Input on Electric Guitar input please?

[Razor7Music]

Hey All--

Just my .02c...

I used to get the traditionalist argument whenever I would suggest a electric guitar DI to amp modeler and FX plug-ins, versus the mic-ing the actual amp - old-school method. I'd get the, 'you can hear the difference of amp modelers and it's not as good as mic-ing an amp, etc.'

I just think the plug-ins like NI Guitar Rig 5 sound so awesome, are so versatile--and yes, fun to use, that I don't know that I'm going back to mic-ing my amp any more.

One last point is, I've been recording long enough to remember when drum samples and loops started getting really popular, when many drummers had the same argument that they don't sound as good as an actual drummer playing an analog kit. Starting off as a drummer, I fought it as long as I could and just had to give in for the same reasons I mentioned about amp modelers. Just not practical any more, and the sounds are so high quality these days.

Anyway, I'm trying to come up with my next rack and started playing around with GR 5 standalone and it was actually really fun--versus getting the amp controls and mic placement dialed in, oh, and dealing with the dang amp hum...

[mojobone]

I have hi-Z inputs on my interface, so I don't need a direct box, but there are situations where some signal conditioning is advisable. Even though I no longer use a CRT monitor, my flatscreen can induce a bit of hum in any nearby unbalanced cables, and it so happens my I/F is mounted above the screen. I use a lot of single-coil guitars that are also susceptible to screen hum. Therefore when going direct I use the balanced outputs of my Line6 X3Live which is a tone beast and a swiss army knife in terms of options/connectivity in the studio. It takes all the processing load off the computer so it can do the orchestrations and it's damn handy on the gig, as well, with two complete signal chains that can include guitar and bass amps and modeled mic preamps. It also works as a standalone interface, but I don't bother. The point is, if you can direct inject a balanced signal it's just a smidge better and you can do longer cable runs, worry-free. I've demoed the Helix Native and it sounds even better but it's pricey and while it's well laid out, it can be extremely complex, though I could say the same for the X3L.