Gearnews has taken a First look at AmpliTube Joe Satriani, courtesy of resident guitar gear guru, Jef Stone. He was immediately impressed by its authenticity, sound clarity and tweakability.

Here are some of Jef's key comments:

"The pedal emulations work really well. The factory settings are a good jumping off point to then go build your own patches."

"I particularly liked the Satch Distortion, which works well with lots of amps, not just the ones in this bundle. The Satch Octave is also a lot of fun and well worth messing about with."

"I A/B tested the tones on the presets against the original recordings and IK has done a very good job of recreating some of those classic Satriani guitar tones. That in itself makes it worth the price of admission."

"For a Luddite like myself, this is a godsend."

"I think many Satriani fans will enjoy the great note separation and clarity of many of the factory presets, even when they are boosted with the built-in effects."

"IK states that it uses a technology called Dynamic Interaction Modelling. Whatever voodoo is in that code is doing a great job of making these pedals and amps sound natural within your DAW."

Jef's final verdict was:

"For the price you get a neat set of very nicely modelled virtual amps, cabs and effects. IK has thrown in some classic gear, plus a few oddities. Now factor in all the album track presets that are pretty much bang on, and it becomes a no brainer for Satriani fans."

Visit Gearnews
Learn more on AmpliTube Joe Satriani