Hello!

I have a 6505 amp, and I'm satisfied with it, but for recording, I just can't get a good sound, whatever I make. I watched a bunch of YT videos about mic positions etc...I don't know, maybe my room is too small. So, I want to buy one of these hardware amp sims, Axe fx Ultra or the 11 rack, and using it for recording directly through USB.

The Axe Fx Ultra costs 900 euro, and the 11 rack is 350 euro on the used market, so the Ultra costs 3 times more than the 11 rack. Axe is worth the price difference?

 

Not the answer to your question specifically, but why not record DI and use different amp simulation/speaker cab emulation plugins. You'd have a lot of flexibility doing it that way. There are freeware and paid for plugins that will accomplish this task nicely.
Still, nothing beats a properly mic'd amp if you're able to achieve that. And for that you need proper mic's/preamps/convertors, etc.
I've heard good things about both the AxeFX and the 11 rack, but can't speak from personal experience.

 

Can I use my scarlett 2i4 as a DI box? Just put the cable in the scarlett isntead of the guitar cabinet?

 

Honestly, I wouldn't spend the money right now until you've experimented. also, I have an axe fx xl plus and it was a learning curve. 11 rack is outdated and no longer gets support. the ultra no longer gets updates. I can vouch for the EZMIX metal packs being decent as well as lepou plugins and I have heard great things about BIAS. but if you do spend the money on hardware, just go for the newest axe fx or kemper. and axe fx even has a pedal board version called the AX8 now for a good chunk less than the full size rack mount.

 

Also, I thought Id just mention, after having the axe fx for right up under a year I sold all my amps and cabs. no use for them and I have more space. getting a decent tone is much easier and faster with the axe fx.

 

This isn't even fully mixed. just quad tracked with bass. All Axe FX https://www.dropbox.com/s/1r3jevs8wg6e0nq/tone .mp3?dl=0

 

If you like the 6505 I would look into the Torpedo Live also.
http://www.two-notes.com/en/torpedo-live

 

I could be wrong.. but something tells me that likely will not work. The DI is meant to be between your guitar and interface.
You could try it and see.. but there might be some mismatch issues, some electronics could get fried. I'm not going to
google it for you... that might be a good place to learn the effects from others who tried or made the mistake.

I have the 11 rack..and at a fraction of the price of ax fx, and kemper, it might be worthwhile to score one used.. (not new )
on ebay or whatever... and try that out.. some reviewers find it to be quite sufficient. For me meh.. it's ok...
I wish I had bought mine used as well.. the ax fx and kemper are 3-4x more... and probably of a higher quality..if you want to pay

Also try Scuffham amps.. didn't see that mentioned yet... but it sounds the best so far to me for software modeling

There are some nice tube DI's but they run over a grand in price as well... a cheap passive DI probably isn't going to cut it for you
however... probably a nice active one in the $200 up range might be worthwhile.. there are many to research.. again too many
to list here...

 

I exclusively use the two 3ch Ignite Amp's preamp VSTs plus the wonderful Henry Olonga hi-REZ amp IRs now....all available free.

Since your 6505 has a preamp out add a cab IR. Also try the free tube amp sim from Ignite Amps. Make sure the preamp out is not ruined by some awful cab sim with resistors. IF so use the EFX SEND.
Keep your amp plugged into the speaker cab........so the transformer doesn't melt.
Plug a volume pedal into the efx return if too much sound is coming out of the guitar speaker.

Just set your Scarlett 2i4 switch to INST if you are plugging your guitar directly in.

Digitech GSP1101 is surprisingly a great rack unit with the ability to load 10 IRs. If I still had one I could load up an acoustic IR for my piezo and some of the recent IR offerings that sound incredible.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jul 8, 2017

Torpedo Live or Suhr Reload to use your amp with cab impulses

 

Yeah, you don't want to plug the cab output of the amp into your interface unless you have something like a Hughes and Kettner Red Box that will take a cab level output and reduce the signal to a level the interface will accept. Otherwise, you'll likely fry the interface preamp, the amp output, or both.
If the 2i4 accepts an instrument input (appears it does by others responses here), try recording the guitar dry and then use some of the amp Sims and cab Sims others have recommended. I like the Mercurial JCM 800 Hot and Nebula with Kalthallen Cabs presets. There is a plethora of options when you do it this way. Also, if you can run the dry DI back into the amp, you can experiment with micing the amp while an actual guitar track is playing through it. This is how I record guitars. It gives me the option to choose a different amp setup without having to replay the part. Alot of people like to run a tube screamer or other type overdrive/distortion pedal and record that as their DI.

 

maybe I'm missing something.. you would still need a DI box after the effect ?

or you mean something like this.. Guitar -> TS -> DI -> interface

 

Sorry, @Herr Durr, I realize I wasn't very clear with that. Chain would be guitar->TS pedal ->DI box (if the interface doesn't have instrument input) ->interface. I use my ART Pro MPA II preamp as the DI box. I feel that effectively replaces the need for the pedal. Personally, I haven't used a pedal yet, but some guitarists say it helps with the "fizz" you get from some cab simulations. Never had this issue using Nebula Cabs followed by R2R Wollensak.

 

excellent idea.. as well as excellent taste.. haha... I have one of these as well.. did you do a tube upgrade on it?
and how are your results using this? I suppose you are indeed happy with this chain ?

 

11rack (w/ expansion) sounds really great at a fraction of the money for AxeFX. I really like it!

I recorded this track using the 11 rack on guitars (i just used a couple of presets and tweaked a little). It also has a lot of input/output options (AES/EBU, Spdif, mic input, Bal, Unbal, XLR in/out, midi in/out, fx loop) and auto adjusts its input impedence based on the impedance of what's plugged into it.

 

Last edited: Jul 9, 2017

If you like your 6505 and if it is just for recording... go to tse x50 vst ... plug and play .... and record .... forget all these outdated expensive piece of HW in your case. (Even if they still sound quiété good)

 

The newest Axe fx is out of my budget. I also tried a couple VST plugin, TSE X50, Amplitube, BIAS, Revalver. The TSE X50 and Revalver are the best for me, but you can clearly hear that these are amp sims. The HW amp sims, like the 11 rack is maybe between these two I think...amp sim < 11rack < real amp.
Is the vocal recording quality good enough by 11 rack? I mean would be worse compared to scarlett 2i4?

 

I never recorded vocals through my 11rack. Cant help you with that. But i have to say i still use my elven rack even i got my kemper right next to it in the studio. It is still a great piece of gear for an allround studio amp. So depends what you wanna achiev. Do you want an amp that does all jobs in the studio ok. Or a specialist that sound wonderfull in some jobs.

If you want the metal sound of your 6505 (which i guess), stick with it and a nice loadbox like torpedo. Dont touch the eleven rack than. Belive me you will regret it. Like I said its a nice pice of gear and i love it but for metall tones if i could choose in the studiio between the 11 and a 6505? Day and night - i ll push you aside and grab the peavey faster you can say 6505. I am really lazy and not a big fan anymore of micing or setting up amps XD. But again for a metall sound between a 11r and a 6505 i would allways invest the time to setup the amp.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jul 8, 2017

@Herr Durr, I love mine so much I got another. I haven't tubed them yet. Wasn't really looking for alot of color. Just wanted something to give that sheen to vocal tracks. But I'm putting it to use for a lot more things now. For DI'ing and reamping, that thing is a beast.
I'm actually running my 2 bus through it and an ART MPC. Emulations are nice, but nothing beats a real tube, imo.

@venndi, have you tried separate cab Sims at all? The plugs you referenced all have the cab Sims built in, I think. The magic in simulations really lies in the cabinet simulation method imo. Especially if it's metal tones you're after. There's a website (ultimate guitar I think) that has loads of reading and tips on this subject.

 

ART makes some nice stuff. The Pro Channel I had is a mic pre, comp, eq that can be used all in line OR separately. How cool it that?
IF you like ART stuff just become a independent contractor/seller for Yorkville. It was easy a few years ago.