When i record my band, the bassplayer goes into the board thru a direct box.
I dont have a speaker emulator or box to record my guitar with.
What is the cheapest most effective box to use get a useful guitar track when going into the board without a mic'd amp?
Comments
If you only need clean guitar, plug into the board like the bass
If you only need clean guitar, plug into the board like the bass player. But for like $15 you get one of those battery pocket sized amps with a speaker and put a mic on that. I'm serious. I recorded with one of those, it was a Marshall. The guitar players amp blew-up one night and so I grabbed the littel sucker, stuck in a closet with a 421 on it through a Neve 1272, and it blew us all away with the tone we captured. More than good enough for the demo we were doing.
Cheap? http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/trash/ For
Cheap?
http://www.izotope.com/products/audio/trash/
For $199, this thing can get you insane mileage. It's DXi software though, so you need a compatible host program.
Listen to a couple of the demo MP3s.
Edit: Woops, didn't notice "when going into the board"... my mistake. Still, worth looking into.
The cheapest and most effective box would be the "NOBOX". It's s
The cheapest and most effective box would be the "NOBOX". It's seriouly the only thing I'd even consider for getting useful guitar tracks when I don't have a nice big amp/cab around. The things cost close to nothing, and takes up almost no space.
Other then that, why don't you try one of the BOSS distortino pedel, 20 bucks, mix it in with a bit of the direct. Dip down somewhere around 400Hz..
There is nothing like a real speaker. I'm sure that you could f
There is nothing like a real speaker. I'm sure that you could find something used for very little money. There must be hundreds of people who thought they could be the next Hendrix or Clapton who bought one of those "complete" guitar kits for $200.00. Pick up one of those practice amps for $15.00 from someone who found out that you actually have to practice. When I used to work at a music store we would buy them for $5.00 and re-sell for $20.00. (We used to buy the guitars for $20.00 and sell for $50.00. There was a local guy who would buy 5 at a time at $30.00 a pop once a month so he could smash them in his Who tribute show!)
Back about 30 years ago went to see Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen at a local theatre. The road crew arrived after the audience did. The drums went up, there was an Acoustic 140 for the bass player, Rhodes and Clavinet into a Twin and Champ Amps went up for the guitarists. Total set-up time about 15 minutes. Mic checks lasted about 5 minutes, the show started on time and the sound was fantastic! So you don't need a "great" amp to sound great, just the ability and knowledge to get good sound from what you have.
Peace,
Uncle Bob
:p:
Sometimes circumstances dictate that you HAVE to record direct.
Sometimes circumstances dictate that you HAVE to record direct. (Neighbors, need total isolation so that you can redo your solos later, etc.)
That doesn't mean you can't eventually end up with a real amp sound. At a later date just run the previously recorded direct signal back through a guitar amp and mic it and rerecord it onto another track. This is a tried and true technique called "reamping". Can be used for bass and other things too.
Pat, Personally I use a Line 6 POD when I need to record guitar
Pat,
Personally I use a Line 6 POD when I need to record guitar tracks and am not in a situation where mic'ing an amp is viable. I've also used it instead of mic'ing a cab. Bands that record in my studio often use my POD to record tracks in addition to tracks done with mic'ed up cabs or even just use the POD.
The POD does not give you a sound that's the same as a mic'ed up cab, but it does give you a "useful guitar track" in my opinion, albeit a very compressed one.
There are many inexpensive direct recording pre amps available. Which one is best for you depends on what type of guitar sounds you want. I would suggest going to a guitar store and trying a few out.
Pete.
Get a used Pod on eBay. I don't subscribe to the "Wal-mart amp
Get a used Pod on eBay. I don't subscribe to the "Wal-mart amp and a microphone" idea. If you have to dig that deep you might as well get something that is a proven and decent solution, even if it doesn't beat mic'ed Marshall, Boogie or Soldano stacks. If you don't have an amp yet you can also consider a Line6 amp with built-in modeling. These things are amazing (and even Uncle Kurt admitted to using it live ... :cool: .
MisterBlue.
PODS sound horrorible, they do not sound remotely real, they com
PODS sound horrorible, they do not sound remotely real, they compress the hell out of whatever you put into it, if you can't record a guitar through an amp everthing is lost. But just for practice without having to lugg around your stack is where a POD really comes in handy, to use it in a studio for recording is rediculious, unless your really going for that fake digitaly emulated sound have fun. If you must go direct get a cheap direct box and some pedals.
Hello, this is my first post so you might wanna take this with a
Hello, this is my first post so you might wanna take this with a grain of salt. I am not sure of the price but for getting a pretty good guitar sound when I don't or cant use my cabinets, I use the Tubeman Guitar recording station by Hughs & Kettner. It is very versatile and it sounds great when used for a clean or crunchy sound.
There are many ways to do what you wish. the previous posts give
There are many ways to do what you wish. the previous posts give you some options. It amazes me (not really) how we can be so sure that only one way is right. I prefer real amps whenever possible. But to say you can never use a pod, pedal, cigarette-pack amp, etc. and to state doing so is ludicrous shows a closed mind....Geoff Emerick was told many times that he shouldn't do certain things...thankfully he didn't listen.
I like to use my Trademark 10 (10-watt amp) mic'd with an SM57 .
I like to use my Trademark 10 (10-watt amp) mic'd with an SM57 ...I can get some pretty huge sounds out of that thing! It's also got the SansAmp XLR out, if you'd rather go that route (too sterile for my ears).
I made the mistake of using a "Rockman" once, there was NO WAY to polish the turds I produced that day!! :)
-Mr. Moon
I like an old Gibson Skylark with the single 8" speaker. It's l
I like an old Gibson Skylark with the single 8" speaker. It's like $200 for the amp and it's the REAL deal. IMHO Marshall stacks aren't the greatest sounding amps for recording. The Gibson works well because I don't use lots of distortion and I am a tremolo slut.
Tim Stoel
Lately its been the Fender Blues Jr.or the 1970 Princeton with t
Lately its been the Fender Blues Jr.or the 1970 Princeton with the added midrange knob....the blues Jr. through the Dallas Arbiter 4-12 w/the original speakers is a very nice sound, either clean or broken up. Usually this gets an old unidyne SM57 and an ADK A51...Sometimes I'll stick the ATM25 on by itself for that big compressed low-end kinda thang.
Hey Pat. I'm surprised no one has asked the two most obvious qu
Hey Pat. I'm surprised no one has asked the two most obvious questions here:
1. As an electric guitar player, do you have an amp to play through? And what microphones do you have access to?
2. If the answer to the first question above is "yes," why are you choosing to go direct through a board instead of attempting to get a great sound at your amp?
I guess I'm just a little surprised that with a recording setup for a whole band, with a mixer involved, you'd choose to turn off the amp and record a guitar direct.
In my opinion, there really is absolutely no real substitute for an amp pushing real air into a real microphone. That's already been stated here, I know. Whether you're talking about a stand alone box, such as the Pod, or a DAW plug in, such as Amp Farm, you just can't faithfully emulate the real thing. Why is this not an option for your situation?
Yeah I have a Fuxtone Slime Sux.. it sucks for recording. I had
Yeah I have a Fuxtone Slime Sux.. it sucks for recording. I had a client insist on using it to record and I went with it but I didn't have to like it.. :D
Real OK for live. Could be better but it is so darned handy. Fast too.. Walk in plug it into the wall, hook up the floorboard. Done. Tuner, wah wah stomp boxs, no batteries. Tone?? ehhh! But the drunks don't listen anyhow..
The best thing I have for recording direct guitar, distorted or otherwise is a Mesa Boogie V Twin.. kicks ass! Probably about the same thing as the Tubeman Guitar recording station by Hughs & Kettner that Max mentioned.
If you are truly strapped for cash you can also try the V-Amp (also it will rain sh*t on you when you use the name of the "B" company around here :D hee hee hee, snarf, chortle. break out the umbrellas!
Okay, flame time... As a guitar player, I prefer the tone of
Okay, flame time...
As a guitar player, I prefer the tone of overdriving old Bassman and Musicman amps. To this end, I would actually recommend the Bass POD over the Guitar POD if you're going to go that route. In my experience with the Guitar Pod, I wasn't able to get any really useful tones, but I absolutely love the Bass POD. Call me crazy, go ahead. Believe it or not you can use these suckers like you'd use a "real" amp. So, while the amount of gain you can get out of the built-in controls may not be enough to get a great distorted tone, you can use a second gain stage to jack it up, and it'll end up breaking up like a real amp (opposed to just clipping the input). I personally use a MXR Micro Amp for this purpose, although you could do the same thing with a good EQ pedal, or something like a Tube Screamer which has post-distortion output control... YMMV, certainly. ;)
If you go with the POD, do yourself a favor and get a MIDI setup so you can use their GUI for tweaking params.
In my opinion, there really is absolutely no real substitute for
In my opinion, there really is absolutely no real substitute for an amp pushing real air into a real microphone. ........................ Whether you're talking about a stand alone box, such as the Pod, or a DAW plug in, such as Amp Farm, you just can't faithfully emulate the real thing.
That's what my ears like to hear!
Treena
FWIW, I prefer the sound of real amps as well (in fact, I think
FWIW, I prefer the sound of real amps as well (in fact, I think I'm the dork who prefers mic'ing bass amps, while everyone else appears to go direct). But the original poster's question specifically asked for advice for a unit to go directly into a mixer...
And of course, there's a difference between something sounding natural, and something sounding "right" for a composition. I would never purposefully limit the creativity involved in the recording process simply because something doesn't sound "real". :)
Originally posted by Idjiit: FWIW, I prefer the sound of real a
Originally posted by Idjiit:
FWIW, I prefer the sound of real amps as well (in fact, I think I'm the dork who prefers mic'ing bass amps, while everyone else appears to go direct). But the original poster's question specifically asked for advice for a unit to go directly into a mixer...And of course, there's a difference between something sounding natural, and something sounding "right" for a composition. I would never purposefully limit the creativity involved in the recording process simply because something doesn't sound "real". :)
I Like to record bass 1/2 and 1/2 if I have the channels. This way I have the best of both worlds when I mix.
What is the cheapest most effective box to use get a useful guitar track when going into the board without a mic'd amp?
My experience has led me to use the Mesa Boogie V-Twin. You can get clean and distorted tone, with the ability to switch between the two. With three modes, four stages of all-tube preamp circuitry and dedicated outputs for host amps, power amps and recording consoles, this fortress of a pedal is a fully evolved footswitching preamp.
Mesa Boogie V -Twin
from Kurt: The best thing I have for recording direct guit
from Kurt:
The best thing I have for recording direct guitar, distorted or otherwise is a Mesa Boogie V Twin.. kicks ass! Probably about the same thing as the Tubeman Guitar recording station by Hughs & Kettner that Max mentioned.
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you are truly strapped for cash you can also try the V-Amp (also it will rain sh*t on you when you use the name of the "B" company around here ).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------I'll bet this is a copy of the V Twin ... just guessing from the name.. V- amp.
Nah, no copy (of anything MesaBoogie that is). It's a DSP, no real tubes inside. I have one, it's nice for recording ideas/homerecording etc. Not the real deal, but a handy tool. Have a look at the B. side (if you dare :-)
Peter
Most people can smell a POD a mile away, but I've snuck them in
Most people can smell a POD a mile away, but I've snuck them in successfully with real amps - like for tripling a rhythm part and such. It helps to take the POD through a good DI, too - one with a bit of "rock" edge.
I usually demo up parts with the POD, and then book studio time to do real guitars, though that will change when my room gets built.
I am new here buit must agree that a distorted guitar of any typ
I am new here buit must agree that a distorted guitar of any type sounds better woth an amp or cab, I prefer 4X12 cabs my self but to get the depth and crunch speakers def. For clean settings, I run a processor strate into the board, I feel it is cleaner this way, but that crunch, cab and sweet spot. Oh and lets not forget the tubes, these are just as important.
To get the right guitar sound first thing to determine is to whi
To get the right guitar sound first thing to determine is to which Guitar to use I suppose. What kind of a part is it? Do we need the balls of the Les Paul, or something mellow, and thinner like a Fender tone. Or the edgy, metally Jackson, ESP, PRS kind of a tone. Well I guess not everybody has acces to such broad range of guitars but the simple thing as selecting the right guitar helps a ton. I am also a big believer in the Amp sound. You can get all the tones you need from a decent Boogie DC5 combo. A sansamp through a miked guitar amp could also sound killer. I always have a 57 (or beta57) and a large condenser on the amp. Phase correlations between different mics/placements can be useful to get a right sound.
(Dead Link Removed)
I totally agree with the amp way...nothing beats a good amp! :
I totally agree with the amp way...nothing beats a good amp! :) lately i`ve been messing around with the Amplitube RTAS plugin from IK...and i have to admit that the sound is very decent, IMHO i think the amplitube is way better than the POD...please, chek it out you guys, i want to hear some opinions...nope, i dont related in any way with IK :D i live in Venezuela...cheers!
Originally posted by MikoKensington: Sheesh...I dont't like
Originally posted by MikoKensington:
Sheesh...I dont't like that line 6 sound.
Amen, brother. The only Line 6 modeling that works ok is AmpFarm. But it doesn't like many guitars and always sounds fake to me. Line6 makes my Gibsons sound like Hondos.
I've used Ampfarm since it came out....and I must say it is getting old. Next to the PodXT and Vetta emulations, Amp Farm sounds really, really bad.
The XT and Vetta stuff can actually hold up in a mix if you know how to tweak them. The sound is in there, its just buried under heavy handed presets. I use them for off the wall effected sounds or blending with live amps.
I tried the v-twin. It rocks when used with a h&k red box. A red
I tried the v-twin. It rocks when used with a h&k red box. A red box will work when using stomp boxes. I had a project a few months ago where I used a digitech rp2000 directly pluged into my otari radar.(wow) I'm not much of a pod fan they work for some but I perfer a digitech gnx2. It has cabinet, amp and mic modeling. I have clients that bring those in insted of a usual rig alot more these days. (Even though I run it through a Joe Meek vc10 first) Check em out. The right answer is always what ever makes you happy and sounds good to you.
As a first time poster I don't wish to pee in anyones coffee but
As a first time poster I don't wish to pee in anyones coffee but there has been some wierd posts about the Boogie V-twin. The V-twin is not all tube, the distortion of the V-twin is created by op-amps and diode clipping. Also, it does not use any DSP, the signal path of the V-twin never enters the digital domain. There are a pair of tubes, but these are only used in the last stages and mostly to "soften" the distortion created by the diodes. So to sum up, it is neither all tube, or DSP.
To futher ostracize myself, I like using the POD. I run a triaxis or an ADA MP-1 through it to record direct from time to time. Mostly when recording at loud volumes isn't practical, or ambient noises are too loud. But, when possible I prefer micing an amp going through a cab. And if possible, I DI the clean guitar signal as well, so that if I want to, or if I don't like the mic'd guitar, I can re-record the track.
William
I know yer lookin for a different answer than this, but the trut
I know yer lookin for a different answer than this, but the truth is,'something with a speaker'......even a Pignose sounds great properly miced.I'm sure you'll be hearing from the 'Pod' generation.