Guitar guys, DI/Emulated output OK?

[SteveBaruah]

Hi All,

I'm looking at buying a new amp, and so far I've settled on the Marshall DSL40C. But then I had a thought, how important is an emulated output/line out on an amp?
It would be handy for me (when my son is asleep, etc.) Or if I need to record noiselessly, is plugging my electric guitar directly into the interface (not using an amp), and using an amp plug-in going to sound as good as mic'ing the amp?
Do you ever record via DI or emulated line out? Can the sound compare with mic'ing the amp?



Thanks for all your thoughts on the matter.
Steve

[SteveBaruah]

Hi Graham,

Great tip, man that's a lot of amp for that price! I was actually set on a Hughes&Kettner Tubemeister 18 Twelve Combo because of the DI out on it, but that Marshall tone is just awesome.
There's a great website I use to compare amps as you can hear them playing the same riffs on each page.
For the tone alone, I would have to get the Marshall, but I worry I'm going to miss that DI option.

Here are all three amps if you are interested in hearing them:

Hughes&Kettner Tubemeister 18 Twelve Combo
https://www.thomann.de/gb/hugheskettner ... arch_prv_7

Marshall DSL40C
https://www.thomann.de/gb/marshall_dsl4 ... C_290716_0

Boss Katana 50
https://www.thomann.de/gb/boss_katana_5 ... 0_398150_0


Cheers,
Steve

[Kolstad]

Sounds like a great tube amp! Tube amps are really happening again after a period where folks have been testing out all of the emulated options like 11Racks, Kempers, Axe FX ect.

You dont really need a line out, as that would imply some sort of speaker emulation in the amp (which is usually inferior) - but what you'd want in stead for silent recording is a load box, where you can take off the load from your tube amp, while unplugging the speaker, and send the amp to your interface. In the box you can then use an impluse response plugin, that can load sampled impulses from real guitar cabinets.

That way you'll get the nice tube goodiness from the amp, but record completely silent, and just emulate a speaker cabinet in the box. Emulated speaker IR's are great, you can get packs from companies like Celestion and Ownhammer and many more. That approach can definitely compete with micing a cab at home. A real cost effective solution too, once you get the load box.

It needs to be a reactive load box, and imo the ones from Suhr and Two Notes are ahead of the pack. I got a Captor from Two Notes, and that comes with a plugin as well as IR's, and you can get third party IR's for it as well.

Check out this approach in this vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i770M9pM0_k
And the Two Notes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeRDFRUMLq8

[SteveBaruah]

Cool, I had no idea that technology existed. That settles it then, I'll get the Marshall and then I have the option of getting a load box if I need one.
Thanks!

[jazzstan]

I use a THD Hot Plate ... they come in 8 and 16 ohm load versions. I have a amps that range from 3 to 65 watts, and have never had a problem. Sounds is good, and I don't get the neighbor's barking dog in my tracks. I've A/B'd it with my POD Pro, and I prefer the sound of the real amp with the hot plate.

[SteveBaruah]

Hi Stan,

Sounds like another good option. Thanks!

[SteveBaruah]

Just in case it's of any interest to anyone, I directly plugged my Elite Strat into my interface today and put Waves GTR Stomp on the track in Pro Tools. While not all presets are gold, some sound great! Who needs an amp!
(I will absolutely still buy an amp)

[mojobone]

The best thing I've heard so far for direct recording is Line6' Helix Native, though it's a bit bleeding edge tech at the moment. I don't believe there's an amp you can't emulate to near perfection with that, but it's $400 and a hardware controller for it is that much more. The complete on the floor solution is $1500. which is a lot of scratch, but it's bending end tech with control over bias and sag and whatnot, independent of drive, level and master.

I have the prior generation X3Live and their miked cab is indistinguishable from the real thing. I use its XLR direct outs and various models of bass and guitar amps and I think the results speak pretty well for themselves, though for really exposed electric guitar parts, I'll still fire up a real tube amp on occasion, and a good load box can come in handy, though I generally lean towards ultra low wattage amps like the VHT Special 6 and a few well-chosen stompboxes. Speaking of which, there are several designed to give a modded Marshall sound in front of either a clean or driven amp; I use Xotic's SLP for that chore. Check out That Pedal Show and some others on the Youtubes for an overview.

I really quite like the emulated output on low wattage Marshalls, even the solid state ones sound really good.

[SteveBaruah]

Wow, so the technology is really that far. What do you cobsider a low wattage amp? The Marshall can be turned down to 15 watts.

[mojobone]

20 watts or less. A Vox AC30 can fill a mid-size club, A 4X10 Fender Super Reverb is about 45 watts and can fill a large club without help. Basically low-wattage is anything that can't hang with a loud drummer.

Prior iterations of amp modeling tech have already nailed the sound; the latest stuff also nails the feel, though obviously if you don't crank the monitors to stage levels, you won't feel your bell-bottoms flapping in the Marshall/Fender breeze.