Guitar Amp Direct?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Newbie dude
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Newbie dude

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Anybody here ever use the line out from a guitar amp into your recorder,whatever it maybe ? Does the result sound good? Does it sound like the amp?
 
It is as close to the amp sound as you'll get. Works good cause you know relatively closely what you final recording will be like. I like to run from the amp to a mixer and then to the recorder, just for a nice control factor.
 
I use the Direct Out only for clean guitar. I particularly like the reverb on my marshall. Distortion needs to be mic'ed separately, because somehow it sounds like crap coming out of the DI.
 
Newbie dude said:
Anybody here ever use the line out from a guitar amp into your recorder,whatever it maybe ? Does the result sound good? Does it sound like the amp?
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Try it.
Some amp's direct outs are usable, some are utterly useless. The fact that heavy distortion will sound terrible through it is pretty universal though.
 
I kinda liked the results I got from a Marshall ATV275 using the emulated outputs. They were designed to provide a sound that is "close" to what you're hearing through the speakers. I say kinda liked because as mentioned above, distortion just doesn't seem be the same through the outs.

My first instinct is to mic amps with either one upclose mic, or using two (one upclose, another to capture a little of the room the amps in).
 
do this instead

get yourself a Arion MTE-1 distortion pedal. plug your guitar into it, turn all the knobs up 100%, and then go direct to your recorder.
 
i have a podxt, so its kinda like the same thing. most of these people r right. clean channel works out pretty well, but distortion is a LOT of work if u want to use it as a final copy. u need to do a lot just to make it sound decent, and thats decent at best. if ur using distortion, id recommend micing the amp. if u have 2 dynamic cardiod mics and 1 condenser mic, u can try doing a XY setup with the dynamic mics and then set the condenser a little bit back and in the middle. it gives u a really full sound.


but dont take my word for it, try it out. if u like it, keep it. if not, dont. it all comes down to what sounds good to u. thats the best way to learn.
 
Keep experimenting. It might always be that you're not after the same tone everyone else is and that the sounds you want can come from the line out. My experience has been that I am better off mic'ing nine times out of ten, but I don't have a POD or anything like that.
 
The main thing you are missing with the line out, is the way that the speaker modifies what the amplifier puts out. Speaker distortion, and frequency response of the speaker will not be there witht he line out. This just means that you will have to go by what you monitor, and not by what you hear coming from your amp's speaker. Generally I have found line outs to be harder to get a "good" sound out of.,



Simon
 
teddyastuffed said:
i have a podxt, so its kinda like the same thing. most of these people r right. clean channel works out pretty well, but distortion is a LOT of work if u want to use it as a final copy. u need to do a lot just to make it sound decent, and thats decent at best.
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I have to agree with you on that. I wonder if running the pod through a tube pre of some kind would help warm up the distortion?
 
I've had good luck with a Digitech RP50 and Line 6 Spider II-15 and 112.
 
I haven’t miked a guitar amp in years. I always go direct with this little baby. Well, the one I have is actually the Hughes & Kettner MK II, the predecessor to the one pictured. I’ve had it since around 1990. There are a lot of devices that have come along since, but the Red Box does a good job of simulating a 4x12 cabinet directly to a mixer. As you can see it has no bells and whistles... a very simple, but effective device.
 

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apl said:
I've had good luck with a Digitech RP50 and Line 6 Spider II-15 and 112.
Click to expand...


I have found Digitech emulators to be pretty nice....as far as direct goes. Right now I am using the RP2000 which I believe has the same emulator as the RP50. I can get some nice sounds, even with distortion. If I am not mistaken, you can pick up the RP50 pretty cheap.


Of course, you can pick up an SM57 and a stand pretty cheap too. :)
 
Direct is fine...

Only problems being poor A/D conversion. Either poorly or cheaply designed jacks on the amp or on the recording interface. Even bad cables degrade the sound.
If you want to go even further, unstable clock (as digital DAW recording interfaces have), will degrade the A/D conversion process even more.

So in the end, you have 90% of the actual sound quality that came out of the amp. That works for some people and thats unacceptable to others.

Of course, thats always for the engineer to decide.
 
Certainly in Britain at least Digitech dropped all their prices recently, making an RP50 pretty cheap. The RP80 (same but with an expression pedal) is the cheapest way to get a drum machine, multi-fx, whammy pedal and emulation that's actually worth buying. :)
 
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