Best Guitar Virtual Instrument (Jan 2023 Update)

This is a great product to learn how to play some of your favorite songs on a real guitar or bass – not some button pushing plastic mock-up. Ubisoft includes a variety of old classics, modern hits and everything in between. There's also an "arcade" section to work on things like chords, string picking, slides, and more. Tons of songs to download from your favorite artists and add to your library (additional cost). It's CRITICAL that you include the "Real Tone" cable to be truly effective. Give it 60 days, and you'll be jamming to your favorite riffs in no time!sloburn

I wanted a guitar based game, so I tried it out not expecting anything special. I couldn't have been more wrong. It's so much fun. I've played guitar for over forty years and though I don't feel like I am learning anything from playing the game, I can see how someone new to playing guitar could surely benefit greatly from it. I would recommend this to someone who is serious about wanting to learn. The initial stages are kind of boring for those who already know how to pick or can find notes on the neck. Newcomers to guitar or bass (this version needed a $10 addon for bass), will welcome the slow pace and have a great feeling of accomplishment when they complete a song. The only gripe is that tacking on this game is greatly improved if the audio is sent directly to a receiver instead of through the TV's HDMI port. Overall this is a quality game (it is a game), with the added ability to actually learn how to play guitar or bass!!vcamargo99

Great way to learn to play guitar or bass at your own pace. Of course you'll need your own guitar or bass, but this package is ready to go. You get lessons, arcade style games to help teach you technique, and of course the best part….songs to play along with! Not to mention there are tons of songs you can download from Ubisoft and expand your music collection, and they are reasonably priced. The songs provided are great, and they scale to your skill level so it doesn't have to be too hard or too easy, it will remember and scale to you! Of course you can always turn off the dynamic difficulty and crack up the toughness and try to see if you can keep up with the pros =) The game also has split-screen multiplayer, so you can play lead while a friend plays rhythm or bass. One of the great things about the cable is it's universal, meaning you can use it on Xbox, PS4, PC, etc., so you can always take your cable and guitar to your friends house without having to worry what platform they are on. Just plug your cable in to their system and you're all set. Highly recommended to anyone looking to have a blast while learning to play a real instrument. I went from not knowing a single chord to playing riffs from songs in about 10 sessions. The best compliment is when you play a riffwithout the game playing and someone says, "Hey, I know that song!". That's the moment you'll realize this was totally worth the purchase price.jerrylive365

Bought this as a upgrade from the pod xt. With an effects loop, balanced line in and ability to run two amps at a time is what attracted me to it. I really like the dr z, fender and Mesa models and when it worked recorded well. Works in the front of amps and also 4 cable method. Decent passable tone if you want that. Issue is the line 6 monkey and updates. These include firmware patches that will lock the footboard and delete your stored custom patches. There is a way to do a factory reset and I did 6 times over two months. Now my board can't reset and is stuck on one channel. Line 6 has terrible online support and a number of listed service centers that either went out of business or non longer service line 6 products. I have went back to my pod xt while not as good sounding will still work with my daw.503roofdesign

After much consideration I chose the Boss GT-100 over the HD500. The HD500 dominates the Boss counterpart in the direct in/recording… the I/O on the HD500 is far better than the GT-100. However, i rely on amplitube for preliminary recording and reamping for the real thing. I needed to find a floor unit that could run good sounding amp models out of a tube amplifier. I ran a GT-10 into the return section of my 6505+ for a couple of years. For those who don't know this literally bypasses the amplifiers preamp section and is now fully controlled by the GT-100. This is where the GT-100 shines, my live sound unparalleled, most guys with ENGL and mesa mark series amps are asking where I got my 6505+ modded. I don't bother with the four cable method, but regardless the GT is miles past the HD500 when you add a tube amp to the mix. I almost thought about getting one of the new HD PODS anyway, just to have for when i visit other studios and lay down tracks that I do not have the time to sit there fidgeting with my tone, because it really is that good for direct recording. But now that Fractal Audio has released the AX-8 I think I will do a little more saving.Ricktalyf

Pod HD 500x is an upgrade for me of pod XT live. Id had that for ten years and maybe I had the focus to learn learn learnt. Right now I have teens and life is busy, however tho I haven't out the time in with pod hd500x you can make stereo rigs (one amp on ear panned ear/side of the stage thru PA or two amps) and if you put some slight milliseconds of delay on one side of that it widens the sounds completely. It is loaded with amps, like pod XT was, and effects and more effects in the case of 500x AND it has greater sound quality throughout as well as a looper – a short looper and useful extra, tho definately not a replacement for a real looper AND when you learn how, using the stereo amp setup you can set up two guitars (one needs to be a variax and one a quarter inch input, or an xl mic and guitar, or a variax and guitar AND they can have DIFFERENT rigs each, that is, different amps or preamp plus effects for each instrument. Therefore POD HD 500x is like having 2 pod XT lives AND a looper AND better sound quality and diverse output options. However, if you don't want to read manuals OR tweak much, watch videos on how to make patches and read the manual to see if you want something so complicated and deep. In my opinion it's worth the work, though I am only starting to realise what I can do, but I don't think you need to understand everything in this tool box to get value. This was cheaper new with all the extras and plus shipping than a pod XT was 12 years ago or whenever I bought it. Consider well. Amazing tool. Great value.aidanpoulter

Easy to play, hard to master and impossible to put it down. This game is pure fun! IMO you need to get a real electronic drum kit for the best experience. Customs keep the game alive for endless hours of fun!jerrylive365

I’ve been advancing my guitar skills for a while now and this game does help with figuring out some new things here and there. As for the disk itself, it’s clean and it starts right up as promised. Sadly I had to spend the remainder of my money getting a Real Tone Cable for way too much since apparently they’re getting rare. Other than that, and the extremely long delivery time, i couldn’t ask for anything betterKristofer R.

I bought this product because is looked fun, it seemed to claim to teach you to play Guitar, and I also needed an Amp for my Electric Guitar but I could never afford one and this game makes your TV and sound system an Amp with full customization of sound for less than $100 so it would save me maybe thousands of dollars on that equipment. I first put the game in and I liked how challenging it was, it is a very new and fresh kind of game. I really enjoy knowing I am the one making the actual sound of the guitar and it is very encouraging to make me practice and play guitar. I dislike how difficult the game is, they made it sound like it would be easy and slowly work up so everyone is able to play, though in my experience the game makes me feel like a complete loser.. I would be on the easiest difficulty just hitting simple notes then I would level up the difficulty and it would throw in crazy stuff I had never seen yet or things way out of my current league, and when I would miss them it would level me back down to just hitting repetitive simple notes. I can master it in time surely but I do not think it is fun for a newbie. I played Piano since I was a small child and am familiar with playing instruments and I taught myself the guitar maybe last year and I made it a point to stay away from TABS so I can truly master the instrument and know how to play it, and play anything..my self progress I feel will teach my how to play guitar better than rocksmith, because I have yet to see Rocksmith tell me what notes I am hitting on the strings.. though rocksmith does name the chords and has taught me chords at a much quicker pace than I was learning them on my own..HOWEVER I find it very stupid and difficult to learn what rocksmith is telling you to hit for chords during gameplay, and the only way you can really hit them is if you practice chords in the technique section and then hope a song does not throw up a chord you did not memorize yet. I had to pause the game every time I seen a chord coming and look at a book of guitar chords I have and study it, before I was able to enjoy playing the game with chords. There does not seem to be online multiplayer which bummed me out but the game is cool enough to survive without it I suppose. So I bought this game thinking it was a game AND guitar teacher, but I have realized it is mostly just a very advanced version of guitar hero where you do not "intelligently" learn to play songs, but will learn to play them from memory, which is just like learning from TABS which I wanted to avoid in the first place. I have not too much experience with this game so do not buy or not buy just because of my review, but if something I said would cause you to not buy the game, look into the game further and see if what i say is true and if it is indeed a problem to you, do not buy.. I think this is a decently fun game even though it was not what I expected and everyone is sure to have fun playing it the first few times at least. The thing I am most happy with, and exceeded my expectations, was the amplifier.. With the custom sounds you can unlock I have found the perfect sound I always wanted out of my guitar. One last thing.The options to practice a song I find very difficult to use and even when you figure them out,they are WRONGif they were actually meant to help someone practice a song,it is almost like they do not want you to learn the songs as quickly and easily as you could.user6612

I needed some funky guitar for my House projects. Wow, did this fit the bill. It actually became the spotlight sound in a couple of tracks. The guitar riffs are easy to create with a lot of great-sounding presets to start from. It's really set-up like a synth but the sound is Stratocaster-like. Just add some drums and bass and you've got the base layer for a great track. Perfect guitar sounds for Reggae too. I haven't worked with the acoustic guitar or power-chord sounds yet but, they're there when needed. This was well worth the price if you just want some backing rhythms.TomC

I used to own the Vamp version 2 of this model, and I found that there are Many more features to this unit. Plus the sound is pristine through headphones. I have yet to see how it sounds through my Yamaha DG60. I bet through a tube amp this unit would rock anybody's socks off.ilovemusic1966

you need to download and pay for the recording software, then the usual learning curve with it. but the unit is very nice, and sounds great,drum_948

It is truly amazing the quality of simulations that are available at the price point that Behringer has marked this unit at. Does everything the POD does and does it well. Just a fraction of the cost too!motga.-99

Love this. It has made practicing and just having fun portable and convenient. Exactly what I was looking for to replace having to hook up all the pedals, amps, find free power outlets and set up the space. I can sit on my porch and play along with songs using tonebridge and the included software is nice too. Really a small living environment game changer for someone who just loves to play. worked right out of the box and with your existing corded headphones. (I wish I could use my Bluetooth phones, but I'm sure there is a newer version with this option… The price is right, it's worth it. I was on the fence for a year and kept coming back to buy after being frustrated with all the cords running around for my guitar rig. A lot of fun, wish I'd had it 20yrs ago.dogsplantsguitar

The Irig HD2 is pretty awesome on its own merits! As a versatile headphone amp, pre amp for your live rig, audio interface direct to your DAW or even as a replacement for your live foot pedal collection during live performances…. But the real value is in the full version of Amplitube that comes with this unit.. I've had the trial version for a bit now and love that I now get full use of all that Amplitube has to offer and was able to get it for free by purchasing the Irig HD2. Couldn't ask for more. !!!!jonlandi

I'm very happy with this product but only after a long struggle figuring out how to get it to work with my 2019 iMac running macOS Catalina 10.15.6. Initially it seemed it wouldn't work but then I figured out that you have to give the iRig HD2 FULL DISK ACCESS permissions in System Preferences – SECURITY & PRIVACY not just FILES and FOLDERS. Remember that if you're running macOS Catalina 10.15.6.integris1

I've been looking awhile for a Zoom G3x, with the The Shadows patches because they are very good. Its a well made metal bodied unit , pretty easy to use when you study the manual . It can connect to your laptop or PC using USB type B to Type A cable. which enables you to update the firmware, and play your backing tracks. If you download Edit and Share from Zoom ,this enables you to alter, swap and change patch positions. Very handy having a volume pedal, which can be set ,for various effects. I'm very pleased with the Zoom it was a good price ,and sounds fantastic. I recommend it.opaline_04

As a "weekend warrior" gigging musician, I needed a new pedal board to replace my old XTLive POD that finally died after 12 years (also a MF purchase!). Checking reviews, I felt pretty confident ordering it and this thing exceeds my expectations! The phrase "so easy a caveman can do it" comes to mind. I literally received it, set up a bank of effects and played a gig within two hours! My picky soundman even told me at the end of the night "don't ever get rid of that pedal-board, it's your new secret sauce". Already tweaking and adding more patches – thanks MF and ZOOM for such a great product and such an easy purchasing process!Muzik Man

The software is awesome! I showed a couple songs I used it on and my guitar player friends couldn't even tell I wasn't playing my guitar. I'm not a very good picker, and this saved the day. So easy to program and SO realistic!MIKE

Overall: This is my second Wylde Audio guitar, my first was a standard Odin. I love that guitar so much I couldn't wait to get hands on an Odin Grail. I have to say I was not disappointed, straight out of the box this thing was ready to play. The quality is good and it sounds great. As always Schecter put great products out for the money. That being said I do think this guitar is a bit over priced but I'm not losing any sleep over it. I'd like to see it closer to $1000 than $1200.Travis

Beautiful looking guitar! I don't have one because I have small hands and a neck radius over 12" would be too far for me. Maybe someday he'll offer this in a thinner neck style! Zakk is a big guy and not everyone has hands that big!Michael

Overall: What a awesome guitar great feel, awesome tone and sound. Once I started playing I couldn't put it down. Wylde audio kicks ass. I own a esp,and a dean as well but this is by far the best guitar I've purchased. I also got it in the satin design both guitars have different tones so I like to switch back and forth for different songs. I think the Odin grail rawtop puts out a more melodic tone. And the Odin satin black puts out a more aggressive sound. This is my personal opinion. They also have different body shapes as far as thickness. But overall awesome guitars can't wait to get me a blood wing.Gibson

Installation worked as advertised – not difficult and worked first time without further adjustments. Could use some high-quality instrument patches – had to buy them from Big Fish. Can do a fine quality impression of horn or string section for us keyboard non-experts, but need the sounds. I do not use the iPad app, just use it in DAW.Jamie

Im not crazy about it..It does track quickly. Secondly you dont have to bolt it in.. Thats the good, Im not to crazy about the sound libraries that come with it. Ive not found much that I can use. I can use it with my other midi packs…thats good. You do have to go into your DAW and clean up transients after recording.. I give it a C…Better than nothing! Fishman could do a little better, considering this thing costs over two hundred bucks..crairiver0

I bought this for recording because I don't play keys very well. I reached out to Fishman about a couple of questions to help set it up and they were really helpful. I wouldn't use this for live because it's very sensitive and the MIDI usually needs a little editing to do exactly what I wanted it to, but it really saves me a lot of work. I run Omnisphere from my guitar, mind blownMatt

It's a great idea. A silent guitar that doesn't disturb people. Once it was set up on my Samsung tablet Tab S4 (the latest), it was fine. BUT, and it's a BIG BUT, you can't use it until you have upgraded the firmware when you purchase it. It won't upgrade the firmware on an Android machine. And as I don't have a Windows PC any more, I had to hit the helpline.after 15 emails, and 3 days, I finally gave up, and used my daughter's iPad to update the Jamstik. So, bare in mind if you are an Android user. Think carefully.rolfman2000

I want to get better at playing the guitar and YouTube videos have been helpful, but I wanted something more without having to schedule and pay for a lot of lessons. So, when I came across this Electric Guitar Trainer, I thought I would give it a try. I love it! It is really easy to use, and one of my favorite features is its ability to sync up with multiple devices. I can practice using the app on my phone in the morning and pick up again in the spot that I stopped at later in the day using my computer. It has made my learning experience a lot more fun!Brooke

The Jamstik Studio guitar is a quality built 3/4 scale electric guitar with a midi bluetooth interface. It works well with jamstiks creator software and with third party IOS apps for midi.jehi_117022

MIDI outputs on 3 strings after 4 hours of adjustment and new strings. Bluetooth connectivity is non-existent. Doesnt work at all. The bridge is something youve never seen before and you get to learn setup and tuning all over again- and it doesnt even work that well. Good luck pulling out a tool to tune your strings. This instrument is trash.boundbyonly6strings

Very good value. I checked arround before buying. Service up to there usual standard. Product looks good but still finding new features so can't give comprehensive review.Reviewed by guitarguitar custome

It took several attempts to update the firmware…once the first attempt failed, the device wouldn't work until a successful update. Once the firmware was updated, I began to explore the features. Sound is great, and it mixes guitar with your own music nicely. The sound through my stereo is really good. The main difficulties are in changing songs and then getting the unit to change to the matching guitar tones. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I think the main issue is in the IOS app. When it's working it's a fun toy. For the price, it's worth it.Dave the Hacker

Very good product, far better than the AMPLIFi 75 unit. It feels better built and better thought out with a higher quality edge. I am considering running this as my permenant gig rig through a good quality PA. never had an issue with the Bluetooth although I have heard that these are prone to problems. Personally I like to set 4 core sounds and then leave the phone at home and just use the dials on the front panel.Reviewed by guitarguitar custome

Brilliant little unit, hardly any latency and works a treat with my guitar hooked up to a MacBook Pro. Easy to customise new sounds, heaps of awesome features.Ava’sOldMan

This is not a pedal. The buttons and screens are fake. It's totally reliant on the software to tweak the sounds. Don't get this if you want a practice tool that you can wander around with (It will just work with the first sound patch and USB power but has no internal batteries). However, if you want heaps of great sounds and an audio interface this could be right for you. The non-described feature is that you still get the tuner, rhythm machine and looper included.Andrew S.

A shout out for really good customer service – your guys were like a dog on a bone getting in touch and helping! Suggestions of other similar products when the one we wanted was out of stock were really useful. Well done to the whole crew.Angie K.

The HyVibe features are amazing, just look at all of the videos on You Tube. I will tell you that it is even better in person! I can't walk by the guitar and not pick it up and play it. The HyVibe Looping and Effects provide endless possibilities. No need for wires or amplifiers, but it sounds great plugged-in too. Regarding the guitar it played and sounded absolutely wonderful and continues to please. Pros – Everything (seriously, I'm a legitimate owner and musician writing this) – The USB-C rechargeable Li-Ion battery lasts for weeks and charges quickly – Pair it with a wireless AirTurn BT200|S-2 pedal and the looping becomes even more easy and convenient. Note: the latest Firmware provides an easy scrollable interface to access all of your loops with ease. Cons – It's a little rough up at the Nut, not uncommon for a guitar at this price-point. This is my only complaint about the build quality of this guitar and was easy to smooth down with gentle sanding with an emery board (nail file). As indicated at the start, I purchase a second one, the Tramontane THV30DCE version, and I love that one too, and will review separately.Rich

I have been using Native instruments Komplete for many years now and Komplete 13 Ultimate Collectors edition is purely worth it for the Cremona Quartet string instruments and guitar 6 rig pro. Both of these products are outstanding in what is already a very complete and comprehensive production suite. l waited for the half price sale and this just made this purchase outstanding value. You wont be disappointed in this upgrade.Robert

I knew upgrading to v13 was going to put a sizeable dent in my finances, but having taken the plunge, I found it was worth the expense. Lots of new additions and many upgrades to existing instruments, like the new Guitar Rig 6 & Massive X, which i use a lot. The collection includes 96 instruments, 17 of which are synths, 26 effects, 73 expansions, and 115,000 sounds. I often wonder if I need all it has to offer, but it's nice to have and choose from when looking for new ideas and inspiration.Kev M.

I don’t know where to start with reviewing or recommending Komplete 13. I upgraded from Komplete 10 to 13 initially just for the piano and cello sounds but decided to get the collectors edition. One of those why not moments while I was in the cart. It took me a week on and off to install and update all. Cremona quartet amazing, Noire piano amazing…. Seriously amazing. I used the grandeur for my first album and now recording second using the Noire Piano and it is inspiring which was what I was hoping for. Playing through the patches alone is hours of fun let alone I start playing with some settings. If anything , this software has given me a bit of anxiety as it’s obvious that I now have all the sounds at a high quality as well as tools to create soundscapes that I will ever need and that it is all going to come down to my skill level and my ability to create and not the product. I can’t fault Komplete 13 ultimate collector’s edition and I feel like it’s one of those above my pay grade situations. I don’t usually leave reviews but after I played my first track to few people to get some reactions the one question they all asked was what piano did you record that on.Garabed B.

Easy to use. Thousands of presets, and easy to tweak parameters even with limited knowledge of sound. You are able to dive even deeper and really change and create new sounds with more experience.Reviewed by Andertons Music Co.

Overall: I'm new to plugins and vst's, I've just started teaching myself to play keyboard a little while ago and basically what i've learned about this stuff is what i've seen on the internet. I played bass for some time but have wanted to play keyboard and piano all my life. I decided that once I started learning to play, i'd try to learn it all at the same time. I must admit, It's been hard finding out what all the technical stuff means and what it does but i'm coming along, zZounds has made it possible for me to acquire the equipment I want without having to shell out too much at one time. Trilian is just a small part of that equipment that i'm learning more about and love having. Though I'm not nearly where I want to be, the videos are extremely helpful as I know no one that can help me understand it. Even so, I know good bass when I hear it and trilian is as close to live as you can get. Once I learn how to tweak it and what everything does I think the sky will be the limit.Larry

It is a very good pedal and at a great price. Is it as good as the competition? Honestly I am not sure as I have yet to make my own IR but the loaded 24 bit IR's sound pretty good and the preamp is very malleable plus it has a very decent reverb. I am glad I gave the NUX Optima a go before I spent two to three times more on the others. This pedal exceeded my expectations for sure. Blending is essential to get the most of of the pedal's offerings. Only thing I did notice is it did not really work well with my Godin A6 Ultra but worked great with my Martin and my Art and Luthier 12 string. For best results use the XLR out. I look forward to creating my own IR's in the near future but even without this feature it is a good buy.chsh_5693