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

Thu Oct 30 09:34:41 EDT 2014

Freeverb, in my oppinion, is the best set of reverb plugins you'll find, 
though I'm not sure it has cabinet verbs.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hadi Rezaee" <hadirezaei at gmx.com>
To: <rwp at reaaccess.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 12:55 PM
Subject: Re: [RWP] How to clean up guitar amp sim noises?


> 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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>>>>>
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