reversing a reamp

I

ikijapan

New member
Alright, so some people say you can use a DI box to reamp, some people say it can't be done...I'm really not sure what the true answer is.

Then, by the same token, can you use a reamp box in reverse and use it as a DI box? The nice thing about the reamp boxes is a lot of them have a trim control to adjust the output.

Also, anyone want to take a rebuttle against this quote directly from the www.reamp.com webpage??

Question - Some people say I can use a passive direct box in reverse for reamping. Is this true?
Answer - – No. This would not work because of the large level differences between a microphone level signal and a line level signal. On the direct box the instrument input is designed for instrument level signals (-20dbm) and the microphone out is designed to give a microphone level signal (-60dbm typical) using a direct box in reverse would put a +4dbm signal into a –60dbm output and would cause extreme signal distortion before you even plugged into the amp.
 
ikijapan said:
Alright, so some people say you can use a DI box to reamp, some people say it can't be done...I'm really not sure what the true answer is.

Then, by the same token, can you use a reamp box in reverse and use it as a DI box? The nice thing about the reamp boxes is a lot of them have a trim control to adjust the output.

Also, anyone want to take a rebuttle against this quote directly from the www.reamp.com webpage??

Question - Some people say I can use a passive direct box in reverse for reamping. Is this true?
Answer - – No. This would not work because of the large level differences between a microphone level signal and a line level signal. On the direct box the instrument input is designed for instrument level signals (-20dbm) and the microphone out is designed to give a microphone level signal (-60dbm typical) using a direct box in reverse would put a +4dbm signal into a –60dbm output and would cause extreme signal distortion before you even plugged into the amp.
Click to expand...

You just need to use the direct output from a channel (post fader) and adjust level as needed.

I've used a DI in reverse many times for this this purpose. Just make sure that it's a passive DI.
 
I've done it both ways. Hands down, a reamp box works a lot better.

Think about it. A passive direct box takes a high impedance line level signal and turns it into a low impedance mic level signal. Putting a high impedance line level signal into the mic side would get you a louder higher impedance signal. That's the opposite of what you want.
 
Thanks a lot for the help guys...when I tried to do the DI box in reverse thing, it seemed to increase the noise significantly...perhaps I just needed to trim the gain on the output as Mr. Volpicelli suggested.

However I forgot and rediscovered that the Red Eye product exists and it has a Di box and reamp in one, so I guess I'll just get that so that I don't have to worry about it. It's not much more than a reamp or a DI box, so I guess that would make the most sense. I'll let everyone know how it works after I get it and test it out later this week.
 
if your re-amping make sure the sound you recorded through (eg amplitube) sounds very close to your real amp or you might loose some of the feel! best bet is to record the amp first time round! but i understand thats not sometimes possible!
 
fishkarma said:
if your re-amping make sure the sound you recorded through (eg amplitube) sounds very close to your real amp or you might loose some of the feel! best bet is to record the amp first time round! but i understand thats not sometimes possible!
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, I am definitely recording the amp along with the DI the first time around, I don't have any issue with recording loud any time of day or night...problem is, sometimes the people I record insist on using some crappy tone, and then when I suggest some changes, they think it's their "signature sound" or something...actually it just sounds like crap and doesn't work well in the mix. It's nice to be able to reamp later after the fact and dial in some better tones.

Plus I was thinking of reamping a couple times with different tones to get a wall of sound approach, anyone here ever do that? I was thinking it might help when people cant/wont do multiple takes for layering. Any opinion on that?
 
Multiple takes are going to be different than reamping several times due to timing and pitch changes in each performance. Though I guess that you could feed the direct signal to a delayed pitch shifter to get a similar effect.

One thing with reamping though is that you can't get guitar feedback the usual way. To get around this, I've had the talent stand next to the amp with a guitar in hand (just fingering chords or notes, but not playing) and using the sound from the reamped amp to sympathetically vibrate the "air guitarist" and feedback into the second amp. It's kinda fun to watch.

Another useful aspect of reamping is that when you are recording scratch tracks, record the direct along with it. Many times people have difficuty with timing after the basic tracks were recorded, or there may have been a cool take that you don't want to lose.
 
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