Guitar Rig 3 GO - free for a limited time!

Anyone who has looked into Guitar amp and effect modelers knows that Native Instruments' Guitar Rig is one of the top players in the field. The biggest problem I have with the modeling software is that it is expensive enough that most home studios can't necessarily justify buying more than one. True, the modelers are a lot cheaper than buying the physical gear that they model, but as my regular readers know, I'm focused on the best gear for the lowest cost.

So I'm happy to share the new that for a limited time, Native Instruments has made available a free version of Guitar Rig, Guitar Rig 3 GO.

Free? What's the Catch?
As you might imagine, it's not the full version. Instead, you get a single stack of Guitar Rig components: Skreamer (distortion), Lead 800 amp, Lead 800 4x12 cabinet, and Delay Man (chorus & vibrato). Also included are the tape deck (for playing an mp3, aif, aiff, or wav file into the rig), and a tuner. Also, there are a dozen presets already in the browser. You can also create your own rigs and save them. So you're getting a single rack of Guitar Rig gear - which is pretty good, since in the real world, most of us have only one rig to play through, too.

How do I get it?
Guitar Rig 3 GO is being offered in conjunction with ESP Guitars. To get to the download, you must go to ESP Guitar's site here, and enter their contest to win an ESP Kirk Hammett LTD KH-602 guitar (MSRP $1,599.00 , street price $1,200.00). Follow the instructions to download either the PC or Mac version. They will email you the registration code and download link.

How do I use it?
Guitar Rig 3 GO comes as both a standalone and a plug-in version. When you operate in standalone mode, you can switch to a 30 minute demo of the full version of Guitar Rig 3, so you can get a good taste, if you want to upgrade. The plug-in mode (32 bit VST), works great in REAPER. Drop it on your track and go. I've used it along side POD Farm (and even in the same fx chain with POD Farm) without any problems.

How Long Does This Last?
The bad news is this promotion is only good until September 30, 2009. Be sure you go to the site and get your copy before then. Check out all the details at: http://www.espguitars.com/news/news_guitarrig.html. Make a note of the code at the bottom of the first screen. You will need that in order to get Guitar Rig 3 GO.