latency driver for your sound card, if you want to have the additional effects on your pre-amped sound, or you want to use the amp simulator in BIAB.