I got a M-Audio Fast Track Ultra USB 2.0 pre-amp for my b-day recently. Setting it up was a breeze thankfully...as the bugs/issues were worked out in 2009 I guess (product was released in late 2008) with driver updates. Works great on my Vista Ultimate set-up. It came with Pro Tools M-Powered (apparently, more of a lite version that you can unlock for more features). I am using this to primarily record guitar. Anyway, I noticed Pro Tools has some AudioSuite effects that you can apply to tracks post-recording, such as Chorus and Reverb. My question is are there any guitar effects (VST or whatever) that you can use inside Pro Tools to apply to the live signal and use in recording? I know there are all kinds of software guitar effects packages that I have been trying out. They all seem to have their own record feature and I'm suspect on the quality of the effects. I have a DigiTech GNX-2 effects processor floor pedal dealio that I have been using to feed from it into the pre-amp and record with guitar effects that way. I'm just wondering what my best options are for guitar effects given the set-up. The whole software-based guitar effects versus hardware-based guitar effects has me questioning which way to go. Are software-based guitar effects just a big gimic bunch of bs? Seems like hardware solutions will still be superior. I also tried using the S/PDIF output from my DigiTech GNX-2 into the pre-amp S/PDIF in and I cannot get that to work. I'm confused about the benefits of using S/PDIF in this situation...versus just using the instrument input. One really cool thing I did was imported a CD song as a track and then created a new track for my guitar. Then, I can just play along with the song and record at the same time in the tool. However, I was having trouble getting the volumes between tracks to sync up to where one wasn't louder than the other one so I could hear what I am doing while recording via the monitors. I'm such a noob. lol I would appreciate any advice/input from experienced audio engineers and/or musicians. In the end, I was still thinking the best set-up would be to mic the amp and use the amp sound for the recording. I think this is how most musicians do it. This then begs the question what is the best microphone(s) to use to do this.
I.Would mic the amp as you said. I'd use a 57 or a 414(if you could borrow one).the effects on protools are good but I wouldn't take up memory with it. Get close to the sound you want organicly and them shapen it up with software. This will make tracking a breeze and won't bog down your hardware. Software cannot replace a real amp IMO. Remember that you can't polish a turd.
I don't know about the ultra-super light version that you have. But my wife has normal ProTools, and uses Guitar Rig. You need to apply the effect directly to the channel, not to the entire song and you can route effects and amp simulations as you record on that channel. Again, I'm not sure how your limited version of ProTools is different from the full thing so I don't know if they've disabled that feature.
Yeah, what Ottomaton said. You should be able to apply effects to live playing on a single channel unless it's disabled in your version of Pro Tools. Guitar Rig seems to be the most popular choice for emulation. You can probably download some freeware plugins on the net for Pro Tools just to give it a try.
lol...not like i had a choice. it was a gift. also, it seems to work very well for my purposes. the recordings are clean. the latency is low. curious why you would say such a thing? i know i can make some quality recordings with this thing. i saw a lot of complaints about this particular product and getting it to work...but i had zero problems. it basically came down to my bro going to Guitar Center and they said this was the best for the sub-$500 price. for a $300-ish solution, it works well imo. oh...if you are referring to the Pro Tools M-Powered (which you probably are and I went off topic speaking about the pre-amp above)...the software came with the pre-amp. it's not like i went out and bought it. i guess they tailored Pro Tools to work with M-Audio pre-amps as a special package. i take that to mean M-Audio interfaces are not compatible with regular Pro Tools.
A couple of things: Really think about getting the Firestudio Mobile. The converters are the same as what goes into the StudioLive consoles. It is a step above what goes into the rest of the Firestudio line. On M-audio - I don't know why anyone would suggest not using one of their interfaces with ProTools LE. M-audio is now owned by Avid - the same folks who do Pro-Tools. M-audio has long had some of the most solid drivers for their devices in the industry. Downside is converter quality, mic pre quality, etc. All of which are decent for the money. In respect to computer based DSP processing for guitar vs. a stand-a-lone hardware (software in a box) solution: Downside of computer based processing is latency, bulk, quality of conversion (if utilizing an on-board or soundblaster type audio interface). Only other limitations between the two DSP processing platforms are GUI differences and quality of the programming code (all processing power allocated being equal). You can do some amazing things with DSP - but you do miss some of the organic interaction of a guitar with airspace with a good old fashioned tube amp with the power tubes overdriving. It is convenience, cost and versatility that make the sacrifice worthwhile for some. For recording purposes I would consider the following option: Take a decent direct box and record the clean unprocessed guitar. Use the floor hardware unit for your basic guitar sounds so that you can feel things as you need to. Later in the mix you choose the processed part, process the unprocessed part to your heart's content, or mix a combination to taste.
Trust me, if your trying to record guitar, get logic pro 9. I have ableton, logic, pro tools, and reason 4, and i promise for what the op is looking for logic 9 is by far the best. Ableton is not really for a guitar rig and is aimed primarily at electronic music. Id say ableton was the best overall software, but from what the op stated he needs logic. The guitar effects/emulations are incredible. You can even choose which kind of amp sound you want (fender, vox, marshall, ect...) along with endless pedalboards. However to the op, to do what you wanted to live, you would have to buy either ableton or mainstage 2 (which comes with the logic studio package, not just logic pro). Read up on mainstage 2 on the apple website. Which reminds me logic is only on a mac, dumb for me to assume you had one.
I take it you are unfamiliar with the Native Instruments products. Or Vandal which comes bundled in Samplitude Pro. There are lots and lots of options. Unfortunately they all rely on a computer for live work and there are numerous issues to take into consideration when taking this route for live performance - not the least is the wonderful interaction that occurs between computers and low level guitar signals/pickups. For recording, take a direct feed from the guitar while simultaneously recording your amp/effects in a box. You will have freedom to process any way you like as long as you keep phase considerations in mind. For live performance it can be done via computer but it isn't as cut and dry as it sounds. There are lots of options out there these days.
This alot of your better producers highly recommend recording as clean of a original signal as possible, and then adding effects later in the recording chain. you can always add something extra later, you cant take it away if it is already in the source track.
here are some: http://www.wavesgtr.com/html/product_gtr3.html http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/guitar/guitar-rig-kontrol/ http://www.magix.com/us/vandal/ http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitube/features/
Absolutely. Nothing drives me crazier than people who think they can print compression and limiting after the analog to digital conversion and believe it prevents them from clipping the input. Sure, they don't see the clipped signal in the waveform because it has been printed with the dynamics - but they just can't seem to understand that all they have done is recorded something that cannot be undone and printed the clipped signal as well. There is absolutely no reason to print effects in the digital world unless it is necessary for the performance, is actually part of the performance or you just don't understand how the **** works...
