Let’s talk about making the best of the worst: going direct

fcknoise · Post by **fcknoise** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:00 am

Hi friends,

Is anyone here SUCCESSFULLY going direct in here? Do you get that good tone? How do you do it?

I recently met a guy recommending this:

NSFW: show

Having both a loadbox and speaker sim in one package is cool. The price isn’t too bad, the size is good.

Maybe the straight into the sound card tone is in the fingers. Let’s talk about it in this thread

qersty · Post by **qersty** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 3:38 am

I record guitars direct but usually I just plug my OD-3 into my intrface. Presto! Sounds like garbage but in a hip tascam kinda way. The only thing I think about is setting the gain way way lower than I would want to with an amp.

coldbrightsunlight · Post by **coldbrightsunlight** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 4:37 am

Currently I just go guitar - pedals - interface and sometimes use an amp plugin before cab sim, sometimes just use two notes wall of sound. I'm pretty pleased with my clean and light gain sounds like this, occasionally get some decent heavy sounds too but I find it a little more annoying to dial in. Plus, several fuzz pedals don't love the interface preamp (impedance or what?) so that can be annoying. I too have been considering getting something to just help this setup be a little better / more consistent / easy to set up with signal chains going amp + DI + clean signal etc. As it is the season of the pedge I've not looked into it much beyond some small chats on here.

The captor looks cool if you're super into your amp - plus means you can record while playing the actual amp which is always nice for getting a good feel to the playing.

backwardsvoyager · Post by **backwardsvoyager** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:06 am

Yeah if you already have an amp you really like the Torpedo Captor would be a solid pick. UAD OX is fantastic too but a lot more expensive.

I pretty much only go direct nowadays. What helped me get way better results:
- if going pedals>>interface, have an always-on analog preamp at the end of the chain to simulate hitting the front of an amp, then use plugins for power amp and speaker sim
- get a semi decent audio interface
- try as many different speaker impulse responses from different companies as possible because the variation is enormous

fcknoise · Post by **fcknoise** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 6:51 am

qersty wrote:I record guitars direct but usually I just plug my OD-3 into my intrface. Presto! Sounds like garbage but in a hip tascam kinda way. The only thing I think about is setting the gain way way lower than I would want to with an amp.

Yeah, I like this sound too. I go death metal pedal with the highs rolled off and I think it sounds… well, “good” might be an overstatement, but it’s definitely cool.

coldbrightsunlight wrote:Currently I just go guitar - pedals - interface and sometimes use an amp plugin before cab sim, sometimes just use two notes wall of sound. I'm pretty pleased with my clean and light gain sounds like this, occasionally get some decent heavy sounds too but I find it a little more annoying to dial in. Plus, several fuzz pedals don't love the interface preamp (impedance or what?) so that can be annoying. I too have been considering getting something to just help this setup be a little better / more consistent / easy to set up with signal chains going amp + DI + clean signal etc. As it is the season of the pedge I've not looked into it much beyond some small chats on here.

The captor looks cool if you're super into your amp - plus means you can record while playing the actual amp which is always nice for getting a good feel to the playing.

I do similar, and the fuzzy tones are indeed really difficult to deal with! I always like it much more into an amp, which is what enticed me about this all-in-one solution.

backwardsvoyager wrote:Yeah if you already have an amp you really like the Torpedo Captor would be a solid pick. UAD OX is fantastic too but a lot more expensive.

I pretty much only go direct nowadays. What helped me get way better results:
- if going pedals>>interface, have an always-on analog preamp at the end of the chain to simulate hitting the front of an amp, then use plugins for power amp and speaker sim
- get a semi decent audio interface
- try as many different speaker impulse responses from different companies as possible because the variation is enormous

Yeah, I have a 50w traynor head I love the sound of. I am sure it’s based on something particular, that I could find some models of, but I really just like the sound of it.

Do you have any suggestions for speaker impulse responses? I have plebbed my way through everything in the built in Logic amp/speaker VST, and it all sounds like garbage

backwardsvoyager · Post by **backwardsvoyager** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 7:41 am

fcknoise wrote:Do you have any suggestions for speaker impulse responses? I have plebbed my way through everything in the built in Logic amp/speaker VST, and it all sounds like garbage

Shift Line have some great free IRs that are worth trying.
If you use Two Notes gear you can audition all their cabs through the store, too. They're a bit expensive, but you only need to own one cab to have access to the full Wall of Sound plugin.
My favourite thing at the moment is blending 4x10, 1x15 and 1x12 Fender cabs from OwnHammer.

coldbrightsunlight · Post by **coldbrightsunlight** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:48 am

Interesting about the different options! Combining sounds like fun - often my favourite guitar sounds I get are actually combinations of a mic (or two) and a DI signal. Yeah I really like the live trial of cabs feature in Two Notes Wall of Sound. I still only own like 2 or 3, but it's cool to test different options for new sounds and I'm sure I'd get more at some point. I'm a little curious about trying other plugins but I just don't love fiddling that much and enjoy having a couple of presets I like for 90% of recordings. With a preamp to improve the signal going in a bit I reckon I'd be totally happy.

fcknoise · Post by **fcknoise** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 9:15 am

Yeah thats something for sure. I love the sound of my alnico 10” elements that would have been in a fender super reverb at some point, and I’d be totally happy using one IR that does their sound perfectly well. The problem is to find that one IR. The blending of those cabs from OwnHammer sounds like it might be it for me as well tho, good shout

The Captor also includes quite a few IRs and the WoS plug-in as well, so I suppose I’d go with that

retinal orbita · Post by **retinal orbita** » Wed Oct 27, 2021 8:31 pm

fcknoise wrote:I go death metal pedal with the highs rolled off and I think it sounds… well, “good” might be an overstatement, but it’s definitely cool.

I bet it sounds good and it’s DEFINITELY cool.

Never · Post by **Never** » Thu Oct 28, 2021 3:33 pm

Aren't some of those ~$45 mooer cab sims & preamps supposed to be damn good?

I've gotten some surprisingly good sound out of running guitar + pedals into my giant Peavey mixer and overdriving the main channel, direct in to a bargain basement USB interface.

Hmm, I bet if you put a decent Reverb at the end of your chain almost any guitar sound would feel "real"...

DOSS BS-1 · Post by **DOSS BS-1** » Fri Oct 29, 2021 12:53 pm

Trying to emulate my Fender amp I use an Effectrode Blackbird preamp (using the 3 channel option) into a Two Notes Torpedo (usually set to a '77 Silverface) into a Topanga (spring reverb is essential to my amp tone) then into a Focusrite interface. Takes pedals like a boss, fuzz sounds like fuzz not fizz. That gives me the simplest way to record immediately.

I also use Native Instruments Guitar Rig which is like holy shmoly that's a lot of options. Split signals into to two amps, reroute them thru stereo delays, different processing on each side, then have them ping pong back and forth. Some of their special effects are WAYYYY further out there than my Drolo or Pladask stuff. The Raum reverb is a stereo dream. As usual, the dirt is the weakest part. Digital dirt never sounds right.

rfurtkamp · Post by **rfurtkamp** » Mon Nov 01, 2021 2:50 am

I did mostly DI for years - had various amp sim options, ranging from the Generation 0 analog simulated line out on the venerable Boss GL-100 "Guitar driver" rackmount to the modeler wave that came after the POD (which I could never not get to sound like ass).

Fender Mustang V and I did very well there, along with a Boss GT-100/001 combo. Still use all of the above in addition to a rather large live room now (almost 1k sq ft).

Towards the end of my DI-recording era I added a Mini-Mass attenuator with a silent out - with the treble boost switch on, and a Two Notes IR plugin on my DAW for processing (Blues Deluxe cab instead of the Hot Rod Deluxe it actually is, but it sounds pretty damn close).

You can get amazing sounds, if you work at it.

Learn your EQ curves, learn your tasteful application of compression and verb to simulate a room, and then get tacky.

Options I have on tap and have used successfully (even though I don't use them for it now): the little Marshall DSL-1 head has a silent out with cab sim, and it sounds damn good. Avid Eleven Rack I got on clearance mostly for the very good faux Plexi (and the speaker-breakup adjustable cab sims).

D.o.S. · Post by **D.o.S.** » Mon Nov 01, 2021 9:39 am

fcknoise wrote:Do you have any suggestions for speaker impulse responses? I have plebbed my way through everything in the built in Logic amp/speaker VST, and it all sounds like garbage

Something to keep in mind is that if you're using the DI out on the Death Metal it will already have a cab sim on it that you can't turn off.

manymanyhaha · Post by **manymanyhaha** » Mon Nov 01, 2021 11:35 am

I've sold most of my amps and am currently using various amp sims from Neural and Amplitube 4. I'm still trying to get my new setup completed but these amp sims sound anywhere between serviceable to great for my purposes.

I use Voodoo Lab Hex as effects loops for the pedals and then run direct from the Hex into a MOTU 16a. Works great.

friendship · Post by **friendship** » Mon Nov 01, 2021 12:47 pm

I've been using a POD HD for a few years. I don't like it as much as my real amp, but it still sounds pretty good. Every now and again I look at the new-and-improved amp modelers but it's unclear how big a quality difference it would be. The jump from POD 2.0 to HD was pretty significant, though.

I was thinking about splitting my signal with a DI so that I can reamp later, but it might be annoying to double my track count for dubious returns.

ilovefuzz.com

Let’s talk about making the best of the worst: going direct

Let’s talk about making the best of the worst: going direct

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