Reamping solution - could this work??

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Mikeyprs

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Hey everyone,

What I think I have potentially discovered/stumbled upon is a way I could potentially “re-amp” guitar tracks without the possibility of spending say £100 or so on a Re-Amp box using this method which I’ve yet to truly test as of yet but I would like to you know what you guys think of this potential idea.

Firstly I have cable #1 going from my guitar direct into my SB Audigy 2 ZS soundcard via the ¼” jack port which I would then record in Cubase 5 (Audio Track #1) whilst cable #2 would come out of the ¼” Headphone socket into my pedalboard then cable #3 into my guitar amp which I would use for monitoring purposes.

Once the guitar part has been recorded, I would then replace cable #1 with an SM57 mic & cable into the same ¼” socket (with an XLR > ¼” converter) and set it up in front of my guitar cab.

I would then set up Audio Track #2 in Cubase to record into constantly looping the first Guitar track through the guitar amp (which was previously used as a monitor through the Headphone socket) tweaking the knobs as I go until I find the Tone I’m looking for before I hit record.

NB *I can provide pictures for those interested*

Now I’m only thinking this would work in THEORY because earlier on today I set up a cable from the headphone socket > pedalboard > guitar amp on a clean setting and heard everything pretty damn clear which leads me to believe this might actually work if I had a mic set up going back into the soundcard and recording in Cubase, however I would still like to read/hear any input you guys may have!

Thank You for Your time everyone!

Mikeyprs
 
How about you plug the guitar into the amp, a mic into your soundcard, put the mic in front of the amp, and press record? Is that too easy or something? :confused:
 
I'm presuming that product would be the right fitting on the end of the xlr cable with a mic already attached at the other end i presume???
 
Yes I could do that Greg that's a very valid point lol!

But what I think I was attempting to do here is record the one dI'd guitar performance to which I can run back through the amp using the method I've described above to then free up my hands to fiddle around with mic placements and amp knobs and stuff and record numerous takes of amp tones till I found something I like.

The only other issue i think i could potentially have with this "idea" anyway would be any phasing going on, I mean I know it's a possibility but how likely is it that it would occur do you think??
 
No, you would need a series of adapters to get from your interface out to the XLR on the transformer I suggested. This goes between interface and amp input. The impedance mismatch between you interface, and what the amp is expecting, will typically have very poor results in tone. Give it a try though. I had an grungy Orange sound great, direct from interface, but an over driven Marshall sounded like complete ass. Two completely different guitar players/styles, so hard to judge accurately. The Marshall sounded as it should by adding the transformer. And about $160 cheaper than a reamp box.
 
Mikeyprs said:
Yes I could do that Greg that's a very valid point lol!

But what I think I was attempting to do here is record the one dI'd guitar performance to which I can run back through the amp using the method I've described above to then free up my hands to fiddle around with mic placements and amp knobs and stuff and record numerous takes of amp tones till I found something I like.
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I get that, but you could do that without having use adapters and a bunch of shenanigans. You're gonna be recording a bunch of takes anyway, right? So just play it. Either way you're gonna have to keep track of the changes you make. Just plug in, play, record, tweak, play, record, tweak, etc. No re-amping necessary. It hardly ever is.
 
There are some times where the reamp deal is a good thing. The only two times I have used it, was when the guitar players had poor gear and limited budget. It made more sense to do the tracking with their amp and a direct line. After the tracks were completed, I then borrowed better amps to get the tone I wanted. This is not typically the case, and would much rather get the tone right to begin with.
 
I'm noticing what, to me, is a very disturbing trend with "re-amping". It seems to be the very en vogue thing to do these days and it's a topic that pops up in here all the time. The actual theory behind it and reason for it seems sound, but it seems that MANY n00b types are planning to re-amp before they even try to get a good sound to begin with. Before they even finish writing the song they're thinking about re-amping the guitars. It's like "that's okay, we're gonna re-amp anyway". WTF kind of stupid logic is this? It's even dumber than immediately reaching for drum samples. Am I the only one that notices how ass-backwards this is?
 
Greg_L said:
I'm noticing what, to me, is a very disturbing trend with "re-amping". It seems to be the very en vogue thing to do these days and it's a topic that pops up in here all the time. The actual theory behind it and reason for it seems sound, but it seems that MANY n00b types are planning to re-amp before they even try to get a good sound to begin with. Before they even finish writing the song they're thinking about re-amping the guitars. It's like "that's okay, we're gonna re-amp anyway". WTF kind of stupid logic is this? It's even dumber than immediately reaching for drum samples. Am I the only one that notices how ass-backwards this is?
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Nope. You are not alone man. It is just a way to not have to get it right the first time. Lazy really. I happen to have had a use for it recently, so gave my advice accordingly. I was once at a place where I wanted to have the ability to get awesome tone without trying. It takes quite a bit of experience before anyone knows what is good anyway. Reamping gives someone new to recording, a second chance to try without having to play it again. I know man, it ain't that tough to play it again. But we have years on some of these guys. What seems easy to us, may not be for them. My kids want everything for free without working for it too. Cant wait till they get a bite of reality in the real world where food don't just show up for free. He He, and their rooms are taken over by my studio, so they can't move back home!! 'satisfied grin'
 
jimmys69 said:
Nope. You are not alone man. It is just a way to not have to get it right the first time. Lazy really. I happen to have had a use for it recently, so gave my advice accordingly. I was once at a place where I wanted to have the ability to get awesome tone without trying. It takes quite a bit of experience before anyone knows what is good anyway. Reamping gives someone new to recording, a second chance to try without having to play it again. I know man, it ain't that tough to play it again. But we have years on some of these guys. What seems easy to us, may not be for them. My kids want everything for free without working for it too. Cant wait till they get a bite of reality in the real world where food don't just show up for free. He He, and their rooms are taken over by my studio, so they can't move back home!! 'satisfied grin'
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This lazy approach to recording shows in their music too. It always seems to be the cookie-cutter screamo-core-melodic-metal guys that bust a nut over re-amping. For me, it's not even about them not playing it again, it's about learning something. Recording a nice guitar tone isn't that freaking hard. It's not as easy as just hanging a mic anywhere, but it's not the most technically demanding aspect of recording. If you have functioning ears and a good sense of tone, it shouldn't be a problem. To me, re-amping should be a last-ditch effort to hopefully fix a track in the event the guitarist has broken both of his hands and his gear was stolen by gypsies rendering him unable to track it again. It shouldn't be a planned part of the recording process.
 
Agreed. Unfortunately, this isn't 'Experienced Home Recording Forum'. There should be a sticky that reads "Just F**king learn to play and use your instrument in the first place, recording it will be easy then!" However, we have many that do not have that experience yet. Still, learning a technique isn't such a bad thing. Though, like you are good at, getting to the basic of why/how it should be done to begin with, is truly the point that most noobs should realize.

Good to have you around to keep it all straight up G! Seriously. :)
 
I got to talk to a Ramones producer this past summer and asked about mic positioning on Johnny's amps. He said "we just stuck it wherever. The amps were so loud it didn't matter". :D
 
That is awesome man! When 'it' is there, it just works without trying. Plus a producer that knows his s**t don't hurt either. I really miss those days where originality actually was original. Tone wasn't something you copied. Men were men. Well, that may have been questionable. It is tough to find true balls these days, now that anyone can fake it. Prosthetic rock has no knees.
 
Interesting tete a tete.
I agree with Pope Gregory and Moderate James :D. Wholeheartedly. Reaching for sample replacement or reamping or things of that ilk as the default position is a trend in music that I don't think has been a good thing. I can do zilch about it and I still say, each to their own. It's the end result that matters, cliche though that may seem.
But I also see another side. Because I grew up in what was still an era when experimenting was rife and grown men in studios who knew and lived by the fundamentals still did strange and odd things to have as much sonic scope and difference in songs as possible, for me, reamping is a valid sonic tool - sometimes. Also, if you're a shitty guitarist like me, sometimes you can come up with mad wild sounds in reamping. After all, I ain't ever going to be performing this stuff !
I guess it's just one more set of screwdrivers in the toolbox.
 
It really helps you hear what you're doing if you're like me and trying to play the guitar while you move a mic around and adjust other things at the same time it can be a challenge. Alot of the people I jam/record with like recording it live everyone playing at once and while throwin a mic on the amp generally wouldn't be a problem when you have a limited amount of mics to play with it can be. I find it fun to mess around with but I hardly ever use it almost like a second snare mic to me its more of a headroom thing. I've even tried reamping the snare drum but thats a whole new can of worms. Besides I'm sure some people said the same thing about double tracking guitars when they first started doing it. In one of my old 3 piece metal bands I was the only guitarist and I had a marshall jcm800 and a mesa dual rec and together they were one amp on the stage. If you double track each one you won't get that perfect blend.
 
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