Review: Steinberg Warp VST
Can you really, really accurately simulate a guitar amp in software? Ian Waugh grabs his plectrum and opens the windows...
| Product | Warp VST |
|---|---|
| Company | Steinberg |
| Web | www.steinberg.net www.steinberguk.com |
| Price | £179.99 |
| We like | Plug 'n' go, sounds like a guitar! |
| We don't like | A shade expensive, only nine setups |
| Rating | 8/10 |
| Requirements |
One of the most difficult instruments to satisfactorily simulate electronically is the electric guitar. It's not just the sound of the guitar itself which is but a part of the equation, but the essential tones and overtones added by the guitar amp.
Warp VST is a guitar amp simulation. Okay, so they aren't particularly new, but this one is based on Hughes & Kettner's DSM (Dynamic Sector Modelling) technology that was used in the World's first digitally modelled speaker cabinet way back in 2001. It was specifically designed to recreate the sounds of amps of yesteryear.
Model behaviour
Warp VST features three amp models and three speaker cabinets. The amps include a clean Jazz Chorus, a 60's Plexi Tube Head and a Warp Rectified amp. The cabinets are a Combo (12" speaker, open housing), British (4 x 12" speakers from the 80s), and Greenback (4 x 12" power speakers). Each amp can be used with any cabinet a total, for the multiplicationally-challenged, of nine combinations.
Being a plug-in, Warp VST integrates seamlessly with any VST-compatible software. The nice thing is - and this applies to all plug-in effects, of course - that you can record an electric guitar and then try different amp and speaker combinations afterwards.
The nine combinations may seem a little restrictive but that will depend on what sounds you're after. And, to be fair, preferences will be largely personal as most guitarists seem to have their own preferred sounds anyway. (We do - ed)
And all that Jazz
Particularly impressive is the clean Jazz Chorus sound with a warm chestnuts-roasting-on-an-open-fire tone. You can tweak the settings, too, on all the amps with master, bass, mid and treble controls.
Head bangers and Heavy Metal fans can thrash to the Wave Rectifier, even if many consider it a little passé today. (Never! - a Korn fan)
Perhaps the most uniformly enjoyable sound is the Plexi Tube Head (try it with the Greenback speakers), which could be used on a wide variety of recordings. Think Marshall Cab and a half stack
You can, of course, use this with MIDI and synthesised guitar lines (the source material must be converted to audio first, though) so non-guitarists can also benefit by adding additional realism to their guitar parts.
Summary
Warp VST is one of the most satisfying guitar amp simulations yet to appear and it's probably not stretching the truth to say it sets a new standard. Guitarists will love it and non-guitarists wanting to make their guitar lines more interesting and authentic will be currently hard-pushed to find better.
