Pure Amp tone quandry

[Alanfc]

Hello-

I've been refining and tweaking for days & weeks now, trying to get my ideal guitar sound from straight amp tone. That is, just Marshall>SM 57>Vtb-1 preamp> soundcard. I think I've got it down the way I want it, but there's one last hitch.

I think I'm hearing a tiny amount of distortion that may be digital- I don't know. I'm afraid I'm going to have to do something in addition to pure amp tone, I concede.

Here's what I did: when I changed from tracking at -6db (on 24-bit) to tracking instead at
-6db to -3db, my guitar sound was more lively and ballsy. I tested this with just upping the volume on a channel recorded at lower input level, thinking it was just a pure volume issue, and it did not give me the same result. It was louder but thinner... So in my situation, with my gear, even though I'm doing 24-bit, I want to stay with that hotter input level.

I cannot come off the gain any more than I have already. I need the wetness on the single picked notes and for the chunka-chunka rythmic things I need to do.

So does this leave me with cutting the high end off somewhere? On the amp if I do it, the whole sound becomes dry muffly rumbly crap.

How about using my RNC after the VTB-1, a tiny amount during tracking? Or EQ after the tracking? Or compression after the tracking. What I'm hearing is ever so slight, and while I can hear it clearly when soloed, in the mix is where it really counts. I can still hear it in the mix just barely. It could masquerade as legitimate rockin guitar distortion I guess- But I hear it !

So since I'm still a ways under -0 db I'm hoping its not digital distortion. Its almost like a slight sizzling sound.

any diagnosis?
Thanks

 

[Outlaws]

How about using my RNC after the VTB-1, a tiny amount during tracking?

Sounds good to me.

 

[Alanfc]

Thanks Outlaws-
from my description, not being able to hear it yourself, do you have a guess whether its digital distortion or not? If its just more amp tweaking I don't mind, but I hit the tone right on the head last night, and all was sweet except for the tiny sizzle

thanks

 

[Outlaws]

Well I just like the idea because you can get a hotter signal onto your system.......

.....but ya......all that stuff you just said too......

 

[dragonworks]

Eliminate each step of the chain until clean signal is obtained; start from amp and work your way forward, repalce or leave out the software, hardware, that is creating said abberatiion.

 

[Alanfc]

I finally solved my own problem

=Recording Input levels=.

Despite what people have always told me about getting as close to 0 db as possible, whenever I went around -3db input level recording, the sound would happen. Then, voila- I changed back to -6db as a peak for input level and all was solved. I found some new amp tweaks to liven it up. Maybe it was Digital distortion ? Before clipping? Well, whatever it was , its solved now. Doesn't matter how the numbers look. The odd thing is that when I record my drum machine line-in mono, and my bass the same, there is never any of this distortion when I push the level to near 0 db.

thanks for the help here