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Recording Professional-Sounding Guitars at Bedroom Levels

Thursday April 8, 2021. 06:00 PM , from Sweetwater inSync
Getting
a good tone out of a miked guitar amp at sensible listening levels can be a
challenge. Believe us: we’ve tried. To get those speakers moving at full swing,
to get that cab and room resonating sympathetically, and to get your power
tubes cooking enough to fill in your midrange often requires levels that can be
uncomfortable or even impossible at home, in an apartment, or on a quiet stage.

Fortunately
for guitarists today, a number of products exist that are geared solely for the
task of producing hair-raising guitar tones without waking the dead or risking
eviction. Some products such as reactive load boxes and attenuators work in
conjunction with your existing guitar gear to make miking simpler or even
unnecessary. Others such as modeling devices and software solutions make
hauling that gear completely optional.

So, if you’re searching for ways to get pro-level guitar recordings at home or in the studio without shaking the walls, then strap in as Sweetwater guitarists explore some of our favorite quiet-recording options.

Amp Modelers

Amp
modelers seek to replicate every stage of a traditional guitar-amp setup —
amplifier, speaker cab, and stompbox effects — in a device that can be plugged
straight into and run directly into an audio interface. In a recording
scenario, this means there are no mics to set up and no cabs to find the sweet
spot.

Standalone modelers are most commonly available in floorboard styles, although the Kemper is notable in that it exists also in head and rack versions. Modelers make great options for the player who wants to have all their tones in a self-contained, stage-or-studio format.

Kemper Profiler Stage — Tens of thousands of modeled tones await you in Kemper’s floor-format Profiler Stage. This unit can even profile your existing amps, stomps, and cabs to re-create your cherished tones at silent recording levels.

Zoom G1X FOUR — Thirteen amps and a fleet of stomp effects make the humble G1X FOUR the perfect platform for direct guitar recording on a budget. You also get around 70 built-in drum patterns with adjustable tempos and a looper on deck to save you steps in the tracking process.

ISP Technologies Michael Sweet Theta Pro DSP — Stryper front man Michael Sweet’s fully programmable Theta Pro guitar preamp features 11 presets from the man himself and more 32-bit effects than you can shake a stick at. ISP’s selectable True Speaker technology makes outputting to your recording interface a breeze.

Tech 21 Fly Rig 5 v2 — Slim and intuitive, the latest Fly Rig 5 gives you SansAmp amp emulation from both sides of the pond along with discrete, knob-per-function effects sections and a handy cab-emulated output.

Explore All Multi-effects Pedals

Load Boxes with Cabinet Simulators

Reactive
load boxes sit between an amplifier and a cabinet (stack or combo — it makes no
difference) to reproduce the dynamic impedance of a moving speaker in space.
While almost all tube amplifiers require a speaker cab be connected during
operation, reactive load boxes supply a dummy load (hence the name) to your amp
to protect it from damage when running cab-less.

Reactive load boxes provide what many guitarists consider to be the best of both worlds, analog and digital, since you’ve still got hot tubes and beefy transformers from your amp firing into a device that safely and silently allows you to crank up to your heart’s content. And, since you can send amp sounds directly out into a recording medium, diming your master volume to get those saturated-tube tones is no trouble at all. Even better, many modern reactive load boxes support the loading of third-party cabinet IRs (impulse responses), which means there are thousands of possible mates to suit your particular amp flavor and playing style.

Universal Audio OX Amp Top Box — UA’s OX has been praised by artists and reviewers industry-wide. In the studio, a tool like this becomes invaluable. Not only do you get a virtual-cab software studio with endless speaker, space, and mic combinations, but you also get access to UAD’s award-winning rack effects in a package that packs up and travels to your sessions with you.

BOSS Waza Tube Amp Expander — No matter what amp you record with, the Tube Amp Expander dramatically augments its performance potential. Now, cranking that Deluxe Reverb to its sweet spot is possible at comfortable bedroom listening levels. Space for up to four third-party speaker IRs sweetens the deal.

Two Notes Torpedo Captor X — Two Notes’ original Torpedo Captor turned many of us at Sweetwater into believers. The Captor X adds a premium IR loader into the equation along with Two Notes’ powerful Wall of Sound III software for greater cab capabilities. Also available in a 16-ohm version.

Tone King Ironman II — When it comes to reactive power attenuation for your amplifier, the Ironman II is as faithful as they come. Now you can dependably reproduce the electrifying sound of a cranked amp and mic up or just run straight into your interface using this loadbox’s onboard analog-cabinet simulation.

Explore All Attenuators & Simulators

Modeling Audio Interfaces

Some amp modelers are USB audio interfaces unto themselves, eliminating the need to invest in a separate desktop interface to capture tones inside a computer. Simply dial in your tone, connect your modeler to your workstation via a single cable, and you’ve got lush stereo guitar sounds that are as easy to record as running direct.

Audient Sono Guitar Recording Interface — “Have guitar, will record” — that’s Sono’s motto! This USB-C recording interface has a real 12AX7 preamp tube built into its guitar channel and Two Notes’ acclaimed cabinet modeling baked into its signal flow. You can record guitar sounds through Sono directly into your DAW or enjoy up to three of your favorite presets for untethered practice.

Neural DSP Quad Cortex Modeling Floorboard — Giant of the guitar-modeling software world, Neural DSP brings its years of performance savvy and modeling expertise to bear on a totally new breed of modeler. Capture your analog amps and stomps and store them as blocks or tap into the user cloud to access a glut of premium guitar sounds — then record them directly over USB.

BOSS GT-001 Table Top Guitar Processor — BOSS-Roland’s COSM technology has been leading the way in amp and effects modeling for years. The well-loved GT-001 brings the latest COSM models and presets to a notepad-size desktop format with audio over USB for recording simplicity.

IK Multimedia iRig Stomp I/O Pedalboard Controller — A familiar floor layout and an assignable expression pedal make recording at home with the iRig Stomp I/O a trivial affair. This hybrid controller/USB audio interface melds perfectly with the included AmpliTube software suite to get your mind off the computer screen and back onto making music. You can even drop an iPad or iPhone directly into the controller and take your favorite tones to go, wherever you record or perform.

Explore All Audio Interfaces

Modeling Software Suites

Modeling plug-ins and software environments have come leaps and bounds in the past decade. These self-contained recording options require no amp, no cab, and next to no additional hardware. (Bear in mind that you most likely will need an audio interface — or, at least, an advanced sound card — in order to feed your dry guitar signal into your computer. And, if you’re picky about tone, a good direct box helps, too.) And, thanks to preloaded presets, they’re a great way to get you in the genre ballpark for classic country to modern rock and metal. Perhaps best of all, these plug-ins are a completely silent way to record; plug a set of headphones into your laptop, and you’re good to go.

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 6 Pro — This full-featured modeling solution is one of the many perks you get with the Komplete 13 instrument and plug-in suite. Here you’ll find enough great tones and easily identifiable amp/stomp types to re-create the choosiest vintage combos to fire-breathing monster stacks all completely in the box.

IK Multimedia AmpliTube 5 — IK’s flagship virtual amp studio sees major improvements in version 5, most notably in a scalable, redesigned interface and loads of groundbreaking models. Tone chasers will enjoy cycling through AmpliTube 5’s 34 amps, 47 stompbox models, 36 T-RackS effects, and 143,000 speaker sounds to create the tones of their dreams. There’s even a standalone 8-track recorder onboard to eliminate the need to add a DAW to your workflow.

Line 6 Helix Native — The exact tones we love in our Helix floorboards are now available to Mac and PC users completely inside the box — no additional hardware required! Line 6 drills down to the component level of our favorite tube amps and stomp effects to create record-ready tones that won’t vex your neighbors. Already own a Helix floorboard or rack unit? You can score a sweet deal on this software with Sweetwater’s Helix and HX Stomp/Effects upgrade options.

Universal Audio UAD amp plug-ins — If you’ve got an Apollo interface, then you’ve more than likely got a handful of killer, latency-free guitar tones waiting to be discovered. The Marshall Plexi Classic, Fender Tweed Deluxe, and Suhr PT100 triumvirate cover a ton of ground for all but the heaviest of metal tones.

Positive Grid BIAS FX 2 Elite — Another long-timer in the amp-modeling game, Positive Grid delivers its best models to date in the BIAS FX 2 Elite software suite. Within minutes, you’ll be recording cutting-edge guitar tones using Elite’s wizard-like Guitar Match and Amp Match interfaces. Using these starting points, finding your ideal tone is as easy as spinning a few virtual dials. Don’t need the complete range of gear? BIAS FX 2 Pro and Standard editions are also available.

Explore All Virtual Guitar & Bass Software

Looking for Even More Quiet Guitar-Recording
Solutions? Call Sweetwater!

This article has just touched on a few of Sweetwater’s favorite solutions for recording guitars easier, and quieter, at home. If you’re looking for the inside scoop on the latest gear that’ll give your recorded tones the edge (so to speak), then give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700. Our experts will be happy to steer you toward the gear you want, at prices you’ll love, in the time frame you need.
The post Recording Professional-Sounding Guitars at Bedroom Levels appeared first on inSync.
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/recording-professional-sounding-guitars-at-bedroom-levels/
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