Return to Fender

I am a fan of Fender guitar amps. Me and millions of others, of course. From the '59 Bassman to the Deluxe Reverb to the Blues Junior to the Champion 600, they just sound great. I own a vintage '67 Deluxe Reverb (a black-panel version) that I keep in top condition and it is my very favorite amp. I wish I could travel with it, since I'd love to record my Deluxe while laying down some guitar tracks on a tour bus or in a hotel room, but that's not really possible. Too fragile, too big, too heavy for airplanes and busses. So how can you get the Fender sound without a real Fender amp?

IK Multimedia's AmpliTube Fender software models 12 great Fender guitar and bass amps. I'm a big fan of the Line 6 models, as regular readers know, and I was curious to hear how the new IK version would hold up.

Well, it simply sounds great. I first used it to warm up a direct-recorded bass guitar track. A fat, warm bass amp model added just the right sound the more pristine D.I. tone and blending the two gave me just what I wanted. I had recorded a track direct on guitar to get the musical idea down before I forgot it, with every intention of recording it for real later on. Just for fun I put a Deluxe Reverb on that track. It sounded like my amp... a lot like my amp.

I think the Fender bundle from IK Multimedia is a great addition to the recoding guitarist's toolkit and will certainly get used in my current and future projects.