Preparing your tracks for reamping: A Guide

Yes, unless there is a pad on the focusrite pres, you'll need to buy a suitable DI. You will probably get better results out of a good DI anyway.
 
Hmzz 2 bad :( Just thought that if the firepod is really good, i should be good with my saffire pro.

btw: what do you mean with pad on the focusrite pres?
 
Some pres have a pad switch, usually something like -20db, this would solve the clipping problem you're speaking about when using your EMGs. I'm not sure if the focusrite ones have a pad or not.
 
Hmz i just read the whole thread again, took me like 2 hours while watching a movie, i saw guitarhack(if i'm not wrong) talking about the pick-up height. Guess my emg is
quite hot 2!!! however... the thing i don't understand: How could it be sounding pretty damn good directly on an amp while it's "clipping" like hell :s

Anyway i'm gonna lower and see :)

Oh and btw: I guess the saffire has pads on it. Cuz i can switch to instrument level or to line level on the first 2 inputs.
 
JJO said:
Hmzzz i just wanted to use my Focusrite Pro 26 as a clean signal for the reamping. Now i got instrument level inputs i can use. However the instrument level inputs totally clip the hell out me with EMG's. Even if i bring the gain knob from the focusrite to like 0, like 7o'clock. Now if i put my other guitar in, there's no problem using the instrument level input. I even have to bring up the gain a bit. So does this mean i just can't use the instrument level inputs of my focusrite? Do i have to buy a DI anyway.

Did found this info on the instrument level inputs of the focusrite, but to be honest. I lost you guys on all the calculations :p it's probably easy as hell but still XD

Instrument Inputs
• Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/- 0.1dB
• THD+N: 0.004% (measured with 0dBu input and 20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
• Noise: -87dBu (20Hz/22kHz bandpass filter)
Click to expand...


Same here, does it with all my guitars.
 
Ok so i was talking about re-amping on another fourm and i quoted Mutent when explaining about the signal loss from certain d.i's
The formula:

voltage% = di box input impedance/(source impedance+di box input impedance)*100

So lets see what % of your signal will you get if you connect your passive humbucker (37403ohm) directly to:

Bellari RP220 with 600ohm input impedance:

600/(37403+600)*100
=1,578822725%
One and a half mothersucking % !!!

J48: (220000ohm)

220000/(37403+220000)*100
=85,46908933%
OK but not great

Type 48: (10000000ohm)

10000000/(37403+10000000)*100
=99,62736377%
No comment ! Numbers don't lie .

Demeter VTDB-2B: (27000000ohm)

27000000/(37403+27000000)*100
=99,86166201%
Click to expand...

One of the guys wrote this back

The thing with DIing for reamping is not that you get the absolute maximum from your pickups. Guitar tone is generally as much about what you lose as what you keep.

The guy talks in percentages but fails to factor in for example the resistence of the pots in the guitar circuit. These are there as much for the effect they have on the sound as anything else. If more signal was "better" you could just get rid of them completely.

Take a humbucker equipped Gibson-style guitar: generally they have 1 x 500 k volume and 1 x 500 k tone wired in parallel giving a total resistence of 250 k Ohm. Change over to 1 meg pots or just wire the pickups directly to the output and see do you like the difference. You will certainly be getting more of the signal from you pickups but does this sound better? For high-gain stuff, maybe yes, for cleaner stuff probably no.

Get a DI like the Radial JDV which has variable input impedance from 3.9 M down to 200 k and experiment. Install push-pull pots to your guitar circuit to allow you to take the volume and tone pots completely out of the circuit.

Fully open at 3.9 M Ohms and using the formula you get

3900000/(37403+3900000)*100 = 99.05% or so.

This would be rated as good, and I'm sure in the case of an active bass or an acoustic guitar pickup it probably is, but I can tell you that for reamping this sounds like complete ass in my experience. You are trying to get your guitar to behave like it does when plugged into an amp, you are not trying to get the maximum signal from it. You are trying to get it sounding musical.

Just applying the formula to the same pickup into your average amp it would be
1000000/[37403+250000(volume and tone pots)+1000000(amp input)*100 = 77.68%

And in my experience I have found that even a bit less than 1 MOhm for the amp input works better in a lot of cases (which when worked out according to the formula would score even less)

And of course these percentages are failing to take into the account pickup inductance and cable capacitance and how they interact with one another and the resistence to create the sound
Click to expand...

Can someone tell me if he is right about the amp only seeing 77.68% of tone anyway when pluged straight in?
 
actofvengence,

Yeah it makes sense for an amp to not see 100% of the signal. It all depends on the input impedance of the amp, so naturally, it will be different for different amps.

Also, since a DI track is usually reamped, it makes more sense to get as much of the signal as possible, since the signal is going to be sent through the amp when reamping. So, while a J48 might be more accurate in regards to the input impedance of an amp according to the formula above, thats ignal is then going to be reamped and meet up with the input amp impedance.

Maybe if you're using an amp sim you might want a DI that has the same input impedance as an amp, but if you're going to reamp, it seems like you want as close to 100% of the signal as possible. Of course, the percentage of the signal that is actually recorded also depends on the input impedance of your mic preamps etc. etc.
 
GAHHH, that thing is supposed to be so fucking horrible...check out the reviews here ("Not your buddy" hahahaha :lol: ) If you wanna be cheap just get the Samson S Direct
 
Mmm I've had an AudioBuddy for years & it's fine as a really cheap mic pre for vox & bass. Never had a problem.

So I guess from your response it will technically work as a direct box but isn't recommended from the reviews! Might look into the Samson S Direct Box instead as it's so cheap.
 
To be honest...

the audio buddy is one of the shittiest preamps i've ever worked with. It's like a honda accord... it get's the job done, but there is nothing special about it.

Any work i've ever done with condensor microphones with the audio budddy (for shits and giggles) has never gone well.

Sometimes taking that extra benjamin out of your wallet is almost essential... especially if you are looking for a quality preamp.
 
i borrowed the radial pro48 from a friend to record bass on my last project, and i wasn't dissapointed at all with it.
 
No problem man - by the way guys, I know this obsession with impedances has largely passed, but I thought you all would be interested to know, the $50 Tapco DB-1A has an input impedance of 10 MOhms according to the Tapco spec sheet - HOT DAMN that's some impedance! Might have to nab that one for the shootout I'm doing...
 
But....if I have a DI box and some instrument inpunt's on my soundcard...is it better to run the DIbox out through a mic input or it doesn't matter?
I mean, an instrument input is a DI...so if I put a DI output into another DI...I don't know..
 
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