Re-amp DI's, how hot?

[mirflee]

I'm curious to find out how people would track their DI's to re-amp later on in the process. I was always told in practice to keep it between -3db to -6db for extra headroom but there are stems I've downloaded, YouTube videos suggesting to have it just before clipping. Having done that, I found it would require 3db of gain from my interface, colouring the tone even the slightest.

 

[H-evolve]

I've had that headache for some time myself. I wouldn't say that I concluded that chapter, but lately I've decided to record the DIs for reamping relatively hot (peaking at -2dB approximately).

I don't record the reamped tracks that hot of course, but the decision to go for DIs relatively hot is that, as you pointed out, I don't need to amplify the signal as much when reamping.

It made sense in my mind...! XD

 

[Redline4]

To match the level needed to reproduce a guitar going through an amp, when reamping, I usually record my DI's pretty hot. Almost clipping. It doesn't really matter since you'll be distorting it a lot when reamping (for anything mid to high gain). So I'd sugget as hot as possible without clipping too much. It also helps the signal to noise ratio (which is especially important with electric guitars and bass). But there are no wrong or rights. Experiment and see what fits the best for your workflow. But yeah, don't much about it. Headroom is far more important when you'll be mixing the reamped tracks.

 

[newamerikangospel]

If I am going raw into an interface, I will keep it around -12. I find myself digging into preamps, to pull that color out of a DI, so they sometimes get pretty hot. I will never clip, though.