How do I get a good sound?

AEnimic

AEnimic

New member
Sorry if this question has been brought up before. I have always been interested to record from my own room to my own computer. The sound of my guitar(clean) is alright and acceptable but when I switch to distortion(using an MT-2) it comes out as fizzy and barely like the sound I get when I play live or when I jam.

Is there any equipment or software I can use to get the proper sound that I want?

I'm recording using Adobe Audition 3. Plugs in guitar straight to computer with a cable head converter.
 
Your main problem is that a big part of the sound came from amplifiers, which produces distortion nicely.
Now, you are going through line-in/mic-in.

If you're looking to replicate the sound of your favourite amplifiers, there is no way to perfectly solve this. Some tips:
1) Make sure your distorted levels peaks are at or below -3dB or so when you record them, to prevent clipping.
2) Get software amp emulators. Some people frown upon this, but really I think there are uses for software amp emulation. I actually did a short AB test and could not tell the difference between a real recorded amp and a good software emulator.

Getting an audio interface actually won't help THAT much towards getting a realistic amp sound... but you'll surely at least get an improved sound quality over an onboard sound card.
 
AEnimic said:
I'm recording using Adobe Audition 3. Plugs in guitar straight to computer with a cable head converter.
Click to expand...

When you say cable head converter, do you mean those 1/4 inch - 1/8 inch adaptor?

You must be aware that the sound that comes out from the amp when you're jamming or playing live it's a sound of your guitar + pedals + the amp's frequency setting and circuitry. By going direct to your guitar like that, you are basically cutting away the essential part of making a guitar sound good.

So you need an extra tool that can help boost the frequency that your guitar. That is why electric guitars need amps: to amplify the sound picked up by your pickups to really make it sound how it should sound like.

Having an audio interface doesn't solve anything. An in-build stock soundcard in your pc is technically already an audio interface. What you need is a preamp.

Toneport, as suggested by alshit, is a good guitarist audio interface because it includes Gearbox, a virtual preamp and amp amulation software that you can use for guitars, bass and vocals.

There are other devices you can use as well. I know there is this one device that connects your guitar to your computer via usb.

Also, take a look at DI boxes. Shredcow introduced this one to me; specially for guitars. It's in my GAS list:

Mercenary Audio - Palmer PDI 09 Filtered Guitar DI Box
 
THOA,

Sorry if I misunderstood you, but a DI box will not solve the problem of giving realistic guitar sounds.

A DI box does not give you any amp emulation at all. DI boxes are used to convert unbalanced guitar/line level signals into balanced, mic-level signals, so that the signal can travel long distances clean, and plug into most mixers without level problems. A good DI box shouldn't change your signal quality much.

If you're gonna buy the Toneport, then you don't need a DI Box. Most audio interfaces are already somewhat DI boxes.


AEnimic,
The toneport is a good choice for amateur guitar players looking for decent quality guitar sounds. Alternatively, you can just use any Line6 amp emulators (PodXT live etc) and connect its line-out to your soundcard's line-in. It should produce OK results.
 
Hi chuanz

Nah, I'm not implicating that DI boxes in general have an amp emulation actually. I would think that they are best used in between the amp and computer. So it's: guitar > amp> DI box> computer.

The DI i showed is a good option look at. take alook at it. good stuff :)

And no, neither am i implicating that you need a DI for toneport. I was actually giving options APART from Toneport. You are right; you don't need DI if you are using toneport. The toneport unit alone would suffice. The most budget option will be this: Line 6 - TonePort
 
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=AEnimic

It's really hard to get a good guitar sound from a DI. It's fine if you're using clean tones but distortion is a lot trickier. The best way is to mic up. A Shure SM57 will do the trick. Provided of course you already have an amp and a 57 and an audio interface with a preamp. Unfortunately, using a DI in your case, won't solve the problem. For recording guitars, especially with distortion, an amp with a 57 and a cheap interface with mic preamp will sound way better than the most expensive DI.

We can go into details of the quality of preamps and microphones blah blah blah, but that road is a never ending one.

However, if you're not willing/able to spend the extra cash and if you still insist on recording straight to computer, I'd highly recommend using amp simulators. Record it clean, and rely on simulators/plugins like Line6 or Amp Farm or anything of that sort..
 
Hi THOA,

How come you use a DI box after the amp? Do you mean preamp only? If you connect the poweramp to the DIbox, I fear it might fry! Anyway, when you put it through a DI box, the output is a mic-level signal, typically carried by the XLR cable. So, to connect to the computer, you'll still need some sort of an interface!

My recommendation to you is: don't buy a DI box if you really don't need it. DI boxes are, to the best of my knowledge, used most in live applications where the FOH mixers can be quite a long distance away from the stage. And of course, in recording studio situations where the control room is separated from the live room and the stage box only accepts mic-level XLRs. If you're recording at home, you probably do not need a DI box.



Anyway, the3rdlogic is right. Best way is to record it direct and clean, then apply effects to taste. This is also the cheapest option - you only need a Toneport or any proper audio interface. Additionally, you can buy amplifiers, speakers and microphones if you discover that the Line6 sounds are not good enough, and you need something REAL. But then, you'll start to worry about room acoustics and a whole load of other shit...
Start with the Toneport and/or amp emulators. I've seen some pretty good results.
 
Ok its good that u have Audition 3.

Go here Fretted Synth and download FreeAmp3Full. Its a VST.
Copy the .dll file in your VSTplugins (C:program files\vstplugins) folder.
Open Audition 3.
Click on Edit icon. Go to Effects dropdown menu > Add/Remove VST directory and add vstplugins folder (C:program files\vstplugins).
Go to Effects menu again > VST Plugin manager and enable the 'FA3 Full' plugin.

and now u are ready to record. Make sure set the FreeAmp3 on clean if u wana use Metal Zone for your distortion and choose whatever speaker cabs u wana use. A lot of cabs available.

Guitar > Metal Zone > soundcard line-in > Audition 3 with FA3 Full enabled. Now your guitar signal will definitely sound smooth.

want more free amps i recommend
Download Studio Devil BVC Guitar Amp Plugin (Mac/PC VST)
Tubedriver - Homepage
enjoy.
 
Shredaholic,

Even if your amp has line-out (most amps do), it will most likely give you the pre-amplified signal only, meaning it takes the signal and put it through the preamp, and goes straight to that output jack.

A big part of the characteristic sounds of many amps actually lie in the poweramp section, where your line signal is amplified to speaker levels. This is a big reason why most guitarists mic up their cabinets, rather than use the amplifier's line-out which obviously gives much better SNR.

It is possible that the amp manufacturer take the speaker-level output and attenuates it to line-level for the line-out. In this case, the sound should be much closer to what you really hear, but I think it's quite unlikely amp makers do that.

In short... no, the line-out from the amp doesn't really give you an "amp sound", but it is possibly better than just plugging in direct to soundcard.
 
ok i'm not sure if i'm right on this, but this is what comes to mind in layman terms,
there are D.I boxes that functions as "CabSims" (cabinet simulators)
so lets say for example, if you used any analog pedal with no "cabsim" kind of effect, it'll be like

raw guitar signal > distortion pedal (ds-1 for e.g.) > recording = sound like guitar plugged into microwave.

if you do this though > guitar > some marshall amp with high gain (Preamp + Speaker) but you output via the Preamp head only > recording = you skip that phase of "sound coming out from speaker cone" . it may still sound fuzzy, but at least better/more power as you got the signal running through the "preamp".

so line6 for example . ux1/ux2/pod/whatever. i think how the sound is changed is via its own preamp > cabsimulator, and you're able to get that "decent" sound without an amp and recording it D.I.just like how i've once recorded a Korg AX1500G pedal, if you plug it D.I without an amp, or with an amp, both will be fine. cos it's got a "cabsim" in it. even myself I use Zoom 505II for recording, it's a cheap 2nd hand $50 pedal, with a distortion/efx/tuner/cabsim , light and reliable, i'm not complaining. but no matter what, it'll never replace the "sound of a speaker cone blasting and vibrating the electronic parts picked up by the microphone".

20¢ worth
 
Hi blueprintstudios,

Almost right, but don't say "there are D.I boxes that functions as cabsims". DI boxes have very different functionality. Rather, say "there are audio interfaces that provides cabsim functions, e.g Line6 ux1/2."

And, "guitar > preamp > recording" doesn't mean the sound will be fuzzy. Naturally, a pre-amped signal will be higher level than the guitar direct, so just watch the levels to prevent clipping, but you shouldn't get fuzz.

You're right, the Zoom and Line6 stuff are indeed lightweight stuff that gets the basic job done, but will never replace the real "amp sound" or "cabinet sound".

By the way, how does a guitar plugged into microwave sound like? :D
 
why get hardware if u have the software for free? like what believe suggested.. plug your MT2 straight to line-in of soundcard. the vst will do the job.
 
hmm my bad on this one but i guess this wasn't a D.I box, cos I saw it used in myx studios last time, i assumed it was a DI box + cabsim in 1. Hughes & Kettner Red Box Pro (speaker tap and cabinet emulator)
it's more like cabsim box for recording DI! not DI box.

"And, "guitar > preamp > recording" doesn't mean the sound will be fuzzy."
actually I meant guitar signal > an amp's PREAMP (set with high gain distortion for example), but lineout from the "preamp-out" jack straight D.I into recording. then it would be fuzzy wouldn't it? I tried.

guitar plugged into microwave would be like bad grounding of some sort "BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ" .
 
Some ideas:

Mercenary Audio - Palmer PDI 09 Filtered Guitar DI Box <--- Shredcow uses this. I'm gassing this. When blueprint refer to "DI boxes that functions like amp simulators" I think this is a good example, though it might be technically inaccurate to describe it as that. ;)

Studio Devil Guitar Amp Plugin for VST, Audio Units, and ProTools RTAS! <--- Computer Music magazine issue 122 featured this. Gave it 10 our of 10 points. I tried the demo. I hate to say this, but I very much like this one better than the amp emulators in Line 6 Gearbox! Very cheap considering what it can do. :eek:
 
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