« Average sounding »

IK Multimedia has released the next edition of their famous Amplitube line - the Amplitube 3. This time, they packed even more features in the application than before. There are more pieces of gear, the application is more powerful than before, it has some added versatility that the other one didn't have and sounds a bit better. They claim it has better feel, but I'll argue that point. The biggest issue I tend to have with all modelers out there is that they still feel and sound like modelers. No matter how hard I try, they still have that stiff and grainy kind of personality. I'm a big fan of the way tube amps sound and feel, and the closest one to a real amp that I've tried was the Axe-Fx Ultra. However, that's an extremely piece of gear. The good news is that Amplitube 3 is very easy to use and set up. There are no issues getting a decent base sound to start recording with.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

I did have some crashes with Amplitube 3. It wasn't so much of an application crash as much as it was an audio crash. When playing, I like to switch to my web browser and browse the web for a bit. Once I go back to the application, sometimes the buttons won't respond. I'm not sure if an update fixes that as I haven't updated it, but it's something to keep in mind. On the positive side, this application isn't a memory hog, so you can leave it on for long periods of time without really worrying about anything. For those wondering, I'm using a Mac Pro with an Apogee Duet interface to run this device.

OVERALL OPINION

Amplitube 3 is a decent modeler. It is more versatile than its predecessor, it has more of an amp feel, but in the end, it's still a modeler. It still has that signature modeler sound and feel. Because of that, I can't really rate it higher than what I have it as. So far, Fractal has been the closest company to mimicking that signature tube amp tone, but it's still not perfect.