Neural DSP’s Archetype: Petrucci is one of the biggest software and guitar plugin releases of the year, with the Dream Theater guitarist offering up a digitally accessible version of his rig, and new features such as Room Mics expanding the Archetype experience.
But there’s a lot going on there. There are four core amp models, including a Piezo amp to get the best out of Petrucci’s piezo-equipped signature guitars, or indeed an acoustic electric guitar. You have heaps of effects options, including Overdrive, Phaser, Chorus, and Flanger stompboxes, a wah pedal and compressor, plus studio-quality stereo chorus, delay and reverb.
Then there are the IRs, Room Mics, a four-band semi-parametric EQ that you can assign to each of the amplifiers.... It goes on. Even though you can download the Archetype: Petrucci for a free 14-day trial, sometimes you need to see someone give it a test run and showcase the sounds before deciding where it’s worth the hassle.
Enter, Rabea Massaad, who has helpfully stepped up and shot an in-depth half-hour video tour of its features, and recorded a track on his Ernie Ball Music Man JP15 that’s inspired by Petrucci’s 2005 debut studio album, Suspended Animation, and showcases the sounds on offer.
Check out the video at the top of the page for Massaad’s tour of the features and functionality of the plugin, and below for his Petrucci-inspired track. It's pretty neat.
Like the others in the Archetype series, the user experience looks typically player friendly. And it’s certainly a lot easier than putting together a hardware version of Petrucci’s epic stage rig.
Even back in 2017, when MusicRadar joined Petrucci for rig tour before Dream Theater’s Images And Words 25th anniversary tour, it was ridiculously stacked, with a full complement of signature Majesty and JP electric guitars, an officially modded Mk IIC+ MESA/Boogie that was now operating under the designation JP-2C, and a vulgar display of amp modelling power courtesy of Fractal’s Axe-Fx.
At €149, the Archetype: Petrucci is a little more accessible, and is available now on 64-bit VST / AU / AAX and as a standalone software package. See Neural DSP for more details.
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