Reamping Issues

  • Thread starter Thread starter Healwin
  • Start date Start date
H

Healwin

New member
Hey all,

This is my first post so apologies for any errors. I'm having some trouble with reamping a guitar signal for recording and am unsure what the issue is.

I'm going for a distorted guitar sound (for hard rock), so I'm using a Vox ac15 and an overdrive pedal for the distortion (with pro tools as my DAW). when I plug a guitar through the pedal into the amp it sounds just as you'd expect, the pedal is distorting the signal as it should and it sounds great for rock/metal. however, when i send the pre-recorded (DI) signal through the pedal and into the amp, using the reamp box, it sounds completely different, and not distorted at all. all the pedal is doing is boosting the signal and adding a ton of hiss in the background, yet the guitar sounds as clean as can be. it finally started breaking up and distort after using 2 pedals cranked to full, but obviously i couldnt get a very enjoyable tone this way as the signal was WAY too oversaturated.

I'm unsure what the problem is, or how to fix it? it cant be the amp or the pedal because they both sound as they should when playing guitar through them normally. perhaps pro tools is sending the wrong kind of level (speaker or line)?

this is the first time I've ever experimented with a reamping process so its also possible I've set up something wrong. i am a sound prod student and have much to learn, so please keep that in mind. any help would be super appreciated, even if its telling me I'm a dumbass and am doing it wrong lol. thanks!
 
What reamp box are you using? It sounds like you have an impedance or level matching problem.
 
Yes, please give us your full signal chain. Computer > Audio Interface > ? > pedal/amp > ? > ? > Audio Interface > computer
 
It’s got nothing to do with impedance. The signal is just too low coming out of the interface. Crank it up in the DAW before sending it out. If you really can’t get it loud enough, then the interface output might be just too weak. If -18dbFS = +4dbu, then it should have plenty of room to smash the front end of a guitar amp, but many consumer interfaces skimp some on the output specs.
 
mjbphotos said:
Yes, please give us your full signal chain. Computer > Audio Interface > ? > pedal/amp > ? > ? > Audio Interface > computer
Click to expand...
We're going out of a pro tools rig (digital controller, with HD I/O interface) into the radial reamp box. I've tried using a Vox ac15 and a laney, and with simple boss pedals yet the results are still lackluster

As for mics, I've stuck with a 57 and md421 combo, but the problem is at the source, not at it's capture.
 
ashcat_lt said:
It’s got nothing to do with impedance. The signal is just too low coming out of the interface. Crank it up in the DAW before sending it out. If you really can’t get it loud enough, then the interface output might be just too weak. If -18dbFS = +4dbu, then it should have plenty of room to smash the front end of a guitar amp, but many consumer interfaces skimp some on the output specs.
Click to expand...
I will have to worry about clipping and digital distortion though, right? As for the interface, it should be a decent enough piece of gear to do the job, being an avid HD I/O box. So how can I crank it while avoiding the nasty clipping?
 
Gtoboy said:
What reamp box are you using? It sounds like you have an impedance or level matching problem.
Click to expand...
I'm using a radial reamp jcr, maybe I have some issues balancing the gain structure but everything looks fine?
 
If I remember from my radial reamp, there is a level control on it. That needs to be all the way up.
 
Healwin said:
I will have to worry about clipping and digital distortion though, right? As for the interface, it should be a decent enough piece of gear to do the job, being an avid HD I/O box. So how can I crank it while avoiding the nasty clipping?
Click to expand...
I mean you’re just gonna distort it some more anyway, right? ;)

But like even a hot guitar shouldn‘t be much louder than nominal line level, and a converter that will go to +20dbu is like three times louder than any 9V pedal can get, so if you need to come anywhere close to clipping the DAC in order to completely destroy the amp then you’re fucking up somewhere. :)

You don’t strictly need the reamp box. Plug it in via a simple cable. If it sounds better, and doesn’t buzz from a ground loop, you’re done. If it sounds better but does buzz, you at least know where things are going wrong.
 
"You don’t strictly need the reamp box." Right on, listen to The Cat. A "re amp box" basically does two things...
1) it reduces line level to 'guitar level' and since both those quantities can be all over the shop depending on the interface and amp used, the usual idea is some sort of pot so you can have maximum line output or fade to zero.
2) Some means of isolating the grounds between interface and guitar amplifier but often you don't need even that. There are a couple of ways to do it. "Posh" way is with a 1:1 transformer or you can just break a ground path in one of the signal lines. Quite often you don't even need an "earth lift".

The idea that you need some fancy kit to re amp probably came from the old dodge whereby the guitarist stayed in the control room and the (King loud!) amp stack stayed in the studio area. the link was ove a mic tie line via a High to low. Low to high pair of transformers but you don't need that if the re amp signal is hot enough, as it should be out of an AI.

Then some boxes have 'emulation', fancy name for passive EQ but you can do that in the DAW post tracking.

Dave.
 
I think the reasons reamp boxes became popular is that 1) Nobody actually understands how impedance applies to voltage transfer between device, and B) It means you never have to worry about a ground loop.

The first is sad, but there aren’t too many big E Engineers in the business nowadays. (No I don’t have a degree, but I’ve studied enough to get it.)

The ground isolation is nice and helps make it drummer...errr...idiot proof. Buzzes and other noises from ground issues are actually pretty common when trying to make these kinds of connections. I honestly don’t know why guitar amps tend to show these problems more than other types of gear, but it does tend to be true. Frankly trying to sort out ground loop noise can drive an experienced engineer nuts. If just plugging into that box means you never have to worry about it...
 
ashcat_lt said:
I think the reasons reamp boxes became popular is that 1) Nobody actually understands how impedance applies to voltage transfer between device, and B) It means you never have to worry about a ground loop.

The first is sad, but there aren’t too many big E Engineers in the business nowadays. (No I don’t have a degree, but I’ve studied enough to get it.)

The ground isolation is nice and helps make it drummer...errr...idiot proof. Buzzes and other noises from ground issues are actually pretty common when trying to make these kinds of connections. I honestly don’t know why guitar amps tend to show these problems more than other types of gear, but it does tend to be true. Frankly trying to sort out ground loop noise can drive an experienced engineer nuts. If just plugging into that box means you never have to worry about it...
Click to expand...
Heh! Guitar amplifiers are no worse than any other earthed, mains powered amplifier for ground loop problems, it is probably just the one we are most concerned with most of the time. In fact one of THE most common devices that show up earth hums is the active monitor speaker. There have been countless posts in home recording forums where folks have rigged...AI to powered laptop or desktop to active monitors and got the dreaded hum or even worse, digital "mouse chatter".

There is a move now in the industry to have earth free "Class ll" insulated monitors and other pieces of audio kit. Then the problem can be one of NO earth at all!

Dave.
 
Good point yeah. It might just be the simple fact that the desired signals going into a guitar amp tend to be relatively small compared to the amount of hum, then the amp has a whole lot of gain and its compression/distortion just makes the S/N that much worse. The hum might not even be an issue if it was going into a clean amp, but that’s never why we’re reamping guitars. :)

But yeah, let’s not go breaking off any safety grounds to try to fix these issues.
 
ashcat_lt said:
Good point yeah. It might just be the simple fact that the desired signals going into a guitar amp tend to be relatively small compared to the amount of hum, then the amp has a whole lot of gain and its compression/distortion just makes the S/N that much worse. The hum might not even be an issue if it was going into a clean amp, but that’s never why we’re reamping guitars. :)

But yeah, let’s not go breaking off any safety grounds to try to fix these issues.
Click to expand...
Ah now! The newer kit that is coming out without earths is perfectly safe, can just be a bit hummy.

And indeed, it is NEVER a bad thing to mention. MAINS SAFETY EARTHS MUST NEVER BE REMOVED!

Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top