Studio Devil BVC: Guitar amp modelling

If you want to record your guitar onto a computer or just put in some quick practice it can be easier to plug it straight into the computer. The disadvantage with this is that the amp is an integral part of the sound. Studio Devil British Valve Custom (BVC) is an amp simulator based on the classic Marshall amp stack.

Registration is required to download this software but there is no charge.

Installation is simple and the amp simulator can work in two different ways. The first way is as a VST plug-in in any music software that supports this standard. This is ideal for recording or playing along to an existing recording.

Personal practice is simpler with the new stand alone mode that can run on its own. This is a good way of trying out the sounds of the simulator.

The standalone mode lets you choose which sound device to use as well as the driver. The latter is quite an important choice because it can make a big difference to latency. This is the delay between the sound entering the computer and it being heard on the speakers or headphones.The configuration window gives an indication of the likely performance of the current selection.

Software such as ASIO4ALL might be able to improve this performance.

The sounds are good, especially given that this is a free product. The Studio Devil BVC emulates a British style high gain amp, much like the Marshall stacks that are so popular with rockers, and a speaker cabinet with four 12in speakers. It is easily overdriven into distortion, not a bad thing in and of itself but something to be aware of.

It has controls for Bass, Mids, Treble, and Presence as well as the all important Gain control.

It uses professional sampling rates of 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, and 192kHz.