Review: Ample Metal Eclipse II Guitar Plugin by AmpleSound

We had the pleasure to check out AME II by Ample Sounds. This metal guitar plugin is not what you see every day. Available as AU, VST, AAX or RTAS plugin. SkiptocontentReviewsReview:AmpleMetalEclipseIIGuitarPluginbyAmpleSoundWehadthepleasuretocheckoutAMEIIbyAmpleSounds.Thismetalguitarpluginisnotwhatyouseeeveryday,soIwascuriouswhattheChinesedevelopershadcomeupwith.FromwhatIunderstood,itismeanttosimulateaguitarfairlyrealisticallyforthosewhocan’tactuallyplaytherealthing,prefertheprecisionofmidiprogramming,orareonthegoandneedtocreateaquickmock-upforatrack.Allinall,itsoundedlikeacoolideatome,andbeingaguitaristmyselfIamalsocurioustoseewhatiffeelsandsoundslikeincomparison.AMEIIMainUserInterfaceOK,sofirst,anexplanationtoallofyouwhoaren’tfamiliarwiththeguitarpluginsorthepreviousproductsfromAmpleSound.YouwillneedsomeformofAmp-simulatorforthis“metal”guitartohavethesoundyou’dexpect.IusedNativeInstrument’sGuitarRigforthisreview.Outofthebox,thispluginsoundslikeaguitarwithoutanamp.Buttomethisisactuallyagoodsign.Itspeaksforthequalityandrealismofthisguitarandsuggeststhedevelopersfocusedonwhat’simportantfortheguitar.Iliketohavemorecontroloverthesoundbybeingabletochoosemyownampandthinkit’stherightthingtodoforapluginlikethis.AndwhileanextraAmp-emulatorisneeded,AmpleSoundsdidincludealotofothergreatfeaturesaswellassomeofthebasicguitareffectsyouwouldexpectwithametalguitar.DoIneedtobeabletoplayguitartousethisplugin?No.Havingabasicunderstandingofhowanelectricguitarfunctionsisdefinitelyabigplusforanyoneplaningtousethisplugin.Alotoftheoptions-andthereareplenty-aren’tasobviousasIthought.IfoundthisoutbyshowingAMEIItoastudentofminewhodoesn’tplayguitar.ButI’msureanyonewithafewyearsofexperiencecanfigureitoutinnotime,andanyonewhoisnewtodigitalinstrumentswon’ttakeanylongerthantheywillneedforanyotherplugin.Wherethispluginshines!Thestrumming:OnethingInoticedrightaway,wasthatthestrumming(byhand)inAMEIIimprovedenormously.AndwhilethiswasoneoftheweakerspotsinsomeofAmpleSound’searlierplugins,thisonereallyshinesinthatcategory.Ithinkthebiggestcontributortothisisthelittleoptionswitchtoenable“strokenoise”.Itmakesallthedifference.Velocitysensitivearticulationtriggers:Wow,that’samouthful.Itisalsoareallygreatfeature,asitautomaticallyswitchesbetweensustain,palmmuteandartificialharmonic.Thethresholdscanbeadjustedinthesettingsmenu.Thismakesplayingaguitaronakeyboardreallyfunasitallowsfortheexpressivenessthisinstrumentneedstosoundrealistic.Solomode:WhenIcametotestingthisfeature,Iwaspositivelysurprised.Idon’tthinkIeverhadthismuchfunwithasologuitarinaplugin,sincethat’sacommonweakspotofmostsoftwareguitarsI’veseen.YetAmpleSoundmanagedtoimprovealotofdetails,like:thesustainsound,thehammeronpulloffsoundandtheroundrobins,whichcanbesetextrahighinthesettingsforpassageswithlotsofrepeatednotes.Thestrummermode:Thiseasilycomparestoalotofother“strummermodes”inotherplugins,like“StrummedAcoustic”byNativeInstrumentsforexample.Onlywiththisoneyoucanfeelandhearthatitisoptimizedforheavymusic.Bydefault,thechordsarepowerchordsandarealsoeasytocustomizetopersonalpreference.Thestrummermodeoffersavarietyofmetalpatterstochosefrom,ofwhicheachisa100%adjustable.Theyprovideagoodstartingpoint,butIpreferredtomakemyown.IntegratedTAB’s:IwassurprisedtofindthisfeaturebutIreallylikeit.AMEIIallowsyoutoloadtabfilesandhavethepluginplayitback.ItdoesafairlygoodjobindoingsoandIcanseehowsometimesitwouldbeeasiertowritethetabsthanthemidi.Definitelyafunfeatureforplayingalongandforremixing.Iseethisasayummycherryontop.Theweakspots:Overallthereisn’tsomuchIwouldconsidera“weakspot”.ButIwouldliketopointoutafewthings.Thisisaveryspecificguitarpluginandprettysolidforwhatitis.Whileitshinesintheheavyrockandmetalsounds,itdoesn’tsomuchwhenusedcleanindifferentgenres.It’smetalandmetalonlyforthisone.Also,itwill–ofcourse–neverbeabletosoundjustlikearealstudioguitarplayer.Andwhileitcangetrelativelyclose,itwillonlydosoifyouarereallygoodatprogrammingmidiforguitarorplayingitonakeyboard.Conclusion:Foranycommercialuse,Iwouldstillratherhirearealguitaristtoplayforme,ordoitmyself.Butfortherelativelylowprice,thisguitarpluginprovidesatonoffun,averyspecificbutverygoodsoundandcouldsaveyoualotoftimeinmockupsandcompositionwork.And,especiallyifyouhaveabitofanunderstandingofhowaguitarworks,itisfairlyeasytounderstandandtolearn.Iwouldrecommendtakingthetimetogettoknowit,sinceonlythendoesitshowyouhowmuchitcanreallyprovideyouwith.Facts:Price:Around$120USDSystemRequirements:6GBoffreeharddiskspace.WindowsXPornewer,Pentium4orAthlonprocessorwith2GBRAM.MacOSX10.7orhigher,Intel-basedMacwith2GBRAM.AU,VST,AAXorRTAShostapplicationandprofessionalsoundcardrecommended.Stand-aloneversionincluded.Sampling:Size:3.5GB,24bit44.1khzDFD(Directfromdisk)Sustain,HammerOn&PullOff,LegatoSlide,Slidein&out,PalmMute,ArtificialHarmonic8articulations,Legatoatrandomlength&pitch&poly.Technology:DefaulttuningisCGCFAD.Cycle+–Triplethenumbersofsamplecycles.Significantoptimizationforplayingstruminsolomodebyslightlydelaynotesofbarchords,achievingmorerealisticstrum.PickAttack–Enhancestrokeintensityofattack.CapoLogic–Intelligentplayaccordingtoguitarrules.DoublingGuitars–differentsamplesatL&R.CPC(CustomizedParametersControl)–anybuttonknobetccanbecontrolledbyMIDICCorAutomation.PolyLegato.SlideSmoother.OpenStringFirst.AlternateTuner.Capo–Transposewithoutneedtomodifymidi.AMEIIguitarpluginisavailableforpurchaseatAmpleSoundwebsite,pricedat$119.BeatStepandMiniLabBlackEditionsReleasedbyArturiaSetTheProper“Headroom”BeforeMasteringLATESTBLOGPOSTSHowToEQPerfectVocals–ABeginnersGuide05NovHowToMakeElectroMusicWithoutMusicalEducation26OctWindows11CompatibilityWithAudioSoftware&Hardware15OctSTOREAddtoWishlistDECEMBERX$15.00AddtoWishlistFXESSENTIALS2$13.90AddtoWishlistMELODICTHERAPYRated5.00outof5$12.00NewAddtoWishlistDARKTRAPKEYSVOL.2Rated5.00outof5$17.00LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*CommentName*Email*WebsiteΔAddtoWishlistK.I.N.G.SOFPSYTRANCE$24.95AddtoWishlistSLICKTALKVOL.1Rated5.00outof5$15.00AddtoWishlistMIDI:CASSETTE$12.75LATESTNEWSHowToEQPerfectVocals–ABeginnersGuideHowToMakeElectroMusicWithoutMusicalEducationWindows11CompatibilityWithAudioSoftware&Hardware1CommentStudioOneVsProTools:What’sTheDifference?AKAIProfessionalUnveilsTheNewMPCStudioControllerBestFreeVSTPluginsReleasedIn20214ImportantStepsofMusicProductionAcusticaAudioSiennaFreePlug-inUntilOctober1,2021AddtoWishlistJUANDIAZ:STUDIODRUMS$9.95AddtoWishlistLO-FIFUTURE$20.00AddtoWishlistFUTURECHILL$29.95NEWPRODUCTSTHEMAINTHEMESVOL.1$29.50CHILLTRAPVOL.1$29.95MOREFEELINGS$29.95DRILLTIME$15.00GOONSNGOBLINS$20.00UKGOONS$17.95PERCUSSIONTOOLKIT$29.95$14.98MODERNVOXENGINE$89.95$29.95Searchfor:HOMESHOPSAMPLEPACKSBUNDLESCONSTRUCTIONKITSDRUMKITSMIDILOOPSVOCALSKONTAKTZAMPLERSOUNDBANKSFREEDOWNLOADSBeatMagazine(PDF)SYNTHPRESETSCTHULHUPRESETSMASSIVEPRESETSSERUMPRESETSSPIREPRESETSSYLENTHPRESETSPLUGINSTYPESYNTHESIZERSEFFECTSINSTRUMENTSBLOGNEWSREVIEWSTUTORIALSLoginBESTDEALSNEWRELEASES[email protected]Weusecookiestoensurethatwegiveyouthebestexperienceonourwebsite.Ifyoucontinuetousethissitewewillassumethatyouarehappywithit.GDPR2018privacyguidelinesapplied!MoreinfoAccept