Guitar -> direct to Interface or something in between for "Dry" recording ?

pure.fusion

New member
Guitar -> direct to Interface or something in between for "Dry" recording ?

Hi all,

I'm sure this has been asked (quite) a few times but my searches don't land me the info I'm after.

As advertised, my Focusrite 2i4 will take instrument (guitar high z) inputs and I've been going direct in and using software for sound.
No problem.

I remember someone in a music shop telling me how they record dry guitar and they said they go through a preamp or compressor before they hit the audio interface. (Perhaps to sell more gear)

Question is, are you guys going from guitar into [something] and then into your interface? And why?
I'm not talking pedals and effects, I'm talking signal prep of the guitar to record dry to then re-amp or use software amp and cab sim.

I'm about to head into some recording and whatever I start now I'll have to repeat in the future for consistencies sake.

Your thoughts appreciated.

FM
 
Hi all,

I'm sure this has been asked (quite) a few times but my searches don't land me the info I'm after.

As advertised, my Focusrite 2i4 will take instrument (guitar high z) inputs and I've been going direct in and using software for sound.
No problem.

I remember someone in a music shop telling me how they record dry guitar and they said they go through a preamp or compressor before they hit the audio interface. (Perhaps to sell more gear)

Question is, are you guys going from guitar into [something] and then into your interface? And why?
I'm not talking pedals and effects, I'm talking signal prep of the guitar to record dry to then re-amp or use software amp and cab sim.

I'm about to head into some recording and whatever I start now I'll have to repeat in the future for consistencies sake.

Your thoughts appreciated.

FM
This was just covered a bit in another thread, but my take/opinion has been (for some time) that, these days, doing pretty much everything ITB, unless you need something in your monitoring cans to be able to get your best performance, just leave it alone and add the stuff in later.

Now, with that said, I sometimes found doing electric guitar completely dry uninspiring, so then went through (when I had them) my Line 6 POD HD, a Trademark 10 or Blues Cube (mic'd), or a Sansamp Character or Joyo clone pedal, at least. Not always, because sometimes a simple chunk rhythm doesn't need it, but it's nice to have options. Monitoring from the DAW with lightweight "pedals" is good too, and even a preamp sim can tighten up the sound for better feel (IMO/IME).

Acoustic, I always mic.
 
Ahh, well I'm in new territory now, I haven't done "it" before.

Excited about re-amping and not having to commit to a sound at the creative stage.
I notice that the dry signal recorded is a different sound via a preamp or compressor (dialed "Flat") than straight into the Audio Interface. One is brighter by a fair margin.

So I'm asking (myself) which one of these two different sounds is the version that my guitar amp would "see" if I plugged directly into it to and would the wrong one bite me in the ar$e later...
 
Ahh, well I'm in new territory now, I haven't done "it" before.

Excited about re-amping and not having to commit to a sound at the creative stage.
I notice that the dry signal recorded is a different sound via a preamp or compressor (dialed "Flat") than straight into the Audio Interface. One is brighter by a fair margin.

So I'm asking (myself) which one of these two different sounds is the version that my guitar amp would "see" if I plugged directly into it to and would the wrong one bite me in the ar$e later...



By all means go with what you want...but I couldn't help but chuckle about you being excited to reamp and not having to commit...at the creative stage. :D
I've had a reamp setup for like 10 years now...actually, more than one option, and I have quite an assortment of really great guitar sims/plugs...
...but to this day, I still am reluctant NOT to commit at the creative stage, and to get into all that sitting-n-dialing through guitar sim presets for 2 weeks looking for that perfect guitar sound. :p
I already spend too much time in the DAW working in the box...I don't want to add to it...if anything, I'm looking to spend more time out of the box. :)

AFA your question about plugging into something and then interface vs. just interface...well, it all depends if your interface has an instrument input, and how does it sound, because they are not all the same. Often going into a quality DI, and then taking the output to your interface preamp rather than its instrument input...you might hear something you like better, but of course, try both ways.

Not sure which way is brighter (or maybe, which is just duller) in your comment above about using preamp and compressor vs. the interface alone...but since you're looking to leave all the heavy lifting for later on during reamp...it may not matter much, but maybe you would want to just go with the bare, dry signal...that way when you reamp, the signal was untouched...but honestly, it's all going to come down to simply dialing in the sound you like with whatever signal you have...kinda the same as when you dial in an amp at the start, and then just go with that. ;)
 
It probably depends on genre to a degree. I couldn't imagine trying to do rhythm parts for heavy metal (or whatever it's called) "dry" and usually when it's time for a lead is when you've already got a pretty good idea of the kind of thing that will fit, so, again, "dry" is hard to evaluate. "Was it a good take?" kind of needs to be answered when the red light goes off, and not after you've exhausted all possibilities of your amp and pedal sim knowledge.

A [reasonable] option is to use a DI and take a dry signal and then feed (the "thru" path) into an emulator/pedal board so you have a good take of something pretty close, and you can always feed that into amp/FX pedal sims, or work with the dry track to realize what you really want.

I really prefer just working with acoustic guitars :)
 
Thanks for the replies.

Miroslav, "but since you're looking to leave all the heavy lifting for later on during reamp...it may not matter much". Bingo, I guess this is the answer for me. I'll keep it simple and go straight in.
Thanks Keith, yep I'd always be listening to something wet as I record whilst the dry gets captured.

Cheers all.
 
So I'm asking (myself) which one of these two different sounds is the version that my guitar amp would "see" if I plugged directly into it...
Well, the one with the input impedance that’s most like that of a guitar amp (usually between 500K and 1M). I’d guess it’s the brighter one, but don’t know anything about the gear you’re using.
 
I go straight in. This allows for full control after the fact. If you run into a compressor or whatever before the DAW forget ever changing it. I am using an AXE i/o right now with very good results. I would only run in with a "processed" sound if it was something my plugins could never do. But i can't think of anything.
 
Back
Top