Why You Should Use Overloud TH-U's Rig Player

Why You Should Use Overloud TH-U's Rig Player
February 10, 2022
Why You Should Use Overloud TH-U's Rig Player

Hand Selected Rich Tones, That You Can Customize

In the world of digital effects and plugins, sometimes we can get lost in all the options available. Especially when we have a plethora of modeled amplifiers and cabinets at our disposal in a plug-in such as Overloud’s TH-U. One way to shortcut the entire process of having to sift through all of the amplifiers and parameters is to load up the Rig Player, which is included in all versions of Overloud TH-U. The Rig Player plays rig models, which are samples of entire amplifier signal chains, including amp heads, cabinets and ambience. The convenience here in the Rig Player is that you have the ability to load up a base rig model and scroll through several presets, find the one closest to the sound you are looking for and tweak it to satisfaction. Many of the Rig Player models are so expertly captured that they need almost no effort to get them to sit correctly in your mix! If you enjoy the process of hand selecting every aspect of your guitar rig, you can always use any of the components of the Rig Player independently. For example, if you find a rig model that has an amplifier you really like, but want to load a separate cabinet, you have the option to load any other cabinet from the rig library AS WELL as loading up a cabinet from the core selection of Overloud TH-U. This dramatically expands the tonal variety you have at your fingertips when using TH-U.

The Sound of a Real Amp

On the Rig Player itself there are your typical controls, like gain, volume, and tone, but there are also advanced controls that can help really sculpt your tone. Most of these controls will affect the dry signal coming into the Rig Player, which will help change the character of the tone and how the signal is being processed by the rig model in use. Starting with the Definition knob you can cut some of the low end out of the signal going into the Rig Player. This is a common control in amplifiers, and while it varies by type, it’s a pretty powerful tool in tone sculpting and is a key component to getting the most of out of your rig library. You also have Power Sag, which will emulate the feeling of having an amplifier cranked, making it very responsive to your pick attack. The Compressor setting will adjust the compression of the signal going into the Rig Player, making it helpful to increase sustain or just get better control over your dynamics before processing. Clarity will help you clean up the upper frequencies if you find yourself with too much of a mid focused sound. Tube Shape can change the character and response of the distortion, with the lower setting being more focused on a preamp tube type distortion, and the higher setting simulating more of a power tube-based distortion. Tube Bias will help you shape your distortion; increasing the value produces more harmonic response. The Direct Mix will adjust the ratio of dry signal to the processed input signal. All of these tools make for a very robust set of values that can be adjusted to get the most out of your rig library!

Studio Ready Sounds for Mixing and Monitoring

Any of the Rig Libraries are mix ready and do not require much, if any, post processing when mixing your tracks. This is ideal for producers and engineers, as you can quickly scroll through amplifiers and cabinets that are professionally captured, and apply the one that fits your track best. This is especially helpful when you want to change the tone of the guitars in your tracks to better fit the style of music. Alternatively if you don’t have access to the gear you’d like to use in your tracks but have captured clean DI’s, simply load up the TH-U plugin on your selected DI track, drag the Rig Player into your signal chain, load your preferred library, and you can scroll through the presets in real time to find the perfect tone.

I find the Rig Player very useful for monitoring myself while I’m tracking guitar. The ability to dial in each Rig Library’s Power Sag to the style of song that I’m recording lends itself to the feel you get from playing different amplifiers. Sometimes I want a very tight, dry sound that I have to really dig into to get a response out of, and other times I want something very warm or that is super responsive to my picking, especially for faster, more aggressive styles of music. Tweaking the Power Sag parameter can really have some dramatic effects on the responsiveness. Personally, it can change the inspiration and motivation that I have to play, especially when the song calls for some pretty aggressive playing. To add to that, maybe you want the same sort of power amp driven sound you would find in a Marshall style amplifier. Being able to change the Tube Shape can come in handy in those cases. I find myself using these features more and more as of late, and am impressed by the influence it can have on my playing and subsequent performances.

If you fall into the category of a producer or engineer that doesn’t have a copious collection of amplifiers and cabinets that you would love to use in your productions, there is most definitely a Rig Library that will suit your needs! At the time of writing this blog, I count over 90 Rig Libraries, all expertly crafted to give you the best possible results. There are also many Rig Libraries of hard to find and high-end rigs, giving us "tone freaks" access to them at a much more reasonable and affordable price.

So in summary, the Rig Player can solve many problems, especially if you are in the position of someone who just needs a killer mix-ready tone quickly. There are expert controls that give you the flexibility to fine tune and tweak your sounds if need be, and it also vastly expands the tonal palette of the already robust TH-U plugin.