software

My set up right now is

Guitar-effects-amp-mic-computer

this is great and and i love the sound i am getting out of it.

but i would like to start recording direct also. and im not sure what decive i need to be looking at.

i am using a m-audio mobilepre as my preamp/sound card. when i have a mic plugged into it it is great! but when i send my guitar direct into it you can hear the pup noise very very well and it sounds dull.

i would like to get into recording direct because sometimes i come up with a good idea and it takes me serveral minutes to get everything set up and miced just right and pull out my gear that what should have taken me 5 minutes to get has now taken 20. (im a bit of a neet freak so i break my gear down when im done... it frees up space in my room)

so i just grab a guitar and aim the mic at the amp and i come up with somthing and it would be great but the sound just isnt there.

so that is why i would like to have a great sound going direct.

is there somthing i can use to take out some of my hum from my pups and maybe drop the impedence down so i can use the ballanced xlr inputs instead? also is there anything to breath some life back into the sound going direct? computer tend to be a little lifeless in the first place.

my goal from my sound is to have 1 /2 tube amp miced and 1/2 direct.

im really on a budget!

i just bought new tubes, a $400 dollar guitar neck, and some locking tuners and im on the quot;oh my god dont let me buy anything elsequot; budget!

time to start selling that old stuff i guess!

peace,
edm

bump

If you are really on a budget, try finding a POD, even an older version 1, I have heard some great sounding tracks laid down with them, after you tweek them a little. To get an xlr to your pc, you will have to get a DI, I recommend one that is ACTIVE (needs a battery or phantom power) the passive ones tend to suck tone out of your sound. You should be able to come up with this kind of setup for $100-120. Old used PODs are going for as little as 50 bucks, you can get a Berringher active DI for around $40 new.

If the mic is halfway decent and it's positioned near the speaker properly, that should technically give you a better sound than if you ran direct. If there's noise, you may need a noise gate in the chain of effects.

Running direct, the POD and Vox's tone lab would be good choices. I've got a line 6 head, but when I run it direct, it sounds like it was ran direct, so I don't do it.

Try poking around at homerecording.com. The dudes there are pretty cool, and there's some pro sounding recordings over there from really simple equipment like the POD.

Marvar nailed it- What you need is a good preamp, and modeling gives you this and much much more-

However, I like to record dry and then add effects including modeling after the fact to keep options open as the mix builds- As a result, there I also use another device that might be interesting if you have no interest in modleing-

I foten use a presounus digitube to provide a clean digital signal directly to my digital mixer- I roll the tube out of the ciruuit most of the time, but if I'm not modeling on the backend, I'll use the tube from time to time-

BTW, if you are really into recording, a relateively inexpensive multipurpose digital mixer will give you unbeleiveable flexibility, and much better sound than you will ever get off of a sound card- I've seen EZ buss with the 8 channel ADAT card going for $200 bucks and you just can't beat that step into quality and flexibility- And you are much more likely to record when you have a dedicated mic input, gtr input, key/drm inputs, etc-

Cheers

If you're looking for a modeler, don't bother with a POD - get a V-amp 2. it's the same sort of thing, and doesn't sound quite as good as the newer PODs, but it's a dashes sight cheaper - about £100 over in the UK.

i dont want a modeler at all.

i will have to look into a mixer and/or a di box.

my main sound right now is amp-mic-mobile pre and it works great.

i can plug my guitar straight into the mobilepre and record direct but it has an terrible hum to it. when i run my guitar into the amp i dont hear it... but when i run my guitar straight in its very noticable.

what i am looking of is somthing to take the hum out when i go straight in and somthing to give it some sparke back.

i want the ability to go straight in for those times when i dont have time to set up all of my gear and just for another sound option.

i do not want a modler at all. i might be interested in a muilti effect if it could go straight in and take the hum out.

thanks,
edm

Sounds like you need something like this instead of your preamp: from : localhost/believe you just plug into a pedal, then into the cab sim, and then run that into the line in of the computer. Bang, done deal.

This may sound stupid, but have you tried moving away (your guitar when you're playing it, and your amp) from the computer and monitor, and also placing the preamp you have away from the monitor/computer? Monitors generate 60 cycle hum just like fluorescent light bulbs. It can get pretty bad.

Another stupid statement: is the preamp plugged into the correct line input and not the mic input?

EDM-
The more I hear about what you are after the more I think you would be happy with a good mixer/AD converter/preamp arangement-

But one thing I'm having trouble understanding is where your 'amp' tone comes from when you record direct?

You aren't using your amps pre out so there is no coloring there, and you are bypassing the poweramp and speaker stages- On other words, are you really looking for a completley 'ampless' sound?

The reason I ask is that I record a lot, and recordign ampless gives me lots of flexibility becuase I can always reamp the sound as the mix builds- But unlike bass where 'ampless' sound is standard, I don't know of many examples of keeping a unamped guitar sound for the final mix- Can you help me understand why you are heading this direction and maybe I'm missing soemthing?

Cheers


Originally Posted by DankerellaThis may sound stupid, but have you tried moving away (your guitar when you're playing it, and your amp) from the computer and monitor, and also placing the preamp you have away from the monitor/computer? Monitors generate 60 cycle hum just like fluorescent light bulbs. It can get pretty bad.

Another stupid statement: is the preamp plugged into the correct line input and not the mic input?

I will try moving away from the monitor next time. and yes the preamp is connected correctly. It travels through a usb to the computer. Originally Posted by zionstratEDM-
The more I hear about what you are after the more I think you would be happy with a good mixer/AD converter/preamp arangement-

But one thing I'm having trouble understanding is where your 'amp' tone comes from when you record direct?

You aren't using your amps pre out so there is no coloring there, and you are bypassing the poweramp and speaker stages- On other words, are you really looking for a completley 'ampless' sound?

The reason I ask is that I record a lot, and recordign ampless gives me lots of flexibility becuase I can always reamp the sound as the mix builds- But unlike bass where 'ampless' sound is standard, I don't know of many examples of keeping a unamped guitar sound for the final mix- Can you help me understand why you are heading this direction and maybe I'm missing soemthing?
Cheers

yes i am looking for a completly ampless sound. i want to move into this direction so i can have as clear as sound as possible for a foundation to a song. as my rythm work is 100% clean and my lead work is about 50/50.

when i record i alway lay down a clean track then build on the top of it.

usually when i think of an idea i record it fast. most of the time that idea turns into the song right on the spot and it would be perfect but it does not sound good.

i want to beable to have a good ampless sound so i can plug in and go and if my idea turns into a song while im recording i already have a solid foundation to work off of.

also this would give me another sound option. i can be recording my amp loaded with gain and effects and at the same time be recording a clean track to give it some clarity.

i am not really a fan of modeler so i would prefer to stay away from those.
most les paul recordings are him straight into a mixer and his clean tones were awazing! they were so pretty and clear. since my sound is mostly clean i would like to try and follow on the same path. im not looking to copy his sound i just want as clean as sound as possible to start with and record over it with my amp or effects ect.

thanks for all the help so far!
edm

ps- i will have to look into that mixer idea.

i did some experimenting... if i plug my guitar straight in there is no hum.

if i plug my guitar into any effect on or off there is a really bad hum. this even happened when i plugged into a true bypass box with nothing else plugged in.

what do i need so i can split my guitar signal and run it direct in and amped signal into my computer?

also is there somthing where i can keep it from humming?

maybe a small mixer with an efx loop?

split the signal with a y cable channel one (hard left)- direct, channel two (hard right)-amped. and mix in the right amount of effects from the efx loop for that channel. then the have the left output go to my amp-mic-computer and the right go straight into my computer?

thanks,
edm

No disrespect intended, but why do you not want a modeller? A POD or something similar will do exactly what you want, and you will get a much better tone than any sort of direct solution you can throw together.

i dont like them... they sound fake to my ears. i have no interest in modelling different amps.

i can fix my roughting problems... but i dont know how fix this hum.

if you add anything between the guitar and the computer it hums. its an electrical hum, when i turn the power off it goes away. straight in its fine... but if i add a pedal it hums through the speakers.

ive tried different outlets, power conditioner, moved my ac adapters away from the computer, tried different cords. and it still hums.

what do i do about this hum?

edm

I thought this had been asked already, but could it be the monitor? Try turning the monitor off while you're playing ... if the hum goes away, that's the answer.

If it is the monitor, you can either try pointing your guitar away from it, turning off the monitor while you record, or buying a new flat panel monitor (they will induce hum, but much much less).

it is a flat panel monitor and its not the monitor. it starts when i connect anything electrical between the guitar and the computer and stops when i unplug the ac adapters.

ive moved the preamp, moved the guitar, turned off the monitor, moved my effects, tried 9 volts, changed outlets, moved my power conditioner. there are no florecent lights in the room, turned off the lights and my guitar is properly grounded and the pickups were installed by a professional. im going into the correct input too. the hum is still there. its an electrical hum.

what can i do to correct this electrical hum?

I'd bet that the amp hum is coming from a ground loop. Are you running the pedals off a power supply or off batteries?

I'm a big fan of the Hamp;K Red Box as an alternative to miking a cab.

power supply batterys are too much of a hassle for me.