assistance please :)

[antomicblitz]

hello everyone... I joined this site because I had a few questions... currently, I am recording a punk/ska song... it most closely resembles nofx or sublime... anyway... I have been using an amp simulator called amplitube and I have received great results from it, but it takes up a lot of memory to have multiple tracks with the plugin turned on for each track... so I was just wondering, how do I make the amp sim plug in route to all of the guitar tracks without turning the plug in on for each one? I hope that made sense... and thank you in advance

[KineticSound]

AB,
You want to create a buss. Each of the tracks that you want to receive the effect would get sent to this buss, and the buss would use the amp simulator as one master plugin, instead of using the plugin on each individual track.

Here's how to do it:

1. First, open the mixer view in Logic and find the tracks you want to run to the simulator. Under the I/O options for the track, click and hold where it says "Out 1/2" and change it to "Buss 1." (Or any other new buss if you already have an effect loop going.) Repeat for each track you want to effect:


2. When you send signal to Buss 1, Logic automatically creates another mixer channel called "Aux" and defaults it's input to Buss 1. Make sure the Input (top) = Bus1 and the Output (bottom) = Out 1/2. Then you can add the amp simulator as a plugin on this new Aux channel:


3. When you're done, it should look something like this. The Aux channel is at the end of the tracks, just before the master 1/2 buss. It will have the amp simulator plugin, as well as any other effects you want to add:


Essentially, you've just "patched" the tracks directly to Buss 1, bypassing the main outputs. Then the Buss 1 (Aux) channel provides the plugin effect, and the final product is sent to the main outs.

Use some caution! When you're sending multiple guitar tracks to the amp simulator, you could likely get some pretty hot levels produced. Also understand that when you have it set up this way, you lose control over the parameters assigned to each individual track. If I were in this position, battling with the amp sim's drag on the computer, I might also try printing the effect to a new track, and then removing the plugin & muting the original (i.e. solo each guitar track one at a time and bounce the result to a new track, then reset and mute the original guitar tracks). That way, you could control the individual tracks, but you could still go back and change them if you needed to.

Good luck!

[baker_]

Excellent post Kinetic! Follow these directions exactly. I do have one concern:

Originally Posted by KineticSound

AB,
Also understand that when you have it set up this way, you lose control over the parameters assigned to each individual track. If I were in this position, battling with the amp sim's drag on the computer, I might also try printing the effect to a new track, and then removing the plugin & muting the original (i.e. solo each guitar track one at a time and bounce the result to a new track, then reset and mute the original guitar tracks). That way, you could control the individual tracks, but you could still go back and change them if you needed to.

Good luck!

I'm not sure what you mean by "losing control over the parameters assigned to each individual track". You will still be able to control the the volume, pans, and what-nots on each individual track. Make sure the Aux you create is stereo and you should be all set. Maybe I am misinterpreting something, but he should be able to still apply compressors, eqs, volume and pan automations, etc, to each individual track. Those parameters will simply be bussed out to the Aux which is holding your Amplitube plug-in.

Just a technicality though. He'll still have the same amount of control, essentially. However, I don't want to take away from this extremely good post. So, antomicblitz, you have your answer!

[baker_]

ALSO! Welcome to the site man!

cheers

baker_

[antomicblitz]

thank you very much... the guide was great as well and it worked .
Did you write that just for me? :P haha.

and also, thank you very much for the speedy reply. I thought it would take several days to solve this... if anyone is curious, I'll upload my song somewhere when it's done

[KineticSound]

Originally Posted by baker_

I do have one concern:

I'm not sure what you mean by "losing control over the parameters assigned to each individual track". You will still be able to control the the volume, pans, and what-nots on each individual track. Make sure the Aux you create is stereo and you should be all set. Maybe I am misinterpreting something, but he should be able to still apply compressors, eqs, volume and pan automations, etc, to each individual track. Those parameters will simply be bussed out to the Aux which is holding your Amplitube plug-in.

Sorry; I was very vague there. I was trying to imply that the amp sim settings would have to be the same for all the guitar tracks being sent.
Baker's exactly right, though - You could still apply other plugins to the individual guitar tracks; they'd just all get the same amp sim settings.

[gecko zzed]

If there are, say, two guitars (which can have their own EQ, compression etc. settings), you send each of these to the amp sim which sits on an aux bus.

It seems to me that that both guitars would therefore receive the same panning, i.e. the panning that is applied to the aux return.

Have I understood that correctly?

[KineticSound]

Originally Posted by gecko zzed

It seems to me that that both guitars would therefore receive the same panning, i.e. the panning that is applied to the aux return.

If one used a mono track for the Aux buss, that would be correct. However, Logic defaults the Aux buss to a stereo channel strip, so - at least in theory - the pan of the "send" track could control the pan of the final Aux output, and this could be independent on each "send" track.

I don't know, however, if the amp simulator's own panning overrides this.

[baker_]

Yep, Kinetic's got it right. I almost always buss out my multi-tracked drums to a stereo Aux track. All my pan setting for overheads, hats, toms, etc are carried over to the Aux. I am fairly sure Amplitube wouldn't interfere or override the panning; not 100% though - more like 98% sure

And yes, I see what you're saying now Kinetic. The amp setting would have to be the same across the board. I would definitely try Kinetic's second alternative (soloing and bouncing the sounds as audio files) to override this issue.

AB: We'd always love to here the song! Keep us posted!