Impulse's

John_A

Just getting back in to some recording after doing nothing for years and discovered IRs. My main pre amp is a AMT SS11a which has built in cab emulation which sounds awful . I've currently recorded some tracks and added a IR and it sounds really good but have a question.

Would it be normal to record with the emulated out and add the IR or just use the direct out? I've done the former and it sounds great, but it's intuitive that adding 2 cab emulations is 'wrong'. I know the answer is probably 'whatever sounds best' but what would be the normal approach?

blobb

John - sounds to me like "should I eq on the way in, or record dry and eq in the box" debate. The answer to this usually revolves around the old chestnut of whether you think you may want to change the eq (or in your case the IR) later, possibly to suit the mix balance you want to achieve.

If you are happy with the sound you are getting with the IR, and don't think you would want to change it, then record it with the emulation in place. The benefit of doing this is that you can capture the 'feel' better as you are playing the sound you want to capture.

It's all about deciding at what stage you want to make a commitment. Sometimes committing early is better as it limits the decisions you have to make later. Sometimes worse as you can't undo.

So basically, yes, you are right. Whatever sounds best, or more specifically, what works for you and the way you want to make decisions.

Nick...

Snap

to echo above, I don't think theres a right way other than what sounds and works best!

I often record with a direct and dry input and then apply whatever else after. Unless of course there is something about your input sound that you absolutely must have. LIke a great wah or a cracking tube overdrive.

and I've no idea if that reply is helpful at all!

John_A

Any reply is helpful, and I suspected 'whatever works' is best, I'm pretty new to this so will just have to mess around and see what works for me.

alex15

In general, your software impulses will sound better than a built in cab simulation on a preamp. That's where digital usually beats the analog nowdays. Two emulations doesn't sound right, but if it works for you...

YMMV