Getting amazing harmonically rich sounds.

H

heythere

New member
Hey guys,

I've been experimenting a lot with different cabs, mics, and levels the past week with my torpedo studio. I'm getting better sounds as times goes on. I feel like the sounds are great, and on their own in a mix I probably couldn't tell that they weren't actually miced in real life.

But I'm doing some comparing to a session I did in a real studio. Side by side, I can definitely tell. The recording from the studio has a harmonic richness to it. Now, it was going through a neve preamp. So, there's that.

I'm using ownhammer IR's as well as two notes amps. In both situations, there's a 57 and a 121 being used together.

But I'm hoping there's a way to achieve that same richness with the torpedo itself. Or would I need some sort of separate preamp to achieve that richness?
There is a bit of a solid state feel that I hear in the sound and can't seem to get rid of. Almost has the same feeling of playing with noiseless type pickups...kind of hard to explain.

Would love to hear some thoughts from other people who have overcome this and have been able to make things deeper, richer, and realer. Thanks in advance.
 
The cab sims/IR's don't have the room tone built in as they're typically too short, only the early reflections influence on freq response when using distant settings, SO, make sure to add the room tone back (use a room sim or if need be a short reverb, between 250 ms and 750ms with some early reflections depending on what you're looking for and what your mic placement(s) are.

This helps a lot with the realism factor IMO.
 
heythere, if you're using a Torpedo Studio or WoS III, adding a little bit of "overload" helps a lot.

And there is always the option to use the line output of the Torpedo to send into a mic preamp to add a little color.
 
Ditto, Overload really helps get that speakers being pushed thing & adding in reverb is also more essential for what you're talking about than you might imagine (one can't stress enough the importance of sounding like you're in an actual room in order to achieve realism). I'm sure those Neve pre's probably added some sparkle & colour in the studio too, but that isn't essential for realism & 'richness'.

The other thing to think about is that you'll be hearing a pro mixed sound from your studio session as well & the difference there could be huge compared to what you're doing at home, but this isn't down to the difference between the Torpedo & actual real-world miking (you'd hear the same difference if you actually miked your cabinet at home ...poor neighbours! Haha).
 
If you're using the ownhammer stuff, look in the mics folder. There should be room irs. Blend those in alongside the mix files you're currently using. Might help the situation. I'm personally excited to try out the reverb feature that's set to be released in the new firmware update. Perhaps this will take care of this problem
 
Thank you for the quick replies everyone. I'm definitely going to try these things. Also, to respond to the post above nothing has been mixed from the session I did with the neve at the studio. I have the soloed tracks , there's no eq on it or anything. But a few quick questions.

1. How would I use the room IR with logic? I'm already using 2 Mics in both channels of the studio torpedo. Where would I insert the IR?

2. I don't know what overload actually means. What is this and how can I set it up?

3. Are there any inexpensive preamps or neve clones you guys love to use for added sparkle with your two notes?
 
@heythere,
1. you can download Torpedo WOS Plug-In and use it with Logic. You can cascade as many impulses there, as you like - it really expands the possibilities, where the limitations with the torpedo hardware are

2. Overload is a parameter inside the Torpedo controls, where you can add some overdrive effect

3. I was in a similar situation last year. What I can recommend is, getting a BAE 1073 MP (Rack Unit) or BAE DMP (standalone unit). If you want to come close to the Neve sound, there doesn´t seem to be an easy deal - you get, what you pay for. As you can only buy an original Neve pre as some vintage gear. The new Neve Preamps are also more or less a sort of clones of the old ones ;)

One thing to keep in mind - the 3rd party IRs, I have from Ownhammer seem to have already some post processing included and are already recorded through USA (maybe API) and british (maybe Neve) Style Preamps.
So, the easiest way would be, to ask to the studio, if they had the ability, to create you impulses based on what you used for your past studio session. This should give you the closest results.
 
djerry":2a6z7s8e said:
@heythere,
1. you can download Torpedo WOS Plug-In and use it with Logic. You can cascade as many impulses there, as you like - it really expands the possibilities, where the limitations with the torpedo hardware are

2. Overload is a parameter inside the Torpedo controls, where you can add some overdrive effect

3. I was in a similar situation last year. What I can recommend is, getting a BAE 1073 MP (Rack Unit) or BAE DMP (standalone unit). If you want to come close to the Neve sound, there doesn´t seem to be an easy deal - you get, what you pay for. As you can only buy an original Neve pre as some vintage gear. The new Neve Preamps are also more or less a sort of clones of the old ones ;)

One thing to keep in mind - the 3rd party IRs, I have from Ownhammer seem to have already some post processing included and are already recorded through USA (maybe API) and british (maybe Neve) Style Preamps.
So, the easiest way would be, to ask to the studio, if they had the ability, to create you impulses based on what you used for your past studio session. This should give you the closest results.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight djerry. So just curious, what's the point of me having the studio if I could just use wos with a less expensive loadbox of similar quality?

Can I also use the overdrive control when using 3rd party IR's? Seems like it might not be possible.
 
The point of the Two Notes Studio is that you have everything you need in one well designed low-latency box under total MIDI control, rather than dealing with a fragile laptop and it's attendant latency etc.

In the studio the WOS III plugin is fine aside from latency issues when monitoring through it while tracking (which is a Computer/DAW issue), but live any plugin can really be a major hassle with wiring, latency, and of course a fragile laptop with a consumer OS in a stage environment (union roadies tossing gear around like basketballs, dark stages promote accidents, weather, heat and cold, theft, plus travel etc).

Prior to the excellent Two Note's tube power amp sims arriving on the scene I used a Window's laptop with Peavey's ReValver plugin for my tube power amp sims, and while they sounded fine the hassle of setting up a laptop was always a PITA, and if ithe computer crashed the long boot-times were a problem live.

The Overload feature only works with the Two Note's Cabs. The Two Note's cabs are great, just as good as any static IR's assuming you choose and position the virtual mic(s) well, and most importantly they allow for real-time mic positioning which is a real time-saver when dialing in tones vs static IR's.

Thanks for the insight djerry. So just curious, what's the point of me having the studio if I could just use wos with a less expensive loadbox of similar quality?

Can I also use the overdrive control when using 3rd party IR's? Seems like it might not be possible.
Click to expand...
 
Try this trick.

Have the Engineer use a wide band shelving EQ with a semi parametric control for the center frequency set at minus 15 db.

Start on the Guitar Signal after the Cab IR before EFX.
Start at about 13 K and gradually go down towards 9K or even lower.
You want to go low but not affect the Guitar or Cab IR Frequencies
BUT this will remove most audible artifacts and harsh harmonics above 6 or 7 K which should not be there anyway.

It will sweeten the sound IF these harsh overtones are present.

Try it and see.
 
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