I just got a Voice Tonelab ST pedal which produces some very impressive tones for the guitar, great amp modeling, it's even got a real tube in it to add to the sound. I'm doing some home demos and have been recording straight in, then adding amp effects using the program/VST Guitar Rig 3 from Native Instruments. I'm somewhat pleased with the program, you can do some amazing things and granted I haven't done a great deal of tweaking, but the sounds are still a bit eh. Plus the biggest problem is how it kills my CPU because I have multiple guitar tracks and my system can't handle multiple Guitar Rig VST's spread out.
Now that I have the Tonelab, I was wondering if I should think about plugging the guitar into the pedal into my Firepod and just using its tones for my guitar. It might sound a bit more natural, but I'm obviously committing to a sound early on as opposed to just getting the guitar down then adding effects. Are there problems with this/should I scale back on the reverb and other effects on the pedal when recording?
I guess I'm a blank canvass when it comes to recording one vs the other and really don't know which option is best or if I use the Tonelab the best way to record with it. If anyone has feedback on these issues I'd REALLY appreciate it. Thanks guys.
Comments
It's no good if you like to rely on feedback effects. Especially
It's no good if you like to rely on feedback effects. Especially when you walk up to your guitar to the speaker cabinet. You just don't get that with emulators. Sometimes emulators can be used simultaneously with guitar amplifiers and then that feedback is recorded and then also emulated differently. So do it both ways.
Mx. Remy Ann David
Thanks for the feedback, pun intended. I don't do much feedback
Thanks for the feedback, pun intended. I don't do much feedback and certainly not enough for anything to be considered a deal breaker. With freezing tracks I feel like it's difficult because you've got to hear every track together with the effects on to mix properly and that won't fly with my CPU. I'll try more with the pedal, still trying to get a good recorded sound. Less is more with distortion obviously. It'd be nice if I could think of some artists whose guitar sounds I'd like to emulate on record but can't think of too many.
What's your system? If you're running a 64-bit OS, you can crank
What's your system? If you're running a 64-bit OS, you can crank up the RAM to get more power.
I run 32-bit Vista w/ 4GB RAM (really less), and don't have too much trouble unless I really start piling on the tracks and plug-ins.
W/ 64-bit, you can run a lot more RAM.
You can get some very good tones using these pedals, you just go
You can get some very good tones using these pedals, you just got to tweak away until it sounds good in the headphones/monitors, you can also take a DI track at the same time to use for Guitar Rig. You may want to be careful with time based effects like delay and reverb you can add these later to better match other tracks unless its all guitar. You said that your computer can't handle multiple VST guitar tracks but you should be able to either freeze some of the trtacks or record them so you are only tweaking and using the cpu for one at a time. I personally just can't get this system, virtual or ampless pedals to "feel" like the real thing but then I am a dinosaur fossil anyway.