Offering an alternative to roadie hernias, this update puts realistically modeled guitar/bass set-ups in your laptop—complete with 25 selectable cabinets plus 15 pairable heads, 48 true stereo rack effects, and even vintage mics. But nothing replaces the satisfying physicality of a pedal’s spring-loaded cha-chunk! That’s why the industrial-strength Rig Kontrol floorboard offers eight triggers and an expression pedal mappable to any MIDI-controlled program. Assign the 192/24 USB interface with its native software for customization down to an amp’s power supply, voltage, tube aging, and more. Sporting a glossier GUI, Guitar Rig (MSRP: $449) features enhanced preset tagging/saving/sorting, adding to a premiere reamping tool. Key new additions include the Control Room module, where fader-based assigning/aligning of speaker/mic/preamp chains crafts sweet analog saturation as signature patches. Splitting signal paths by crossover point generates creative frequency mayhem. And Master FX adds overreaching, mood-tweaking coloration. Far from being limited to guitarists, this architecture is good for anyone using tone as an instrument.