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Hi folks, hopefully this is the right category.

I live in a small house with kids etc. and it's very rare that I can plug in my gear and practise. For years I've been using Garageband, particularly for playing along to songs and learning them for the covers bands.

However, it all sounds absolutely shit. I struggle to get a decent tone and have never even got close to replicating my own amp (Mesa MkV). The effects all kinda suck too, to my ears, though I should probably just plug in my pedalboard.

So my question is - what software do you recommend or use for silent practice?

BiasFX is OK for heavier stuff, but I never got a nice clean tone from it.

Most people are using external modelling devices. Kemper and AXE-FX are probably gold-standard and priced accordingly. I have an Iridium and think it is fantastic for silent recording. The UA ones are new to market and are probably excellent, but only offer one amp per box.

Happy to do some demos with the Iridium if you want. It's for sale.

I found Bias to be excellent

Scuffham S-gear was always my favourite, especially for plexi tones. Guitar Rig 6 from native instruments is comprehensive for lots of mucking about with different tones, currently half price I see.

My opinion is use your amps and plug in through a decent reactive load and into your interface and through headphones. I use the Captor X with Two Notes Wall of sound and it's the best headphones experience I've had, beating out the FM3 I owned.
It also has studio room reverb, so the feeling of actually being in a room is there in spades.

Neural DSP, Reaper, headphones?

That'll get you a tone that's pretty much album ready if you've got an interface.

problem is,you are comparing your rig,in your room with all that acoustic space to a program that is trying to mimic a microphone in front of a cab.
I have too many different programs and vsts to mention-but maybe some thing that simulates room sound may be a good start.Someone mentioned a load box for your amp,captor woyuld be good then you could run the two notes wall of sound plugin as well.
I'm also a heavy metal guy but ive had great results with everything from the Universal Audio plugins to lowly old pod farm (which i still use).

Kris wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:47 pm problem is,you are comparing your rig,in your room with all that acoustic space to a program that is trying to mimic a microphone in front of a cab.
I have too many different programs and vsts to mention-but maybe some thing that simulates room sound may be a good start.Someone mentioned a load box for your amp,captor woyuld be good then you could run the two notes wall of sound plugin as well.
I'm also a heavy metal guy but ive had great results with everything from the Universal Audio plugins to lowly old pod farm (which i still use).

I've found the Eleven Rack to be way better at that stuff than my helix was, its more 'immediate' just like an amp in the room. The helix I never managed to get that feel from.

Bg wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 1:51 pm

Kris wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 12:47 pm problem is,you are comparing your rig,in your room with all that acoustic space to a program that is trying to mimic a microphone in front of a cab.
I have too many different programs and vsts to mention-but maybe some thing that simulates room sound may be a good start.Someone mentioned a load box for your amp,captor woyuld be good then you could run the two notes wall of sound plugin as well.
I'm also a heavy metal guy but ive had great results with everything from the Universal Audio plugins to lowly old pod farm (which i still use).

I've found the Eleven Rack to be way better at that stuff than my helix was, its more 'immediate' just like an amp in the room. The helix I never managed to get that feel from.

Iridium's room control is probably its best feature. Makes it feel so much more real. Almost scary with good headphones.

but thats like an amp through headphones.... not like amp in a room

Bg wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 3:17 pm but thats like an amp through headphones.... not like amp in a room

Monitors become your limiting factor for the amp in a room feel. A Kemper through $50 Logitech speakers will still sound like ass.

ok, through my reasonably priced second hand tannoy active monitors I've owned for at least 12 years - the Eleven Rack sounds more like an amp in the room, than the Helix - to my tin ears.

Bg wrote: ↑Wed Jun 22, 2022 1:51 pm

I've found the Eleven Rack to be way better at that stuff than my helix was, its more 'immediate' just like an amp in the room. The helix I never managed to get that feel from.

Absolutely,i was super let down by my helix.Great features-meh sounds

Thanks folks. I realised that I bought Amplitube many years ago with an iRig, so am investigating that route. But this has been a good reminder that I need some nice desktop monitors, as I currently only have headphones and laptop speakers.

its not via computer, but I use the Boss Waza Air headphones for silent practice. + backing tracks / music from the phone via bluetooth, and fully wireless. Can practice silently anywhere.