wow youre a god danny!!! thanks for the tips 
i’ll read back on this thread further
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Dang! Your den looks even more chaotic than mine haha. This was when I was trying to figure out the amp switching and routing for the wet-dry-wet (left/center/right) rig 
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Hahaha! I love it Jonathan! It sounds like you may be in need of a switching system. Ever heard of a Bradshaw? I have one here…and RSB 18. Absolutely amazing. This thing does everything.
I have one here in my big rig that I still use today at times. You can trigger amps, old effects, midi…it’s off the hook. It’s old technology, but was ahead of it’s time and is the best switching system I’ve ever used in that respect. Not much need for it these days with the Fractal stuff, but if you are combining amps, effects and loops etc, this thing has 11 channels of mixing board built in along with fx loops all over the place. 
Hey @Danny_Danzi, I’d love to get some of your insights on an idea that @Paul999 and I were working on. I’ll start a new thread for it as it’s a tiny bit different than what we are discussing here. Regarding pedals/amp sims
Sure man…I’ve been waiting to get in on one of those meetings you told me about. Let’s get this place jumping!
Are you trying to sell one?
No sir, I was just trying to show you what it looked like as well as close ups on the connections. My big rig (25 space flight case) has some dinosaur effects in it that just sound great. Along with that and the midi I need, I’d be lost without it.
I like the guitar sounds but I think it needs just a bit of a more air on the guitars to be convincing.
Just a touch too dry for my taste.
Yes, there is something about that special moment when the combination of 1’s and O’s allow a sweet preset to sweeten my guitar or my keys. That said I also like the total lack of latency issues that occur with Logic when I mike my Vox amp and play with little or no effects. I still love my reverb in post production. I guess it’s a trade off isn’t it! Maybe I have much more to learn yet about latency issues and setup, as I am steel relatively green in the digital world and mixing with headphones and consumer speakers! 
Hey @feaker, moved this over here if ya don’t mind 
If you’re looking at going the amp sim route, Dave @Chordwainer, Andrew @ColdRoomStudio and I all use Scuffham and are quite happy with them. They’re not too expensive either.
Have you tried the Line 6 Pod HD or the Helix? Those are really incredible sounding. I don’t think they’re as convenient as the plugins, but I think they sound just as good and they’re way more versatile.
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Oh crap, just when things are getting real interesting, I have to go build on our garage/inlaw apartment. ha ha
I’ll get back. No I don’t care where this goes, I didn’t see this for some reason
add JonJon to the list of Scuffham ‘S Gear 2’ users.
I tried in vain for about 2 years to get any amp sims to work but simply couldnt due to lag etc.
3 laptops later I have finally joined the amp sim crowd.
Dont waste your $$$ on Mercuriall Spark…massive noise no matter what you do. I bought it like 18 months ago but my laptop at the time had too much lag. My new laptop will run Mercuriall but its just ridiculously noisey. Makes me seriously doubt the honesty of online reviewers because only 1 or 2 mentioned it but its massive.
I bought the Slate everything bundle which just happened to come with the S Gear 2 sim. I wasnt even expecting it or paying it any mind but lo and behold it works and works great!
Timely because I just posted by first jam with the new SIM and Slate vsts etc
I would have said S-Gear 2 right off the bat if Paul hadn’t asked specifically about free sim plugs in his OP… they’re really good for sure! And because it’s not freeware, you get lots more variation and a lot of included “presets” with particular combos of sounds, and those are always a great place to start, just cycle through them and see what strikes your fancy, then you can always get “under the hood” and start tweaking this or that parameter and just experiment. The other for-money amp sim that I go to just as much is Amplitube (I have v 3 and 4).
But for no-kiddin’ zero dollars, the Le Pou sims are hard to beat.
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I’ve got these bookmarked. I really need to download and install them.
NIck Crow labs are also noteworthy. I pair their 6505 with Ignite Amps NadIR and Kalthallen freeware impulses, some of the best lead sounds in modelling IMO.
I hadn’t heard of these before. Here’s the direct link for those interested:
http://nickcrowlab.blogspot.com/
Will check these out myself at some point…
Very interesting thoughts and ideas here. Thanks all for sharing all that stuff!
A few other freebies worth trying out are:
ampLion free
Brainworx bx rockrack V3 Player
Voxengo Boogex
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Thanks … getting some nice sounds out of the Nick Crow labs NC 8505.
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I agree with this - Amplitube never really sounds good until you find its right place in the mix - then it does the job proper. You just have to handle it when recording - knowing all will be well.