Pettinhouse Acoustic Guitar 3

[Ashermusic]

Acoustic Guitar 2 has long been one of my "go to" sampled guitars and this is a significant upgrade.

[Geoff Grace]

In case anyone is interested, Andrea announced a flash sale today: all 13 Pettinhouse libraries are selling for $79 (including AcousticGuitar 3.0). The sale ends on August 27. After that, AcousticGuitar 3.0 will be $99; and the full bundle will be $149.

Available at: https://www.pettinhouse.com/html/bundlebf.html

I've also gotten a lot of use out of Pettinhouse products over the years. IMHO, the current sale price is a great value.

Best,

Geoff

[Piet De Ridder]

I might be the only one hearing it like this, and I don’t enjoy saying it, but I find that the Pettinhouse products sound worse with every update. l really don’t know why, cause Andrea clearly overflows with passion and dedication and is obviously totally committed to make his products the best they can be.

But the thing is, whenever I use a Pettinhouse library — I’ve got quite a few of them and like what I have —, it’s *always* the very first version I purchased. In the case of the electric guitars, it’s the old Direct Guitar 2 which, to my ears, sounds way, way better than any iteration which followed, and for the acoustic guitars, it’s also some early version I'll load rather than a more recent one.

As for Acoustic Guitar 3: I honestly can’t imagine anyone being even mildly impressed with that video above. Unpleasant sound (brittle, harsh, aggressive), I find, and a painfully clumsy, unconvincing strumming simulation.

Strange.

__

[Guy Rowland]

Reluctantly, I know what you mean, Piet. He had an acoustic guitar playable strumming patch 10-15 years ago that was magical. Incredibly basic but it somehow worked and sounded great in a mix. But I never got the same feeling when he updated it.

[Lawrence]

Agreed on Acoustic Guitar 3, unfortunately.

I love Andrea’s early efforts-I don’t use them much nowadays as I’ve forced myself to play more live acoustic guitar, but the demos for 3 sound bad, harsh and choppy…I couldn’t even consider upgrading, which makes me sad.

[Ashermusic]

I always turn off the FX and amp sims, and use my own on his libraries, and they work fine for what I do. YMMV.

[Geoff Grace]

I always turn off the FX and amp sims, and use my own on his libraries, and they work fine for what I do. YMMV.

I like that advice, Jay, both in this case and in general. We have so many great sound sculpting tools that we know well. Why rely on the ones that came with the VI?

The main problem I have with the demo above is that it's too bright, which should be a relatively easy fix when using the product. Perhaps Andrea is compensating for some gradual high-end hearing loss? That would explain an evolving change in timbre with newer releases. I hope that's not it, but it's not uncommon to lose some hearing in that range as we age.

Best,

Geoff

[Ashermusic]

I always turn off the FX and amp sims, and use my own on his libraries, and they work fine for what I do. YMMV.

I like that advice, Jay, both in this case and in general. We have so many great sound sculpting tools that we know well. Why rely on the ones that came with the VI?

The main problem I have with the demo above is that it's too bright, which should be a relatively easy fix when using the product. Perhaps Andrea is compensating for some gradual high-end hearing loss? That would explain an evolving change in timbre with newer releases. I hope that's not it, but it's not uncommon to lose some hearing in that range as we age.

Best,

Geoff

Yup, I certainly have in one ear, and I know that exact night it happened, when I was on stage and the drummer’s ride cymbal was close to my ear.

I should have been wearing ear plugs, but I was stupid in those days.

[Geoff Grace]

I'm sorry to read about your hearing loss, Jay. I hope that it wasn't too severe.

Best,

Geoff

[Geoff Grace]

Andrea has released a demo for AcousticGuitar 3.0:



You can download it and get more info here:

https://www.pettinhouse.com/html/acoust ... natkt.html

The full version will be released on September 4, 2025.

Best,

Geoff

[Lawrence]

Andrea has released a demo for AcousticGuitar 3.0:



You can download it and get more info here:

https://www.pettinhouse.com/html/acoust ... natkt.html

The full version will be released on September 4, 2025.

Best,

Geoff

Again, I wish it sounded better.

[Tanuj Tiku]

I have to agree with you Piet! I still have the old stuff and it really does sound quite good. Incredibly simple kontakt instruments that work really well.

The updated versions with bells and whistles sound less good for sure and I never use them.

[Ashermusic]

Really? Ok, here is Acoustic Guitar 2 and Acoustic Guitar 3, both dry. You tell me which is which and how one sounds much better than the other. Because to me, sonically, this difference is negligible.

Ag 3 vs AG 2.mp3

(726.45 KiB) Downloaded 20 times

[Pettinhouse]

Hi everyone,

Let me start by saying that I’m not here to “defend” my product. Everyone has their own taste and vision, and I don’t expect AcousticGuitar 3.0 to please everybody.

That said, about the hearing comment: don’t worry, my ears are fine! In Italy we have a tradition of touching ourselves “down there” for good luck when we hear things like this… I just did, lol. I get my hearing checked regularly, and everything is perfect.

Another point: I’ve been doing this job for 27 years ( Pettinhouse online 20 years and other 7 years with other companies ), and I’ve been a musician for 40. Believe me, I know when something sounds harsh or not, and I would never release a product if that were the case. What you’re hearing in AG3 is intentional. I spent 4 months working on it, 8–10 hours a day, even through holidays. I built over 100 Kontakt patches just for the Pick style patch, tested endless mixes, analyzed the spectrum of real guitars, and compared AG3 with many acoustic recordings.

Now, about the sound. The samples are actually the same as AcousticGuitar 2 (with some additions in v3). What’s new, sound wise, are the simulations:

• Pick noise and fret noise: these are hybrid (samples + scripting + processing) that recreate the feeling of the pick hitting the strings and the fret buzz when you play harder. If you listen to any pop song with double-tracked acoustics panned L/R, you’ll notice that what really cuts through the mix is not the body of the guitar, but the noise of the pick and strings. Without this, the old versions will never give you that effect.

• Pick position simulation: this is maybe the most important reason why AG3 might sound “harsh” to some of you. The slider simulates the pick position on the guitar. If you know acoustic guitars well, you know that when you strum closer to the bridge, you get that classic “rock” tone, less low end, less body, but a big boost in the midrange, a sharper attack, higher output, and a lot more harmonics. That’s exactly what I recreated. In my demo I often used the slider closer to the bridge, so naturally the sound comes out brighter and more aggressive. If you move the slider toward the neck, the sound immediately becomes softer, smoother, and warmer, just like on a real guitar.

• There are 3 presets like Warm, Smooth, Hot, which drastically change the tone.

So why does AG3 seem brighter than v2?
Because v2 was basically just “raw samples.” No simulation of pick, fret, or position. That makes the sound more static and darker, but also less realistic in a mix. Only one tone, only one flavor.

Somebody mentioned the old Strum patch from v1, saying it worked well. I tested V1 vs V3 side by side. V1 is simply darker, and it still has those annoying layer jumps when velocity changes, something AG3 completely fixed. No multilayers, no round robins or fake round robins.

AG3 has been tested on dozens of tracks, in many different arrangements, always with spectral analysis and comparison against real acoustic guitars.
Could I make it smoother? Of course. In fact, I already have ideas to soften the tone further without having to re-record the samples. But please keep in mind: the realism and detail of AG3 come exactly from those simulations that add brightness and bite.

Maybe you didn’t like the mix in the demo video, that’s personal taste. But I think a fair judgment should come from actually playing the library in your own studio, in your own tracks. That’s where you’ll notice the difference.

I’ll finish with a small reflection: strong opinions based only on a YouTube demo can give the wrong impression to others, and for a small independent developer like me, in this small market, with few numbers, that has a big impact! I work with passion and dedication to bring something alive and inspiring, and while I’m always open to improve, I think it’s important to test the instrument before writing it off.

Thanks for reading,

Andrea

[Ashermusic]

I'm sorry to read about your hearing loss, Jay. I hope that it wasn't too severe.

Best,

Geoff

It happened over 35 years ago and no, it isn’t severe and I learned to compensate for it.

[Tanuj Tiku]

Really? Ok, here is Acoustic Guitar 2 and Acoustic Guitar 3, both dry. You tell me which is which and how one sounds much better than the other. Because to me, sonically, this difference is negligible.

Ag 3 vs AG 2.mp3

Jay, the second option sounds a lot better to me. I don't know which one is 2 or 3. The second option is much warmer and fuller sounding than the first one which is quite brittle and bright. Having said that, in the right context perhaps both can work well but the difference is far from negligible to my ears.

[Ashermusic]

Really? Ok, here is Acoustic Guitar 2 and Acoustic Guitar 3, both dry. You tell me which is which and how one sounds much better than the other. Because to me, sonically, this difference is negligible.

Ag 3 vs AG 2.mp3

Jay, the second option sounds a lot better to me. I don't know which one is 2 or 3. The second option is much warmer and fuller sounding than the first one which is quite brittle and bright. Having said that, in the right context perhaps both can work well but the difference is far from negligible to my ears.

Well, I can say nothing but bow to someone whose ears are simply keener than mine, because the second one is indeed AG 2. But after I use processing, I could get a good result with either and as Andrea says, the strumming functionality, which I use a lot, is superior in AG 3.

[Tanuj Tiku]

I would have to agree with you about context Jay. I am sure that both can be used well in different contexts.

Andrea, please accept my admiration of your guitar libraries. I have some of the old stuff and some of the patches in them are my favourites of all guitar libraries that I find use for.

I will give your latest creations a proper listen when I can. Any feedback from me is my personal opinion which is not to say that you have not made really excellent libraries!

[Lawrence]

And I will add the same-Andrea, you know I’m a fan of your work. Maybe consider re-listening to the posted demos?

I wish you all the best.