Dislaimer: I can already hear the bitching even as i write this, "it isn't metal unless its got a real guitar(which is just plain not true) and "its impossible to recreate the sound of a real electric guitar with synthesizers" which is true but only to a certain extant.
So let's address this issue right off: with today's computing equipment it is absolutely true that you cannot reproduce the full range of sounds produced by an electric guitar. So, if you can't reproduce all of them, what about some of them? enough to make decent songs? I think you can.
Are you going to be able to make epic, progressive, highly technical guitar based music? No. But you should be able to get a serviceable sound for some styles of music, some primitive black metal, digital grindcore, or anything with an industrial-ish influence where a highly processed sound would be acceptable. Stick mostly to simple chord strumming unless you figure out some stuff I haven't.

I am basing this article on my own experiences experimenting with doing this sort of thing. I use Fl Studio though i imagine these principles could be applied in alot of different software packages. You may have to experiment with settings to get a sound you like. This is what I do:

1. Get into Fl Studio and load up Fl Slayer.

2 Slayer Settings: Strumming, string set 3, double coils, tube amp, dry cabinet, max out the drive, high and low, cut out the mids completely, tone knob around 1:00, slap practically off, frets high, harmonics low, damping around 2:00, mfx dry, pickup position roughly two inches from the neck.

3. Send to a free mixer track, load up fruity stereo enhancer set to max separation, Simulanalog's JCM 900 emulator( I will provide a link)settings: Channel A, Drive max out, again, crank the lows and highs and chop out the mids, presence and volume around 3:00, (and I like to crank the reverb but that's me), fruity compressor set to Vintage.

that's it.

tips:

1. simple strumming rhythm patterns are the easiest to fake and maybe a few single notes here and there.

2. alter note velocities and humanizing presets, hugely helpful

and here's that link:http://www.simulanalog.org/guitarsuite.htm

Slayer use lots of mids.

Got any clips of how that sounds? I can imagine this would make an interesting effect as an interlude or intro.

Slayer is one of the absolute worst guitar simulator plugs, I would never recommend this to anyone.

yep, check out the song prayer to the monadic father

www.myspace.com/swordofapostasy

I actually have Slayer set to power chords rather than strumming on that song but it should give you an idea of what I'm going for.

I'm not saying its the best, its just what i am currently stuck using. which emulator do you prefer? if there's a better one out there I'd love to get my hands on it.

you mean slayer the band? I know they do. we're talking about the Slayer vsti that comes with Fl studio

I personally feel that there is no way to synthesize the sound of a guitar and have it sound even remotely like the real thing. I've only fiddled with FL Studio a bit so I'm no expert, but there's just a ton of nuance with the guitar that cannot be adequately reenacted with music making software.

I feel the best way to make electronic music is create sounds that are not trying to replicate real instruments, although I do tend to prefer realistic sounding percussion when making computer generated music.

try this

6str1, double coils, speed on 3/4, dont hold, pickup to the bridge... glissand pb1, tone on 1/3+little something, slap on 0, fret on 3/4, harmonic on 1/4 (9 oclock vel 0), damp 0

amp bandpass, cabinet combo... drive on 7/8, presence on 10:30, fret on 3/4 - sth, feedback 0 (it will still create lot of it...), low on 2 o'clock, mid on 11, high little lower than low...

signal processing dry, strum autochords

or strum powerchords and use fruity blood overdrive, to get more cutting sound

www.myspace.com/deepemptyhole

thats what i used on my early work... deep hole... must say i have guitar now, and i am working on new and better things.... but i think, that i played around with slayer pretty nice.... but try to get refx slayer 2... it should be better

Check out Revalver, a VST plugin by Peavey. Some guys here will tell you to get MkII, but I think MkIII is fine and actually a bit easier to use because it's based on actual Peavey amp models. That way I know what I'm getting by picking a 6506, XXX, or JsX. Of course, if you dislike Peavey amps in general that may be a problem.

MkIII sucks because when they were bought by Peavey, the development team changed and the quality of the IRs and amp emulation suffered.

Why would anyone want to simulate a guitar instead of just recording a real one?

Isn't that like jacking off into your hand and then pushing the sperm into a girl's vagina with your fingers?

Both of those clips are fairly lacking. I can see how this sort of thing might be useful for a band like Daft Punk, but for metal I don't think it cuts the mustard.

Guitar emulators are actually very useful. I use them to write music when I'm away from my guitar. I then learn the parts I wrote and record them with a real guitar. Much of the song in my sig was done with this method.

It is um...creatively liberating...to get away from the frets and try to write from the perspective of a different instrument(a keyboard in this case)

There's probably a website for that.

hmm, some people doesnt have guitar, you know?

anyway.. it can be useful in some electronica...

And some people just can't play guitar

a real guitar is best, I don't think anyone will argue otherwise, in my case I am using fake guitar until I can get a real one, (lack of funds and the poor availability of decent lefty guitars being big obstacles for me at the moment).

I wrote this article primarily for those who don't have access to a real guitar. And I think for simple chord riffing and such slayer can be made to sound at least serviceable.
It is best suited as I said to those genres that rely on very simple riffing or a highly processed sound. It might also be useful as a backup rhytm guitarist on some tracks with a real guitar, and as was said it can be useful for composing purposes.

I would prefer to use Slayer 2,as it does sound better, but for some reason when i use it it has a tendency of going silent, forcing me to reload it and start over.

Oh. Sorry bout that.