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22/08/2005 3:33 pm
As some of you might know I have been pretty much in doubt as to how I should record my electric guitar. My Vox AD30 sounds better then my V-amp2, but when recording it with my mics not much is left of the sound, and the direct sound of the V-amp is much better. Using the line-out of Vox is pointless as there doesn't seem to be a proper speaker simulation build in.
Today I've been playing around with plugging the line-out of the Vox into the imput of the V-amp. I would disable all stuff on the V-amp except the speaker sims and it sounded a whole lot better. So I tried including the amp sims of the V-amp over the amp sims of the Vox. And with some fiddling it did actually worked in creating some wicked new sounds. For example, using a Bassman on the Vox with some reverb, EQ set neutral into a JCM800 with boosted presence/treble, no FX. Sounded much better then I had expected from two modelers in a chain.
Maybe this is something everyone already did, but I certainly never thought of doing so until today. So if you have two digital pre-amps laying around, try linking them after each other instead of simulatenously beside each other. Anyone else had much luck with this? Maybe Joe knows if it works the same with two tube pre-amps, since the modelers model the poweramp as well?
Interestingly, using a booster pedal (Boss SD1) into the V-amp resulted in absolute crap. Weird, when I think of it.
22/08/2005 5:12 pm
The tube pre-amps Ive connected together didn't sound very well together. Kind of thin for tone, almost like they were out of time. The way they sounded best was after the dummyloads and line outs from the attenautors. By then I alrealy had the saturation tone and was dividing it up between the pre-amps. Which I was using them as effects units instead of pre-amps. From there they go into equalizers in the power amps.
It always fun experimneting with finding different was of plugging things together.
Joe
23/08/2005 6:46 pm
Interestingly, using a booster pedal (Boss SD1) into the V-amp resulted in absolute crap. Weird, when I think of it.
Pretty much as expected in a low cost modeller. In a modelling architecture, everything except the modelling portion must be linear and have good dynamic range --that includes the input amp, analog-to-digital converter, digital-to-analog converter, as well as the power amp. Ideally, when the signal gets boosted, it is faithfully conveyed to the A/D converter and on to the modelling processor without distortion (just the boost). The modeller "says" Hey, that's a pretty hot input signal, which should result in some cool saturation if I were a tube pre-amp. Let me do that to the signal.
In the case of the V-amp, the booster is probably simply increasing the signal to a point where it distorts or clips at the solid state input stage, because that stage doesn't actually have enough linear dynamic range to faithfully send an amplified signal to the A/D converter -- or the signal is clipped further down the pipe at the A/D converter itself. In either case, nasty harsh clipping instead of nice, soft compression.
BTW, I was pleasantly surprised the first time I noted that boost did work well with my Roland Cube 30. I presume the same is true of your Vox.
-Greg
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