Advice on guitar di

[SH73]

Can anyone recommend a guitar di for recording guitars. I'm using Ableton live lite.
I've posted this in guitar section but it doesn't appear the guitar section has many visitors.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497081416' post='3315676']
Can anyone recommend a guitar di for recording guitars. I'm using Ableton live lite...
[/quote]

What hardware are you using presently for recording..?

[SH73]

Epihone les paul or squier tele via Ibanez tubescreamer plugged into Fender mustang one amp which is plugged into laptop with tons of pre sets from Fender mustang. I usually mic up the amp speaker just off the centre using SM57 that goes into Focusrite 2i2 recorder on Ableton live.
I can get lots of variety this way but looking for a di to record and mix mic and di sound simultaneously.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497084426' post='3315706']...goes into Focusrite 2i2 recorder...
[/quote]

The interface has an instrument input which will accept signal from the guitar (or the fx...). It's as if it had a built-in DI. Have you tried using that..?

[SH73]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1497085366' post='3315713']


The interface has an instrument input which will accept signal from the guitar (or the fx...). It's as if it had a built-in DI. Have you tried using that..?
[/quote]
I can record bass via Hartke di into interface but guitar plugged into interface sounds unbearable even when I tried it through Hartke.Hence I'm after a guitar di pedal.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497086886' post='3315729']...guitar plugged into interface sounds unbearable...
[/quote]

It's really a case of treating the guitar, either whilst recording, or after the event, with virtual fx. That's what I do, every time. There are, however, several guitar multi-fx pedals which have a DI built-in; the Boss GT-6 comes to mind, but there are others. There's no secret, though; if you're after the sound of cranked Hiwatt half-stack, you'll have a hard job getting that without micing up, and even then, there are pitfalls. It was quite rare, back in the day, to DI an electric guitar, until modelling came to the rescue. Nowadays, I quite happily forgo any amp and cab miced up for a decent Amplitube rack, by IK Multimedia, and do it all virtually.

[ahpook]

I use one of [url="http://www.palmer-germany.com/mi/en/PDI-09-Passive-DI-Box-for-Guitars-PDI09.htm"]these[/url]



I'm not a fan of the digital amp sims I've heard and this is a simple, no-hassle solution. It may only have 3 'amp models' but it does a DI-ed guitar a lot more palatable to my ears. Works very well with overdrives and the like.

Edited June 10, 2017 by ahpook

[SH73]

Do you think I can use the FTWS output to connect to interface?

[Dad3353]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497090522' post='3315776']
Do you think I can use the FTWS output to connect to interface?
[/quote]

Not a very precise question, in my view, but if FTWS (or FTSW..?) means FooTSWitch, it cannot be used for audio, as it is only for switching, and has no signal at all. Could be wrong, of course, if it refers to summit else.

[ahpook]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497090522' post='3315776']
Do you think I can use the FTWS output to connect to interface?
[/quote]

FTWS ?

[SH73]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1497091630' post='3315785']


Not a very precise question, in my view, but if FTWS (or FTSW..?) means FooTSWitch, it cannot be used for audio, as it is only for switching, and has no signal at all. Could be wrong, of course, if it refers to summit else.
[/quote]
You're right it's a footswitch out.

[JapanAxe]

Depends what you want to do exactly.

(1) Any audio interface with a jack input that can be switched to high impedance (or 'Hi Z') will allow you to get a clean/dry guitar signal into your DAW software, where you can then use plug-in amp simulators.
(2) Alternatively, you can do your amp simulation with outboard equipment and record that into your interface. I favour this approach, and I use the following, whichever sounds best to me:
- Digital - Zoom MS50G pedal (£89 from GAK) - the latest software gives you 22 amp models, which I must say sound excellent.
- Analog - Tech 21 Sansamp PSA rack unit (£200-£300 used from eBay) - fully analog amp modelling with digital storage of settings. A cheaper way to do this is the Behringer GDI21 (£25-£30 new) - bargain!

EDIT - It would probably help if you posted a description of what you have at present.

Edited June 10, 2017 by JapanAxe

[SH73]

If my guitar amp had and an XLR out that would be brilliant. Unfortunately my guitar into focusrite sounds shocking.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497100629' post='3315851']...my guitar into focusrite sounds shocking.
[/quote]

My guitars, recorded 'dry', are not all that inspiring, either, that's why I use virtual fx, such as Amplitube (there are tons of others...) and such to get the recorded sound I'm after, depending on what I what to hear. I have a physical pedalboard, and a whole range of decent pedals (Boss Fender Deluxe, Akai Headrush, EH Germanium Big Muff, Loop Station and many more...), which I use when playing through an amp (Fender Bassman 50, or Jazz Chorus, or others..), but for recording I get far better results by going in directly to the interface and treating afterwards. On occasion I'll treat whilst recording, but usually have a second 'dry' track in any case, and often end up not using the track with 'baked in' fx; they obviously cannot be 'tweaked' after the event.
To each his/her own, of course, but unless going the full-on 'studio' route, with decent micing of the amp and cab in a decent-sounding room, I don't see any real downside to using modern virtual stuff.
I should add, for those not aware, that I'm quite hard of hearing in my doddery old age, but have always been, and remain, rather 'old school' when I can. Here, though, the modern stuff is so much better than the way it was done 'back then'. To get the 'amp cranked' sound, we'd put the cab face down on the carpeted floor and turn up the wick..! Hiwatt Heaven..! Happy daze.

Edited June 10, 2017 by Dad3353

[SH73]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1497102708' post='3315865']


My guitars, recorded 'dry', are not all that inspiring, either, that's why I use virtual fx, such as Amplitube (there are tons of others...) and such to get the recorded sound I'm after, depending on what I what to hear. I have a physical pedalboard, and a whole range of decent pedals (Boss Fender Deluxe, Akai Headrush, EH Germanium Big Muff, Loop Station and many more...), which I use when playing through an amp (Fender Bassman 50, or Jazz Chorus, or others..), but for recording I get far better results by going in directly to the interface and treating afterwards. On occasion I'll treat whilst recording, but usually have a second 'dry' track in any case, and often end up not using the track with 'baked in' fx; they obviously cannot be 'tweaked' after the event.
To each his/her own, of course, but unless going the full-on 'studio' route, with decent micing of the amp and cab in a decent-sounding room, I don't see any real downside to using modern virtual stuff.
I should add, for those not aware, that I'm quite hard of hearing in my doddery old age, but have always been, and remain, rather 'old school' when I can. Here, though, the modern stuff is so much better than the way it was done 'back then'. To get the 'amp cranked' sound, we'd put the cab face down on the carpeted floor and turn up the wick..! Hiwatt Heaven..! Happy daze.
[/quote]
Just looked up amplitude 4. Looks quite versatile. Thanks for your help.

[bazzbass]

the 1st Gen Scarlett 2i2s are notorious for not being able to handle electric guitars direct.

Trade it in for a Gen 2 and you won't need a DI for guitar. Or just buy a DI. Radial J48 are awesome, but U may not need to go that high in price. I'd get an active one for a passive guitar, if it has a pre amp, a passive would be better.

[Skol303]

Radial DIs are awesome, especially those with Jensen transformers (I have a passive JDI). Tank-like build quality too.

[paul_5]

Any sort of DI'ed guitar is going to sound dreadful, it's a scientific fact.

I use the Brainworx Megasingle in protools as my 'amp' so that I can do it when the kids are in bed.

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/bx_megasingle.html

Makes it sound an awful lot better.

[roman_sub]

I would recommend getting the best quality active DI box you can afford for this application, to go between your guitar and interface. My favourite is the Rupert Neve DI, though something like a Samson active DI can be had for much less...

in my experience, active DI boxes seem to retain transients better, with more high frequency detail.... which helps to make digital amp simulations sound better and more life-like

[linear]

I have both a first gen 2i2 and a cheap Samson active DI box, so I did a little comparison. It never occurred to me that my DI box would make a significant difference to the sound, as it has no speaker sim or anything like that. Well, it turns out it does make a difference. I'm no expert, but I could definitely hear it, and I think I preferred the DI box version for most, although not all, pickup combinations and playing styles.

Both still sounded very much like a direct recorded guitar though, and I think I could eq one to sound pretty much like the other in the DAW. Also, I'd have to test each of them running an amp sim before I declared one to be preferable to the other.

I suspect I might hear similar differences if I compared direct into the interface with having a clean boost pedal or buffer in the chain, but I didn't test that.

[LewisK1975]

Hey Peter,

One of our guitar players has a Hughes & Kettner amp head which has a built in DI output. It has switchable modes for (I think) cabs and mic's. It's really very good from what I can gather! This is the one he uses:- http://hughes-and-kettner.com/products/tubemeister/tubemeister-deluxe-edition/tubemeister-deluxe-40/

They make the DI in pedal / box standalone format as well. http://hughes-and-kettner.com/products/redbox-5/red-box-5/

Hope this helps!

[bazzbass]

buying an expensive tube amp coz it has a built in DI is a stupid idea. Just buy a DI, under a hundred bucks.

[SH73]

I have downloaded the free version of amplitube but getting a high pitched sound. Moved the wires etc but it's still there. Any suggestions?

[Sibob]

Gen 1 2i2s certainly have lower headroom than the Gen 2s. Just to be clear, it's not the 2i2 that is 'sounding shocking', it's just that the input is clipping, any interface would sound bad if you clip the input. If you lower your pickups, or turn the volume down on your guitar, you'll get as good a tone into your DAW as if you used any DI box. Obviously this isn't ideal for most guitarists, and so that's why we addressed this on the Gen2 2i2s and increased the input gain level.
Unless you have other uses for a DI, I'd save yourself desk space and just upgrade your Gen 1 to a Gen 2.

For transparency, I work for Focusrite.

Cheers
Si

[SH73]

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1498743861' post='3326768']
Gen 1 2i2s certainly have lower headroom than the Gen 2s. Just to be clear, it's not the 2i2 that is 'sounding shocking', it's just that the input is clipping, any interface would sound bad if you clip the input. If you lower your pickups, or turn the volume down on your guitar, you'll get as good a tone into your DAW as if you used any DI box. Obviously this isn't ideal for most guitarists, and so that's why we addressed this on the Gen2 2i2s and increased the input gain level.
Unless you have other uses for a DI, I'd save yourself desk space and just upgrade your Gen 1 to a Gen 2.

For transparency, I work for Focusrite.

Cheers
Si
[/quote]

Cheers, I lowered the volume to make sure it's in green not clipping etc. But the high pitched noise is there even when I don't play which is frustrating. I turned away from laptop, extended the ethernal and nothing.