Playing the acoustic guitar can be a truly rewarding experience, especially when you're looking for some new sounds and styles to incorporate into your music-making routine.

In this article, we'll focus on creating an electric-style sound using just an acoustic guitar with Guitar Rig 5 Pro. We will explore how to achieve that signature Joe Satriani tone associated with his classic rock and metal solos.

To begin, make sure you have the following equipment:

- An acoustic or semi-acoustic guitar (preferably a steel-stringed instrument)

- A pedalboard or effects processor compatible with Guitar Rig 5 Pro

- A MIDI interface if using an external keyboard controller

Now let's dive into setting up our rig!

Step 1: Download and Install Guitar Rig 3.0 Demo

If you haven't already, download the free demo version of Guitar Amp Simulator from Native Instruments' official website.

Once installed, launch Guitar Rig and follow the initial setup wizard to get familiar with its interface.

### Step 2: Configuring Your Interface

In this example, we'll be using a standard MIDI keyboard as our control surface. If you prefer to use an external controller or even just your computer's built-in keys, feel free to adjust accordingly!

Firstly, connect both your guitar and any additional instruments (such as keyboards) via cables into the corresponding input jacks on your rig.

Next up is mapping out all of your desired parameters across different zones on each layer - we'll be using three layers in total: A for clean tones; B & C reserved for dirtier sounds respectively. To do this:

1. Click 'Edit' at the top left corner within Guitar Rig's main window

2. Select 'MIDI' from drop-down menu below

### Step 3: Creating Your Presets

Now that we've got our interface set up, let's move onto creating some presets!

In this case, we'll be focusing on three different Joe Satriani-inspired sounds:

1. Clean tone (Layer A): This will serve as a foundation for our other two dirtier tones.

To achieve the clean sound:

- Load 'Clean' amp preset from Guitar Rig's built-in library

- Adjust gain and EQ settings to taste

2. Crunchy tone 1 (Layer B): Inspired by Joe Satriani's early work with Yngwie Malmsteen-esque fretwork, this tone features a slightly overdriven clean sound with plenty of sustain.

To create the crunchy tone:

- Load 'Crunch' amp preset from Guitar Rig's library

- Boost midrange frequencies using EQ and add distortion to taste

3. Heavy Metal Tone (Layer C): This final tone takes inspiration from Joe Satriani's more aggressive metal outings, think 'Not Enough Time' or 'The Last Horizon'.

To achieve the heavy metal sound:

- Load 'Metal' amp preset

- Apply significant amounts of gain and EQ boost low-end frequencies for added weight

### Step 4: Recording Your Tracks

Now that we've got our three custom presets set up within Guitar Rig, it's time to record some tracks!

1. Arm all four channels (Clean A/B/C) in your DAW or recording software

2. Start playing along with a backing track or metronome at desired tempo and groove.

### Step 5: Mixing Your Tracks

Once you've recorded each layer separately, let's mix everything together into one cohesive piece of music!

1. In your D Aux Bus:

* Send the Clean A signal to channel 1

* Send both Crunch B & Heavy C signals through a stereo delay pedal (such as TC Electronic's 'Delay Line') set for around 200-300ms of repeat time with minimal attack and decay times.

2. EQ each track accordingly based on desired frequency balance within mix:

+ Boost high-end frequencies (-3dB cut @12kHz) across all channels to add sparkle

+ Reduce midrange muddiness by applying a gentle low-pass filter (cutoff around 500Hz)

### Step 6: Mastering Your Mix

Finally, we'll master our mixed track for optimal listening on various playback systems!

1. Use your DAW's built-in mastering compressor or external hardware unit to compress the entire mix down to an average -3dB LUFS level.

2. Apply a gentle stereo width expansion using plugin like FabFilter Pro-L2 or SSL Bus Compressor.

And that concludes our step-by-step guide on how to create three Joe Satriani-inspired presets for Guitar Rig 5 Pro!

Remember, practice makes perfect – so grab your axe and start shredding!

Acoustic guitar rig 5 presets