Big guitar amps or small guitar amps in the studio

[trent]

I checked and the Scumbacks are Celestions. Sometimes the variations of two different speakers can be beneficial if they compliment each other. One speaker with aggressive mids combined with another with complex lower mids could be overall more
pleasing.

[funtimesman]

Hi forum, please consider reading my jumbled ideas below to help me. I want to start a thread for this, but this thread is pretty relevant to the questions I have.

Peace

it kind of fits with the whole t-amp guitar amp diy kit idea....its an alternative. basically, my deal is a singer songwriter who uses drum loops, guitars, midi keyboards, and vocals to make my music in my living room. i live in a cottage, but its basically an apartment volume level vibe needed.

so i have the ridiculous fender performer 1000 head 100 watts to go with the fender 412....i feel ridiculous with an amp this big considering how small my 1 bedroom cottage is etc....plus i can't even turn it up and it doesn't sound that good unless its turned up (i know, volume equals sounds better, but i think there is something like saturation at play in that situation too)...anyways, so its seem a very small amp would be perfect for my sitch, as long as it doesn't deliver significantly less sound quality than some bigger amp....i have an emu 1820 , use sonar 8, akg c3000b condenser mic, beta 58a dynamic....

so i was thinking Roland Microcube vs. Vox DA5... Telecaster Guitar Forum - Roland Microcube vs. VOX DA5

Roland Micro Cube owners: how's the headphone jack? [Archive] - Harmony Central Musician Community Forums

Best apartment amp under $200 [Archive] - Harmony Central Musician Community Forums

but the thing is....
I don't even know if mic ing guitars is the way to go anymore with all these amp simulators, etc (i have all the software and plugins I could ever use, so that is an option).

And I don't really know what DI entails...Direct INject....when I plug my guitar into my fender head and then go from the head's line out to my emu line in (on the back, not one of the two preamps xlr/ guitar jack sockets on the front) is that DI? is there any point to doing that? How does that compare to plugging my guitar into the preamp jacks on the front of the emu 1820? is that DI? under which scenario is one generally supposed to utilize the amp simulator/speaker simulator plugins and all that stuff?

And what about just going straight from my guitar to one of the line ins on the back of the emu (again these are not with preamps and or phantom power like the 2 input jacks on the front). Is that DI? Where does a DI box come into play? Would an ebtech humx or hum eliminator fit into any of these scenarios?

I'm not even sure where a v amp thing fits into all this (i know google everything, but, I am exhausted from googling for hours upon hours). I've tried these various ways out, which has been somewhat hard given my fender amp gets crackly sometimes, but generally it seems that taking the line out from the back of the amp into the emu results in a superior signal going into sonar and getting tracked. its louder, seems more "real", etc. whether that matters given that maybe one could take the

(my guitar is a 1994 strat custom shop american classic holographic deal with rosewood fretboard and a smallish/thin neck which is probably not so good for me because i have really large/rachmaninoff type hands...this is probably too much guitar for me and selling it might mean i could get gear more integral to the process?)

I think this all might make a good thread (if seven of them don't exist already....)


Okay, so assuming a home recording guy like me still has a place for guitar amps in his studio, and knowing I want quality and the ability to keep my options open for later (which I assume means tracking a clean version of my guitar playing, ie, no distortion or reverb from a guitar amp and or no guitar amp at all, so I can manipulate later with amp sims and plugins); and given the fact that I don't want some ginormous Mount Guitarampmore in my living room/studio and that big guitar amps generally are too loud for my sitch anyway....do I need an amp that has a line out? Do the Roland Microcube and or the Vox DA5 fit the bill? If not, would the next wattage up for small amps be the way to go? seems like that is a choice between Roland cube 30x vs Vox Valvetronix VT30 :

Harmony Central Musician Community Forums - Roland cube 30x vs Vox Valvetronix VT30



thanks for any insight you will offer

Peace,

ZC

[garww]

DI is often missing the amp vibrating the body and strings - feedback. Hendrix would have been much different.

[TonyB]

If I recall Brian May always used a 10W or 20W practice amp in the studio. I can't remember which brand though.

[garww]

I actually had to look up Brain May on the web. I suppose it's the fact that I never detected a hint of soul in his playing that I never got into Queen.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by garww

I actually had to look up Brain May on the web. I suppose it's the fact that I never detected a hint of soul in his playing that I never got into Queen.

Maybe it was the small amp in the studio!

[garww]

Originally Posted by TonyB

Maybe it was the small amp in the studio!

I am ashamed to admit it, but I felt I had to come clean and realize my ignorance : ) The pages I just looked up suggest he is a Vox man and there is no reason to doubt that.

I do have a Queen LP a friend gave me and it's quite good. But after discovering who Brian was, my little mind flashed to my Golden Earring Videos. There is some good jam.

On the other side of the coin, though, I can't see how a band like Blue Cheer could use small amps in the studio (just listening to Parchment Farm on fones).

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by garww

I am ashamed to admit it, but I felt I had to come clean and realize my ignorance : ) The pages I just looked up suggest he is a Vox man and there is no reason to doubt that.

I do have a Queen LP a friend gave me and it's quite good. But after discovering who Brian was, my little mind flashed to my Golden Earring Videos. There is some good jam.

On the other side of the coin, though, I can't see how a band like Blue Cheer could use small amps in the studio (just listening to Parchment Farm on fones).

You're right, Brian May is a Vox hound, but he's got the 10-watt for sale....


Vox Brian May Special Guitar Combo Amplifier
The Special is a 10-watt, 1 x 6.5 in. practice/recording amp that sounds identical to Brian May's homemade 'Deacy System' (his Deacy amp/Treble Boost combination), which was the homemade, behind-the-scenes key to Brian's signature tone. The Special delivers the genuine feel and sonic integrity of Brian's original system. A Booster output allows the Booster section of the Brian May Special to drive another amp, in the same manner May employs live when he uses his Treble Booster to overdrive his AC30s (the Booster section of the Brian May Special sounds exactly like the effect of May's famed Treble Booster device). The Special also has an Emulated Recording/Headphone jack, an External Speaker jack and two 'battery simulation circuits,' one each for the Booster and amp sections.

Details
Brian May's guitar work with Queen resulted in some of the most memorable rock anthems of all time. His guitar sound is instantly recognizable, and, while many have tried to emulate it , reproducing his distinctive recorded trademark tone has been largely impossible, until now.

[garww]

I used a old Wollensack mono tape to drive my Twin way back, but that is all I had laying around : ) Truthfully, I think there was more experimentation with "what's laying around" in his era. There wasn't much in the music shop for tone bending - different strings, maybe.

The poor guy had to make his own guitar - as did many others.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by garww

I used a old Wollensack mono tape to drive my Twin way back, but that is all I had laying around : ) Truthfully, I think there was more experimentation with "what's laying around" in his era. There wasn't much in the music shop for tone bending - different strings, maybe.

The poor guy had to make his own guitar - as did many others.

Yep! including EVH!