Teknoise: computing, music, computer music

The Clips

I felt that the Gearbox, FreeAmp, and Amplitube clips were of a similar quality, with FreeAmp and Gearbox  sounding noticeably better than Amplitube.  They are warm and full sounding , while Amplitube is a more birttle and dry, but not bad overall.   Meanwhile, Guitar Rig sounds horrible–thin, tinny, and harsh.  These results are unbalanced by the degree that all of these amp models could use some tweaking in order to find their sweetspots and to bring out their best tonal qualities, but my goal with the amp shootout was to keep as many conditions the same across different pieces of software as I could.

I think that these results also support what seems to be a common consensus in the Guitar Rig v. Amplitube debate, that Guitar Rig is better for strange guitar tones and sound design applications, while Amplitube is the better choice for straightforward guitar applications.  I was honestly somewhat surprised by Gearbox’s results, and even more so by FreeAmp’s–its cleans are really good.

Other Issues and the Conclusion

One thing we haven’t discussed yet is arguably one of the Toneport’s selling points: the fact that it includes two phantom powered pre amps.   My experience with these pre amps (for recording acoustic guitar, vocals, and ambient noise) is that they are definitely decent given the package and features that they come with, however, the Gearbox does not sound like some “of the most sought after preamps in the recording world,” though this probably goes without saying.   When used on vocals, the pre amps have a definite harsh and metalic tinge to them (you can hear examples of this in Line 6’s UX2 clips), and this sound is not removed by the 1300$ microphone (a Groovetubes AM62) used for some of the vocal clips.  I’m not sure whether the same pre amps are used in the UX8 or not, if they are, this would be a definite mark against it.

However, the features that you get along with the pre amps and their flexible routing schemes (you can record with both pres at once, or with one pre and a guitar/bass/line in) make them a rather good deal.   You could definitely do much worse in terms of value–a XLR USB pre amp by itself can run at least 200$.  I personally had a much worse experience with M-Audio’s Audiophile USB card.

So, what is there to get out of all of this?  Mainly that the Toneport UX2 is a good deal and has some standout features for its price range.  In my experience, it is has been both a flexible and a dependable interface for close to a year now.

Its downsides are significant too, however.  It has a 90 day warranty–the possibility of spending 200$ and having it break after 100 days of use is there.  On the plus side though, I’ve used mine as my machine’s only soundcard for close to a year now;it has often been running ~12 hours a day and has been fine so far.   The other downside seems inevitable where the combination of computers and audio interfaces is concerned, but if you buy the Toneport, get ready to spend some time getting it set up.  It has a wide range of issues, which may or may not effect you depending on your computer set up.   Its install time is also a bit tedious, as you have to install the drivers for the Toneport, the Gearbox software, a series of updates to both of these, and then Line 6’s Monkey and updates for the Monkey.

If you keep the Toneport’s limitations in mind though, and are patient enough to deal with its setup and eccentricities, then you may find that it is an impressive combination of flexibility and affordability.