Modena, Italy (March 18, 2008) -- IK Multimedia is announcing the free download of AmpliTube X-GEAR 1.1 for all registered StompIO users and registered owners of at least one “powered by AmpliTube” product including: Ampeg SVX, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, AmpliTube 2 and AmpliTube Metal. AmpliTube X-GEAR is the first completely expandable guitar amp and effects modeling software system, available as a plug-in or a standalone system for Mac/PC.
X-GEAR allows you to mix and match the gear models from all “Powered by AmpliTube” products in a single host interface, providing control over every parameter directly from StompIO, or any generic MIDI controller. X-GEAR allows you to build custom guitar and bass tones in both live and studio settings. As the first fully modular, customizable and expandable modeling software environment, X-Gear provides instant access to more than 150 amps and effects from AmpliTube 2, AmpliTube Jimi Hendrix, Ampeg SVX, the soon to be released AmpliTube Metal and all future “Powered by AmpliTube” products.
When these products are loaded into X-GEAR, you can build modeled guitar and bass rigs with (currently) 51 stomps, 26 amps, 33 cabinets, 11 mics and 23 rack effects on 2 series/parallel rigs. With AmpliTube’s separate Pre, EQ and Power Amp stage modeling, you can build your custom amp within 180,000 combinations. X-GEAR is also seamlessly integrated out of the box with the new StompIO, USB stage controller and audio interface for AmpliTube.
In a live environment, X-GEAR + StompIO can be operated without a computer screen, mouse or keyboard connection, and with patch switching, pedal control, an amp and effects parameters display and more. You can tweak settings like you would with a traditional hardware floor processor, but with the benefits of a software-based system. When working in the studio working with your preferred DAW, the system allows you to fully record and automate your guitar or bass tracks without putting down your instrument or doing post-editing operations. Additionally, X-GEAR can also be operated with traditional MIDI controllers for basic up/down preset switching, stomp on/off switching and wah/volume operation, with simple association and MIDI learn functionality.
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Oklahoma City sludge rockers Chat Pile have had a busy few years. Their 2022 LP, God’s Country, broke them internationally, and their critically acclaimed 2024 follow-up, Cool World, solidified them as one of the most exciting heavy bands of the moment. We spoke with bassist Stin and guitarist Luther Manhole about the record for our November 2024 issue.
Now, we bring you the band’s first official Rig Rundown, filmed ahead of their show at The End in Nashville last fall. Tune in to see how Stin and Luther conjure the band’s brutal soundstorms on the road.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Bari Blast
Manhole’s main machine is this baritone 6-string, an Ernie Ball Music Man BFR Axis Super Sport, finished in “starry night.” Luther took a tip from tourmate and Agriculture guitarist Richard Chowenhill and slapped some tape over his neck pickup near the first string to prevent it from catching on the edge of the humbucker. It’s tuned to drop A, with Ernie Ball Mammoth Slinky strings.
Quite the Quilter
Back at home, Luther and Stin lean on big vintage amps, but on the road, Luther brings out this Quilter Tone Block 202, which is plugged into an Ampeg VT-40 combo amp that’s been gutted to run just as a 4x10 cabinet. Luther digs the icier, cutting tone from the 10″ speakers.
Luther Manhole's Board
Manhole’s board is minimalist: All he needs is a TC Electronic PolyTune, a Suhr Riot for dirt, an Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy (which is set for a wobbly chorus effect), and a TC Electronic Hall of Fame for reverb—pedals he’s used for over a decade. An Acoustic PBIS08 supplies the quartet with power.
Peavey Power
Around 2007, Stin went on a hunt around Oklahoma music shops for a Peavey T-40. He finally found one—in a total “Wayne’s World moment”—that belonged to a country singer who had passed away. Since the band’s formation, this “hot and clangy” white T-40 has been Stin’s tool for crafting Chat Pile’s elephantine, bottom-heavy sound. He uses the 5-string Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalts (.060–.125), omitting the .040 string, and plucks with orange Ernie Ball Everlast .73 mm picks for strong, percussive attack.
Building Blocks
Stin’s signal runs to this Quilter Bass Block 802, which blasts through a Trace Elliot 4x10 redline cab with horns—the cab that’s been used on every Chat Pile recording to date.
Stin's Board
Stin probably thinks Manhole’s board is excessive. He packs just his Boss TU-3 and a Tronographic Rusty Box, each with their own individual power supply plugged into a power bar that’s fixed to the board.
