Creative Ideas for Using Amp Modeling Technology
By David Hess, Sweetwater Sales Engineer
With the recent explosion of amp modeling products I thought I would touch on the technique of “ReAmping” recorded guitar tracks. This is something that I’ve found can create some very HUGE guitar tracks in a recording with very little effort.
The idea is to double your guitar tracks by recording your choice of amp and a dry signal of the guitar at the same time and then processing the latter with a software or hardware based amp modeler. One easy way to do this is to start with an inexpensive direct box. Most DI’s allow you to split the incoming guitar signal. Just send one line to your amp, and the other to your multi-track. After you’ve recorded both your amp and the guitar dry, bus the dry signal out to a hardware-based amp modeler, like the Pod or a software-based modeler such as Amplitube or Amp Farm.
In my case, I have a G4 PowerMac that I use for multi-tracking. For the sake of this conversation I have had great success with Amplitube as my software-based amp modeler. After bussing the dry signal through Amplitube, I just dial through the amps while both tracks play back until I find the right combination of cabinet and amps that compliment my “real” recorded (amplified) track. The result is a fat, creatively larger overall guitar sound.
The basic idea applies to hardware as well. Just insert a Pod as an effect send and return, or bus to another channel where the Pod is active.
Have fun creating unique guitar sounds that are all your own!