S-gear

I’ve spent the past few weeks on a trail of software plugins to compare them to my AX8. I’ve downloaded trial versions of overloud, helix, neuraldsp and amplitude. I mostly play cleaner to slight overdrive tones. Long story short, most plugins don’t come even close to the AX8.

One standout, though, was scuffham Amps’ s-gear plug-in. Now, I have heard multiple demos on YouTube where you can make all of these plugins sound in the same ballpark. And I was truly not going for the nail-the-tone approach - I have my AX8 for that. What I was trying to find was a plug-in which, if I played with my eyes closed, could feel like I was playing a tube amp (any tube amp).

Where the S-gear stood out was not only the tone (it is head and shoulders above helix) but especially the feel when you are playing. This is one aspect where the AX8 has stood out for me and for which I love it. I could probably make a patch on the other plugins sound close to the AX8, but the feel is just not there with the plugins. It’s hard to describe and I’m not versed with amp terminology that well to even start to describe it, but those of you who have tried the plugins would know what I am talking about.

S-geet does come close though. In some ways, I think if you are not looking for the sound of a matchless through a 2x12 with a specific set of speakers, S-gear is mostly equivalent to The AX8. The tone and feel is there. It absolutely sounds like you are playing an amp, just not a particular amp. Now I know that the product is designed in such a way that the various amps can be manipulated enough to sound like a particular amp, but I have t tried it so cannot comment on it.

But for pure bedroom playing (which is what I have been doing the past few months) where you are deep in music theory and want to try out how well does Dorian mode sit over a plagal cadence, it has enough to make you forget about the gear you are playing through - which is a high bar on my mind.
 
S-Gear is an awesome plugin. Infinitely better "feeling" than the Helix. Sounds as well; for certain styles. Takes seconds to dial in great stuff. Many of the presets are great out of the box.
 
Have had S-Gear for a few years, and really enjoyed it for recording before getting the AFX3.

I got a new Macbook in March and had to buy a new copy for it, as I still have a bunch of tracks that I recorded that need it, and I couldn't figure out how to transfer my license.

A few old S-Gear tracks have been re-amped through the 3, and sound even better now, but they didn't sound bad at all before with S-Gear....
 
I like S-Gear a lot.

You might also want to try the Chandler Limited GAV19T and ENGL E765 RT from Plugin Alliance. Great feel with both of those. Free demos if you're interested.
 
S-Gear is an awesome plugin. Infinitely better "feeling" than the Helix. Sounds as well; for certain styles. Takes seconds to dial in great stuff. Many of the presets are great out of the box.
Totally agree. S-Gear is an astonishing plugin. Use it on most of my tracks.
 
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