Anyone who’s already purchased iFace – we love you. You get this upgrade for free.

If you haven’t purchased iFace – we still love you. You can grab a free trial.

New to iFace 1.6

Saving your selections as their own Cabinet Files

Using external Cabinets

Also new in the upgraded version of iFace is the ability to use external cabinets. This is done via our Custom Menu System. The menu system allows you to add specific folders full of Impulse Response files for quick references to your IR collection. You can name your cabinets what you want within the custom menu without ever changing their file names on disk. This is important because you may have other projects that rely on those files and by renaming them you are effectively breaking links to those projects. When you open one it will not be able to find the cabinet files it needs. So we included a definable menu system that allows you to name the files anything you like, allowing you to organize your cabinet collection within iFace to be as efficient as you possibly can.

Support for Recabinet 2.02 through Menu Templates

Although iFace does not support Recabinet through its native interface, it does now support it through the external cabinet menu system, and there is a menu template included that adds friendly names to each selection.

Support for ALL Redwirez cabinets

AcmeBarGig have been busy, but so have our friends at the Red 5 Group, makers of the Redwirez Cabinet Library. Redwirez have added new cabinets and iFace 1.6 now supports them all.

New, more organized internal menu

iFace 1.6 has a new internal menu system for Cabinet selection and is grouped by cabinet type. This makes it easier for you to get to the cabinet and speaker you want to use.

Cabinet Blend slider

iFace 1.6 now has a slider that allows you to quickly change the blend between cabinets.

Serial and parallel convolution

You can now run iFace in serial or parallel convolution. This essentially means that you can use any ambient IR file and use the cabinet as the sound source for the ambient file.

If you’ve already purchased iFace, then your copy of the upgraded version will be emailed to the PayPal address you used when purchasing within the next few days, so keep your eyes on your inboxes.

If you like the sound of the new features and want to give everything a test drive before you purchase, there’s a 30-day trial version for you to play with.

Kazrog LLC, d.b.a. ‘Recabinet‘ is not affiliated with AcmeBarGig, Exe Consulting, Red 5 Group, or the iFace product. Recabinet, its logo, impulse response files, and documentation is solely owned by Kazrog LLC. Kazrog LLC does not sponsor or endorse our products or our companies. Support for Recabinet is provided only by Kazrog LLC, and is available at http://recabi.net.

Firstly, the amount of headaches caused by catering for multiple versions of Windows was a major PITA . Secondly, we think the idea behind portable apps is awesome.

What does this mean to you?

This means you can install our plugins to whatever location you want, the installation will handle everything and make sure you’ve got a centralized preset folder stored in your chosen location. If you wanted to, there’s nothing stopping you installing all our future releases (including Head Case) on a USB drive/portable HDD and taking your AcmeBarGig collection, presets and all, wherever you wish. This becomes even more awesome if you’re also using a DAW you can install to a portable device.

It also means—and this is something we’re rather excited about—that, where possible, our plugins can share presets. As long as you’re using this centralized preset location, any plugins that have similar parameters can share presets. For example, Filter Cabs and Mimic—our two upcoming cabinet suites—can load each others’ presets, applying the stored parameters to any relevant controls.

So Filter Cabs could load a Mimic preset and—given that both plugins support our Tonal Correction technology—adopt the Tonal Correction settings from the saved Mimic preset. The vastly improved Mimic and Filter Cabs will also be finding their way into Head Case, alongside iFace. All of these VSTs will be able to share presets, ignoring any parameters that are unique to the original VST. We call this Intelligent Preset Handling. Because we think it’s pretty friggin’ clever.

Of course this is optional and you can completely keep all these apps separate if you wish.

We’re certain this is going to make the development process run a lot smoother for future releases and we can focus on the things that matter; the sound, features and performance of our VST plugins.

That said, I’m here to share—with anyone who cares—the best of the bands and artists that have dominated my listening schedule over the past week. So, without further ado:

TesseracT

From my home shores here in good old England, TesseracT are an astoundingly talented Progressive Metal act. I’ve became especially enamored with their One album, which is easily one of the best releases this year in my eyes. The riffs are complex and the album is full of odd and compound time signatures but stays completely clear of being pompous or pretentious. This is partly down to the amazing melodic movements, unbelievably tight grooves and heartfelt vocals spattered throughout the album, but also partly down to the modest and introspective attitude of the band.

While a lot of technical metal feels like simply an exercise in pure technicality, the best bands in the genre will find their roots much deeper than this surface-level showboating, on a much more visceral and emotional plane. TesseracT are most definitely one of these bands. Every song carries deep meaning, every riff serves a purpose, every piece of floating ambiance conjures imagery and evokes emotion. It’s remarkably easy to just get lost in the music, engrossed in emotions and imagery, completely oblivious as to whether the music is difficult to play, just safe in the knowledge that it’s meaningful, powerful and pretty fucking spectacular.

Do whatever you can to grab a copy of One and check out the TesseracT site while you’re at it.

Sioum

Specifically their I am Mortal, But Was Fiend album—a compelling, engrossing and utterly astonishing composition that is as meditative and beautiful as it is frightening. This is an album so involving that I actually hate myself every time I have to pause it. While it’s far from easy listening, those looking for music to accompany sessions of self-exploration or escapism will be right at home with this release. Perhaps well summed up as ‘Post Metal’, drawing an ever-so-slight resemblance to the more abstract tracks from bands such as ISIS and Cult of Luna, Sioum really do defy genre. I am Mortal, But Was Fiend is as close to Classical as it is to Doom.

The album plays out like a soundtrack to a dream you haven’t had yet. Long, engrossing ambient movements give way to beautifully haunting classical sections which, in-turn, lead in to slow-building, guitar-led passages that become powerful, dense riffs. This reminds me of something Liszt would write if he had access to a few guitars, Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti album and Mescalin. Lots and lots of Mescalin.

Whether or not the album was intended so, I can’t help but see it as a concept album. I’m slowly forming an idea of a story this album is forcing me to envision, for better or for worse I am completely engrossed in the images this album is able to conjure. Slow, brooding, dark, melancholic and outright beautiful, this is an album that needs to be experienced from start to finish and with an open mind.

What’s more, you can grab I am Mortal, But Was Fiend for whatever price you want (yes, including $0 you cheapskates) over at Sioum’s Bandcamp page. Do your subconscious a favour and grab this album, some good headphones and some… herbal tea… and give this album a few listens.

Six Organs Of Admittance

Taking a break from the heavier side of my music library, Six Organs’ School of the Flower album has provided many a welcome escape into a mellower world. An album dominated by acoustic guitar, it’s wonderfully relaxing and, at times, uplifting and empowering. While it’s rarely my first port of call when I load up iTunes, it’s a really fantastic listen. Ben Chasny is a wonderful composer and a brilliant guitarist. Another album that’s great to get lost in.

Chimp Spanner

Chimp Spanner is the brainchild of Paul Ortiz. A one-man instrumental progressive metal project with a lot of ambient and soundtrack influences. Think Meshuggah meets Vangelis meets Nobuo Uematsu and you’re halfway there. His Under One Sky track has me begging for more every time it finishes. See for yourself:

Chimp Spanner will be touring later this year with TesseracT (see above), the tour is bound to kick serious tits. Chimp Spanner is part of the Basick Records roster of artists, they’re all pretty damn amazing and you should definitely check them out if you like your Prog Metal and Djent.

Cloudkicker

Another furrow into the guitar-led technical/progressive metal style here, I figure if I’ve kept your attention for this long you probably won’t be offended by another helping. I’m really quite enamored with Beacons, which, like Sioum’s I am Mortal, But Was Fiend, is available at whatever price you fancy paying over at Cloudkicker’s Bandcamp page. With some rather awesome track titles, insanely splendid guitar playing and a collection of shit-hot guitar tones, Beacons is an album that I find extremely difficult to tear myself away from. Another album that paints some splendid pictures in my mind.

Vangelis

Because if you don’t listen to the Blade Runner soundtrack at least once a month you’re a dick.

Where were you born and raised? And where do you live now?
I was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Raised in a town called Lelystad and I live in Almere now, which is near Amsterdam.

When did you first get interested in the guitar? How did you learn and progress as a player?
Actually, I went to the music shop to buy a drum kit, since I wanted to be a drummer after having seen an amazing Dutch drummer called Herman van Boeyen on TV with his band Vitesse. But it turned out I didn’t have enough money to buy a kit, so I bought a nice shiny Aria guitar and amp instead. Eventually I did get to buy a drum kit. So I developed myself as drummer and guitarist at the same time. I learned to play buy playing along with records. I had some lessons but it was all too theoretical for me, I just wanted to PLAY!

Over the years I spent a lot of time playing in bands either as drummer or as guitarist. I learned a lot about writing songs by doing that.

In 2004 I released my first solo album, after having released a Toto tribute album called Fanfields a few years earlier. So I basically had three careers at the same time: 1) playing in bands, 2) being a solo artist, 3) being a session player. Each career influenced the other careers in a good way.

Do you do anything in particular to keep your guitar playing sharp?
Not really. I have periods in which I don’t play much at all for weeks. Then I have periods in which I play a lot. I do try to work on as much new music as possible, to keep developing and to keep on staying creative. I only do covers if I have a session or gig to do which requires that. When I was young I practiced for hours a day, so that gave me a solid base. I’m not into the whole shredding stuff, I try to keep it melodic. Speed doesn’t interest me, although if required I can pull it off, but it’s never as good as a real shredder would do it.

What do you think is important for a great guitar solo?
That it tells a story, so with a beginning, middle part and ending. I want to hear melodies and feel the notes. If a player plays with his heart, you hear it in the notes. And, less is more (that took me a few years to learn, when I was young…). Just listen to Lukather’s solo in “I’ll Be Over You” for instance.

What bands were you playing with and did you do any recordings with them?
Yes, many. There’s a selective biography on my web site, which mentions the ones I could remember :-)

When did you decide to release your music as an independent?
Well, I had to since in the beginning no label knew me and wouldn’t sign me. I had released Fanfields independently and that worked well, since it was a small target group.

Initially I released my solo album “Shouting Silence” independently. The sales and reviews were out the roof. Apparently that triggered the labels, since then I had a lot of choices all of a sudden! I went for a world wide release with Perris Records. I do think that my next solo album will be released by a label from the beginning, but you never know.

What are you striving to achieve musically, particularly on your upcoming CD?
I want to keep growing as a player and as a composer. On this next album I will have a more varied set of songs. The ones on Shouting were all written in the 80’s and have that feel to them. The next one will contain older songs and newer ones. I’m not going for the typical generic song structures on the next album, so it will be much more diverse with more extremes in both the harder and the soften side.

Do you get the opportunity to perform your original music in front of an audience?
I’ve had some offers to tour, but I declined. I use a range of different musicians on my albums, so multiple singers, bass players, and keyboardists from all over the globe. There’s no way to get them all here to go on tour with me, which I think would be the only correct way to do it.

But, on my next CD I have fewer different musicians, so perhaps…

Tell us a little about the gear you use to get your sound. What software do you use?
I have 2 hardware stacks which I use, 1) Marshall TSL-100 with 1960A cab, 2) Hughes & Kettner Attax 100 with extra cab.

For effects I use Digitech RP-10, Yamaha MagicStomp and various pedals for chorus, reverb, delay, etc.

I use that stuff for live gigs. I used to use this also on my records, but now I’ve changed from hardware amps to software amps and effects. I use the whole range of ABG software to record now. For the harder stuff it’s DIG 2.5. For other stuff I use the other amps, like Dick Head, etc. Cab Enhancer for cabs, Whisper Tube for cleans and I use AfterShock Delay on just about everything.

I always combine this with an impulse so it sounds like a ‘real’ amp.

The transition to software amps was made since I was getting such great sounds with ABG that I wasn’t missing my Marshall/H&K at all. And it’s much easier, no loud amps running on 11, the possibility to change sounds afterwards, etc. I’m so pleased with ABG, it’s a great company and it’s great to its endorsers of which I’m proud to be one now. They make software that just goes further than any manufacturer has ever gone. And I did try out all the other (paid) stuff. ABG blows them away, ALL of them!

What effects or special techniques do you employ when you are record?
I used to record all rhythms 3-6 times and then pan them left, middle and right. That works, but my friend Pete Lesperance of Harem Scarem pointed me into a different direction.

Now, I record a heavy rhythm sound twice and pan it hard left and hard right. Then I record the same parts twice with a less distorted sound and with a different EQ. Those I pan also hard left and right and mix them so they give the heavier sounds more body. Since I’m leaving the middle part alone the vocals, bass, etc have way more space. So this makes mixing a lot easier too.

Solo’s I always record as a single track and pan it in the middle. If I use effects, like AfterShockDelay it makes it stereo, so you hear the effects in the left and right part of the mix.

I always add little fills and melodies to create more layers in the mix. So, if you listen to the same song again you are able to hear new stuff.

Usually I record cleans also, to get more depth and an extra layer. It kinda depends on what the keyboards are doing, since I want to avoid clashes with the keyboard player. Clean guitars I always mix in stereo.

Who has been your influence on your guitar playing? Who are some of your favorite musicians/guitarists?
I grew up with music by Toto and Journey and similar bands. So when learning to play my influences were mainly Lukather, Schon, John Sykes, Dann Huff. I guess that’s where the melodic feel in my playing comes from.

But I was also influenced by some local Dutch players, like Mark Boon. Mark had a big hit with his band Diesel in the US with a song called Sausolito Summernight. The great thing about Mark is that where often players use distortion on a part, he will use clean parts. This opens it up a lot, and creates a nice dynamic build up.

When it comes down to drums, there was only one: Jeff Porcaro.

If you could do a project with any musician/guitarist in the world, who would it be?
That’s a tough one. Jeff Porcaro is dead, so that would be a practical problem. Singers would be easier, Richard Page of Mr. Mister fame. He made an amazing album under the name “Pages” in 1982. And Eric Martin of Mr. Big and Richard Marx come to mind. I would love to work with Stu Hamm or Will Lee as bass players. Keyboardists, Steve Porcaro and David Garfield. Drummers, Gregg Bissonette, since he has a way of channeling Jeff Porcaro into his playing. So, basically it needs to groove big time!

Be sure to check out Michael’s artist page if you’d like to know a little more about him.