Virtual Guitarist is making a comeback and wants to be in your band

Those of you who've been riding the music software train for a while will recall Steinberg's Virtual Guitarist, one of the initial wave of 'virtual instrumentalist' plugins and a decent choice for anyone who wanted to create realistic-sounding rhythm guitar parts.

The software fell off our radar a while back, but we now hear that the original team behind it has reunited (one might say that the Virtual band is back together) to create a new range of Virtual Guitarist products that will be sold under UJAM branding.

Each of these VGs will have a particular personality and focus on a specific genre, with the first, Iron, being suited to heavy rock. This offers more than 100 'styles' and in excess of 1100 phrases, all of which can be played in real time from your controller (there's support for Native Instruments' Native Kontrol Standard) and set to follow the groove of your song. You can also adjust the tone of your guitar by switching pick-ups and amp/cab combinations, and dial in a range of effects.

You can download a demo of Virtual Guitarist Iron from the UJAM website, while the full version is available for $99. It works on PC and Mac and comes in VST/AU plugin formats. The next product in the range, which will focus on steel string guitars, should arrive in the spring.