[RWP] How to clean up guitar amp sim noises?

[Scott Chesworth]

Someone else might have a better method, but what I do to move effects
around is cut and paste. So let's say I've got an amp and and EQ
running, and I realise "oh, I need a Tubescreamer before the amp this
time". I'd add the Tubescreamer, then select the two plugins that are
currently before it in the chain (using Shift+Arrows), cut them (with
CTRL+X), then paste them (with CTRL+V). When you cut the plugs that
were above it, the tubescreamer becomes first in the chain by virtue
of being the only thing left, and when you paste in the plugins list,
it always pastes below the plug that's last, so voila, you've flipped
them around. For longer signal chains sometimes it takes a bit of
logic and a few batches of cut and paste, but once you get used to the
workflow, it's pretty quick. Worth Noting here to keep in mind that
the order of plugins can make a huge difference to the sound, so try
not to get disappointed about what you're working with until
everything is in the right order to start tweaking.

For EQ, I use the stock ReaEQ plugin. It's light on resources, has
some usable presets for when I'm in a hurry, is accessible via the
automation controls you'll find in Shift+P for finer control, so I've
not had any cause to buy anything more advanced man.

Yup, when I use ReaVerb for cab impulses, I set the wet level to 0.0
and drop the dry level down to minus infinity if memory serves, either
that or too quiet to hear anyway. I think Alex had some luck with
Recabinet a while back, but again, ReaVerb has served well enough here
so far that I haven't put any time into investigating it. That said,
Alex's guitars usually sound better than mine, so maybe I should :P

Hth

Scott

On 10/29/14, Hadi Rezaee <hadirezaei at gmx.com> wrote:
> Hi scott
> Thanks for your great advise.
> So, first step, drop that gain down on the audio interface.
> Now, I need to play with  the plugins to  boost that amp sound, but I
> have a problem.
> Is there a way to move the VST plugins up and down in a chain easily in
> the fx window? because i don't know how to do that, and i end up
> deleting everything in the chain, and re-adding the plugins.
> Secondly, Is ReaVerb the only option that we have for cabinet simulation?
> If so, do you have any ideas that how much wet should i set for reaVerb?
> is 0 a good number? 0.0 that is.
> third, Do you know of a good EQ plugin that you would use dayly?
> Thanks scott
>
> On 10/29/2014 1:54 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
>> Hi dude,
>>
>> Yup, definitely back off the gain then! The next stage is probably for
>> you to spend time figuring out how your plugins respond, so start with
>> the amp set flat and tinker with each control to figure out what that
>> adds or subtracts sound-wise. When I'm getting to know a new plugin, I
>> try to split my time fairly evenly between playing whilst tweaking
>> controls, as well as pre-recording a few riffs I know I'll play well
>> and just concentrating on the amp controls with those riffs on a loop.
>> Reason being that this way, you're still spending some time with the
>> plugin as a guitar player, and your brain will get a chance to pick up
>> on what feels different as a player when you make adjustments, as well
>> as learning what your new plugin can do clinically. If you're going to
>> be recording yourself, both of those mindsets will come in useful at
>> different stages of the recording. If you can get at the presets of
>> whatever plugin you're using, find some that you like and go check out
>> the controls with that preset loaded to see how it's being used. Do
>> the same for presets that you really don't like too, because it'll
>> probably save you some time further down the line. When you're happy
>> that you've found a plugin that you're able to dial up something
>> consistent, throw in that Tubescreamer before the amp and run the same
>> experiment to find out what difference that makes. I know there's only
>> 2 or 3 controls on a Tubescreamer, but they're very interactive placed
>> in front of a heavily driven amp, and not all plugs respond well to
>> them. After that, read up on EQ, watch some tutorials etc, and see
>> whether you can learn to identify the frequencies that rock your world
>> as well as the ones that could be cut out of your guitar sound so that
>> there's more chance the good stuff will get heard. Most of the fat
>> sound you're looking for will likely come from double or quad tracking
>> your guitar parts, but if you can double or quad track a guitar sound
>> that's great to start with instead of double or quad tracking
>> everything to disguise a pants guitar tone, then you're doing better
>> than most people already. Keep in mind at all times that even for
>> people who do this stuff for a living, it's a tall order nowadays to
>> get the sound of a single guitar track to stack up against the uberly
>> processed multi-amp and multi-mic rigs people are using on commercial
>> records, so if it sounds small on its own, that's probably ok, that's
>> what multitracking will fix.
>>
>> Hope that all makes sense. Shout if I've used any terms you're not
>> familiar with. It sounds like quite a time and energy investment
>> written down, but it's even more so in real life :P
>>
>> Scott
>>
>> On 10/28/14, Hadi Rezaee <hadirezaei at gmx.com> wrote:
>>> Hi scott.
>>> Thanks for replying!
>>> My gain on the audio interface was all the way to the end. so yeah, my
>>> gain was fully hot!
>>> I didn't know i have to bring down the gain my my audio interface.
>>> If i do that, my electric guitar won't sound as fat as i want. What
>>> should i do then?
>>> I need to get that thick sound, so for that i increase the audio
>>> interface gain. am i doing the wrong thing? (I think i am)
>>> So what should i do then!
>>> On 10/29/2014 12:55 AM, Scott Chesworth wrote:
>>>>   From a quick listen on laptop speakers, it sounds like you're running
>>>> into that amp sim way too hot. Remember, these sims are mimicking the
>>>> response of a real amp as closely as possible, and a real amp
>>>> generally doesn't have a heap of gain before it in the signal chain. I
>>>> don't want to encourage bad habits, but when I'm recording guitar
>>>> through plugins like that, I pretty much ignore the meters and look
>>>> for the most realistic feel from the software instead of worrying
>>>> about getting a level that's deemed to be good practice. Often when
>>>> I'm mixing stuff for people who have recorded themselves, I find that
>>>> I'm trimming 30 DB or more off of DI guitars before my plugins start
>>>> responding anything like real-world amps. So yeah, first step, turn
>>>> down the gain on your interface.
>>>>
>>>> Couldn't get any sense of what style pickups you're playing from this,
>>>> but they're also going to raise the noise floor. Nearby electronics
>>>> could also be adding to that, so unless you're certain your guitar is
>>>> well shielded it'd be worth spending a minute spinning around in your
>>>> chair, walking around the room a bit etc with everything wired up as
>>>> you usually would to see if there's a place where that guitar is in
>>>> its happy place. It's also worth noting that a lot of great heavy
>>>> guitar sounds are just noisy as hell when there's nothing playing, so
>>>> concentrate on the sounds you're getting when you're actually playing
>>>> music first and foremost. That's the stuff that matters. Sometimes,
>>>> it's just gonna be noisy as hell and you're gonna have to run through
>>>> the song to clean up the exposed gaps manually. I've recorded a few
>>>> real amps where the hiss alone was scary to be in a room with, one of
>>>> those situations if someone decides this is the perfect time to
>>>> practice, then you're instantly dead by shred lol. I suppose what I'm
>>>> saying is that concentrating on cleaning up your sounds is all well
>>>> and good, but don't get fooled into not recording until everything is
>>>> perfect, because it's rare that anyone gets there, and a lot of people
>>>> never end up recording anything that they care about because they're
>>>> stuck down that rabbit hole.
>>>>
>>>> Good luck, and keep us posted
>>>>
>>>> Scott
>>>>
>>>> On 10/28/14, Hadi Rezaee <hadirezaei at gmx.com> wrote:
>>>>> Hi guys
>>>>>
>>>>> I know that there are very great members in this MailingList who
>>>>> produce
>>>>> awesome content even with limited resources.
>>>>> I need some advice/instructions about guitar sims, and how can i
>>>>> decrease their hiss, and fuzz sounds.
>>>>> I'm sure that everything  in my physical environment is ok, i got a
>>>>> very
>>>>> great cable with a scarlett 8i6 audio interface, so I think from this
>>>>> aspect, I should not get any noise or anything.
>>>>> Here's my REAPER FX chain, that i normally use:
>>>>>
>>>>> tse tube screamer
>>>>> Lepou lecto
>>>>> ReaVerb with some great mesa boogi cabs, (god cabs)
>>>>>
>>>>> That's all I've got. I have no  noise gates, no EQ, (Because i don't
>>>>> know how to work with them.
>>>>> First of all, when i crank up the input, There's a big hissing sound
>>>>> in
>>>>> the background, even when i'm not playing. It looks like a regular amp
>>>>> hissing sound, but it's just too loud, and I want to cut this off, so
>>>>> i
>>>>> could record without any  hissing noises.
>>>>> Second, I think the sound is having a little bit of fuz, and is not
>>>>> too
>>>>> warm for me.
>>>>> I want to try to  achieve that big,  smooth warm sound of  electric
>>>>> guitar.
>>>>> Here's a simple test that you can hear
>>>>> https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87868354/Hadi_guitar_tone_test.mp3
>>>>>
>>>>> Also, by the way, as you see, my  vollume is kind of.. low. if i try
>>>>> to
>>>>> raise reaper's master vollume, or the track vollume, i get a very bad
>>>>> buzzing sound on the guitar.
>>>>> Can anyone help me with this?
>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>
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