Let's talk guitar amp recording

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MoreSpaceEcho
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Wed Dec 19, 2018 12:56 pm

If you are, I am also Satan...I haven't mic'd an amp in years. For me the workflow is just a million times easier with amp sims. I can sit in the sweet spot and adjust the tone in context, no headphones, no killing my ears.

If you'd have told me this 10 years ago I'd have said you were crazy, but here we are.

I mainly use the Scuffham S-gear, and I like the Mercuriall Reaxis and their Marshall as well. You can get some nice shoegazey tones out of the Reaxis.

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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by ashcat_lt » Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:40 pm

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 12:56 pm
...no killing my ears.
An amp sim is no excuse. ;) It's still true that if you really want it to sound like it was loud - with all of the sustain and feedback that entails - then it actually has to be loud in real SPL at the guitar. I very often will run a dedicated output for the guitar after the sim to a powered PA speaker and crank it way up. If your reason for using a guitar sim is to record without waking the baby, this obviously isn't viable. I have a trick for that which involves a surface transducer stuck on the body of the guitar, but I'd rather it just be fucking loud if I can get away with it.

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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by kslight » Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:15 pm

ashcat_lt wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:40 pm
MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 12:56 pm
...no killing my ears.
An amp sim is no excuse. ;) It's still true that if you really want it to sound like it was loud - with all of the sustain and feedback that entails - then it actually has to be loud in real SPL at the guitar. I very often will run a dedicated output for the guitar after the sim to a powered PA speaker and crank it way up. If your reason for using a guitar sim is to record without waking the baby, this obviously isn't viable. I have a trick for that which involves a surface transducer stuck on the body of the guitar, but I'd rather it just be fucking loud if I can get away with it.
A little bit different than what you’re talking about but I’ve also got a surface transducer which I’ve stuck on acoustic guitar. I would take a clip on pickup and run that into one of those amp plug type devices, then run that into the surface transducer..

kslight
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by kslight » Wed Dec 19, 2018 6:17 pm

MoreSpaceEcho wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 12:56 pm
If you are, I am also Satan...I haven't mic'd an amp in years. For me the workflow is just a million times easier with amp sims. I can sit in the sweet spot and adjust the tone in context, no headphones, no killing my ears.

If you'd have told me this 10 years ago I'd have said you were crazy, but here we are.

I mainly use the Scuffham S-gear, and I like the Mercuriall Reaxis and their Marshall as well. You can get some nice shoegazey tones out of the Reaxis.
I’ve just never really liked being in the same room as a full on guitar amp, especially my own. Even when I’ve rehearsed with a band I would just put my amp off in another room.

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vvv
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by vvv » Thu Dec 20, 2018 4:22 am

Well, I must say, that's a different head.

I mean, part of my fun is bleeding ear drums.

My own included.

Plus, then I ain' need no steenking surface transducer* on the guitar - do love playing the interaction between the axe and the amp.



*As a kid recordist, in my late 20's, I used to tape a AM radio-type, 2" speaker to my little Ibanez goldtop to make it feed back when recording in my apartment.
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Recycled_Brains
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by Recycled_Brains » Thu Dec 20, 2018 8:00 am

vvv wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 4:22 am
love playing the interaction between the axe and the amp
So important.
Ryan Slowey
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http://maggotbrainny.bandcamp.com

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markjazzbassist
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by markjazzbassist » Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:35 am

observation: guitarists recording through an amp is considered sacred, and most will avoid DI at all costs. bass DI is standard in most studios and stages.

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A.David.MacKinnon
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by A.David.MacKinnon » Thu Dec 20, 2018 11:47 am

markjazzbassist wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:35 am
observation: guitarists recording through an amp is considered sacred, and most will avoid DI at all costs. bass DI is standard in most studios and stages.
Except at my place. DI bass is a safety only and is thrown away 99% of the time. I'll take a good bass amp any day.

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markjazzbassist
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by markjazzbassist » Thu Dec 20, 2018 12:25 pm

A.David.MacKinnon wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 11:47 am
markjazzbassist wrote:
Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:35 am
observation: guitarists recording through an amp is considered sacred, and most will avoid DI at all costs. bass DI is standard in most studios and stages.
Except at my place. DI bass is a safety only and is thrown away 99% of the time. I'll take a good bass amp any day.
i was thinking of you when i wrote "most" :D i'm well versed with your opinion on DI bass. And for the record there is no judgement in my statement, just a simple observation.

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losthighway
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by losthighway » Thu Dec 20, 2018 9:01 pm

I've maybe only once taken a DI of a guitar and then reamped it.

I think if I knew that could produce satisfactory results consistently it could be a practical solution in a crowded session. Somehow this isn't something I experiment with, maybe because I record so many 3 and 4 piece rock bands, I find somewhere to put the amp, or DI the bass first.

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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by drumsound » Thu Dec 20, 2018 10:50 pm

Recycled_Brains wrote:
Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:27 am
drumsound wrote:
Mon Dec 17, 2018 6:54 pm
Who makes a good (not buzz induciong or tone sucking) A/B?
https://www.nerdknuckleeffects.com/list ... p-splitter
Thanks! Might get one of those very soon.
Magnetic Services wrote:
Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:24 am
Haven't used it for any records yet, but I've been loving Native Instruments' Guitar Rig just to mess around with.

Of course there's some "analog guilt" going on here, but it sounds so good and it's so flexible! Would it be so bad to record DI guitars, put them through Guitar Rig, then Re-amp for that speaker+air sound?? Am I Satan?!
mebee

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roscoenyc
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by roscoenyc » Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:26 am

I love using 2 amps.
Getting to them doesn't have to be hard, almost any pedal with 2 outs will do.
I also like how 2 different amps respond sorta randomly to your pedalboard.

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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by KuruPrionz » Wed Nov 10, 2021 8:34 pm

Scream, cry, laugh if you want. It's all good. My current favorite amp to record with is a Peavey Vypyr VIP 1. I swapped in a new baffle with a Scorpion 10" speaker and it is glory. I can get all the tones at any volume I may need. It mics up beautifully. Once I understood that "Post Gain" meant "Simulated Output Gain", I learned how to dial in great sounds. All the effects are built in too, if you want them. Those are digital, the tube emulation circuit is all analog solid state and it's very under-rated - probably because they put such crappy speakers in the amps.

FWIW, I'm 66, have played thousands of gigs and have owned the following:
Fender Tweed Deluxe, late 50s like Neil Young's (2)
Fender Tweed Harvard, mid to late 50's
Fender "TV Front" early 50's Deluxe.
Mid 50's Gibson 1-15" combo
2 Fender Champ chassis with consecutive serial #s from the mid 60's - these were my stereo rig for a while, dimed into a pair of EVM 12L.
Clone converted Hammond organ amp to Fender 5D3 (mid 50's Deluxe).(still have this)
Clone converted Hi-Fi amp to Vox AC15 top cut channel with EF86 preamp tube. (still have this)
Music Man RD50 1-10 combo
Music Man RD50 1-12" combo
Hughes and Kettner Cream Machine
Mesa Mk III Simul-Class with reverb and EQ through a 4-12 Vox cab with 2 EVM12L and 2 JBL D120
Mesa .22 Caliber
Mesa Subway Blues (2)
Mesa Subway Rocket w Reverb
Mesa Maverick 1-12" - my favorite of my Mesas, wish I'd kept it
Mesa Blue Angel 1-12"
Mesa 5:25 Express 1-10"
Buttload of old Danelectro, Silvertone, Magnatone, Supro, Valco, Kay tube amps
Tech 21 Trademark 10 -wish I'd kept it
Tech 21 Trademark 60 1-12
Bunch of other Peavey amps, mostly Transtube, 2 earlier Vypyrs (one the Tube 60), a Vypyr VIP 3 (too big and too many knobs).
Roland Cubes - favorite is Cube 40 gx which I still have
Boss Katana 100 combo
Boss Katana 50 MkII combo
Probably other stuff I've forgotten and all sorts of amps I've played through but did not own including Marshall and Hi-Watt.
Most of them have to be way too loud to sound great. Some of them would have been better with better speakers, we grow as we go.

If I had them all back now, I'd still use the Vypyr VIP 1 most of the time. It feels right when I play it. I mic it different ways with different mics. I don't use an SM57, probably because I don't own one. Otherwise I'd at least try it.
My favorite amp sim plugin is the Chandler GAV19T.vst, I got that on sale at Plug In Alliance. It's really good for a plug in.
If I go direct my favorite is a Tech 21 Sansamp Double Drive 3x, it's also really good on bass.

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Nick Sevilla
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by Nick Sevilla » Wed Nov 10, 2021 9:12 pm

I like picking a guitar for its tone first. Whether electric or acoustic.

If electric, when doing demos I just DI it through my GL2800 console, or for difference, my Focusrite Platinum channel strip. Once I get a sound clean, or with amp simulation, of which I have several brands... I might go back and reamp it, get the tone from one of my amps, and make sure to get the room sound. I do not mix down the different mics, sometimes up to 4, until after I have recorded the performance. Then I fiddle with the mic tracks in the DAW through a mono buss to a new track, until I get "the final sound". 3-4 mics into one mono channel can do wonders for your tone! Sure, it's a pain to set up, but the results are magical.

Acoustics I just use my Peluso 22 47 Le. It is set up most of the time, for vocals, percussions, acoustic guitars, electric guitar ambience. If I am recoprding someone else for a record, I'll add in a Neumann KM84 for the neck sounds.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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vernier
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Re: Let's talk guitar amp recording

Post by vernier » Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:48 pm

roscoenyc wrote:
Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:26 am
I love using 2 amps.
Getting to them doesn't have to be hard, almost any pedal with 2 outs will do.
I also like how 2 different amps respond sorta randomly to your pedalboard.
I'll won't try two amps at once because of being afraid of getting a shock, lol.

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