Overdrive is timeless, but these days fuzz is all the rage. It's easy to then set two Macro controls to modulate the amount, keeping these parameters available when collapsing the rack. You can configure the TS999's drive and tone controls for the Live GUI by clicking Configure and rotating the knobs on the original GUI. The rack configuration really starts to come in handy here.
Live doesn't come with stomp-box models per se, so if you want an overdrive in front of the amp, download Ignite Amp's free TS999 plug-in ( Place it in the Audio Rack in front of Live's Amp and - hey presto - you have a Tube Screamer-type drive to add at will. Play with the other settings until you get the best sound for your guitar.
Setting sample rate at 4x is a good place to start. Stomp On ItĪ click on the double arrow at the bottom of the TS999 reveals a number of other parameter controls. As with real amps, higher Gain can add amp noise, so if you live for more distorted settings you might want to add Live's Gate plug-in to your rack. Feel free to experiment by varying the Gain, swapping out cabinet configurations, or changing the mic type and axis.
The Blues option is particularly expressive, offering a realistic, dynamic response to pick attack, and adding tube-like warmth to clean and slightly gritty settings.Īt lower gain settings, all these amps clean up nicely when you back off the guitar volume. Lead and Heavy also benefit from the 4x12 configuration to produce variations on heavy-metal grit in the Mesa-Boogie Rectifier zone. The Rock amp offers classic rock à la Marshall - and here the 4x12 cabinet is suggested. Boost mode will put you in the Vox area, especially with the 2x12 cabinet setting. For traditional jazz, you might want to change the microphone from Condenser to Dynamic, eliciting a warmer tone. If your style is primarily clean, funky rhythm work, set the amp type to Clean (read: Roland JC120) and stick with the cabinet default settings. Drag the Amp and Cabinet plug-ins into the area that reads, 'Drop Audio Effects Here'. If you have bytes to burn, you can, of course, use as many of these racks as you like.ĭrag and drop an Audio Effects Rack onto the Guitar input track and click on the icon with the three dots and three parallel lines. By routing this effected input to any track that requires guitar, you can avoid using multiple instances of your rack, saving CPU power. First create a track called Guitar input. You're likely to find yourself using this rig on a variety of projects, so to make access easy, let's begin by setting up an Audio Effects Rack containing everything you need. The low-cut filter will help to ensure that your mix doesn't get muddy. You can map an expression pedal to the blend for real-time control of your delay amount, or to the feedback for some cool runaway repeat effects.
TAL Togu's free TAL-Dub delay plug-in will give you everything from slight ambience to full dub effects.
In this month's workshop, I'll show you how to build a software amp and effects rig that will have you thinking twice before pointing that SM57 at your amplifier. (If you just have the basic Live, roughly £80 will let you add Amp and Cabinet à la carte.) By combining these two plug-ins with a few others - some included in the basic version of Live, some available free on the interwebs - you can dial up virtually any guitar sound. Fear not: if you bought the Live Suite, you can get a whole range of amp and effect sounds without any further spending by using the Amp and Cabinet plug-ins included with the DAW. But having just depleted your piggy bank for Ableton Live, you may not be ready to shell out another hundred or two for amp-modelling software. Plug-ins such as Native Instruments' Guitar Rig and IK Multimedia's Amplitube evoke the essence of Fender, Vox, Marshall and more. Guitar-amp modelling now offers such realism and convenience that it often requires a special occasion to make us mic up an actual combo or stack.
Once you have your effects and amps arranged here, and have Macro-mapped the controls, you can name the Rack and save it to your Library. Live's Audio Effects Rack allows you to drag in and drop Live and/or third party plug-ins. Try some guitar-amp modelling with Live, a couple of plug-ins and a bit of know-how.