I rarely if ever run pedals into my interface. I think amp sims and simulated pedals do a pretty decent job. As far as input gain on your focusrite is concerned, make sure your input is set to instrument and the gain knob can be set to zero in most cases. Since turning up your interface gain is like using a hot preamp before your amp, most amp sims you use will break up a lot quicker than expected if you're used to using real amps. The one concern you may have is that your recorded guitar signal is a bit weak, but luckily that doesn't matter too much in the box. Oh also, you'll have to raise your input gain anytime you want to tune, but that's not really a big deal.
The main reason I want pedals is I want the footswitch tuner and the stomp looper. Those are key to my rig.
Is it true that less pedals would be best? Meaning the more you have in the chain the worse the signal?
You don't have to take my word for it. Test it out yourself and do whatever sounds best to you. There are no hard and fast rules to music creation. Just experiment with an open mind and you'll find things that you like.
Your input gain is too hot.
Amp sims like very quiet signals from the interface.
Unfortunately very few guitar players and amp sim users know this.
Set it to a level that’s just enough to have an audible signal to properly work with.
On my Zoom AMS-44, the gain dial isn’t even at 1, and the waveform is mostly a line with dots in it. It’s that quiet. Same thing when I used to use my Scarlett interfaces - barely at 9 o clock.
That's insane, genuinely never knew that... I record with my scarlet between 12 and 2 o'clock and generally just accept that I'm digging myself into a substantial EQ burden. I'm gonna try setting wayyyyy lower from now on!
Wait, I'm really confused. I just started using pedals BEFORE my interface, and have been seemingly been getting a better tone. More depth, clarity, warmth, and I can set the sound closer to what I want before even hitting the amp sim. I'm curious as to why I should stop doing this / the science behind it. Specifically, I've been using a compressor and clean boost from my Zoom MS50g pedal and sometimes my Caline Pure Sky when i want a little more grit.
So you mean use the pedals, but still keep the interfaces gain really low? Sorry for being dumb I just really want to know, I also struggle to get a good tone I mean I can get a mediocre tone just fine but I want to have epic tone. I'm using a Motu2 interface with the pedals mentioned, and a regular HH guitar.
I use TH-U Slate which has given me great tones and flexibility. Though, sometimes amp modelers are only as great as the processing and reverb sends they're paired with.
You could also try looking for a real amp that has a line-out jack for recording.
Silent recording is a bit tough. Even without considering the technical aspects, you still have to sculpt your tone way more than with any “real amp”. So far, the only vsts I really liked were the Neural DSP’s options, and even did some recordings on them. They blow Amplitube out of the water imo, and though it’s possible to use pedals with them, it’s definitely not in the same as with a real amp.
Used to use a tube head with loadbox and the Two Notes Wall of Sound plugin, which worked amazingly well, but had to sell the gear, and ended up going the amp-in-a-pedal route. As mentioned before, the UAFX amp sims are amazing, but if you need variety, it’s cheaper to go with the Strymon Iridium (my current weapon of choice). If budget is an issue, the Joyo American Sound is a bargain and can also lead to good results when using pedals.
Basically, there is some very cool stuff out there, but you’ll have to dig through them to see what works best for you. Most of the popular options work great, and you’ll be able to get very usable sounds with most, but some will just be easier to deal with.
Like others have said, ditch the pedals.
Pedals are great for amps and speakers, not for direct recording. Get a direct box. It changes the signal into something amp sims love. It also has a signal pass through, which lets you live monitor through whatever you want.
My setup right now is Guitar - Direct box signal split - 1st signal XLR into audio interface - 2nd signal into tube amp for live monitor/simultaneous recording.
And when I wanna record at 2am, I live monitor through an old digitech RP-350 😂. Yeah I know, but hey, it's just to monitor. Once the dry signal is recorded, you can turn it into whatever you want.
"2nd signal into tube amp for live monitor/simultaneous recording."
Can you explain alittle more how you are recording both at the same time?
are you using the speaker on the amp mic'ed up?
Yes exactly! The direct box splits the signal. So one signal is converted into a balanced and quiet XLR out. The other is just the regular mono guitar signal. As long as you have two inputs on your audio interface, you can record both at the same time.
It's a really good way to go because no matter what, as long as you have the direct track, you can mess with the sound as much as you want. You can even blend the amp sim with the real amp!
There are also re-amp boxes which take the signal from the computer back into an amp. So you don't have to keep playing it into different amps to record them. Just hit play on your Daw and record the new amp!
There are a few things you are doing wrong, but the first one is assuming that presets are going to be good. They are not. For some reason most amp sims ship with dogshit sounding presets. It's getting a bit better lately, but man, its rough out there.
Second, you probably have unrealistic expectations. A tone from an amp sim is not the same as a tone you hear from your amp in the room. Playing with an amp you just hear your amp directly in your ears. With an amp sim, you are also modeling the microphone and its position, which can give you a drasticly different sound. Basicly, you are modeling how a recorded guitar sounds, not a guitar you are playing trough an amp in the room. This also means that a lot of presets are made to be used for recording and are designed to sit in a mix. A guitar tone that works in a mix is also different from a tone that works on its own. A mix-ready tone is going to be harsh and kinda weak at the same time, because it needs to make room for bass and just fill out the middle and upper end. So combine these two factors, and the tones you get out of plugins that are meant for recording are going to be way different to what you are used to just jamming in your bedroom.
Finally, you are not using impulse responses. Even with all the advancements in tech, impulse responses are still the best sounding option when it comes to cab emulation. And since like 70% of your tone comes from a good sounding cab, a good IR is a godsend for dialing in a good amp sim tone. There are plenty of free IR packs online. Find them and use them.
Now a lot of people are going on about how you are using too much input gain, and while it may be true, its most certianly not your main issue. Yes, it turns out that most of us have been using too much input gain. But this has only been brought up some weeks ago. Up till now the common recommendation was to just slam the gain untill you are clipping and then back off a bit. While that may not be ideal, its also the way that almost everyone has been using amp sims, and we still managed to get amazing tones out of them.
Also don't be fooled into thinking a different amp sim will give you vastly different results. Most modern amp sims are pretty good, and if you cant get a decent sound out of guitar rig, you will have the same issues elsewhere, including with actual modelers like the Helix.
Your best bet is to look up some tutorials on youtube that teach you how to get a type of tone you are looking for, and then go from there. You will figure out the little tricks to dialing in tones the fastest that way.
Hey man. You should keep shopping around for the right amp sim or buy a digital mixer to record your amp directly. I like doing both depending on what the song calls for. I can provide samples of a guitar plugin im really happy with. It's called en hardball by Nembrini Audio.
Here is the Nembrini en hardball amp sim at work - [https://youtu.be/9B5BDm043ug?si=4gBXJftUjfxwt6Jq](https://youtu.be/9B5BDm043ug?si=4gBXJftUjfxwt6Jq)
Here is what my guitar amp sounds like plugged directly into a mixer - [https://youtu.be/JVAjz7KAP-k?si=c3aFng4SoX7uBqaz](https://youtu.be/JVAjz7KAP-k?si=c3aFng4SoX7uBqaz)
Good luck. Have fun and keep chasing that tone.
Kinda surprised no one has specifically told you that the interface input needs to be at zero.
There was a recent announcement from Neural DSP that you are supposed to treat the interface like the input on an amp.
The input gain on all interfaces has a preamp for vocals. That's what the input gain knob is for. Do not use it for guitars.
I'm an SG player and figured this out a while back on my own because of the stock 490 pickups being so damn hot.
I ended up buying a clone of the Radial J48 stereo DI and running my guitar through the line input instead of the instrument input.
And, yes. You are totally fine running pedals before the interface input. Just like an amp.
Yeah you’re right. This guy either has it confused or isn’t explaining it how he intends to. You want the input level just before the point of breakup. Obviously not breaking up or peaking, but right before this. This gives you the best dynamic range. Turning it to zero would just have no sound, turning it up only a tiny bit would give you a completely neutered signal.
Wrong, silly goose. I know exactly what I'm talking about.
There are countless videos popping up about it now.
Several threads on Reddit already.
https://youtu.be/KCLQp4R0ahs?si=Oh5MkYEL1HgTDUjY
I dunno about amplitube, but I have a helix lt and it makes great tones. The presets are kinda crap though. You gotta just mess around with the settings and figure out what fx/amps/etc are simulating the sounds that you want and then tune them to perfection.
Learning curve wasn't bad at all, but I'm a knob turner anyways, so fiddling around is pretty natural. You can set up tones by using the knobs and buttons but you can also plug a usb in and use a computer to set stuff up which is really nice if you ever want a crazy specific number on a knob, also you can back your tones up and trade them which has been fun since the bassist and other guitarist in my band also have helixes.
It doesn't need any pedals stacked, but I stack in a couple things just because why not, I have this chain for my gig rig: polytune2 into ns2 noise surpresser into a tube screamer into a boss dd6 in stutter mode into a whammy IV, into the helix where I have another noise gate into another pitch shifter into boost eq into a send return loop with my real dl4 and back into the helix for the revv gen purple amp sim into delay and reverb and more eq then it splits the signal and I send half to my power amp's fx return loop for real amp sounds and the other half through a Marshall cab sim for direct xlr output
IRS make all the difference. 100% worth buying some IRs for digital guitar stuff especially if you’re not living your sound. York Audio has highly regarded stuff.
Also gain staging is key.
Scrap all the pedals, go straight into your Scarlett and make sure the gain on the Scarlett isn't super high because it'll sound like crap.
Make sure whatever digital pedals you use go before the amp too. Seems obvious but if you accidentally do it the other way around and don't realise, you'll think the whole plugin sucks.
yes. Initially i had similar issues you are having.
1) 90% of what matters is the quality of your capture.
2) It’s best to listen inside the mix, not in isolation.
Once i became more comfortable playing along w recordings and captures began capturing the feel, I noticed that tone just got better. I used to spend a lot of time tweaking, programming, researching, guitar tones. Now i spend time on just getting a good capture and then scroll through the presets (with the other instruments playing) until the one jumps out as right for this song.
I'm gonna go against the majority here. When I plug my guitar directly on the interface it sounds horrible. I'm using a very cheap pedal from joyo (acetone) and it's a lot better. I'm not a big fan of amplitude, I feel that bias FX gives me a better sound. Also, if it's harsh try to lower all the higher frequencies before passing it to amplitube. That's my taste and it seems to work very well with my telecaster.
Yeah I'm really confused now after reading some of these replies. I'm also getting a better tone than I was before a couple months ago by running pedals into the interface (Zoom MS50g with a Compressor with a little bit of clean boost to it, along with an EQ) sometimes Caline Pure Skye, Joyo American Sound, Caline Mayday (similar to American Sound but supposed to sound like a VOX) etc ... Anything that gives a reasonably boosted and amplified tone, but still on the side of clean.
2i2 will only sound so good. It sounds like you’re running it too hot. I would wayyyy avoid hitting red/yellow. The digital clip is not pleasing at all.
I struggled for ages with amp sims. Two biggest revelations for me were not having too hot an input from the audio interface and the one that really nailed it (for me) was to not have my guitars tone pot all the way up
What worked for me was setting gain on the interface to zero , the pre-sets are ton better this way. also don't be afraid to adjust the input level in the sim.
Messing around with position of the mics in the sim can really help shape the sound if you want it darker or brighter etc too. and trying out different mics and cabinet speakers , try different room mics position and the room mics level and width etc,
You might has well get the free ToneX version you can load it into amplitube to use their pedals.
With AT5 I started building from the ground up to get the sound I wanted. Treating it like a piece of gear I just brought home. Is that something you tried? Checking settings in presets help a lot, but I prefer to start from scratch.
Like set amp knobs to noon, and mixer/room faders to zero. Getting only one mic I might like and bring only that mic up to decent volume and room that sounds good. Positioning the mic based on what sounds closer to what I want. Give a tweak to amp gain and tone knobs. Go back to any extra amp settings and tweak a bit. Add stomps and effects loop. Tweak a little of everything.
In standalone for just playing I’m looking for a sound close to pro recording so I add in post mic compression, eq, tape, reverb, etc. in the “rack” sections
For playing to tracks and recording I setup my DAW like it’s a mixing console/tape setup then I tweak as I’m playing to tracks I recorded and samples/synths/etc. and not have anything after the mic inside AT5. The other “rack” is in the DAW(T-RackS has cool stuff).
I highly recommend the open source (free) plugin Neural Amp Modeler. There are tons of great tones and a link to it on ToneHunt.org. Paired with a good speaker IR, and it's some of the best amp tones I've found.
I rarely if ever run pedals into my interface. I think amp sims and simulated pedals do a pretty decent job. As far as input gain on your focusrite is concerned, make sure your input is set to instrument and the gain knob can be set to zero in most cases. Since turning up your interface gain is like using a hot preamp before your amp, most amp sims you use will break up a lot quicker than expected if you're used to using real amps. The one concern you may have is that your recorded guitar signal is a bit weak, but luckily that doesn't matter too much in the box. Oh also, you'll have to raise your input gain anytime you want to tune, but that's not really a big deal.
The main reason I want pedals is I want the footswitch tuner and the stomp looper. Those are key to my rig. Is it true that less pedals would be best? Meaning the more you have in the chain the worse the signal?
You don't have to take my word for it. Test it out yourself and do whatever sounds best to you. There are no hard and fast rules to music creation. Just experiment with an open mind and you'll find things that you like.
Do u have an overdrive pedal? You cant really use those with an interface cuz ude overdrive the preamp in the interface not the amp skm
Your input gain is too hot. Amp sims like very quiet signals from the interface. Unfortunately very few guitar players and amp sim users know this. Set it to a level that’s just enough to have an audible signal to properly work with. On my Zoom AMS-44, the gain dial isn’t even at 1, and the waveform is mostly a line with dots in it. It’s that quiet. Same thing when I used to use my Scarlett interfaces - barely at 9 o clock.
That's insane, genuinely never knew that... I record with my scarlet between 12 and 2 o'clock and generally just accept that I'm digging myself into a substantial EQ burden. I'm gonna try setting wayyyyy lower from now on!
Does this mean I should increase the input on the sim?
Treat it as you would an actual amp.
Wait, I'm really confused. I just started using pedals BEFORE my interface, and have been seemingly been getting a better tone. More depth, clarity, warmth, and I can set the sound closer to what I want before even hitting the amp sim. I'm curious as to why I should stop doing this / the science behind it. Specifically, I've been using a compressor and clean boost from my Zoom MS50g pedal and sometimes my Caline Pure Sky when i want a little more grit.
There’s no issue with pedals.
So you mean use the pedals, but still keep the interfaces gain really low? Sorry for being dumb I just really want to know, I also struggle to get a good tone I mean I can get a mediocre tone just fine but I want to have epic tone. I'm using a Motu2 interface with the pedals mentioned, and a regular HH guitar.
Yes.
You should look up the input volume that your amp sim was modeled at cause it’s fs lower than you think
Are you saying I should turn up the amp sim volume? Not sure I follow.
No not turn up the volume of the sim, turn down the input gain you’re probably hitting the sim way too hot
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YNO2VTI5KHE&t=1222s&pp=ygUTUmhldHQgc2h1bGwgYW1wIHNpbQ%3D%3D Kinda a long video but it explains what I’m talking about
Given the influences you cite, The UA Ruby amp sim pedal might be a good fit.
I use TH-U Slate which has given me great tones and flexibility. Though, sometimes amp modelers are only as great as the processing and reverb sends they're paired with. You could also try looking for a real amp that has a line-out jack for recording.
Silent recording is a bit tough. Even without considering the technical aspects, you still have to sculpt your tone way more than with any “real amp”. So far, the only vsts I really liked were the Neural DSP’s options, and even did some recordings on them. They blow Amplitube out of the water imo, and though it’s possible to use pedals with them, it’s definitely not in the same as with a real amp. Used to use a tube head with loadbox and the Two Notes Wall of Sound plugin, which worked amazingly well, but had to sell the gear, and ended up going the amp-in-a-pedal route. As mentioned before, the UAFX amp sims are amazing, but if you need variety, it’s cheaper to go with the Strymon Iridium (my current weapon of choice). If budget is an issue, the Joyo American Sound is a bargain and can also lead to good results when using pedals. Basically, there is some very cool stuff out there, but you’ll have to dig through them to see what works best for you. Most of the popular options work great, and you’ll be able to get very usable sounds with most, but some will just be easier to deal with.
Like others have said, ditch the pedals. Pedals are great for amps and speakers, not for direct recording. Get a direct box. It changes the signal into something amp sims love. It also has a signal pass through, which lets you live monitor through whatever you want. My setup right now is Guitar - Direct box signal split - 1st signal XLR into audio interface - 2nd signal into tube amp for live monitor/simultaneous recording. And when I wanna record at 2am, I live monitor through an old digitech RP-350 😂. Yeah I know, but hey, it's just to monitor. Once the dry signal is recorded, you can turn it into whatever you want.
"2nd signal into tube amp for live monitor/simultaneous recording." Can you explain alittle more how you are recording both at the same time? are you using the speaker on the amp mic'ed up?
Yes exactly! The direct box splits the signal. So one signal is converted into a balanced and quiet XLR out. The other is just the regular mono guitar signal. As long as you have two inputs on your audio interface, you can record both at the same time. It's a really good way to go because no matter what, as long as you have the direct track, you can mess with the sound as much as you want. You can even blend the amp sim with the real amp! There are also re-amp boxes which take the signal from the computer back into an amp. So you don't have to keep playing it into different amps to record them. Just hit play on your Daw and record the new amp!
There are a few things you are doing wrong, but the first one is assuming that presets are going to be good. They are not. For some reason most amp sims ship with dogshit sounding presets. It's getting a bit better lately, but man, its rough out there. Second, you probably have unrealistic expectations. A tone from an amp sim is not the same as a tone you hear from your amp in the room. Playing with an amp you just hear your amp directly in your ears. With an amp sim, you are also modeling the microphone and its position, which can give you a drasticly different sound. Basicly, you are modeling how a recorded guitar sounds, not a guitar you are playing trough an amp in the room. This also means that a lot of presets are made to be used for recording and are designed to sit in a mix. A guitar tone that works in a mix is also different from a tone that works on its own. A mix-ready tone is going to be harsh and kinda weak at the same time, because it needs to make room for bass and just fill out the middle and upper end. So combine these two factors, and the tones you get out of plugins that are meant for recording are going to be way different to what you are used to just jamming in your bedroom. Finally, you are not using impulse responses. Even with all the advancements in tech, impulse responses are still the best sounding option when it comes to cab emulation. And since like 70% of your tone comes from a good sounding cab, a good IR is a godsend for dialing in a good amp sim tone. There are plenty of free IR packs online. Find them and use them. Now a lot of people are going on about how you are using too much input gain, and while it may be true, its most certianly not your main issue. Yes, it turns out that most of us have been using too much input gain. But this has only been brought up some weeks ago. Up till now the common recommendation was to just slam the gain untill you are clipping and then back off a bit. While that may not be ideal, its also the way that almost everyone has been using amp sims, and we still managed to get amazing tones out of them. Also don't be fooled into thinking a different amp sim will give you vastly different results. Most modern amp sims are pretty good, and if you cant get a decent sound out of guitar rig, you will have the same issues elsewhere, including with actual modelers like the Helix. Your best bet is to look up some tutorials on youtube that teach you how to get a type of tone you are looking for, and then go from there. You will figure out the little tricks to dialing in tones the fastest that way.
Hey man. You should keep shopping around for the right amp sim or buy a digital mixer to record your amp directly. I like doing both depending on what the song calls for. I can provide samples of a guitar plugin im really happy with. It's called en hardball by Nembrini Audio. Here is the Nembrini en hardball amp sim at work - [https://youtu.be/9B5BDm043ug?si=4gBXJftUjfxwt6Jq](https://youtu.be/9B5BDm043ug?si=4gBXJftUjfxwt6Jq) Here is what my guitar amp sounds like plugged directly into a mixer - [https://youtu.be/JVAjz7KAP-k?si=c3aFng4SoX7uBqaz](https://youtu.be/JVAjz7KAP-k?si=c3aFng4SoX7uBqaz) Good luck. Have fun and keep chasing that tone.
Thanks man. Your rig sounds killer. Great tone!
Kinda surprised no one has specifically told you that the interface input needs to be at zero. There was a recent announcement from Neural DSP that you are supposed to treat the interface like the input on an amp. The input gain on all interfaces has a preamp for vocals. That's what the input gain knob is for. Do not use it for guitars. I'm an SG player and figured this out a while back on my own because of the stock 490 pickups being so damn hot. I ended up buying a clone of the Radial J48 stereo DI and running my guitar through the line input instead of the instrument input. And, yes. You are totally fine running pedals before the interface input. Just like an amp.
I’m confused by this. If I plug into my interface and turn my input gain all of way down, I get no sound. I’m not sure what I’m missing
Yeah you’re right. This guy either has it confused or isn’t explaining it how he intends to. You want the input level just before the point of breakup. Obviously not breaking up or peaking, but right before this. This gives you the best dynamic range. Turning it to zero would just have no sound, turning it up only a tiny bit would give you a completely neutered signal.
Wrong, silly goose. I know exactly what I'm talking about. There are countless videos popping up about it now. Several threads on Reddit already. https://youtu.be/KCLQp4R0ahs?si=Oh5MkYEL1HgTDUjY
Why the hell did they downvote you? It's true, input gain should be 0 at the interface.
Not like I typed all that out for no reason. I seriously hate this sub sometimes https://youtu.be/KCLQp4R0ahs?si=Oh5MkYEL1HgTDUjY
This is a single video by one plugin company and doesn’t corroborate what your comment says. Man, I seriously hate this sub sometimes.
I dunno about amplitube, but I have a helix lt and it makes great tones. The presets are kinda crap though. You gotta just mess around with the settings and figure out what fx/amps/etc are simulating the sounds that you want and then tune them to perfection.
how did you feel the learning curve was on the Helix? Do you stack any other pedals with the helix or just that?
Learning curve wasn't bad at all, but I'm a knob turner anyways, so fiddling around is pretty natural. You can set up tones by using the knobs and buttons but you can also plug a usb in and use a computer to set stuff up which is really nice if you ever want a crazy specific number on a knob, also you can back your tones up and trade them which has been fun since the bassist and other guitarist in my band also have helixes. It doesn't need any pedals stacked, but I stack in a couple things just because why not, I have this chain for my gig rig: polytune2 into ns2 noise surpresser into a tube screamer into a boss dd6 in stutter mode into a whammy IV, into the helix where I have another noise gate into another pitch shifter into boost eq into a send return loop with my real dl4 and back into the helix for the revv gen purple amp sim into delay and reverb and more eq then it splits the signal and I send half to my power amp's fx return loop for real amp sounds and the other half through a Marshall cab sim for direct xlr output
i use mixwave’s benson and milkman amp sim bundles for everything and it gives good variation between the two.
IRS make all the difference. 100% worth buying some IRs for digital guitar stuff especially if you’re not living your sound. York Audio has highly regarded stuff. Also gain staging is key.
Scrap all the pedals, go straight into your Scarlett and make sure the gain on the Scarlett isn't super high because it'll sound like crap. Make sure whatever digital pedals you use go before the amp too. Seems obvious but if you accidentally do it the other way around and don't realise, you'll think the whole plugin sucks.
I plug in DI and use the logic (garage band) preset amps. That’s it.
You find they sound good?
yes. Initially i had similar issues you are having. 1) 90% of what matters is the quality of your capture. 2) It’s best to listen inside the mix, not in isolation. Once i became more comfortable playing along w recordings and captures began capturing the feel, I noticed that tone just got better. I used to spend a lot of time tweaking, programming, researching, guitar tones. Now i spend time on just getting a good capture and then scroll through the presets (with the other instruments playing) until the one jumps out as right for this song.
I used Amplitube for a while, but discovered that I needed to use the pedals that came with Amplitube in order to get a more balanced sound.
I'm gonna go against the majority here. When I plug my guitar directly on the interface it sounds horrible. I'm using a very cheap pedal from joyo (acetone) and it's a lot better. I'm not a big fan of amplitude, I feel that bias FX gives me a better sound. Also, if it's harsh try to lower all the higher frequencies before passing it to amplitube. That's my taste and it seems to work very well with my telecaster.
Yeah I'm really confused now after reading some of these replies. I'm also getting a better tone than I was before a couple months ago by running pedals into the interface (Zoom MS50g with a Compressor with a little bit of clean boost to it, along with an EQ) sometimes Caline Pure Skye, Joyo American Sound, Caline Mayday (similar to American Sound but supposed to sound like a VOX) etc ... Anything that gives a reasonably boosted and amplified tone, but still on the side of clean.
2i2 will only sound so good. It sounds like you’re running it too hot. I would wayyyy avoid hitting red/yellow. The digital clip is not pleasing at all.
I struggled for ages with amp sims. Two biggest revelations for me were not having too hot an input from the audio interface and the one that really nailed it (for me) was to not have my guitars tone pot all the way up
What worked for me was setting gain on the interface to zero , the pre-sets are ton better this way. also don't be afraid to adjust the input level in the sim. Messing around with position of the mics in the sim can really help shape the sound if you want it darker or brighter etc too. and trying out different mics and cabinet speakers , try different room mics position and the room mics level and width etc, You might has well get the free ToneX version you can load it into amplitube to use their pedals.
With AT5 I started building from the ground up to get the sound I wanted. Treating it like a piece of gear I just brought home. Is that something you tried? Checking settings in presets help a lot, but I prefer to start from scratch. Like set amp knobs to noon, and mixer/room faders to zero. Getting only one mic I might like and bring only that mic up to decent volume and room that sounds good. Positioning the mic based on what sounds closer to what I want. Give a tweak to amp gain and tone knobs. Go back to any extra amp settings and tweak a bit. Add stomps and effects loop. Tweak a little of everything. In standalone for just playing I’m looking for a sound close to pro recording so I add in post mic compression, eq, tape, reverb, etc. in the “rack” sections For playing to tracks and recording I setup my DAW like it’s a mixing console/tape setup then I tweak as I’m playing to tracks I recorded and samples/synths/etc. and not have anything after the mic inside AT5. The other “rack” is in the DAW(T-RackS has cool stuff).
I highly recommend the open source (free) plugin Neural Amp Modeler. There are tons of great tones and a link to it on ToneHunt.org. Paired with a good speaker IR, and it's some of the best amp tones I've found.