Assuming that You have an audio interface with low latency ASIO drivers, what is Your (or the best) way to bring Your guitar in a DAW for recording and playing through the various Amp simulations (Amplitube, Revalver, Bias, and similar)

- First, if Your interface does not have some preamps, You will need a DI Box, or a Preamp, or a set of Active pickups... anything that will bring Your Guitar signal to usable levels by Your line inputs in Your interface.
(if You have a Hi Z input, or a interface with some good preamps, than You can just plug Your guitar in, without DI boxes, separate preamps and things)

- In the Control Panel of Your Interface (proprietary mixer) You adjust the signal level so it doesn`t clip.

...so now the guitar signal is ready for going to a Input BUS of a DAW of Your choice.
and here comes the question of this thread:
What plugins do You use after that Input BUS to optimize the signal of Your Guitar for using it on various Amp sims ?
(Since Cubase VST 32 I have always left my input bus empty, and put my plugins in the channel where I routed that BUS, so that I can record my guitar signal dry and unprocessed in the first channel after the input bus.)

- The plugins that I use are:
1. L1 Limiter (waves)
2. SSL G-Channel or SSL Channel (waves)

L1 Limiter:
I use it set to -0.3 db, just in case to limit any clipping that may occur
No dithering, shaping... nothing! just limiting.

SSL Channel:
I use it for sight EQ corrections, very slight low and high cut, and some subtle compression if it is needed.

So, to resume; the signal goes this way:
Guitar --> DI Box --> Audio Interface --> Leveling on the proprietary mixer of the Audio Interface --> Input bus on a DAW without plugins --> Dry Recording channel in a DAW --> Group with all the plugins and sims --> back to a channel designated for recording a processed signal --> Output from a DAW for listening as You play.

What You guys use, and how do You route the guitar signal, to make that Amp sims sound as good as possible ?
Do You use any dithering, do You cut any frequencies, what plugins You find to be of good use for preparing the signal ...

 

I have many...
Tokai LP, Fender Strat, Ibanez RG 550XX, Telecaster, Gibson SG and so on...

The results are consistent except for the output levels of different pickups that have to be adjusted on the audio interface mixer, so they don`t clip.

Using any compression in front of the interface destroys the character of the guitars in my case

EDIT:
this post is obsolete, since funktoe deleted the post before it

 

Last edited: Nov 27, 2015

You are playing in a different League...then me...
I am in the no dough one...
Cheers....

 

Don`t be fooled... a no name guitar can sound as good as a Branded Gibson or Fender, if setup right and with a good set of pickups if it is well constructed (and most of them are)

You already made the most important modifications... it remains to asses if the frets are seated well on the fretboard and if the material of the bridge and nut is acceptable.
It may not sound as a 1959 aged Les Paul, but it can sound as a brand new Les Paul, or very close.

(ps. no need to delete Your posts... it was not completely off topic)

 

Last edited: Nov 23, 2015

Fair enough but..

What is this for? Your signal shouldn't be anywhere near clipping but if for some reason it is, how is a vst limiter going to make any difference?

 

I plug Guitars into my Focusrite pro 40 DI and just use Guitar rig or Amplitube. I have not used anything on the input chain and also from what I read it will not get recorded.( I could be wrong on this but it's what I read) I have used some compression / limiter and some EQ after the amp to keep it under control. . I was think about getting a external tube preamp ( nothing really expensive ) but I have not gotten around to it yet. I have been very happy with the sound I have gotten so far. Rock, funk have not had an issue yet.

 

I agree and disagree. They might sound good or similar, but nothing sounds like an aged Stratocaster > nothing. And lets not get in to playability. Good guitars play better. but the end result also is a good player. if you give a novice a good guitar it will sound like a novice playing it.

 

@kouros
I have a limiter `cause my guitar signal is set fairly high on the audio interface mixer (just below clipping), but when selecting different pickups, sometimes some clipping do occur.

It is set "high" because most simulations require a high and clear signal to sound right ... so, I prefer to provide it directly from the guitar, instead of attenuating it on the interface, and later boosting it after the Input Bus.

It is just my way of doing it, not a fact... am I doing it Wrong ?

 

apsolutely!

 

If it clips at the input, it's clipped. VST limiters won't solve that.

You should track guitar at a much lower level and adjust the input gain in your ampsim if needed. Many ampsims don't like to be slammed with hot signal because their "sweetspot" for breakup and crunch is well below that.

 

TS808 free vst before any amp sim with drive at 0 and tone open to taste. That's what I do almost everytime.

 

You can use Kramer HLS from waves for the pre-amp phase...

i assume that it will sounds so close to a real pre-amp...

anyway cables... i had tested my guitar with so many cables, some of them, are so good that the sound clip even of the gain-knob on the interface is low, some cable i tested, i had to gain it up in order to have the same signal level...

i think it has some kind of an impact on the dry sound signal of a guitar, i'll test your techniques as soon as i get a new floyd-rose xd!

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I will test that in my setup.
Tho`, this was always a confusing topic to me, when dealing with amp sims: "what is the ideal signal strength ? " ...I mean, the one that the developers of the sim would regard as "Ideal"

 

Guitar > SPL Crimson Instrument Input > Amplitube

It does a good job with both the signal level, and the quality of conversion.

 

Last edited: Nov 23, 2015

@Zenarcist
€425 new, seems acceptable if it works as intended...

how are the converters, and, are the preamps of a good quality?

The right amount of connections for a home setup ... when the time to upgrade comes, I will consider it
For the moment I`m on an old PCI (Terratec EWS88 MT/D) ...very low latency, and still working after 10+ years.

 

That's up to you to test with the input signal within your software. Just don't track anything near the point of clipping. You can get rid of the waves limiter too.

 

I have several guitars with different outputs (single coils, humbuckers, P90 etc..) and basses. I use a GT Pro or a Gigitech RP 355 at least as DI, that means no effect no nothing (or just a little comp), just using levels before plug into my Focusrite 18i20, then go to the amp sim. Almost only using IK Multimedia Amplitube and got a fantastic sound.

Yes the leveling is extremely important leveling the input to the Audio interface, and leveling the input of the virtual amp, because the amp distortion (even if virtual) is level dependent.

The other thing is that I always adapt any preset to each guitar, and most of the time I change it so much that I end up with a very different setup than the preset that inspired it.

 

TBH, if I was going to get a new interface I would probably go with RME (3x more expensive!) for the drivers. But I would still keep my Crimson for tracking my guitars, synths, condenser mic (using the built-in pre) and also for listening to music. SPL is quite good at the analog stage, the converters are fine (quiet) and it has low latency, but it can get a bit temperamental if you push it too hard with a lot of tracks (although that may just be my old computer, 1.7 quadcore/4GB Ram, so you may want to research it!). However, I don't regret buying it as it does most things very well.

Also shop around for the price, as I have seen it a bit lower.

 

Last edited: Nov 23, 2015

I sometimes use this if I need a small gain/trim before Amplitube, although if you know of something better let me know!

 

Last edited: Nov 23, 2015

I just tried the Kramer NLS channel of waves, suggested by @MrLyannMusic, and it sounded great on the first try...
tho, I have to read all the pdf to understand all that it does and how to use it at it`s best