Bristol Posse
Okey Dokey
What interface are you using?
Levels for recording guitar
- Thread starter Jay C
- Start date
What interface are you using?
Jay C
New member
Jay C
New member
thank you. i agree. my old marshall had a volume control for the line out. i guess the only volume control i have is the channel volume knob. i've been wondering if i would be able to use one of the other outputs instead of the emulated line out. i have 5 other out put for different ohms. the emulation is not that good, i still have to use Revalver or TH2 for adding a cabinet in the DAW.
Are you using XLR or 1/4"?
I looked at a pic of it online. Looks pretty standard to me. So what happens if you go from the emulated output of the amp, direct to an input of the interface with the interface pre gain turned all the way down?
No! Only use the emulated out. Do not use a speaker output. That could be real bad.
Jay C
New member
i definitely wouldn't without finding out if it was ok to do first. curious to hear about your experience after you try it out.
on a side note.
f this , it's time to buy an Air conditioner. LOL.
The only time it's okay to use your amp with no speaker load is when you're using the emulated out with the amp on standby. That's it. Nothing goes into those speaker outputs but a cab. I don't know the exact electrical details, but those speaker outputs tap into the output transformer. That transformer wants real bad to see a speaker load. That's like rule #1 with tube amps - always have a speaker connected.....or an acceptable substitute like an attenuator or some kind of dummy load. Your interface does not suffice as an acceptable load.
Larry Villella
New member
Two words:
Gain-Staging.
Just to quote an arbitrary # like -18dB or -12dB glosses over the critical issue of gain-staging.
If you aren't using a mic, there's less 'stages' to worry about, but it's still a critical point.
The volume or level control of the output signal is one stage. The level of the or gain of
the input level of the pre-amp is another stage. If you hit the input stage too hard you'll
have issues, but if you don't hit it hard enough, you may be adding a bunch of noise from
the pre-amp. So . . . the dB meter alone isn't the sole determining factor in tracking frets.
Experiment with the Output volume on the amp and the Input gain on the pre-amp.
Use your ears. Whether it's -18 or -12 is less important than whether the tone
you are getting properly represents the guitar sound you are looking for - if it's
to be clean or distorted, the whole point is to accurately render the actual tone!
Pianos and Drums do need more head-room - as was pointed out - because of
transcient peaks. Most guitars are more forgiving in this area. All the Best!!
Gain-Staging.
Just to quote an arbitrary # like -18dB or -12dB glosses over the critical issue of gain-staging.
If you aren't using a mic, there's less 'stages' to worry about, but it's still a critical point.
The volume or level control of the output signal is one stage. The level of the or gain of
the input level of the pre-amp is another stage. If you hit the input stage too hard you'll
have issues, but if you don't hit it hard enough, you may be adding a bunch of noise from
the pre-amp. So . . . the dB meter alone isn't the sole determining factor in tracking frets.
Experiment with the Output volume on the amp and the Input gain on the pre-amp.
Use your ears. Whether it's -18 or -12 is less important than whether the tone
you are getting properly represents the guitar sound you are looking for - if it's
to be clean or distorted, the whole point is to accurately render the actual tone!
Pianos and Drums do need more head-room - as was pointed out - because of
transcient peaks. Most guitars are more forgiving in this area. All the Best!!
Bristol Posse
Okey Dokey
Are you plugging the Line Out of your amp into the Mic/Line inputs on the rear or to the instrument inputs on the front?
Jay C
New member
i was going into the front, but when the di box arrived i now go into the back with xlr cable. the di box allows me to further pad the signal.
Jay C
New member
if i go straight from the amp to the interface with the gain all the way down i still have to turn the amp way down to not be too loud. that's even with the interface pad on.
Ok, I don't know if this helps at all, but I tried the emulated out on my amp (Marshall JVM 410) and this is how mine works...
With the amp on in standby mode, and a cab connected, I ran an XLR cable from the line out on the back of the amp straight to a mic/instrument input on my Firepod. Input gain on the Firepod is all the way down. Since the amp was on standby, no sound came out, but I got signal in the DAW. The signal coming in to the DAW was controlled by the channel volume on the amp. This amp has 4 separate channels, each controlled by a channel volume that feeds the master volume. The master volume did nothing in standby/direct recording mode. I could crank the master volume and the signal level coming out of the amp never changed. But the channel volume had total control. With the channel volume dimed, the signal coming in was super hot, but it didn't clip the pre on the interface. It hit the meters at -3.0 db, and frankly it didn't sound great. But turning the channel volume down brought the signal to "normal" levels and the sound cleaned up. So each of the amp's channel pre amp circuitry and EQ section is fully functional, but it ends at the channel volume. Somewhere in all of this craziness the power tubes must get involved in some way because it gets "power tubey" if you crank the channel volume back up. Or it's a simulated power tube saturation sound. I'm not sure.
So anyway, if this helps at all, maybe yours works similarly. Use the channel volume as the master volume in direct recording mode and keep the interface gain all the way down.
Well an isobox would mean miking a speaker, and I'm always for that, so yeah do it if you want to.
Otherwise, I'd say do whatever you have to do to get the sound you want. If cranking the channel in emulation mode gets the power tubes involved somehow, and you like it, and attenuating the signal on the way in gives you satisfactory results, then do it.
Jay C
New member
sounds good to me. i don't know how i ended up trying to micro manage every thing all the sudden. i used to be the type to just plug and jam, now i have a 10 band eq that i can't stop playing with. i listen to a lot of different music and i'm always flip floping on what i want to sound like now. lately i've been listening to a really neat band called Big Business, and another called Gojira. i think my fave after all this time is still Faith No More, i just love there range.
and thanks again dude. i've listened to some of your stuff dude, it's great, and if you can get a great sound without nickle and diming every aspect then it's an inspiration to me.
I get it. I go through phases too. I mean my shit always sounds pretty much the same, but I tend to go in different directions within my tiny little narrow scope of musical interest.
Well thanks, that's nice of you to say. I'm flattered. I wouldn't say that I haven't nickel and dimed it though. I have. I've spent many many many nickels and dimes on musical gear. Lol. In my mind, it really all boils down to the source sound. I'm a big believer in starting with a good sound. An appropriate sound for what you're trying to do. I've got killer drums, killer guitars, killer amps and cabs. I've got adequate mics. Standard stuff. From there it's all about using the right sound and capturing it effectively. Get a good track of a good sound and the rest is very easy. I think people tend to overcomplicate things by worrying about every little piece of gear or plug-ins and spend too much time trying to fix things in the mix. That's just my opinion. I try to keep my mixes very simple. My stuff is very basic though. It's usually just drums, bass, guitars, and vocals.
JimmyS1969
MOODerator
That is probably the best statement I have heard all month...
Bristol Posse
Okey Dokey
Your problem is you are plugging a line level signal from the line out into a devide that cannot handle line level (+4dBu) so you are going to have to heavily pad anything ro seriously turn down the volume on the amp
When you go into the front, you are sending a line level signal from your line out into an instrument level input, hence the need for heavy padding
Mic Inputs (A/D)
Mic Input Impedance: 2.2k ohms unbalanced, 4.4k ohms balanced
Maximum Input Level: +2dBu unpadded, +22dBu padded
When you go line out to DI to Mic in (XLR) you are sending a line level signal from your line out to a mic level input, hence the need for heavy padding
Input Impedance: 1M ohm, unbalanced
Maximum Input Level: +0dBV unpadded, +16dBV padded
Even If you eliminate the DI box and plug a 1/4 inch TS or TRS jack straight in to the multi jack in the back which is a Line in when you use that type of connection, you'll still have problems
- Line Inputs (A/D)
Line Input Impedance: 10k ohms unbalanced, 20k ohms balanced
Maximum Input Level: +2dBu unpadded, +22dBu padded
I don't think this interface is really designed to interface well with other gear
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