Wake Up Digital Guitars with Plug-ins – Take a Listen!

Guitar modelers have been a real game changer for the self-produced guitarist. Floorboards from Kemper, Line 6, HeadRush, BOSS, Zoom, and Neural DSP, as well as a dizzying number of virtual amp and cab sims, have made it possible for players with the bare minimum in gear to get great results in the studio.

But,
as amp lovers, we at Sweetwater will admit that the tones found in many
modeling devices can definitely be improved upon. Recording through a live amp
with real mics on real speakers in a real acoustic space is an experience that
is still not yet perfected in the digital realm.

The good news is that a number of plug-in processors today can bring subtle touches of analog color and studio realism to even last-gen modeled guitar tones for results that just plain “sound better” on your homegrown recordings.

“Fix Digital with Digital?”UAD Plug-ins: Analog Emulation on DemandWill Non-UAD Plug-ins Work, Too?MethodologyPart 1: Console Emulation and EQ FilteringPart 2: Room Reverb and Studio EffectsPart 3: Tape Saturation and Outboard CompressionPart 4: The Works!Final Thoughts

“Fix Digital with Digital?”

I
know. It’s counterintuitive. But, if the thing missing from your modeled guitar
tones is some good, old-fashioned, odd-ordered harmonic enhancement; a
bellowing bottom end when you push those CPU tubes; or an in-the-room
dimensionality when you’re tracking entirely inside the box, then plug-in
effects can give your tone that last little push out of the uncanny valley and
into something that sounds amazing.

UAD Plug-ins: Analog Emulation on Demand

Thanks to their Realtime UAD Processing and top-notch analog hardware emulation, UAD’s Console and LUNA plug-in ecosystems — available to all Universal Audio Apollo users — are great options for adding real-time coloration to live guitar signals. In addition to sounding great, these systems let you monitor and print effects with next to no latency versus monitoring through a DAW with plug-in effects and facing lag between striking a note and hearing it reproduced.

What’s more, you can actually route these effects into your DAW from Console or record them directly within LUNA, which stands to give you a more mix-ready tone without additional fuss.

Console’s UAD REC and UAD MON switches give you the option to monitor through effects with or without printing them to your recorded tracks.

Will Non-UAD Plug-ins Work, Too?

Though this comparison is going to focus on UAD plug-ins and how they can add life to modeled guitar tones, the core concepts here should be achievable with similar plug-ins on our site. The biggest advantage to the UAD/Apollo approach is the ultra-low latency. Hearing and feeling your guitar as intended is a big get when you don’t have a screaming amp in a live room to monitor through while tracking.

Methodology

When
it comes to sweetening guitar tones with plug-ins, subtlety is key. It may be
tempting to obliterate a solo with a dimed tape sim. But generally, I find it’s
better to stack plug-ins for cascading shades of depth and color rather than to
max out a single gain stage. We’re making a cake here. Too much of any one
ingredient can throw off the whole thing.

Then again, as Yngwie Malmsteen has said: sometimes subtlety is less and more is more. Your mileage may vary.

All the guitar sounds in the clips below were captured straight off my guitar into my Ditto Looper then fed into my Kemper and recorded as stereo files into my DAW as original and processed. The same take is used for each listening example. No additional processing was used on the individual tracks. The only difference is what the UAD plug-ins are adding.

I did my best to level match each set of clips using a metering plug-in and my ears. Ozone 9‘s Master Assistant was used on the 2-bus of the full-band mixes to provide some context for how each clip might sound in a finished track.

Part 1: Console Emulation and EQ Filtering

Helios
Type 69

The Helios Type 69 channel strip has enjoyed a permanent spot in the Unison stage of my Apollo Twin since I started tracking my Kemper through it. While it might be tempting to reach for a Neve or an SSL for double-tracked rock guitars, there’s just something about the EQ curves in the Helios that make me feel like I’m playing a real amp. The 69 is an end-to-end re-creation of a Helios console used by everyone from the Beatles to the Stones in the late 1960s, famed for its Lustraphone input transformers and juicy inductor EQs. I find boosting at 120Hz helps me better feel the “belch” of a cranked amp. Boosting in the 1kHz­–2.8kHz range fills in some of the hollowness that I find missing from my Kemper tones.

Results
are pretty subtle in these clips — probably easier felt than heard. But
monitoring through the Helios really helped me dial in those Drop D pedal
tones. I think they mix better, too.

Rock rhythm WITHOUT console emulation

Rock rhythm WITH console emulation

Harrison 32C

Vintage Harrison consoles are legendary for their sound and sweepable EQ filters. The UAD Harrison 32C is low impact in terms of DSP for the Apollo CPU and does a great job of shaving off those frequencies that can make modeled guitars sound fake and that otherwise hog space in a mix. Remember: most miked guitar speakers show sharp drop-offs in frequencies above 16kHz and below 75Hz. And unless you’re talking pristine cleans with shimmery cathedral reverbs and bass-register octave effects, you generally don’t need an extended 20Hz–20kHz frequency response. I employed a lowpass on the 32C just over 8kHz to pull out some top-end fizz in the lead part. Then I used a highpass around 50Hz to cut some of the mud from the droning low D.

Rock lead WITHOUT filtering

Rock lead WITH filtering

How It Sounds in a Mix

Here are both
the rhythm and lead parts in a mix so you can hear the stacked effect of these
subtler sweeteners.

Rock mix WITHOUT UAD-processed guitars

Rock mix WITH UAD-processed guitars

Part 2: Room Reverb and Studio Effects

Lexicon
224 and Pure Plate

Few pieces of gear better defined the 1970s pro-studio sound than the Lexicon 224 digital reverb and a room full of 8-foot-long EMT reverb plates. (Columbia Studios in Nashville had 14 EMTs suspended  from the steel roof rafters.) UAD’s re-creations of these effects in the Lexicon 224 Digital Reverb and Pure Plate plug-ins are useful for building the “room” your modeled guitar tones live in. Neither effect is too up-front on its own. But, stacked, the effect is lush and immersive — pretty convincing for the ambient blues tone I’m going for in this clip.

To
be fair, the Kemper has some really nice stereo reverbs built right in (which
you’ll hear in the “dry” clip below). These I’m treating like amp reverbs,
which, in a traditional guitar rig, would be fed through the cab and picked up
by close mics. The UAD reverbs are more about giving the illusion of an
acoustic space to add some fullness and character.

Blues lead WITHOUT room reverb

Blues lead WITH room reverb

Dytronics Cyclosonic Panner and Tri-Stereo Chorus

Sweetwater writer Mac McDonough turned me on to tri-chorus effects units of the 1980s. As someone who always equated chorus guitar with “dad rock,” the sound of these units and their modern equivalents (Eventide, Keeley, and Fulltone all make nice tributes) has really opened my eyes to what good chorus can do for tracked guitars.

UAD’s Dytronics Tri-Stereo Chorus epitomizes the 3-channel CS-5 bucket-brigade chorus units employed by guitar greats Steve Lukather and Boz Scaggs. If I’m just jamming at home, this effect is almost always in my insert bay; it’s just so much fun to noodle through. Printing the effect is another story since the lack of a blend knob means it’s always 100% on or off. But, for certain parts, the stereo spread and shimmery movement it adds can be just the sound a piece needs.

For the rhythm track of this piece, I was going for a swirly Leslie-ish tone. I added in the Cyclosonic Panner to give the part some stereo depth.

Blues rhythm WITHOUT pan & chorus effects

Blues rhythm WITH pan & chorus effects

How It Sounds in a Mix

The reverbs
add a nice depth to the lead tone. Stacking both the full-on Dytronics effects
kind of strips the rhythm part of its fullness, but I think it works in the
mix. If this were a “real” song, then I’d probably have used an aux send and
returned these separately in order to make the effects subtler.

Blues mix WITHOUT UAD-processed guitars

Blues mix WITH UAD-processed guitars

Part 3: Tape Saturation and Outboard Compression

Ampex
ATR-102 and Studer A800

Few of us record onto multitrack tape machines anymore. But ask a producer like Jack White, and you’re likely to get an earful about the glory days of tracking records live on the floor onto bulky, maintenance-intensive reel-to-reel tape machines. UAD’s licensed models of two legendary tape recorders, the Ampex ATR-102 and Studer A800, are perfect for adding a subtle gloss, dynamics glue, and harmonic saturation to electric guitars. You can also push your input to get a blistering distortion that’s quite unlike any other saturation device.

Feeding
the 102 into the 800 turned out to be the right recipe for getting the big,
distorted guitar in this song to mix. You can see from the images that I wasn’t
subtle either. Pushing the 102 hard and just kissing the meters on the 800 gave
me a controlled crunch and helped thin out the over-the-top bass.

’80s distortion WITHOUT tape saturation

’80s distortion WITH tape saturation

Teletronix
LA-3A and API 2500

You won’t find many guitar-tracking facilities that don’t have at least one Teletronix LA-3A in their effects racks. This solid-state version of the beloved LA-2A is a favorite of Lord-Alge brothers Chris and Tom for achieving their massive radio-rock guitar tones. UAD’s LA-3A pulls off the signal thickening and aggressive clamping of its hardware namesake quite well in plug-in form. As for the API 2500, Cory Wong turned me on to this compressor in a video he filmed for UAD. It’s quickly become one of my favorites on the UAD platform.

The
LA-3A on my scratch track here is handling the lion’s share of dynamics
control, while the 2500 is more just pumping up that ’80s bubble-tone squash.
Both of these compressors feature wet/dry Mix knobs, so you can get as subtle
or extreme as you like.

’80s scratch WITHOUT character compression

’80s scratch WITH character compression

How It Sounds in a Mix

I’m pretty pleased
with the results from both parts here. The scratch track is a good example of
how a good compressor can simultaneously control dynamics and make parts
pop. The tape sims help the distorted guitar stay nice and full despite cutting
a good portion of its low end.

’80s mix WITHOUT UAD-processed guitars

’80s mix WITH UAD-processed guitars 

Part 4: The Works!

The above examples have been designed to showcase just one
or two plug-ins at a time. But, for me, the real magic happens when you start
stacking handfuls of plug-ins to reach a cumulative effect. Here’s one final
clip of a fuzzy AC30 Top Boost profile with the kitchen sink thrown at it.

AC30 profile WITHOUT kitchen sink processing

AC30 profile WITH kitchen sink processing

And here’s a look at my chain:

Yes — this all runs with minimal latency on a DUO Core Apollo Twin USB.

Final Thoughts

I
hope you’ve enjoyed these clips as much as I enjoyed making them. Which ones
did you prefer and why? Any surprises? Reach out and let us know.

Kudos to both Kemper and Universal Audio for making the tones and workflow of top-shelf analog gear available to the working guitarist.

If you’re searching for ways to get the most of your guitar modeler, Universal Audio’s UAD plug-ins can certainly liven up a track. Want to get your hands on the tones you heard here? Give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 and let us know what you’re looking for in your guitar rig. From modeling devices to plug-ins, interfaces to pedals, we’ve got the gear you need to feed your guitar habits.

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