Simplest way to get my (downstairs) amp's tone to my (upstairs) PC for recording

Metalhex

Metalhex

Well-known member
So my big amps and cab are downstairs and my PC/recording gear is upstairs. My goal is to record my amp downstairs and use that tone for my recordings.

I currently am recording recording with a combo amp upstairs "quietly", so it's convenient and I like the tone I have. Also I have NAM profiles so there are plenty of ways to record without a real amp but I just want to utilize my big glass so I can say at least say it's on the album I'm making. I'd feel better knowing I used a real tube Amp and mic.

The way I see it is I have 2 options.

1. Is to get a long mic cable (I have a sm57 mic) that extends to my cab downstairs to my Scarlett Solo which upstairs. It's actually not terribly far just up the stairs and down a short hall.

2. Capture my tones with a capture device like a Kemper or ToneX, etc. I currently don't have ANY such device so I'd have to buy one.

Option 2 is of course the most expensive route. But will there be a huge loss of sound quality with a long mice cable? Is there any other drawbacks? Also I don't want to put the computer downstairs.

Also is there any other options? Thanks.
 
I think the best option is to have the head upstairs routed to the cab downstairs with the mic cable up so that you can make adjustments as needed. The logistics of that I don't know (and would be interested in), but that's how I've seen it done. I think??? you can route down with just long cables.

Ideally you'd have one of those remote control things moving the mic around but that's probably $$$. Thinking of doing an arduino type diy for that very thing.

You could also go through NAM to record your DI and re-amp whenever you need later. (either way grab a DI) But running up and downstairs to fiddle with things would get annoying.

* I found these 2 links with a quick search. Looks like you're good to run both cables long, but you'll need a bigger gauge for speaker cable if you go above 50'

https://gearspace.com/board/so-much...1655-how-long-mic-cable-without-problems.html
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/how-long-can-speaker-cable-be.793735/
 
The Suhr Reactive Load has been a game changer for me. Mine is the one without the IRs. I think the IRs you can get 3rd party are better. I have most of my amps now with me where the computer is and I can get the 99% true sound of all of my amps and audition them on the fly with 100s of IRs which sound equal to or better than I’ve been doing with my 121 and 57 mic’d on cabs or amps in an amp closet.

Of course nothing beats when I have a good cab with good speakers mic’d perfectly right, but sometimes you just don’t get it perfectly right and a lot of people just are plain bad at mic’ing or their recording environment isn’t optimal.

If you really want the sound of your specific cab, you can make an IR if it and it will sound indistinguishable from your current rig. You’re still pushing your tubes and iron it’s just coming out of someone else’s ideally recorded cab environments.

You’ll save time and money and you can even silent record and not bother the fam or neighbors, there’s just so much pros and no cons to this.
 
d7e31427b3cd4f11969f68bef75712ee.jpeg
 
Look on yt for studio I/O wiring too. You can have a wall plate for the xlr & 1/4" speaker if you wanted to do some drilling. Idk about voltages for the speaker cable, but we recorded a little album for fun in the studio with these all over and it was very convenient.

I had a driftwood loadbox, tried helix native.. still have NAM, tonex, and a bunch of IRs. Recently got a sm57 and lazily mic'd my 412 and it's given me the best results so far even playing at low volume.

A few studio pros may be able to get A+ quality results with IRs but I had to put in way more effort. Still a good option though if you're willing to put in a lot of time to figure out what works.

If you do go that route and get a LB with an internal IR loader I'd recommend turning off the loader and using a plugin in your DAW when recording. The internal stuff is pretty good but they all truncate the IRs a little bit, so you lose some quality.
 
tjnx said:
Look on yt for studio I/O wiring too. You can have a wall plate for the xlr & 1/4" speaker if you wanted to do some drilling. Idk about voltages for the speaker cable, but we recorded a little album for fun in the studio with these all over and it was very convenient.

I had a driftwood loadbox, tried helix native.. still have NAM, tonex, and a bunch of IRs. Recently got a sm57 and lazily mic'd my 412 and it's given me the best results so far even playing at low volume.

A few studio pros may be able to get A+ quality results with IRs but I had to put in way more effort. Still a good option though if you're willing to put in a lot of time to figure out what works.

If you do go that route and get a LB with an internal IR loader I'd recommend turning off the loader and using a plugin in your DAW when recording. The internal stuff is pretty good but they all truncate the IRs a little bit, so you lose some quality.
Click to expand...
Why did you need more effort with the IRs? It's kind of plug and play no?
 
rushcentrale said:
Why did you need more effort with the IRs? It's kind of plug and play no?
Click to expand...
Yes, but more effort to get it to sound right in the mix. I use the headbang or bop test, basically if I forget about tone and start bobbing my head its good. For a while I wasn't hitting that point and had to make adjustments to when it just fit.

It wasn't that big of a difference until I mic'd it up and got the tone right away, which was kind of a bummer.
 
Last edited:
tjnx said:
Yes, but more effort to get it to sound right in the mix. I use the headbang or bop test, basically if I forget about tone and start bobbing my head its good. For a while I wasn't hitting that point and had to make adjustments to when it just fit.

It wasn't that big of a difference until I mic'd it up and got the tone right away, which was kind of a bummer.
Click to expand...
What gear are you using to load IRs?
 
christ at this point I would just use plugins hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha .. with your recorded music will it generate income?? if not then just use plugins because no one cares outside of geek guitar forums
 
Krull said:
Move PC downstairs :dunno:
Click to expand...
Yup, if space isn’t a concern I would go downstairs. Though I get it, that recording upstairs and not in a muffled basement sounds nice.

If going the route with the long mic cable, have a look, how pros are doing it. Maybe you will need a buffer or at least very thick cables to compensate for the loss of highs
 
rushcentrale said:
What gear are you using to load IRs?
Click to expand...
I've gone driftwood > nadIR, lineout > PA sim > nadIR. Now just tonex > nadIR. I've tried a few different loader plugins and this was what I settled on.


Lots of options with pros & cons. My only advice would be to put in a little more work at the beginning if you need to so that whenever you record in the future its super low effort and enjoyable. I found I'm too lazy otherwise 🤷‍♂️
 
tjnx said:
I've gone driftwood > nadIR, lineout > PA sim > nadIR. Now just tonex > nadIR. I've tried a few different loader plugins and this was what I settled on.


Lots of options with pros & cons. My only advice would be to put in a little more work at the beginning if you need to so that whenever you record in the future its super low effort and enjoyable. I found I'm too lazy otherwise 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...

I go from amp to Suhr RL into a mic pre and then into the computer running Amplitube Standalone set to shortest buffer which is 16. Amplitube is loading my IR of choice. This is to monitor my playing as if I'm in the same room as my cabs.

Then in my DAW, Logic, I have the plugin of Amplitube on the guitar tracks I'm recording running the same IR and settings as the standalone Amplitube. All my guitar tracks get recorded dry and DI and they're sort of re-amped for playback with the plugin instance of Amplitube. At that point I can use the same IR I played through originally, or I can cycle through another 100 or so stellar sounding IRs and pick the best sounding cab for the track and mix.

So I can play and record with no perceived latency and then choose the best cab for the mix and song. With real cab mic'ing, I've been using the same dual mic, Royer 121 and SM57 setup in my amp closet for almost 20 years and I still do that and I can get awesome tones that way, but I can get equally awesome results (sometimes better) using the setup above. It's been a game changer.
 
rushcentrale said:
I go from amp to Suhr RL into a mic pre and then into the computer running Amplitube Standalone set to shortest buffer which is 16. Amplitube is loading my IR of choice. This is to monitor my playing as if I'm in the same room as my cabs.

Then in my DAW, Logic, I have the plugin of Amplitube on the guitar tracks I'm recording running the same IR and settings as the standalone Amplitube. All my guitar tracks get recorded dry and DI and they're sort of re-amped for playback with the plugin instance of Amplitube. At that point I can use the same IR I played through originally, or I can cycle through another 100 or so stellar sounding IRs and pick the best sounding cab for the track and mix.

So I can play and record with no perceived latency and then choose the best cab for the mix and song. With real cab mic'ing, I've been using the same dual mic, Royer 121 and SM57 setup in my amp closet for almost 20 years and I still do that and I can get awesome tones that way, but I can get equally awesome results (sometimes better) using the setup above. It's been a game changer.
Click to expand...
I have amplitude so I need to try that. I have a similar template in Reaper with a DI always recorded and an IR track that I can cycle through. I had it when I recorded to capture a clean DI, LB line out, and mic'd cab to 3 separate tracks each take. That then was auto routed to a bunch of different sims + IRs so I could pick and choose. Definitely the way to go.

I thought about doing the LB into a pre but never did (I'd have to buy one).. but that seems to do good things. I think you've got a good setup, and I agree that the best of both worlds approach is the way to go. I'm just a little off IRs at the moment after some mixing hell. 🤬
 
Thanks guys for the advice. I'm not looking to go the DI/reamping route at the moment....so a long cable it is!

And yeah, it's gonna suck running back and forth to move the mic a half inch at a time lol!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top