Bounce to audio or freeze in Cubase for guitar DI tracks when using an amp simulator?

["Evil" Aidy]

When using an amp simulator in your DAW (e.g. Amplitube, Revalver, Wagner) do you guys bounce the track to audio to create another track to be imported back into the project, or do you simply freeze the selected DI channel in Cubase for guitar DI tracks when using an amp sim?

How do you guys do it? Is there any difference in sound quality or PC performance?

I use Cubase SX3 by the way.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I freeze it. As far as I can tell there is not difference CPU usage wise.

 

[Machinated]

Id export it as an audio file, so you can have more control over the edits (for example taking out noise in gaps etc). Fair enough you can edit the DI, but it doesn't exactly sound the same as doing it after the amp sim.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Id export it as an audio file, so you can have more control over the edits (for example taking out noise in gaps etc). Fair enough you can edit the DI, but it doesn't exactly sound the same as doing it after the amp sim.

Ah yeah I understand what you mean, I think you probably have a bit more freedom this way. I've always done it this way in the past but my project got a bit cluttered with all the DI tracks AND bounced tracks. I think I need to create some track folders n' stuff next!

Do you take this approach with lead guitar and bass too?

 

[mintcheerios]

I freeze because I'm lazy.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

I freeze because I'm lazy.

I'm kinda lazy too plus when I bounce to audio it takes my PC around 4 - 5 mins per track.

Freeze is only slightly less time fom what I can tell.

 

[Machinated]

Well on my current system (8 core, 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM), I have never even got close to having to freeze things with TONS of plugins. I'm talking about a lot of reverbs, delays, drumagogs, CSP's, metric halo's - anything! I don't think I have even gone past 25% for that matter....

Native FTW!

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

I only freeze tracks running amp sims because even with a quad core they still eat up more CPU than I want them to.

 

[Torniojaws]

Well on my current system (8 core, 2.8GHz, 4GB RAM), I have never even got close to having to freeze things with TONS of plugins. I'm talking about a lot of reverbs, delays, drumagogs, CSP's, metric halo's - anything! I don't think I have even gone past 25% for that matter....

Native FTW!

Try having 5 guitar tracks with Wagner Sharp + CurveEQ + Impulse on each track (along with all the usual stuff, drums, VST-instruments, master channel plugs etc) That combo brings any computer to its knees

 

[cobhc]

Freezing is better in some ways, because you can just unfreeze and tweak the amp settings, then re-freeze. Much easier and faster than reimporting the di and such.

 

[SpewChunks]

I have a shitty old pc, so i like to get my amp sim settings the way i want, solo two mono tracks at a time panned hard L/R. and export the tracks in 'stereo split', kill two birds with one stone kinda thing.

edit:
+ i think its better to export and re-import, because you can always quickly make comparisons between your DI with inserts and the imported tracks.

 

[Amberience]

It doesn't really matter. Internally, they're both the same operation. Freeze is the same as render, but does a few things automatically for you that you'd have to do manually if you were to render, such as:

Turning off effects and instruments
creating new tracks for the renders
muting the old track