Pianoteq vs Virtual Guitarist

Pianoteq is a virtual piano and instrument suite that generates sound through physical modelling rather than built-in samples. It creates notes in real time, and the maker describes it as about 50 MB. More than 20 instrument packs cover electric pianos, plucked strings and historical keyboards. The software models sympathetic resonances and exposes physical parameters for adjusting tone. Pianoteq 9 can position and mix up to eight microphones to stereo or multichannel output. Desktop editions run standalone or in VST3, Audio Units and AAX hosts; NKS compatibility is also listed. It is available on iOS, Linux, macOS and Windows. There is no free plan, but the Pianoteq 9.2.5 evaluation version is full-featured with eight silent notes and a restart required every 20 minutes. Stage costs $139, paid once and includes two instrument packs; Standard costs $269, paid once with three packs, while PRO costs $399, paid once with four. The Studio Bundle is $929, paid once and includes PRO plus all current instrument packs.

Virtual Guitarist is UJAM’s collection of electric and acoustic guitar plug-ins for creating accompaniment in varied styles. The listed range includes CARBON, IRON 2, SPARKLE 2, AMBER 2, SILK 2, and CINEDREAM, totaling 777 presets, 12,110 phrases, and 365 styles. Patterns can be dragged into a DAW as MIDI. Built-in effects, amp modeling, and selectable guitar, amp, and speaker combinations shape the sound. UJAM says no guitar or sound-engineering skills are required. The plug-ins work with Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig, Reaper, and Reason. IRON 2 adds 30 styles, over 350 phrases, stomp-box emulations, Finisher FX modes, Drop D tuning, and doubling. It supports 64-bit VST 2, VST 3, AAX, and AU 2 on Windows and macOS. Pricing is from $129 with a seven-day trial.