DI or no DI for digital tones?

[maddnotez]

My band is going to the studio early 2017.

The place we are going to provides pretty good results for metal which is what we play but unfortunately they do not Mic amps (not sure why). They use digital guitar tones like the AXE-FX or amp sims or whatever.

Instead of paying a lot more to go somewhere else we decided to move fwd with these guys, the recordings they have done sounded great to me.

So anyway to save time and money we plan to track all of the strings ourselves, record drums and vocals at the studio then have them mix/master.

Between all of us in the band we have two different interfaces. I have recorded a lot on my own using amp sims without a DI Box. All I do is just plug directly into the interface and get the clean signal that way.

My question is, is that going to be ok? Or should I just spent the money on a DI? I do not want to buy a DI unless it is needed or will provide night and day differences.

I have never re-amped with an AXE fx or anything but isn't it the same logic? Just getting a clean signal?

I don't know a lot on this topic and was hoping for some suggestions and opinions.

 

[PatF]

The main reason people typically recommend a DI box is because the instrument inputs on their interfaces were clipping because of lower headroom preamps. Do some experimenting with the bassist and other guitarist and see how hot of a signal you can get without clipping the low notes. Maybe send a sample to your engineer to see if your in the ballpark of what level range works best for him. Maybe pay for a couple of hours of pre-production. Light compression in front of the interface may help.

Do you own an AxeFX? One idea is the you could make a clean DI preset with say just a Tubescreamer and Compressor? Are you making click tracks and tracking guitars and bass before the drums or recording scratch guitars with the drummer?

Does he have enough inputs to track everyone at once?

 

[slyym]

I would just use your AX8 for recording a dirty and clean di at the same time. Should work fine for bass too. But definitely ask the studio what they want you to do.

 

[maddnotez]

Thanks for the tips I will talk to the engineer a bit more about it.

We will be doing scratch tracks with the drummer but will record the actual guitars on our own to save $$$

I sold the AX8 so I can't use that. Was planning on running straight into the interface and using that signal. Good to know the bit about the hot signal. Will definitely consider that. Thanks

 

[nnajar]

If I understand you correctly, you're saying the actual recording of the guitar will be a direct feed and the amp sim will come from software like a plug in? If that's the case, the next question is "does your interface have an instrument input?" If it doesn't and only has a line input or mic input, it won't show the correct impedance to your guitar and the guitar will sound wrong. And that's not really correctable ex post facto. If you do have an instrument input and you like the way it sounds, by all means do carry on. If it only has mic and line inputs then yes you need a di. BUT all di's are not equal. They have different topologies for different uses. For a passive guitar signal, a countryman is probably the best you can do in a widely known box. Radial will have one that is good too but I cannot tell you which model number. The regular radial passive, active and Jensen di's won't cut it and you'll be sorry. But one designed and marketed for passive guitar pickups directly will be correct.

If you use emg's it doesn't matter, plug right into the interface and get to work you'll be fine.

 

[maddnotez]

Interface does have instrument pad. I've used it this way before with amp sims and I know it will work but I wasn't sure if using a DI would give me a proper signal or if I already had one.

 

[nnajar]

Interface does have instrument pad. I've used it this way before with amp sims and I know it will work but I wasn't sure if using a DI would give me a proper signal or if I already had one.

Well a pad is just attenuation. But an instrument inojt will show your pickups the proper impedance. But if it is in fact a proper "instrument" input, which many interfaces do these days, then just carry on lad you'll be fine.

 

[CaseyCor]

What interface do you have?

 

[JakeAC5253]

A DI box is used to show the guitar a high enough impedance that it does not damage the sound. Plugging straight into a preamp or even into an instrument IN will color the sound, usually in a bad way. Some DI boxes color the sound more than others, but it's generally considered good coloration. A DI box is necessary, as is a Reamp box, if you want it to sound the same as a guitar plugged straight into an amp.

 

[maddnotez]

A DI box is used to show the guitar a high enough impedance that it does not damage the sound. Plugging straight into a preamp or even into an instrument IN will color the sound, usually in a bad way. Some DI boxes color the sound more than others, but it's generally considered good coloration. A DI box is necessary, as is a Reamp box, if you want it to sound the same as a guitar plugged straight into an amp.

What interface do you have?

I see.

I have a TC Electronics Impact Twin and a Tascam US 16 something or other.