If you've spent time shaping a DI signal through an amp sim, this is that same direct source—without the noise, the tuning breaks, or the take you wish you'd comped differently.
Riffs — Double-tracked character, palm-muted crunch.
Tab player — Drag in a tab, hear the articulation decisions.
First settings
Open the Velocity Curve panel before you play a note. The default curve works for keyboard input, but a slight S-shape gives you more control over the soft picking range—where the Les Paul's character lives.
Drop the String Resonance knob to around 40%. At full, it adds a metallic wash that sounds impressive soloed. In a busy arrangement, it steals headroom.
Switch the D.I. Mode on once, even if you plan to use the built-in amp. You'll want that raw output archived for re-amping later. The internal effects are capable, but a dry track gives you options when the mix shifts direction at 2 a.m.
Blues lead in ten minutes
A slow blues solo, start to finish.
Load the Fingerstyle preset bank. The 1959 Reissue library added in version 4 responds differently—rounder attack, less pick scrape. Choose the neck pickup.
Set the amp to a low-gain tweed model. Roll the tone knob on the guitar panel back to about 3. Too much treble here and the bends sound brittle.
Record your notes one phrase at a time. Use the Slide Out keyswitch on the last note of each phrase—it ties the lines together without sounding programmed. For vibrato, hold the note and ride the mod wheel slowly. Fast vibrato sounds nervous; this guitar wants a wider, lazier movement.
After the take, open the Detect Mode in the Strummer tab and set it to analyze your MIDI. Adjust the timing offset by a few milliseconds. The result is looser, more human—not drunk, just breathing.
Add a touch of spring reverb from the internal rack. Keep the mix under 20%. More than that and the Les Paul body resonance smears into the tail.
Bounce the DI alongside the amped track. You'll thank yourself when the bass player asks for more definition in the low mids during the turnaround.
Version 4 changes
The fingerstyle library arrived with version 4 and it matters. Where earlier versions leaned on pick attack transients, the new articulations let the note bloom without the initial click. For jazz voicings and slow arpeggios, that's no small thing.
The Strummer engine received a timing overhaul. Chord changes between complex voicings now catch the fret noise more naturally—the short scrape before a barre chord shape shifts position. In a dense track, that detail pulls the ear toward the guitar rather than the grid.
Sample loading feels snappier on Apple Silicon. The plugin used to pause a moment when switching between large articulation sets; that hesitation is gone on version 4.0.1. One less interruption when you're jumping between a picking preset and slide articulations mid-session.
Strummer — Chord voicings with humanized timing.
