reamping...

runmikeyrun · #1 04-20-2011, 07:11 PM

We're going to record a 5 song EP soon. The engineer wants to record my bass direct, then reamp it through my rig. I am not sure if this is a good idea. I mean, i know TECHNICALLY the amp is going to see the same signal as it does live, but it will have already gone through a direct box, and some sort of digital modification by the interface/preamp. Can this work ok or should I demand the real thing? Our engineer is our guitarist, he owns his own studio, so money isn't an issue, just time. I like to record live with the drums to really get in the groove, and don't want to find out the reamp doesn't sound the way I want it and have to do it all again.

Thanks.

bThumper38 · #2 04-20-2011, 07:13 PM

nothing wrong with reamping, and on top of that, you can mess with the dials while you're bass is being played. Atleast that's one of the upsides anyways IMO.

audiomitch · #3 04-20-2011, 08:32 PM

No problems. Unless he's using some really crappy gear you won't notice any degradation. It's just a way of having more control over your bass sound. Better separation too. That's a good thing

The Owl · #4 04-23-2011, 07:37 PM

Personally, my take on reamping is the exact opposite, I avoid it at all costs, bad experiences with it. To me , it just sounds weak and lacking presence, punch or anything else, sort of like playing a worn tape recording through a guitar/bass amp. An album I played on, the first mixing engineer took my nicely recorded direct bass track and reamped it through a rig that was not very good in my opinion ot start with, and just completely RUINED a perfectly good recorded sound. Thankfully, the guy whose album I played on fired that mixing engineer and got someone who did a far superior job of mixing, and left my bass track alone.

Point being made, get a good tone the first time, don't monkey with it later.

Killspringer · #5 04-23-2011, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Owl

Personally, my take on reamping is the exact opposite, I avoid it at all costs, bad experiences with it. To me , it just sounds weak and lacking presence, punch or anything else, sort of like playing a worn tape recording through a guitar/bass amp. An album I played on, the first mixing engineer took my nicely recorded direct bass track and reamped it through a rig that was not very good in my opinion ot start with, and just completely RUINED a perfectly good recorded sound. Thankfully, the guy whose album I played on fired that mixing engineer and got someone who did a far superior job of mixing, and left my bass track alone.

Point being made, get a good tone the first time, don't monkey with it later.

you're not doing something right.

reamp it. it's gonna sound awesome... as long as your engineer isn't the dude above

Billnc · #6 04-23-2011, 09:24 PM

I've worked with a guy who is an expert at reamping. In the right hands it is very cool. We recorded a live performance, everything direct. Went into the studio and the guitarist and producer chose from a variety of amps for each song for a few days. For me, we used a B15N or Manly Compressor. The results were quite good.

audiomitch · #7 04-24-2011, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Owl

...the first mixing engineer took my nicely recorded direct bass track and reamped it through a rig that was not very good in my opinion ot start with...

Ummm... Doesn't that kind of explain the results?

prd004 · #8 04-24-2011, 11:35 AM

As long as you use a good DI, a good Reamp box, and the signal isn't EQ'd or compressed before reamping, no problem. Actually as others have already posted there are lots of benefits. As with any time you record, things usually go good with a skilled engineer and not so good without!

bassboysam · #9 04-24-2011, 11:41 AM

On our last album we used the original bass track and then also mixed in a re-amped track to add more bass. The re-amped track went through a different rig with some heavy OD at times. Overall it worked really well.

Used a JDI for both the original track then used it in reverse to re-amp.

Killspringer · #10 04-24-2011, 10:50 PM

Just want to chime in again and share a couple reamping tips from experience:

1. Close and far mic. One up close for proximity and cab character. One 8-25 feet back for either (or both) room sound, and having enough distance for the bass wave to develop. Some low frequency wavelengths are 20 feet between peak and trough.

2. Phase align the waveforms. If you're going for a roomy sound, might want to not align the room mic, since that will be experienced as ambiance by the listener anyways. But, zoom in in Protools (or whatever DAW) and drag the zero crossing of the first wave form of the mic'ed track in line with the zero crossing of the DI track. If you're using tape, try a phase aligner like the Little Labs IBP.

3. Multiple mics up close, right next to each other. Put one mic closer to the center of the speaker cone, and another (or even 3 if you're feeling adventurous) RIGHT NEXT TO it. The mic at the center of the cone will be brighter, and the one toward the edge will be darker. If you're on a tight schedule or budget for studio time, you can choose between a bright or dark sound later on, or blend the two. Even try having one off axis for different color. This has saved me $ and time in the studio when I'm, for example, reamping an entire albums worth of bass tracks in just a few hours and don't have time to mess with the tones for every individual song.

4. Parallel compression. Try compressing the DI more heavily than the amp'ed track. You'll have a solid core from the compressed DI, with nice lively transients preserved in the reamped track. Compressing the **** out of the room mic can have some cool effects too.

5. Passive DI in reverse with some turnaround/gender-bender cables or adapters... works almost as well as a reamp box