As a long-time user of Amplitube 2, Amplitube Jimi Hendrix, and Amplitube SVT, I can honestly say that IK Multimedia software products are some of the best that I've used. I've had a lot of fun dialing in great tones and have enjoyed the benefits of direct recording using their software. What I will also tell you is that it was an incredibly challenging, time-consuming task to get to that point. I cannot easily recall all of the hours I spent tweaking my PC laptop system, perusing forums & reviews, and learning the hard way all of the ins and outs to making these programs perform at an acceptable level.

As I read Mr. Baker's piece about the new Amplitube 3 release, I couldn't help but think to myself how many guitarists will buy it - only to have their dreams of ultimate guitar tone crushed into submission by a teeming mass of issues / deficiencies involving their computer processor, audio hardware, drivers, cache, RAM, interface device, and digital audio workstation compatibility. Alas - the inevitable fine print.

I am not writing this to discount the value of the program or the engineering behind it. IK's Amplitube line is state-of-the art software in so many ways. What I'm saying is that potential buyers should be fully aware that there are a lot of critical variables that will affect how the program performs. My advice is to educate yourself . . . fully . . . on those variables BEFORE you plunk down your hard-earned cash for whatever version suits your needs. If you don't, you may be in for a long haul in getting it to sound like you think it should.

I won't lie to you and say that my wallet didn't come out fast when the A2 and AJH products arrived on the market. Let's just say that there was more that came out of it once I realized what I'd need to spend to make my own Amplitube endeavor worthwhile. Your expectations and results, of course, may vary.

I understand perfectly well what you mean. I put my system together myself in 2008, and overspecced it for my needs, so I have had the good fortune never to run into performance issues with any of the software I use. There is a whole underlying support system required to make use out of any of these programs, and that has to be considered in conjunction with the investment cost of the software itself.

That said, in my testing I did install Amplitube 3 on my wife's laptop, an AMD-based dual-core with a fairly low clockrate that you can't budge if you want to. Using both a StealthPedal interface and a Rig Kontrol 3 interface I was able to run at least two instances of Amplitube 3 in high quality mode without issues, at an acceptably low latency (comparable to standing ten or fifteen feet from a real amp in a room, my standard for acceptability).

It is a very modern and sophisticated piece of software, and as such if someone happens to be using an older computer, they could be in for a less than happy surprise if they read a review of the software and think their tone quest days are over for a relatively small investment. Perhaps I should have mentioned something to that effect in the review beyond noting its three performance to quality ratio settings. However, I do know from experience talking to folks on forums, on my blog, and in person that most guitarists who know and care about software modeling are pretty well versed in all of the factors involved in getting a satisfactory experience. Software just seems made to plug in to a studio environment (home studio, project studio, professional studio all included), where all of the underlying hardware concerns are already settled and the question gets simplified to "which program will offer the best features and sound quality for the best price?"

I do very much appreciate the feedback, and will consider what you said. Please don't hesitate in the future, it is valuable to me as a reviewer!