Positive Grid has introduced BIAS, a new app that they say turns your iPad into “the world’s most complete, accurate and versatile guitar amplifier modeler for iPad”.
BIAS starts with replications of 36 of the most sought-after vintage and modern amps and then lets you customize them. Swap out the tubes, preamp, transformer, tone stacks, cab and mic – even change the tube’s bias.
Here’s a demo of BIAS in action:
Features:
- 36 amp models included with the introductory release
- Factory categories organize amps by music genre and sonic impact: clean, blues, twang, crunch, metal, acoustic and bass
- Fully customizable preamps, tone stacks, power amps, transformers, cabinets and mic selection and placement – mix and match
- Customize the look and feel of your own amp panel, change name, tolex, panel and knobs.
- Works the way guitarists think: tweak gain and overdrive, swap out tubes and transformers, change the cabinet and mic position, and shape the tone with different tone stacks and two 8-band equalizers
- Included noise gate and room simulator
- Create a virtually unlimited number of custom amps
- Quick preset to recall each of your 8 favorite settings in turn with just one tap
- Seamless integration with JamUp XT and JamUp Pro XT, open and save your amp models inside JamUp with one tap
- Works with GarageBand and other audio apps via Inter-App Audio and Audiobus.
- Designed for iOS 7, requires iPad 2 or newer
BIAS app is available for $19.99 in the App Store.
If you’ve used BIAS, leave a comment and let us know what you think of it!
Slick GUI. Sounds pretty good. Looks like it has lots of tweak-ability.
On one hand, if $20 is all inclusive and doesn’t get into IAPs, that’s a plus. On the other hand, with so many guitarists in the world, think how many more licenses they’d sell at $10. But I guess they’ve done their market research.
I’d be curious to hear what tone-snobs think of this as compared to the other big amp sims.
If you were a ‘tone snob’ I imagine you’d dismiss this pretty rapidly along with the rest of the gimmicky junk.. Either way, if I wanted to take my guitar mobile THAT badly I’d build a Smokey amp for a quarter the price of this.
I wonder what sort of algorithm they use for emulating vacuum tubes and how they distort, because a simple distortion with solid state or programming is just to have it clip the fuck over the audio signal, but if you want a more proper emulation you’d need something cleverer. Anyway, it seems like a rad app, if I had an iOS device I’d definitely buy it.
That’s a kind off biased statement.
What kind of latency is there with iPad guitar effects like this? Obviously it can’t be zero…
I prefer to play on my real Orange beast!!!!
BIAS is a great way for beginners to learn what they need to regarding amps. Also, not everybody can afford buying different amps, and this app makes jamming it up easy and available for everyone. Playing around with the different tones and effects helps you build your knowledge and helps you narrow down your music genre you prefer to play.
For the money, it’s a wonderful bit of software, particularly if you’re a bass player. My main rig is a Trace Elliot V8 – not exactly portable by any definition, and I really don’t want to have to take it with me every time my band practises.
BIAS, coupled with a line 6 sonic port, is a nice stop-gap for these situations. Fair enough, it won’t give me the 8xKT88 , 6xAX12 setup that the V8 has, but the 4x6L6 , 4xAX12 option, plus a bit of tweaking of the tone stack gives, if you’re generous, a credible Ampeg impression that’ll work either with an average practise room amp set fully neutral, or with headphones plugged in and practising at home. Not tried home recording with it yet, but I see no reason to think it wouldn’t do that either.
Grand total cost for that setup? Sub £90. I’m pretty sure there’s not much for that money that will give comparable sound, even home made would be a struggle.