Native Instruments Introduces Guitar Rig at Musikmesse
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Guitar Rig Screenshot
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Rig Kontrol
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Guitar Rig Screenshot
(Click for a close-up) |
March 31, 2004
Guitar Rig is a one-stop-solution for the guitarist and producer. Combining sophisticated software with a foot controller, Guitar Rig is designed to be a versatile modular guitar studio. Guitar Rig opens up a whole universe of guitar sounds, ranging from classic vintage tones to contemporary hi-gain metal sounds and beyond.
Guitar Rig offers an arsenal of classic and modern guitar amplifiers, cabinets, microphones and effects, which can be freely combined in a virtual rack - letting guitarists create virtually any guitar setup imaginable. Each and every component recreates the sound of the original unit through the use of analog modeling technology.
Guitar Rig integrates three classic tube amp emulations, which were developed through detail-exact analysis of the original amplifiers -- the Mesa/Boogie Rectifier, Fender Twin Reverb and Marshall Plexi 50W. In addition there are more than 20 effects, including emulations of well-known vintage stomp-boxes and modern effects -- featuring various distortion and modulation pedals, dynamic effects, Talk Wah, Wah Wah, spring reverb and much more.
Guitar Rig also includes a "Cabinets and Mics" module to take care of the crucial aspect of speaker and microphone choice and placement. Guitarists can choose from ten different speaker types and five different microphone types, which can then be set up in four different recording positions. Up to eight speakers, each with their own mic configuration, can be combined to form a virtual "wall of sound".
The modular structure of Guitar Rig makes it possible to freely combine any amplifier or effect in any order -- even several instances of the same module can be used in the same rig. Furthermore a special split module allows two parallel signal paths with different amplifiers, cabinets and effects that can then again be joined, mixed and even crossfaded.
More than two years of dedicated research went into the recreation of the amplifiers and effect units found in Guitar Rig, all based on sophisticated analog modeling algorithms.
A newly developed "Dynamic Tube Response" technology provides tube sound with unprecedented realism and responsiveness, according to the company. The sound characteristics of various speakers and microphones are emulated through impulse response modeling technology.
Guitar Rig also includes the newly developed foot controller "Rig Kontrol", which offers four foot switches and a parameter pedal. Rig Kontrol allows for convenient preset selection and direct control over any parameter of the Guitar Rig software the user assigns to it.
All parameter data is transmitted from the foot controller to the computer via a second dedicated audio channel, making Guitar Rig a completely MIDI-free solution without any setup hassles.
It also integrates a D.I. box for connecting the guitar to the computer soundcard -- no additional hardware is required.
Guitar Rig is also a partner for rehearsal and learning, including not only a metronome and a tuner module, but also multiple "Tape Deck" modules for audio playback and recording.
Tape Deck modules allow users to play back and play alongside any kind of audio material -- from repeating drum loops to complete MP3 songs or their own guitar recordings. A time stretching feature allows for the modification of the pitch or speed of the audio playback at will.
Tape Deck modules can also be used to record a guitar performance - with or without effects, and with or without any accompanying audio playback. Combining this with the possibility to play back, tweak, layer and re-record any performance over and over with two simultaneous Tape Decks, Guitar Rig is ready for some downright creative mayhem while staying perfectly intuitive and accessible all the time.
Guitar Rig comes loaded with a library of audio loops of various styles to play along and get inspired by.
Guitar Rig can run as a standalone application without the need for any host software, making it an ready for live performance and practice sessions. The foot controller even makes it possible to use Guitar Rig without touching, or even seeing, the computer.
Guitar Rig also supports all major plug-in formats and audio sequencers.
Guitar Rig will be available in June 2004 at the suggested retail price of $ 499 / 449 Euro.
Supported Interfaces
- VST
- Audio Units
- RTAS
- DXI
- ASIO
- Core Audio
- DirectSound
Minimum Requirements
- Windows XP, Pentium 700 MHz/Athlon 1 GHz, 128 MB RAM
- Mac OS 10.2.6, G4 733 MHz, 128 MB RAM
Recommended System
- Windows XP, Pentium/Athlon 1.4 GHz, 256 MB RAM
- Mac OS 10.3, G4 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM
For more information, visit their web site at www.native-instruments.com. | 
