Guitar Rig Kontrol 3

[NashvilleMike]

Have any of you used this for extended periods? I got to play with one awhile back and was really impressed! It seems to have all the effects you need and they sound good! I am not an audiophile, I was playing it through the Egnater Rebel 20 head with a 2x12 Egnater cabinet.


http://www.native-instruments.com/index ... igcontrol3

[playingdead]

Native Software's B4 Hammond B3 simulation is the nuts, so I would assume this is pretty good, too.

I'm not sure I understand, though, is it just a control interface for the Guitar Rig software or does it have the effects onboard the controller?

[brutusbuck45]

Hey NashMike-

I have GR2. For the most part it is the same as GR3 with a few less enhancements. I really enjoy it. I too am not an audiophile- nor am I an experienced gigging musician. The extent of my stage performance is limited to a few open mics with several drunken college buddies many years ago. So, everything I play is for my own head- in my own space.

I mostly use it with monitors on my desk or headphones into my interface (M-Audio Black Box)... I do have Rig Kontroller 1 that I no longer use because I no longer have (a functional) input box with dual inputs. RK 2 and 3 were later redesigned with USB 2.0 interfaces. RK 1 used two 1/4 in. balanced outs to interface with the software... one was for the guitar signal and the other sent control tones to the software to operate the foot switches and expression pedal. The switches and pedal can be assigned to any effect in the package. RK 1-3 all have built-in pre-amps.

I do agree that GR achieves some very fine tones. The overdrives and distortions are definitely the best sounding models and probably why most of the amp modelling software that I have read about or demo'd seems to appeal to mostly metal players. I have attempted to reach out to players in some of the amp modelling forums to exchange ideas about build effects chains for Jerry or Bobby's throughout their various eras. I don't get any responses though : )

It is fun though... you can experiment with building chains and achieving tones but without having to spend $$$ for each stomp or rackmounted effect. Sure, the tone of the software modelled effect is not going to sound exactly like the real thing. But it depends on what you are using it for.

Anyway, thats my two cents on it. Basically I think its a great creative tool with very passable tones. Its versatile but does not replace the 'real thing' when it comes to effects.

This guy won a Guitar Rig 3 contest sponsored by Native-Instruments with this video. Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLdguW6q12o
Cheers.

~BB45

[RiverRat]

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[NashvilleMike]

To Playingdead- it is a program you run on your laptop and the footswitch has a USB. You set up the racks and effects on the computer then assign them to whatever you want on the footswitch then let it fly. The sheer variety of sounds produced is awesome.

Brutusbuck - thanks for the info. I have played with Kontrol 3 a little and found it very cool! I think I will end up with this soon. If I find any good Dead set ups I will let you know. However all the effects that Jerry used are in there along with the twin etc... so I hope to get real close.

[playingdead]

I understood that ... the link was just to the Kontroller itself, but you have to buy the Guitar Rig software separately.

[brutusbuck45]

Brutusbuck - thanks for the info. I have played with Kontrol 3 a little and found it very cool! I think I will end up with this soon. If I find any good Dead set ups I will let you know. However all the effects that Jerry used are in there along with the twin etc... so I hope to get real close.

Hey now, NM.

I'm sure you have already looked- but GR2 and 3 are always available on eBay. You can get GR2 considerably cheaper than going retail on-line or Guitar Center (or wherever you shop). GR2 is packaged with Rig Kontrol 2 that supports USB 2.0 for lower latency. Just make sure the PC or Mac that you are going to use is LOADED with RAM. The more the better. Obviously a higher CPU speed is a plus but... this program loves physical memory.

That would be great in the community got into some amp and effect modelling to exchange ideas and presets. Give a shout when/if you get it. FYI... last I knew NI had a downloadable demo for GR3. I think the only limitation was that you could not save presets and it may have timed out after a 1/2 hour. But big deal, you can just restart the program.

Good luck.

~BB45

[gr8fulbluz]

I have been using GR-3 as a practice toy for the last couple of days. It has been fun. The blues presets are nice, the Jazz presets do very nicely as well. I have not built my own preset and I am only playing thru an old computer speaker that i wasn't using anymore.
As i dig into it looks promising, so far no problems with latency, yea.
As an quick take i found the jimi's wing sound pretty good playing some finger picking through the piezo bridge pickup I got.

If I had a comfortable seat to play in I might actually get some good practice time