Give me that dirty processed sound.

Tips on achieving this guitar tone.

I'm planning on recording direct to Logic Pro using an Amp modeler. Any tips would be really helpful. I'm not that familiar with using modelers for "Pro" level recording.

posted by dobie (6 comments total)

You mean for guitar?

First off, get your input signal right. You should be hitting about -12dB peaks if you are recording in 24bit (which you should be). If you have to record in 16bit, try to keep your peaks under -3dB.

Amp modeler is pretty good. The key is to treat it like a regular amp. Turn off all the FX and get a basic sound that you like and can play live with.

In Logic make sure you are in low latency mode (can't remember the key but it's in the manual). Futz with the latency in prefs to get it down to <1>
Add in whatever FX you want but remember the key thing is to record the CLEAN, UNPROCESSED sound properly. All the rest can be fixed in the mix.

OK, now here's the thing. If you really want to record great guitar, download the demo of Scuffham S-Gear and try some of the presets. Absolutely astonishing.

You can always re-amp by taking the line out from your audio interface (turned down real low) and running it into your amp (maybe via a tuner pedal or something to get the impedances matched) and recording that normally.

Basically -- record the clean DI guitar much lower than you think you should. That way you preserve all your transients and keep your options open until the end.
posted by unSane at 7:18 PM on April 19, 2012

Ugh, preprocessing made that look wrong. Your latency should be under 15ms was what I was trying to say.
posted by unSane at 7:19 PM on April 19, 2012

Basically -- record the clean DI guitar much lower than you think you should.

THIS, x500. There is a point, of course, where you can be too low, and the noise floor of the recording is too obvious. but peaking at -12 is a fine level.
posted by dubold at 3:40 AM on April 20, 2012

Also, you really owe it to yourself to try out Scuffham S-Gear before you commit to Logic's Guitar Amp. It's far and away the best amp modeller I've ever used, there's a free trial, and it's a measly $75 if you buy it. You can use it with the Logic pedals, which are mostly good.
posted by unSane at 1:32 PM on April 20, 2012

I'll check it out unSane thanks. Going to be some serious shredding this weekend.
posted by dobie at 4:02 PM on April 20, 2012

Listening to that track again, there's a ton of other processing on it as well... it's compressed to hell, plus I think there's a harmonizer on it, and some 1/8 note echo, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's reverb too. There might also be some chorus or it might just be a Haas delay (pannel to one side and the other side delayed by about 20ms or so and brought up in volume a bit to get the signal panned where you want it). But I think the main thing is the harmonizer.
posted by unSane at 7:19 PM on April 27, 2012