Zoom Gear & Home Recording Forum

Hey Zoomers,
Just felt like I needed to share this with you, but lately, I've been feeling that I've hit a wall using my ampsims that have served me so well over the past few years, so I've decided to go another route: using actual amps/cabs/mics, instead of simulated ones....

Now don't get me wrong, I've heard some amazing sounds come from these ampsims/POD's/whatever, but again, I just feel like I'm missing something using 'em... I've listened to countless A/B tests/comparisons between real/simulated amps, & honestly, sometimes it's really hard to tell the difference. I've tried everything that I could to get my tracks to sound like a real amp/cab: tube pre-amp, vst saturation plug-ins, you name it, I've tried it, but my tracks are still missing that little "something" that I'm hoping a real amp/cab/mic will produce.....

Of course, this is gonna take some time for me to learn, there'll be a lot of trial/error, but hopefully it won't take too long before I'll be able to make my guitars sound better....

And I'm not ditching my POD/ampsims altogether, my plan is to track my di's as usual (with the ampsims in the daw), then re-amp 'em later using the real thing....That way I'll still be able to track/record at 3 a.m. without disturbing anyone (mainly my wife ), then when it's time to re-amp, I'd be able to do that when I have the place to myself & will be able to turn the amp up to a decent level.......And I still plan to use my POD for effects through the amp.....

So far, I've picked out a Shure SM57 for the mic, & have decided on a small Celestion loaded cabinet, but I'm having a hard time deciding on an amp head...This is what I'd really like to have, but the one I want (JCM 800) hasn't even came out yet (sometime this year), & is really expensive (just guessing about $800, compared to the JTM 1w, which is about $750... )...I've been looking at the Jet City JCA 20H, but haven't really made up my mind on which amp to buy.....

All the amps I'm considering are low wattage, but I'll be using 'em for recording only, I really don't see any gigs in my future, so I won't need wall shaking volume....And for those of you who are wondering why I don't just get a combo amp, eventually I'm planning on having a few different amps to use with the cabinet for different sounds...

Sorry for the long post, but just wanted to share this with all of you!!!

Good luck.I'm sure you'll get the exact tone(s) your lookin for, James. I know gwood does alot of amp/cab mic-in..and also gitjeff. Those guys get the sweet tones. I'm always tempted to try it too, but my house is WAY too small!

I'm looking forward to hearing the results.

How you gonna re-amp, solo the track and send via the interface out and record on another track?
I hope you achieve what you want. Still say start with a cheap combo though.
I'm waitin' on those pics...

The Marshall MG15FXMS Micro Stack is what I initially was gonna buy, purely for the 2x10 cabinets (I had one of the original 12 watters from the 80's, & used the cabs at gigs with larger, louder amp heads, & they sounded awesome....), then buy another tube head later (after learning how to do this... ) but I'm leaning more toward the Jet City amp more, because it's a tube amp, & that's the whole point for me, the tube sound, & if I did go the Microstack route, to me it would be more or less like running my ampsims through an actual cabinet.....

Surfer: Thanks for the confidence, but this is a whole new can of worms for me. I did try mic'ing up the Line 6 amp I had, but knew practially nothing about it at the time. This was when I knew nothing at all about recording really...If I had the space, I'd just record my tracks straight out (instead of re-amping), but the noise will be an issue here too, that's why I'm gonna try the re-amping thing....Thanks again!!!

Gary: Thanks Gary for the words of encouragement, but again, this will be a learning experience for me. From what I've read, it takes a long time to actually learn how to do this properly. Maybe it won't take me as long to learn this as it did my drum programming thing....We'll see in a few days I suppose, thanks again!!!!!




Sungod: Exactly Manolo, I've been doing a lot of research on this, & that's exactly how I'll be re-amping......Maybe I should buy a re-amp box, but from what I've read in other forums, it can still be done without one. A few guys in the other forum swear all the re-amp box is just a $100 volume knob......You might be right about starting with a cheap combo (you're usually right), but if this works out (like I hope it does), I'll be buying a few different amp heads in the future, & will be able to use the cabinet from the "initial" buy/purchase....We'll see in a few days I suppose......

I remember reading about these a while back. I just grabbed the first web page that came up. But it sems like almost a necessity if your not in a pro studio. I wouldn't mind building my own one day and trying out some amp RECing myself. Looks easy enough to put one together,,,,egg crates for me though!.

http://www.vocalbooth.com/products/vb-g ... nclosures/

It's all I could come up with. The UX2's outs are stereo so I'm not sure how I would go about this but maybe one side is all that's needed. I still think this is a lotta work. I'm more of a commit to the sound in the first place person. Also, I think what I've heard DI-wise so far sounds good enough, but you're the guitarist.
And my way is cheaper until you know it's what you want to do. I'm not sure if amps hold their resale value or what. Regardless, it's your cash. I'm more of a mind to buy the software I like and need. I still gotta get loads of that stuff.
Arr....

try to send matbio a private message and i believe he will answer when you write something like "real tube sound", "silent recording" or "re-amping" in the title. He is a producer and has his own studio now, he surely can give you some good advice.

back then he used this little tube amp for recording: http://zvexamps.com/amp_view.html
with a ZInky Blue Velvet speaker, a 12inch 16ohmn Eminence speaker.



btw if you have the money this a way to go: http://youtu.be/uCGLxw_Tacs
very pricey, not a marshall but good for silent tube amp recording.

So, as of now, I've picked the Jet City 20w head & 1x12 cabinet, with a Shure SM57 mic. I haven't ordered it yet, probably in the morning, unless I see/hear something that changes my mind between now & then.... Thanks to everyone who made any suggestions for helping me with this, & I'm sure I'll have more questions when I finally do start tracking a real amp!!!!

Surfer: There are different companies that make similar products like that, did you happen to look at the prices in the link you provided ? The Jet City Iso Cab was a consideration for me (& still might be later on...), but from what I've read, it's not completely silent. There are more iso cabs like this (Randall, Rivera, but again, from what I've read/heard in clips, they're still not completely silent, but I'm assuming the amps used are 50-100w, & are cranked), there is still "rumbling" from the low end from what I've read, but it does cut the sound in half or so....This is from reading, & listening to clips on YouTube (I saw a vid with a guy using a SPL meter with/without the iso cab).....

Here is a cheap way to make a home-made isolation shield that would probably work (kinda like the vocal booth thing that was posted here). The original poster used Auralex foam, but if you scroll down, another guy used foam from a car audio center, & said it works as good, & is way cheaper. I'm sure it would work on most stuff (like early reflections, & if your room is crappy, like mine ), but it wouldn't be soundproof at all......

Sungod: One side is all that's needed to re-amp Steve, you sure you haven't read up on this??? On the "lot of work" thing, it really wouldn't be more work for me, as I'm always tweaking my ampsims after I've tracked my di's anyway, so that really wouldn't be a big deal for me...I don't know about resale value on an amp either, & the cheapest combo that I liked was almost as much as the Jet City 1x12 stack I've picked out.....

Manzana: Thanks for the link(s) about the amps & heads up about Mattbio, I may pm him about this....I have done a lot of research on it, & I'm pretty sure I can get this to work(re-amping), if not, maybe I just need to track my guitars with the amp, commit to that sound, & move on......

Hiya.

I usually mic up everything. Guitars, 2x mono: one mic(SM57) on the grill/sweet-spot, and one mic at 'ear level' in the room - either AT2020 or SM58. The SM58 actually works better doing this, to my ears. Mix the tracks as you like.

If ya want tube sound, and use a pedal for distortion, look at the little Kustom 5w head. I've been playing around with one; I like it(with a Boss DS-1). I might pick one up. Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Matty

http://www.vocalbooth.com/products/vb-a ... e-pricing/

So, I finall decided on an amp, pulled the trigger on it just a few minutes ago. The Blackstar HT 5R, & SM57 should be here around the end of the week.....

I was pretty set on the Jet City 20w, but I thought 20 watts may be too loud for what I need, so I went with the 5 watt Blackstar instead......It also has a couple features the Jet City didn't have (fx loop, direct out), & it's a little smaller than the JC stack........

Thanks to all who've suggested/helped/linked/etc, I'll keep you posted on my progress!!!

Now, it's off to work to pay for it!!!!

Cool!

Don't forget to try any other mics that you have to see what they can do. And don't forget the mic position makes a pretty big impact on the sound.

Good luck and have fun!

post some samples please.

...and 5watt can still be very loud at home!

m24p: Thanks man, I've read about how much difference mic placement makes, & I'm about to find out first hand......The only other mic I have is the Samson CO-1, but I'm sure I'll try it too, it has served me really well, being it's the only mic I've owned since I started recording.......

manzana: Thanks manz, I already know 5 watts at home can be pretty loud, that's a big reason I went with the Blackstar. The Spider Valve I had was 40w, & was just too loud for my use........I'm sure I'll be posting clips too....thanks again!!!!!!

I checked the tracking # when I got in tonight, it's scheduled to be here the 29th.......I'm actually stoked about it!!!

More power to you man! I simply don't have the patience these days so I feel stressed for you just reading about it. lol

That said, I've had a few sweet Marshalls including an early 80s 800 and a Splawn modifed 79 something or another.
Great tones for sure, but the one thing I've found over and over is to err on the side of less distortion for more tone.

Basically, Ed's tone from 81-82 (see the live "Largo" stuff) is imo the perfect balance because he was a tad cleaner those years than earlier or since.

I was thinking, maybe you should go all the way and use a real drummer, too. Just a thought!