MusicRadar

Five fuzz pedals feature

1 of 3 » View in gallery

• Related News
• Review
• Manufacturer's Description

Back to JH though, and the fact that we are presented with presets for specific sections of album tracks means that direct comparisons with the recordings are possible – talent and original sixties Strat notwithstanding!

Strat plugged in, we had a crack alongside the original recordings and in most cases the sounds here come pretty darn close to what you hear on record. But they are not so close that you can’t improve matters in some instances by a little bit of tweaking to match the guitar you are using. One example is in the Purple Haze intro where the preset sounds much too clean to our ears, but improves by upping the gain on the fuzzbox model. Of course a lot of this depends on how you attack the guitar – that old adage about the sound being in the hands is true but if we can’t have Jimi’s hands this software does a pretty good job of providing the rest.

One thing that would have added more authenticity to some of the presets based on the recordings (and general versatility all round) would have been some more studio effects in the set-up. While Hendrix’s sound began with the amps, speakers, effects and microphones modelled here, much of what you finally hear on record owes a lot to the effects added in the studio, some of which are sadly lacking here. We get the basic compression, EQ and reverb effects that every studio has, plus a simulated Leslie cabinet, but none of the tape-based effects that Eddie Kramer manipulated so well.

How difficult would it have been to include a tape delay simulation here? There are obvious delay sounds in many of Jimi’s recordings. And while the Univibe does a phasing effect, it is different from the phasing produced by manipulating the tape reel flanges clearly heard in tracks like House Burning Down. A missed opportunity, especially since AmpliTube 2 has a digital delay and flanger in the rack that could perhaps be adapted. Apparently IK does intend to add processors in the future…

Nevertheless, as it stands this package still has the basic building blocks to create a whole range of Hendrix-like sounds plus many more that wouldn’t disgrace the recordings of contemporary players.