Anyone ballsy enough to not grab a DI when you record?

[Loren Littlejohn]

I don't anymore. I fuck with it till I get what I want and we do guitars straight to hard disc.

It hasn't failed me yet, but you know...

I'm almost considering selling my reamp.

 

[MEGA DAVE]

i'll buy it

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Let me sit on it.

I know the comfort level will be shitty, but at least it will be on the mind.

 

[Ermz]

A lot to be said for commitment. Props to ya.

 

[nwright]

I've never tracked DI's until my last project...and I ended up using the miked tracks and ditched the DI's.

 

[egan.]

I've never done it on heavy guitars. Honestly I've regret pickup choices more than amp settings.

 

[greyskull]

used to do it all the time. Barely ever use the Dis now. But Just in case......

 

[beyond dead]

When I track guitars, I prefer to use amp sims (if the guitarist doesnt mind) so that we can track using the monitors, rather than head phones. I find it much easier to pick up on guitarists mistakes, and nit pick performances when they are done at a low volume.

then i just reamp later usually without the band present. sometimes its better not to let the band decide which amps to use for certain things. If they are adamant about specific amps being used, then fine, if not i would rather just leave them uninvolved.
If I had a big studio where I could have my cabinet isolated in another room, and we could hear the mic'ed up cab coming through the studio monitors better, than I would probably not reamp as much.

However, when I reamp guitars, I usually use like 3 or 4 mics. not all of the tracks end up getting used. It just gives me more options when mixing.

 

[monolithsound]

When I track guitars, I prefer to use amp sims (if the guitarist doesnt mind) so that we can track using the monitors, rather than head phones. I find it much easier to pick up on guitarists mistakes, and nit pick performances when they are done at a low volume.

then i just reamp later usually without the band present. sometimes its better not to let the band decide which amps to use for certain things. If they are adamant about specific amps being used, then fine, if not i would rather just leave them uninvolved.
If I had a big studio where I could have my cabinet isolated in another room, and we could hear the mic'ed up cab coming through the studio monitors better, than I would probably not reamp as much.

I do the same thing occasionally with my POD XT Pro and Sansamp RBI. It allows me to to track at night without disturbing my wife or neighbors if a nighttime session is required.


Also, a good deal of guitarists I work with have poor judgement of what tones will work well on record. Sometimes I'd much rather track through a POD and then do the reamping by myself rather than go through the motions and still end up having to reamp anyway.

 

[Demonstealer]

Either direct from pod to audio track or mic'd amp. Never done a DI, never reamped anything. Don't think I ever want to. Get the tone from the start and work with that. I don't like having too many options.

 

[JeffTD]

I <3 DI's for editing.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Frankly I can't see a reson not to grab a DI if you have the option to. To me it sounds like driving a car without a seatbelt, just so you would drive more carefully.

 

[PostMortem1666]

I <3 DI's for editing.

Yeah same here. I will edit the guitars and then spend hours on mic positions later rather than when the band is here.

DIs save tracking time and help when editing.

 

[Jaymz]

If you can....do it

I always do now.

 

[iHate]

Never have, probably never will.

I'm just lazy.

 

[slashvanyoung]

Frankly I can't see a reson not to grab a DI if you have the option to. To me it sounds like driving a car without a seatbelt, just so you would drive more carefully.

Yeah. Taking a DI obviously doesn't necessarily mean that you won't use your initial sound. It's just nice to have them for editing and as a safety net. Why would you risk coming in a position you're not happy with or have to compromise with?

 

[Seth Munson]

there has definitely been times where I wished I had a DI and was kicking myself for not having one. so its an always here.

 

[MEGA DAVE]

see up untill now i've not used a di, just straight amp tones and have gotten pretty good at it so i wanna try the alternative

 

[RevoltStudios]

I usually don't. I got sick of the urge to tweak to death. Took the passion out and replaced it with pickiness.

 

[PhilR]

Used to most of the time, but bands keep turning up with shitty heads/cabs cos they're not prepared to pay extra to hire ours.