Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

github.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 163 posts

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#111

Post by aeleos »

keyth72 wrote: post #26
aeleos wrote: post #6

Just tried it out, I don't know if I would say it sounds like a $600 tube amp especially in high gain scenarios (it really didn't like my active pickups), for a free plugin it is definitely great. In comparison to the Archetype Nolly plugin from Neural DSP it doesn't really compare, but but for something thats free and can be trained at home on custom audio samples its pretty cool.

Thanks for trying it, much appreciated. Love Neural DSP's plugins, they are the best as far as I'm concerned.

No problem, it’s great seeing guitar stuff pop up on HN, especially one that I can try

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#112

Post by arduinomancer »

w0mbat wrote: post #44

For people who don’t play guitar, this is really commonplace technology now. Engineers worked out how to model the circuit behavior of any amp a while ago. Powerful valve guitar amps have really interesting effects on the waveform particularly when driven hard, but that valve technology is expensive, unreliable, bulky, and very loud when producing some of the most sought after tones. The most popular guitar amps now…

> The most popular guitar amps now are all solid state

Ehh only on the lower end. Most mid to pro musicians still use tube amps.

The modeling amps are good but tube still sounds better.

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#113

Post by fallingmeat »

asimpletune wrote: post #97
fallingmeat wrote: post #92

In case any of you want to play with this on your mac and need a usb type-c interface to try this out! :) sorry for the plug but it was too relevant. Great job on the plugin! https://www.effintone.com

It looks pretty neat, awesome form factor. It’d be cool to know more details without having to sign up though.

Gonna fire off a kickstarter here in about a week and wanted to collect some followers as far ahead as possible! Promo is definitely not my jam! You're right, that page is totally worthless.

Anyway, it's super simple. I just wanted a type-c version of what was already out there, and maybe for it to sound 'reasonable' at a sub $30 price point. It is only 16-bit 48kHz, but does a great job at dialing in tone, recording a quick riff, etc. Bottom line, it's about -90db noise floor and 80db SNR.

Thanks

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#114

Post by wk_end »

klodolph wrote: post #104
costcopizza wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low wattage tube amps exist.

Low wattage is still too loud for home / apartment. You need something in the milliwatt range, and those are (unfortunately) very rare. They’re not too hard to make but there is some extra expense and there are some patents in that territory.

Milliwatts? Rubbish. Kids have been playing rock and roll through AC15s or 22W Deluxe Reverbs (or louder!) in garages and basements for decades. A 5W Champ or similar certainly can get loud but is fine for bedroom or apartment use, at least during daytime hours.

As a teenager I played a Hot Rod Deluxe (40W!) in my parents' basement with no real complaints.

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#115

Post by analog31 »

mysterydip wrote: post #98
ryanSrich wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the point is the tone. Modeling amps have come a long way, but nothing compares to the real thing. Of course, most people won’t be able to tell the difference, but many musicians tend to prefer analog.

If most people (ie your audience) can't tell the difference, then why go with it?

I'm not an electric guitarist, but this is a dilemma that every musician faces at some point. Being a musician can involve an obsession for quality that can't be explained in utilitarian terms.

One thing is that the audience only has to tolerate your sound for a couple of hours, and can always seek refuge at the bar or just go home. You have to hear it over and over, night after night. You also have to hear it at home. As an amateur, most of my playing time occurs in my own living room.

Another thing is that there's a layer of the performance above the basic sound of the instruments, that the audience might perceive even if they can't quite put their finger on what it is. It's what separates a great performance from a dull one. We're all trying to find what that thing is, and it involves exploration on many fronts, including how we choose and optimize our instruments.

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#116

Post by [deleted] »

wk_end wrote: post #114
klodolph wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low wattage is still too loud for home / apartment. You need something in the milliwatt range, and those are (unfortunately) very rare. They’re not too hard to make but there is some extra expense and there are some patents in that territory.

Milliwatts? Rubbish. Kids have been playing rock and roll through AC15s or 22W Deluxe Reverbs (or louder!) in garages and basements for decades. A 5W Champ or similar certainly can get loud but is fine for bedroom or apartment use, at least during daytime hours. As a teenager I played a Hot Rod Deluxe (40W!) in my parents' basement with no real complaints.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#117

Post by klodolph »

wk_end wrote: post #114
klodolph wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Low wattage is still too loud for home / apartment. You need something in the milliwatt range, and those are (unfortunately) very rare. They’re not too hard to make but there is some extra expense and there are some patents in that territory.

Milliwatts? Rubbish. Kids have been playing rock and roll through AC15s or 22W Deluxe Reverbs (or louder!) in garages and basements for decades. A 5W Champ or similar certainly can get loud but is fine for bedroom or apartment use, at least during daytime hours. As a teenager I played a Hot Rod Deluxe (40W!) in my parents' basement with no real complaints.

Crank your AC15 and play it in the basement, it will destroy your hearing pretty fast without protection. I used to take a homemade 5W amp outside and hear it echo in the woods. Fun times. Quick math—the Vox AC15 has speakers with around 100 dB SPL@1m,1W sensitivity, so if you’re cranked then it’s +24dB, and if you’re 2m away then that’s -12dB, and that’s 112 dB SPL, somewhere around “car horn” or “chainsaw” on the loudness chart. Medical literature puts it at under 1 minute before permanent hearing damage.

It’s not like a stereo where 15W is weak. A 15W guitar amp is pretty damn loud.

If you don’t crank it then I don’t see the point. Or don’t hear it, anyway. I can’t stand the sound of a clean Vox. It’s gotta have some grit.

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#118

Post by ThomPete »

mysterydip wrote: post #98
ryanSrich wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well the point is the tone. Modeling amps have come a long way, but nothing compares to the real thing. Of course, most people won’t be able to tell the difference, but many musicians tend to prefer analog.

If most people (ie your audience) can't tell the difference, then why go with it?

because it will make a difference to you and you will play better.

Re: Show HN: SmartGuitarAmp – Guitar plugin made with deep learning

#120

Post by manmal »

Interesting that Kemper hasn’t been mentioned yet. They are a German company who make profiling amps, which basically consist of software able to profile an existing amplifier within ~2 minutes, and then perfectly replicating it. In an interview the inventor said that they have only on the order of 30 parameters which are configured during the profiling process, in which the device sends certain signals through the amplifier, and analyses the output. To make it stage-ready, it also has hundreds of effects and pedals (delay, wah, fuzz,...) on board.

Those Kemper profiling amps are widely used in the music industry, from hobbyists to absolute professionals. There are studios who profiled their 100s of custom amps with different mic pickup settings, and now only use the profiling amp instead. Paul Gilbert has one, and loves it, and he is reaaally picky about sound.

Apart from profiling your own amps, there is also a vast online library of profiles uploaded by community members. So if I want my amp to sound like Green Day, or just pick a certain amp like a Mark IV, I just search for that, load a matching profile into the profiling amp, and try it out. A plethora of parameters like gain can additionally be adjusted like on a normal amp - the profiling process somehow accounts for those parameters too.

Post reply on HN