Operation really is simple: the plug–in window always shows a vertical third of a picture of all three amplifiers, and you simply drag to ‘pull’ the picture across and expose whichever you wish to use. Though the Powercore normally likes large buffer sizes, I set the buffer to 128 samples and could play the amp models with no perceptible latency. I tested the Powercore version of the plug–in (running on my Apple Mac G5), which installed with no problem and also passed Logic’s AU Evaluation.

You can adjust the controls and click and drag to move from one amp to the other, and the mouse can also be used to move the virtual microphone around in front of the cabinet. Although not named, these appear to be based on Marshall, Fender and Vox AC30 models, and have the same controls and features as the originals, with nothing added. Unlike modelling packages that include dozens of amps, interchangeable speakers, effects and pedals, Vintage Amp Room offers just three classic amps. Their first product is Vintage Amp Room, a guitar amp modelling plug–in which is available in native formats for VST, RTAS and AU–based hosts on PC and Mac systems, or in DSP–powered versions for those with a TC Powercore or Digidesign Pro Tools HD rig. They also used Infinite Impulse Response filters (IIRs) to model the resonances of speaker cabinets, microphones and rooms. Along the way they developed a circuit-modelling approach in which every component is individually modelled, that includes an algorithmic method of modelling non–linear devices such as amplifier tubes. Some parameters are vitally important to the subjective interpretation of a sound, while others are much less relevant, so Softube seem to have concentrated their efforts on those aspects of distortion that the ear finds important. What they discovered is something most engineers already know intuitively: that what the human hearing system perceives doesn’t always relate directly to the numbers measured by the test gear. Softube are a new software company who came into being after a hacker, a guitar player and a professor collaborated on a research project at the Linköping Institute of Technology in Sweden, aimed at developing a mathematical model that could simulate non–linearities in audio equipment more effectively than existing models. Softube’s guitar amp modelling software is light on fancy features but is claimed to offer unparalleled authenticity.

Softube metal amp room reviews