Glad you are enjoying GT!
Originally Posted by: dlwalke[p]DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation. It's essentially a computer program that you can use to record & produce music.I was just visiting the Brian May Guitar website and see that they have added a new product called AmpliTube that is suppose to model BM's guitar tone.
Amplitube is a standalone computer program that you can use to plug your guitar into your computer (through a specialized sound card or a USB interface). This essentially turns your computer into a powerful effects unit! The software in Amplitube "models", or is written to simulate the guitar sounds of various artists & pieces of gear (amps, effects, speakers, mics, etc.).
You can also use Amplitiube in conjunction with a DAW in order to use it in creating musical audio. In this application it's called a plug-in because you are "plugging" it into the DAW, instead of just using it as a standalone program.
All this software is usually pretty easy to learn to use. But there is a learning curve. And what is not often mentioned is that you need a decent computer to run this gear. Also that in order to get a decent level of sound quality you will need a good sound card & speakers.
These videos capture some of the process.
Basics of DAW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqMrgQ0bHYo
Intro to Amplitube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_cza47ha5Q
Hope that helps!