Reamping Good or Bad?

[sk8ersick666]

This has probable been asked already but either way...


Ok this is something that has me a bit confused so i figure i'd turn to the pros here in this forum to answer this

I keep hearing mixed opinions about reamping, some people tell me is not like recording real live guitar and that you don't get true real guitar sound with it. Others tell me reamping should be the only logical way to record a guitar.

My opinion, reamping is the smartest idea ever, it saves soooo much time tracking. You can concentrate on getting the best take and then worry about guitar tone later in production.

So my question is, what do u think? Is reamping good or bad? What are the ups and downs of reamping? Do you lose anything in the guitar sound/dynamic, etc?

I honestly don't see a problem with it, I mean, bottom line is it is you playing through a tube amp, is just the computer playing it back. And i know i may get bashed on here for even asking but i've heard it a few times already and i'd really like to know why someone would think that this is not the best way to go.

let me know

 

[narcossintese]

why someone would think that this is not the best way to go.

Is there anyone who thinks like that?

 

[if6was9]

Got a re amp box recently enough, used it on a couple of projects. Would have saved so much time in projects I've done before. I don't see how it can be a bad thing. The bands I'm using it with also think its great.
I've never seen the downside to it- It's not like its not them playing guitar on the takes, they still have to record the takes and play it well. All it does is give more options for tone later on in the project.

 

[Full_Tilt]

some people tell me is not like recording real live guitar and that you don't get true real guitar sound with it.

There are some boffins who say you cant reproduce the same kind of interaction between the guitar speaker and guitar strings for things like feedback sustaining technique because when you go to reamp the split clean D.I track (the split amp track has also been recorded on another track) the strings are still resonating from the old amp sound and not the new. (the standing in front of the amp while you split the signal method)
I personally think its a small price to pay but with a little work on specific parts I'm sure these could be dropped in live but not sure how much difference it would really make.
Probably not much.

 

[madbutcher]

You apparently haven't been on this forum long with a question like that

 

[Sacha]

I can see that point a little bit, you play to the tone when you are recording so the feel might be a bit different when reamping. But with modern Metal you are probably reamping with a similar tone, so it's not as relevant.

 

[sk8ersick666]

You apparently haven't been on this forum long with a question like that

yep, i havent been on the forum long

and i'm also pretty new to recording

 

[egan.]

I think reamping is a great technique that can save a record.
I also think that there is no substitute for having a guitar player react to the amp their tone is coming through. Most guys are going to adjust their technique based on the amp response.
I also think there is value in making decisions throughout the recording process. I realize I'm in the minority here with that.
My ideal is to take a DI as a safety but to get the tone you want on the way in.

 

[Tommy Gun]

I think reamping is a great technique that can save a record.
I also think that there is no substitute for having a guitar player react to the amp their tone is coming through. Most guys are going to adjust their technique based on the amp response.
I also think there is value in making decisions throughout the recording process. I realize I'm in the minority here with that.
My ideal is to take a DI as a safety but to get the tone you want on the way in.

+100

I like the idea of reamping as a backup plan/safety net. I think it's lazy to not try and achieve the tone you want right off the bat. The guitar tone deserves as much attention during tracking as anything else. You wouldn't slack on drum micing and checking phase.... would you?:Smug:

 

[Force666]

guitar > amp

is going to be different than

guitar>di>preamp>ad conv>da conv>reamp box>amp

So in a sense, they are right. But, that doesn't mean you can't get a great tone through reamping.

Although I will say I don't think recording (monitoring) through a 5150 and reamping it through a Recto is that great an idea, for the reason of the amp interaction like has been stated.

Reamping is more of a safety net than a first choice I think.

 

[Kazrog]

With a proper DI and a good reamp box, pristine converters, and most importantly a great guitarist with a quality guitar, I don't think there is any disadvantage to reamping, especially if the tone used in monitoring is at least ballpark.

 

[Metaltastic]

With a proper DI and a good reamp box, pristine converters, and most importantly a great guitarist with a quality guitar, I don't think there is any disadvantage to reamping, especially if the tone used in monitoring is at least ballpark.

Agreed!

 

[::XeS::]

I agree that reamp shouldn't be a first choice, but I think that you can find the right guitar sound only when you have all the instruments recorded.
Sometimes you can nail the right sound when you record, but if at the end of the recordings you need a different sound it's very usefull

 

[006]

With a proper DI and a good reamp box, pristine converters, and most importantly a great guitarist with a quality guitar, I don't think there is any disadvantage to reamping, especially if the tone used in monitoring is at least ballpark.

+1

I think most people are overly worried about this topic...

 

[GarethSE]

For metal, I'm 100% for re-amping.

For any Avant-Garde shit, the tone I'm playing through has to be the tone that gets commited "to tape."
For Doom and Drone shit, it's even more important that the tone is perfect.
But yeah, metal? Don't worry too much.

 

[Dalinkwent48@aim.com]

Look at a ReAmp as an insurance company...Even if you have a perfect driving record you could still crash that car one day and bam the insurance company is there and instead of paying a shit ton of money to fix it (depending on the situation) you pay the deductable..if you think you got a killer tone going in and then all of a sudden you crash and dont like the tone...theres your D.I. patiently waiting on the back burner...itll save you time in the long run...you might not always need it but its good to have

 

[Jaymz]

I decided reamping was the way for my EP guitar tracks before I even started. Recorded with my current cab and will reamp with a new one when I get one, ive got no quarms with it.

 

[narcossintese]

I think that the argument of "adjust your playing based on the feedback that you´re hearing" is valid, but not always against reamping. I´ve seen guitar players smashing the strings (in a bad way) while quadtracking because they weren´t feeling the distortion with so little gain. I remember that when I´ve bought my ReAmp box, the first test that I did was tracking a bass using Sansamp BDDI parallel output (DI) and the normal output (processed) at the same time, and then reamping the DI (without changing the settings on BDDI) to see if it would result in a different tone than the "normal output" one. I couldn´t tell the difference and I really doubt that anyone who says that reamping affects the tone could tell which track was reamped on a blind test.

 

[Tommy Gun]

Look at a ReAmp as an insurance company...Even if you have a perfect driving record you could still crash that car one day and bam the insurance company is there and instead of paying a shit ton of money to fix it (depending on the situation) you pay the deductable..if you think you got a killer tone going in and then all of a sudden you crash and dont like the tone...theres your D.I. patiently waiting on the back burner...itll save you time in the long run...you might not always need it but its good to have

+100
exactly... i'm not "against" reamping. i think EVERY recording should have those di's just in case. i just don't think people should rely on reamping, and therefor put less effort into the tone on the way in.

 

[chimp_spanner]

I wish to GOD I had've been recording DI at the same time for my CD. I'm holding off Metal Foundry intentionally because if I change my drum sound, I'll have to change my guitar tone, and I'll have to re-record. So I'm just gunna agree with just about everyone here and say do it do it do it. It won't do you any harm to have that insurance, anyway. Try not to rely soley on it, but know that it's there if you need it.