Amplitube 5 and the Joe Satriani Collection

[nikolay.i]

[Mod Edit: Split from the Upgrade Pricing thread, for clarity']

I am thinking about buying the Satriani collection, but with this complicated Amplitube 5 upgrade policy I am completely lost what is the best thing to do at the moment.

If I buy the Satriani collection now, when Amplitube 5 is available what should I do to upgrade sonically (to the new amp/cab models). Do I have to buy Amplitube 5 SE to get the amp/cab models included in the Satriani collection upgraded?

Is it better (financially) to wait for Amplitube 5 to be released and then buy the Satriani collection in order to get it with the new sounds?

Actually is there a difference in the sound of the Satriani collection in Amplitube 4 and Amplitube 5 (are the amps/cabs remodeled)?

[Peter_IK]

I am thinking about buying the Satriani collection, but with this complicated Amplitube 5 upgrade policy I am completely lost what is the best thing to do at the moment.

If I buy the Satriani collection now, when Amplitube 5 is available what should I do to upgrade sonically (to the new amp/cab models). Do I have to buy Amplitube 5 SE to get the amp/cab models included in the Satriani collection upgraded?

Is it better (financially) to wait for Amplitube 5 to be released and then buy the Satriani collection in order to get it with the new sounds?

Actually is there a difference in the sound of the Satriani collection in Amplitube 4 and Amplitube 5 (are the amps/cabs remodeled)?

Any gear you have in AmpliTube 4 will be upgraded in AmpliTube 5 SE. So you can purchase AmpliTube Joe Satriani now and it will run with all the new bells & whistles in AmpliTube 5 SE, 5, or MAX.

[DarkStar]

I am thinking about buying the Satriani collection, but with this complicated Amplitube 5 upgrade policy I am completely lost what is the best thing to do at the moment.

I prefer the word "comprehensive" rather than "complicated" as there are several categories of potential users.

If I buy the Satriani collection now, when Amplitube 5 is available what should I do to upgrade sonically (to the new amp/cab models). Do I have to buy Amplitube 5 SE to get the amp/cab models included in the Satriani collection upgraded?

Yes, that is right - AT5 SE is the entry point for the new features, recaptured cabs, etc

Is it better (financially) to wait for Amplitube 5 to be released and then buy the Satriani collection in order to get it with the new sounds?

No need to wait, the end result would be the same,. But you may have more Jampoints to use if you get AT4 (SE) first. Satriani is on sale until 04 January, 2021.

Actually is there a difference in the sound of the Satriani collection in Amplitube 4 and Amplitube 5 (are the amps/cabs remodeled)?

For the Satriani amps specifically, I am not sure. But overall, yes, there will be a sonic difference. Several users have requested A|B demos of some presets in AT4 and AT5 so that they can hear the difference.

[Peter_IK]

There will be a specific difference due to every cabinet, including those in AmpliTube Joe Satriani, using VIR™ technology and overall in the fully new engine. Note that even the mere jump from ~16 impulse responses to 600+ per speaker will be a major difference.

[nikolay.i]

Thanks Peter_IK and Darkstar for the quick replies, but I don't get it.

If I buy Amplitube Joe Satriani now for €79.99 (the current discount price) then I would have to buy Amplitube 5 SE for €99.99 (the current pre-order price), so I would have to pay almost €180 to get Amplitube Joe Satriani.

If I buy Amplitube Joe Satriani after Amplitube 5 is released it will cost me €99.99 if the discount is over.

Why should I pay almost 2x the price?

Or when I buy Amplitube Joe Satrani after Amplitube 5 is released, I would still get the old Satriani collection (without VIR etc.)?

[DarkStar]

If I buy Amplitube Joe Satriani now for €79.99 (the current discount price) then I would have to buy Amplitube 5 SE for €99.99 (the current pre-order price), so I would have to pay almost €180 to get Amplitube Joe Satriani.

Not quite. I see where you are getting confused. The Satriani collection is gear models only, not the AmpliTube software. And you can load them into any edition of AT4, including the AT4 Custom Shop.

TIf I buy Amplitube Joe Satriani after Amplitube 5 is released it will cost me €99.99 if the discount is over.

Why should I pay almost 2x the price?

You would not. As mentioned above, if you buy "Amplitube Joe Satriani " you get the gear models. You still need some AmpliTube software to load and use them. Those gear models will load and run in AT4 Custom Shop (free), AT5 Custom Shop (also free, when released) or any paid-for edition of AT4 or AT5.

The new features, FX, IRs etc are in the three paid-for editions: AT5 SE, AT5 or AT5 MAX.

Or when I buy Amplitube Joe Satrani after Amplitube 5 is released, I would still get the old Satriani collection (without VIR etc.)?

You would then need an edition of AT4, or AT5 Custom Shop. You would get the "old" (= AT4) gear only, and none of the new AT5 features.

Please see the Comparison Chart and PDF halfway down the AT5 product page.

[DarkStar]

To put it another way:

• you can use the Joe Satriani Collection of gear models in the free ("Custom Shop") editions of AT4 and AT5
• or in any paid-for edition of AT4 or AT5
• but if you want the new features you need to buy an edition of AT5

[nikolay.i]

Thanks DarkStar, it is much clearer now, but all this is quite disappointing.

So if I am a new customer buying any Amplitube signature product (Satriani, Slash, Mesa/Boogie etc.) I would buy it at the advertised price and then will find that there is a hidden cost to get the proper product (current up-to-date version instead of years old technology).

This hidden cost is quite significant when we look at the normal price of Amplitube 5 SE - 149.99 especially when we compare it to the product we buy - 99.99 for Amplitube Satriani.

Anyway, IK Multimedia has its right to decide what the price will be, but once Amplitube 5 is released it should clearly state in Amplitube Joe Satriani, that what you buy is old technology and if you want to get it sounding right you have to pay more to get the new version of this product (gear, or whatever it is called).

It is also really unclear whether there would be any difference in the sound of the Amplitube Satriani in Amplitube CS or Amplitube SE or higher. As result of this I may pay the significant additional amount for SE just to find that the signature product sounds the same (has the same amp modelling, same impulse responses etc.).

All this is so confusing, that I would bet this artificial limitation in the custom shop will be removed in the future so whatever you buy there works as expected.

I see no good reason to invest in old technology, so I am going to skip the purchase.

[DarkStar]

So if I am a new customer buying any Amplitube signature product (Satriani, Slash, Mesa/Boogie etc.) I would buy it at the advertised price and then will find that there is a hidden cost to get the proper product (current up-to-date version instead of years old technology).

This hidden cost is quite significant when we look at the normal price of Amplitube 5 SE - 149.99 especially when we compare it to the product we buy - 99.99 for Amplitube Satriani.

Anyway, IK Multimedia has its right to decide what the price will be, but once Amplitube 5 is released it should clearly state in Amplitube Joe Satriani, that what you buy is old technology and if you want to get it sounding right you have to pay more to get the new version of this product (gear, or whatever it is called).

No, that is not correct. There is no hidden cost. The Joe Satriani product is a Collection of gear models at a price less than the individual gear. And you can use that gear in the FREE AT4 CS or AT5 CS (when released). You should see AT4 Cs in your User Area / My products section. There is absolutely no need to buy anything-else.

AmpliTube Joe Satriani is not old technology. As of today it is used in the current (AmpliTube 4) technology. When AT5 is released the Satriani gear will work in that new technology and will sound different (and, I expect, even better).

It is also really unclear whether there would be any difference in the sound of the Amplitube Satriani in Amplitube CS or Amplitube SE or higher. As result of this I may pay the significant additional amount for SE just to find that the signature product sounds the same (has the same amp modelling, same impulse responses etc.).

Any model in AmpliTube 5 CS will not sound exactly the same as in AT5 SE. AT5 SE has the new features, AT5 CS does not.

All this is so confusing, that I would bet this artificial limitation in the custom shop will be removed in the future so whatever you buy there works as expected.

There is no artificial limitation. The Satriani gear will work in there quite happily. AT5 CS will be free. If it had the new features, there would be less reason to get AT5 SE.

I see no good reason to invest in old technology, so I am going to skip the purchase.

Again, you are NOT investing in old technology. The technology used depends on whether you use
(a) an AT4 edition or AT5 CS, or
(b) a paid-for AT5 edition

[nikolay.i]

AmpliTube Joe Satriani is not old technology. As of today it is used in the current (AmpliTube 4) technology. When AT5 is released the Satriani gear will work in that new technology and will sound different (and, I expect, even better).

Any model in AmpliTube 5 CS will not sound exactly the same as in AT5 SE. AT5 SE has the new features, AT5 CS does not.

So in AT5 CS it will sound different than AT4 (quote 1), but it will not sound the same as AT5 SE (quote 2).

I hope somebody with technical knowledge from IK would give us more info about this as it is really not clear what would be the situation with the AT 5 signature gear.

The question is fairly simple:

If we buy (now or after AT5 is released) Amplitube Joe Satriani and use it in AT5 CS will it run the new algorithms (amp modeling, cab impulse responses) or it will use the AT4 amp modeling / cabs?

Again, you are NOT investing in old technology. The technology used depends on whether you use
(a) an AT4 edition or AT5 CS, or
(b) a paid-for AT5 edition

Based on the info so far if I don't buy AT 5 SE and use AT 5 CS I would be buying AT 4 (Satriani) gear and this qualifies it as old technology, as there are newer models of the same gear in AT 5.

I hope we get some technical info on my question about the AT4 / AT5 amp/cab modeling in AT5 CS.

If AT 5 CS would always run the AT4 version of the models/cabs there is no point in buying custom gear as it would be always outdated.

[Peter_IK]

If you want the full power of AmplITube 5, you would need to at least get AmplITube 5 SE. That's the shortest way to state it, and is entirely correct.

The comparison chart on the AmpliTube 5 web page states specifically what functionality you will or will not have with AmpliTube 5 CS (and every other version).

[nikolay.i]

Thanks Peter for spending the time to add information here, but I still hope to get answer to my question:

If we buy (now or after AT5 is released) Amplitube Joe Satriani and use it in AT5 CS will it run the new algorithms (amp modeling, cab impulse responses) or it will use the AT4 amp modeling / cabs?

[Peter_IK]

Thanks Peter for spending the time to add information here, but I still hope to get answer to my question:

If we buy (now or after AT5 is released) Amplitube Joe Satriani and use it in AT5 CS will it run the new algorithms (amp modeling, cab impulse responses) or it will use the AT4 amp modeling / cabs?

Sorry I thought that was more clear in my post above. You can see in the chart that AmpliTube 5 CS has 16 impulse responses per speaker vs 600+ in AmpliTube 5 SE/5/MAX. So it will use the AmpliTube 4 cab responses/technology.

[nikolay.i]

Thanks Peter, this is much clearer answer even though it answers only half of my question, I would assume the same applies to the other half - the amp modeling algorithms would be the old ones as well.

Basically to get the new sound we have to pay additionally for AT 5 SE as in AT 5 CS the Joe Satriani product would work, but would sound like AT 4.

No need for further clarification here, but it would be fair to state this clearly in the JS product page once AT 5 is released.

[Peter_IK]

All of the cabinets have been redone. The AmpliTube 5 engine is brand new, that does affect the underlying code but the models were not fully "reworked" in a way that aimed to change the sound (as they are already top-class models) but they do need to work in the new engine properly.