Steinberg Virtual Guitarist 2 User Manual

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Revert
If you have edited a Part and want to undo all the changes, press 
[Ctrl]+[Shift]+[Z] (Win) or [Command]+[Shift]+[Z] (Mac) on your key-
board to revert the Part or Fill to the last version saved.
Scale
Click here to select a scale from the pop-up list. This will force Virtual 
Guitarist to use only the selected scale.
Match Chord
This feature intelligently selects the best chord to play when a slice 
has been pitched up or down in the Riff Editor. For example, if you are 
playing C major, a slice pitched up 4 semitones will play E major but a 
better fit to C major would be E minor. When Match Chord is enabled, 
the best matching chord is selected from up to 180 available (15 
chords by 12 pitches), instead of simply shifting the currently played 
chord up and down.
Groove Settings
The Groove Section of the Riff Page allows you to adjust the timing or 
feel of Virtual Guitarist 2. The intensity of the timing changes is con-
trolled by the Depth knob. The Depth knob on the Riff Page is also 
controlled by the Shuffle knob found on the Play Page.
Swing
Technically speaking, Swing is the process of moving the timing of 
offbeats of a bar to a later position. This will change the timing of Vir-
tual Guitarist 2 when it plays and may also be useful to help you adapt 
the performance to an existing recording.   
						

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The three Swing buttons (1/16 Swing, 1/8 Swing and 1/4 Swing) 
next to the Micro display allow you to select whether sixteenth, eighth 
or quarter note off-beats will be moved. The Depth knob allows you to 
adjust how far they will be moved and whether they are moved for-
ward or backward in time.
Virtual Guitarist 2 will play triplets when the Depth knob is set to + or 
- 100%. 
Bar Stretch
Selecting Bar Stretch moves all notes except the first beat of a bar in 
a Part or Fill to earlier or later positions, to accentuate the downbeat.
From MIDI
When From MIDI is activated, Virtual Guitarist 2 will analyze its MIDI 
input and adapt the Micro Timing to the incoming MIDI information. 
The adapted offset will be shown in the Groove Display.
Click From MIDI again to stop analyzing the MIDI input when you are 
happy with the result.
Reset
Clicking Reset will reset the Micro Timing settings and Virtual Guitar-
ist 2 will play with its usual timing unaffected. 
						

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The FX Page
To switch to the FX Page, click the FX tab at the top of Virtual Guitarist 2.
The FX Page of Virtual Guitarist 2 provides you with endless sound 
design possibilities: the amp has authentic Solid State or Tube modes 
and the stomp box collection includes everything a guitarist needs on 
stage or in the studio. We’ve focussed on getting the best possible 
sound and feel. 
Since the amp sound and effects are an important part of an electric 
guitar sound, the multi-effect board in Virtual Guitarist 2 is seamlessly 
integrated into the instrument. But the same multi-effect board can 
also be used as an effect plug-in in your host application on any in-
strument or track you choose, see “Plug-in Version of the Effect 
Board” on page 59 for more information.  
						

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The Amp Section
At the top of the FX Page you will see the Virtual Guitarist 2 amplifier. 
In fact it is three amplifiers in one.
Amplifiers
There are three types of amps:
• 1 = Solid State
• 2 = Tube
• 3 = Rectifier.
Solid State
The transistors in a solid state amp deliver high volume with a fast 
transition from clean to distorted (turning up the Gain), adding odd 
harmonics to the signal. If you are looking for high power and a pure, 
bright sound, switching to Solid State will probably serve your needs 
perfectly. 
Tube
Tube amps are famous for their warm and refined amplification. Turn 
up Gain and the amount of distortion rises gradually. If you want a 
warm and smooth crunched sound, switching to Tube is your choice.
Rectifier
This is the amp of choice for metal and its relatives. Turn up the Gain 
control to raise enough distortion for a whole bunch of headbanging 
bands.  
						

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Gain
The Gain knob controls the boost of the preamp. Turning it to the right 
means your signal will get louder but will also start to distort. As men-
tioned above the behavior of the Gain knob depends on which amp 
model you use. 
Equalizer
This high quality four band equalizer gives you powerful frequency 
control and features a semi-parametric Mid band. It was specially de-
signed for the Virtual Guitarist 2 to give you exactly the tools you need 
to tweak your guitar sound.
FREQ
Use this slider to adjust the frequency of the mid band.
Presence
The function of the Presence dial is to emphasize or dampen the up-
per-mid frequencies of the sound spectrum. Turning it up from the 
neutral middle position increases the bite, while turning it down pro-
duces a warmer guitar sound by reducing presence.
Master
The Master level knob controls the output volume of Virtual Guitarist 2.     
						

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FX Section
The following section will give you an introduction to the effect fea-
tures of Virtual Guitarist 2. As you read on, you should try out the pa-
rameters described here to better understand what they do.
Switching Effects On or Off
Every effect device has its own On/Off switch. All switches are clas-
sic metal switches with a blue indicator LED.
Effects are active when the blue LED is lit.
Tempo-syncing effects
Wah, Modulation, Delay and Tremolo can all be synchronized to your 
song tempo so that they modulate exactly at the right speed for your 
song. To synchronize an effect unit to the song tempo simply click the 
Speed/Time field on the effect and choose a speed from the drop 
down menu. T stands for triplets, * for dotted.
To set tempo-synced effects back to an unsynced speed just move the 
Speed or Time knob in the effect section.
Bypass All FX
You can bypass all FX by right-clicking (Win)/[Ctrl]-clicking (Mac) the 
FX Page button. The button will turn red. Right-click (Win)/[Ctrl]-click 
(Mac) the button again to undo the bypass.   
						

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The Effects
Wah Pedal
The Wah effect was named after its sound and is a special lowpass 
filter with a resonance control that amplifies the frequency band 
around the cutoff frequency. The pedal controls the cutoff frequency 
by opening and closing the filter. Just like in real life, the Wah pedal in 
Virtual Guitarist 2 is inserted between the guitar and the amp.
Reso
The Resonance knob in the top right corner of the Wah section con-
trols the intensity of the effect. Turning this knob up amplifies the fre-
quency band around the cutoff frequency. Higher Resonance values 
make the Wah effect more intense. From “Wa” to “Uuuaah”.
Wah Control
When the Wah Speed is set to zero you can manually control the 
pedal with your mouse or the modulation wheel of your MIDI key-
board. Of course this movement can be recorded as automation infor-
mation in your host application project.
The wah pedal can be controlled by any MIDI CC. See “Assigning 
MIDI Controllers in Virtual Guitarist 2” on page 62.  
						

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Auto Wah
Turning up the speed control in the top left corner of the Wah section 
activates Auto Wah, a Wah that automatically modulates at the speed 
you set. The foot pedal now controls the center frequency of the Wah.
Set the Auto Wah rate by moving the speed control. The following ta-
ble gives some examples of how long one filter movement or Wah will 
take at different speed settings:
Of course you can synchronize the speed of the Wah to your host’s 
tempo. Select a note resolution from the Speed/Sync drop down menu 
next to the speed knob. T stands for triplets, * for dotted.
Envelope
When you set the Speed knob to maximum, the Wah Pedal will be 
controlled by an envelope analysis method called “envelope follower”. 
This means that the filter cutoff will be controlled by the input signal. In 
this Auto Mode the Speed knob’s display reads “Env”.
Compressor
A compressor is a tool for controlling the dynamic range of an audio 
signal. Technically speaking, it consists of an envelope detector con-
trolling a voltage controlled amplifier. Practically it limits volume peaks 
and allows you to lift the volume of the quieter parts of the signal. Use 
it to accentuate attacks or increase the sustain of your sound.
Speed (Hz) Seconds per “Wah”
0.1 10
0.5  2
10 0,1  
						

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Proceed as follows to set up the Compressor:
1.Use the Amount knob to set the level of compression from 1 (gentle) 
to 6 (hard).
2.The Speed knob determines how fast the compressor reacts to a sig-
nal from 1 (quickly) to 6 (slowly).
Fuzz/Crush
Fuzz
The name Fuzz box refers to the fuzzy sounds it generates. The genu-
ine sound comes from a distorted transistor amplification that cuts the 
waveform’s peaks and changes them towards a square wave. If you’re 
not after the natural drive of your solid state amp, give this one a try. 
The fuzz box is standard issue for modern Heavy and Industrial music.
Proceed as follows to set up the Fuzz box:
1.Turn the Drive knob to the right to increase distortion.
2.Turning the Tone knob towards the left produces a softer sound. 
Turning it to the right produces a brighter, thinner sound.
3.Use the Envelope control to make the amount of Drive depend on the 
signal level, so the attack phase of a signal is more fuzzy than the sus-
tain phase.  
						

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Crush
The Bitcrusher is an effect that reduces the bit depth of your sound. It 
adds grit and bite up to incredible “technoid” distortion. Handle with 
care!
Proceed as follows to set up the Bitcrusher:
1.Turn the Bit control to the right to increase distortion.
2.The Divider reduces the sampling rate. Turn it to the left to increase 
the level of distortion.
3.Use the Envelope to make the Bit amount depend on the signal level, 
so the attack phase of a signal is more “bit-crushed” than the sustain 
phase.
Modulation
This a four-in-one stomp box. Use the switch to change between 
Phaser, Flanger, Chorus and Detune.
Phaser
The Phaser is the absolutely typical effect of the 1970ties. Apart from 
being used with guitar sounds, it added the characteristic gargling 
and bubbling to keyboard and synthesizer sounds—even drums 
weren’t exempted. No funk, electronic or progressive rock album and 
no crime score of the 70ties would be imaginable without the phaser.