GUITAR TRACKS
ROBERT WILLIAMS
Put A Load On
Connect the speaker An attenuator/load box can be used either From the load box, the signal goes straight into Peavey’s ReValver software uses
output from your amplifier to reduce speaker volume, or, as shown here, your computer audio interface or other recorder. impulse response technology to
to the attenuator/load box. to directly feed the output from the amp apply the sound of a real speaker and
into a recorder or DAW without connecting a microphone to your amp’s signal.
speaker at all.
I’m a tube snob. An unashamed, card-carry- The load box takes the voltage from the
ing, cork-sniffing boutique-o-phile. Yes, virtual amplifier’s speaker output (which is hot
guitar processing keeps getting better. But enough to toast your recording equipment)
there’s a feel and natural compression gener- and converts most of it into heat. The rest of
ally lacking when compared to a great tube the signal can then be used to feed record-amp operating at its optimum output—the ing gear.
point where the preamp and power section
are in the red zone, providing saturation, sustain and response to player dynamics.
The downside of a tube amp running in the
“zone” is that it’s really loud. If even a 5-watt
amp is enough to upset neighbors, imagine
the terror caused by pummeling nearby ears
with a 50 or 100-watter! Common solutions
to this problem include isolation cabinets and
attenuators. Isolation cabinets are a great
option, but they can have downsides: they’re
still pretty loud, have odd resonances, and
mic positioning is limited. If you incorporate
an attenuator, you can reduce the volume, but
in many cases you also reduce your dynamics
and punch.
The signal path is pretty simple. Instead of
connecting your amp to its speaker cabinet,
connect it to the attenuator/load box. Then
take the load box’s mic or line output and
feed it to your audio interface, mic preamp
Embrace new technology
along with old! Combine the
output from your amp with
a virtual speaker and micro-
phone for the ideal silent
recording rig with all the
tone of a cranked-up amp.
there’s a piece of the puzzle missing; without
a real speaker, the sound isn’t going to be
very good (although you may like it for clean
tones or for ultra fizzy, buzzy goodness). The
speaker is essential to providing the mid-range-dominant tones we all love.
Fortunately, many software products like IK
Multimedia’s Amplitube 2, Native Instruments’
Guitar Rig, and Waves’ GTR offer “virtual”
speaker cabs and mics, along with virtual pedals, amps and processing tools. The idea is to
turn off everything in the software except the
speaker and mic best suited to the tone you
want to create, then apply the speaker simulation to your amp track.
So what do you do if you want to use a tube
amp to record at home? Embrace new technology along with old! Combine the output
from your amp with a virtual speaker and
microphone for the ideal silent recording rig
with all the tone of a cranked-up amp.
Products like Audio Ease Speakerphone and
Peavey ReValver go a step further and replace
the simulated speakers and mics with impulse
responses. An impulse response is an actual
capture of the characteristics of a speaker,
cabinet, or mic that can be used to process a
guitar signal. You get a more accurate picture
than a virtual model or a filter. There are even
websites where users share their personal
impulse response files, so you should be able
to find the exact speaker and mic you want.
The first thing we need to do is to eliminate
the speaker cabinet and get the amp’s signal level down to where we can feed it into
our recorder. Fortunately, the same piece of
gear—a load box—will let us do both. I use
the THD Hotplate; others are available from
Koch, Weber, Sequis, and Palmer. Primarily
these are attenuators, but most also have
a load setting that lets you disconnect your
speaker and also provide a line or mic-level
signal that can feed your recorder or DAW.
All your normal processing still applies
after this process, so you get all the tube
tone you want at a volume that allows for
happy tracking!
or mixer. (CAUTION: Make sure you are connecting a line or mic level output from the
load box to your recorder—NEVER connect a
speaker-level output to anything other than a
speaker or load box!)
At this point, we have the pure output from
your amplifier (and any stompbox effects
you’ve used, etc.) in the computer or recorder
where we can lay it down on a track. But
Robert Williams
Sweetwater Sales Engineer Robert Williams has
terminal G.A.S. He also has years of experience
as a guitarist, engineer, video editor, and broadcast
automation integrator at sites across North America
and the U.K. Contact him at 1-800-222-4700 ext. 1371 or
robert_williams@sweetwater.com.
