Guitar Rig 6 Equivalencies (updated for 2022)

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| 29/12/2022

Guitar Rig is Native Instruments very own guitar amp and cabinet simulator. Much of their modules included in the software is an overt nod to a real-world amp, microphone or guitar pedal, however as they don’t own the copyright, many of the names are allusions to the gear they are emulating.

Back in 2013 Daniel Duque Campayo wrote this excellent post on Guitar Rig equivalencies. It’s great, but sadly out-of-date, so I thought I’d copy it verbatim and update where I could (and edit where I disagree). Check out Guitar Rig here.

Amplifiers

As well as the classics from Marshall, Orange, Vox, Fender et al, Guitar Rig 6 introduced a few new amplifiers in the Bass Invader, Chicago, Fire Breather and a few new Marshall Plex models. Some of these don’t emulate a specific real-world amplifier.

Cabinets

Often these are pairs for their respective amp head. Without being really in tune with what these sound like, as a general rule of thumb I expect the smaller the cabinet to sound tinnier and boxier, but it’s really down to the head you pair it with.

  • DI Box
  • 2 x 12 AC Silver (Vox AC 30 Silver Alnico Speakers)
  • 2 x 12 AC Blue (Vox AC30 Blue Bulldog)
  • 4 x 12 Citrus (Orange PPC 412 V30s)
  • 4 x 12 Gratifier (Mesa Rectifier 4×12 V30s)
  • 4 x 12 High White (75 Hiwatt SE4123 50w Fane Purple)
  • 4 x 12 UK 60s Green (Marshall 1960 G12Ms)
  • 4 x 12 UK 70s Black (Marshall 1960 V30s)
  • 4 x 12 UK 70s White (Marshall Basketweave G12Ls)
  • 4 x 12 UK 80s Black (Marshall 1960 JBL K120s)
  • 4 x 12 UK 80s White (Marshall 1960 G12T 75s)
  • 4 x 12 Hot Solo+ A (Soldano 412B Eminence S12Xs)
  • 4 x 12 Hot Solo+ B (Soldano 412B Eminence Legend)
  • 2 x 12 Jazz (Roland JC 120 Roland 12s)
  • 2 x 12 Twang (Fender Twin Jensen C12Ns)
  • 2 x 15 Twang (Fender Dual Showman JBL D130s)
  • 4 x 10 Tweed (Fender Bassman Jensen P10Qs)
  • 1 x 12 Tweed (Fender Tweed Deluxe Jensen P12R)
  • 4 x 12 Ultra A (Bogner Uberkab Celestion G12T)
  • 4 x 12 Ultra B (Bogner Uberkab Celestion Vintage 30s)
  • 4 x 12 Van 51 (Peavey Sheffield 51501200s)
  • 8 x 10 Bass Pro (Ampeg SVT 810 SVT 10s)
  • 4 x 10 Bass Alu (Hartke 4.5XL Aluminum 10s)
  • 1 x 15 Bass Vintage (Supro Thunderbolt Jensen Speaker)
  • 2 x 12 American (similar to a Fender Super-Sonic 60 212)
  • 2 x 12 British (Vox AC30)
  • 4 x 12 Vintage (Marshall1960 JTM50 4×12 75W cabinet)
  • 4 x 12 Modern (ENGL E412VG)
  • 4 x 12 Rammfire A & B (Mesa Rectifier 4×12)

Microphones

Note that not all microphones are available on every cabinet, most only allow for the Rib 121, Dyn 57, Con 87, Rib 160 and Dyn 421. Condenser microphones might pick up more top-end detail where as dynamic microphones respond better to a higher output level. Typically ribbon microphones are softer and silkier at the top with a rounder bottom end. Most cabinets can have the Cap, Cap Edge or Cone position selected. The cap should give you a brighter tone than the cone, which is usually darker.

Effects Units

Guitar Rig has expanded the effects units beyond version 5 to include many more idiosyncratic and creative units that go beyond simple guitar effects pedal clones.

Delay & Echo

As well as some models of classic delay pedals there’s more generic delays.

Distortion

There are distortion pedals ranging from boosts and light overdrives to more saturated distortions and high-gain fuzz pedals.

Dynamics

A major developed from version 5 to 6 is the expansion of the dynamic modules, now including some Softube modelled compressors. Most compressors falls into three categories, FET compressors are extremely fast in their response, tube compressors are slower, VCAs fall somewhere in the middle (although this is an extreme over simplification).

EQ

This category hasn’t changed significantly, except with the addition of an SSL channel strip style parametric EQ.

Filters

Aside from a few types of wah pedal there are some more musical and interesting auto filters. Users of Reaktor might recognise the Driver filter/distortion.

Modifier

These units that are more akin to modular synthesiser CV modulation sections. These take various signals generated either internally (in the case of the analog sequencer, LFO and step sequencer) or from the guitar or input signal itself (envelope and input level) and use that to generate modulation that can be paired with anything else in Guitar Rig. It’s extremely powerful and goes way beyond what’s easily possible with a standard guitar pedalboard.

  • Analog Sequencer
  • Envelope
  • Input Level
  • LFO
  • Step Sequencer

Modulation

Some more esoteric additions like the Choral, Flair, Freak and Phasis have been added in version 6, otherwise the usual candidates are here, mostly 70s and 80s chorus, flanger and phaser units.

Pitch

Calling this section pitch is perhaps doing it a disservice, as the harmonic synthesiser is a full on timbral changing unit, and the Rescochord and Transpose Stretch are very creative and atypical for a guitarist.

Reverb

Like the compression section there are some Softube additional here (both Lexicon models). Other than that there are the usual candidates (plate, spring, chamber, room, hall etc) and some more interesting octave pitch-shift reverbs like IceVerb and Replika Shimmer.

  • IceVerb (Mooer Shim Verb)
  • Reflektor and Little Reflektor (version of Native Instruments Reflektor, impulse response-based)
  • Octaverb
  • RC24 (Lexicon 224 Reverb)
  • RC48 (Lexicon 480L Reverb)
  • RAUM
  • Replika Shimmer
  • Spring Reverb
  • Studio Reverb
  • Traktor’s Reverb
  • Vintage Verb

Special FX

These are most ported from Traktor and are tempo based amplitude effects that cut up and process the signal like BeatRepeat or similar. The Grain Delay is highly creative and the ring modulators could arguably be in the “pitch” section. Tricky FX to use but deeply rewarding if you get something useable out of them.

  • Traktor’s Beat Slicer
  • Traktor’s Beat Master
  • Traktor’s Gater
  • Grain Delay
  • Traktor’s Reverse Grain
  • Ring Modulator (moogerfooger MF-102 Ring Modulator)
  • Traktor’s Ring Mod

Tools

These are utility devices that help compartmentalise you modules as well as split and divide the sound.

  • Container
  • CrossOver
  • Split Mix
  • Split M/S

Related posts:

Logic Pedalboard Equivalencies (updated for 2023) My Parallel Pedalboard Queens of the Stone Age in your DAW pluginsTop 12 Effects Plugins under £50 Compress to Impress: The Top 10 Free and Cheap Audio Unit Compressors How to Etch Aluminum / Etched Guitar Pedals Erykah Badu: Honey SSL, Neve and API and on a Budget Chord of the Day: Get Down Saturday Night Dig Your Own Crate: A Guide to Becoming a Human Record Collection

Related posts:

Logic Pedalboard Equivalencies (updated for 2023) My Parallel Pedalboard Queens of the Stone Age in your DAW pluginsTop 12 Effects Plugins under £50 Compress to Impress: The Top 10 Free and Cheap Audio Unit Compressors How to Etch Aluminum / Etched Guitar Pedals Erykah Badu: Honey SSL, Neve and API and on a Budget Chord of the Day: Get Down Saturday Night Dig Your Own Crate: A Guide to Becoming a Human Record Collection