STL Tonality Review, Andy James Version STL Tones Guitar Plugin

STL Tonality – When you want to create the best guitar tone, you might think about the amount of hardware needed. Guitars, amplifiers, pedals (stomp box), and microphones are a series of must-have tools. But surely you are also aware that the row of tools will make the contents of the wallet thin. But don’t worry, with the invention of the Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugin, you can use virtual instruments with almost real-life quality. Besides being cheaper and more fun, you can explore unlimited tone options, just the same if you have all the tools. All you have to do is open the plugin on your computer, plug in your guitar, try some of the built-in presets, and adjust the settings to your needs.

Recently one of the most technically sadistic guitarists in the world has just teamed up with STL Tones, an audio plugin company, to create his personal Signature Guitar Plug-In. This plugin can also be used as a learning tool, especially knowing how seasoned guitarist Andy James has formulated his guitar sound character formula. So, what are the features of this STL Tonality, let’s look at the discussion below.

Basically, STL Tonality is a complete guitar plugin developed exclusively and is a simulation of the amplifier and pedal schemes that Andy James uses in his daily life. The first impression of trying this plugin really made me feel amazed. It’s not just a matter of the tone produced, but the initial appearance which is quite futuristic catches my eye.

When I first opened the plugin, I found a row of amplifier models that we often use when Burgerkill performs or records. There are 3 amplifier models, the first model; one of the main amps is the 5150 which in terms of design looks a bit more modern. If you play rock or metal music, this first amp model is perfect for producing a heavy, thick, and sounding guitar character that sounds right in front of your face. The second amp model is modeled on one of the leading amplifiers in the metal music industry, namely a simulation of 6505 or even closer to 6505+ which can be used to produce different tone colors. This second model produces a pretty brutal tone when the setting is right. But if forced to choose, I prefer the 5150 model, this is purely personal taste, for me, this second model does not have the same thickness as the first model. The third amp model is the Vox AC30 model, this time I must admit that this plugin is of high quality. This amplifier is at least able to meet my needs for a plugin version of the legendary British amp.

You can also adjust the settings of this virtual amp freely and according to taste. For example, the tube type can be changed which opens up a number of possible character traits for your guitar. Several types of tubes can be selected such as 6L6, EL34, and KT88. Moreover, every amp model has a simulator cabinet option, but I think the quality of this plugin’s built-in simulator cabinet is better than other versions of the simulator cabinets you can call on the IR loader menu.

Before we finish talking about amps, this Andy James plugin has other options available. Several pedals can be used such as the Maxon 808 virtual overdrive pedal model, the Revenant preamp, and the preamp routing switch to be able to use the Revenant pedal in front of your Amp, or in the Power Amp section as you normally use it.

The Revenant pedal is not only a distortion pedal, it also functions as a preamp pedal. Simply press the preamp on the routing pedal and it will disable the preamps of all three amp models currently in use. That means it’s possible to combine the Revenant pedal with each of the three power amp parts to offer another sound color. I think this is a great feature and really opens up a lot of different guitar tone possibilities by using a preamp pedal instead of the main amp.

I have a little trick you can do to combine some of these amp models. You just need to switch to mixer mode just to the right of normal mode at the top left of the screen. This trick is quite accurate to get a tone that might be more to your taste. This collaboration seems to work, the combination of Delay, Reverb, and Lo-Fi effects that are Andy James’ favorites can be accessed by you so that the lead tone will resemble Andy James’s setting.

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So in short, if you want to get a guitar tone similar to Andy James, then this plugin will do it easily. This plugin can not only be used for bands of death metal, metalcore, black metal, djent, and almost all types of music that require high gain characters, but you can also take advantage of the clean and crunch sound characters which I think are more than adequate for use in the home or in the practice studio.

Another good news STL TONALITY has a standalone version. With the standalone model, you can easily install Plug-Ins, without the need for a DAW (Pro Tools, Logic, or Cubase). This version seems to be very suitable and practical for use in training, traveling, and in live situations.