Amplitube 3 / Splitting a guitar signal (amp/DI)

ZV Yoda

Hi folks,
I generally just mic my amps, but I'm tempted by the current IK offer of €75 for Amplitube 3. I'd still mic my amp, but maybe blend it with Amp3 to give me more options. I have a free version of Amp2 & while I like the sounds & interface, I find it crashes Pro Tools a lot, so I rarely use it. I’m running a 2011 i5 Macbook Pro with 8Gb RAM, so it’s not a lack of processing power.

If I was to go for Amp3, I need to figure out how to split the guitar signal so that I can mic the amp and also have a separate clean DI feed to run through the sim. Neither of my amps have clean line outs. One is post effects & other one doesn’t have any line out at all.

So, I have 3 questions:

1. Anybody have any experience with Amplitube 3 & is it worth a punt at €75?
2. Any ideas how I can split my guitar signal so I can mic the amp & also have a clean DI feed into Pro Tools?
3. I think I have a Behringer Ultra DI-100 box floating around somewhere. Would this be of any use to me?

Thanks

fitz

Boss TU2 tuner provides a bypass out that you can use to split the signal.
What amp are you using Mark?

mkegvn

There are a few ways to do it.

Guitar -> Effects -> DI Box -> Amp. Plug your chain into the input of DI, where you'd normally plug into the amp. The plug the link on the DI into the input of the amp. Mic your amp as normal, and plug the DI into your interface/preamp or whatever via XLR.

If you want to take a completely dry version of your guitar signal, as well as the mic'd affected signal from the amp, then you need to plug into the DI first, and link into your pedals and onto the amp etc. If you've got a Boss TU2 or TU3 then, you can use both the output and bypass to send the same signal to two things, and stay in tune the whole time

Guitar -> TU2 -> TU2 Output -> Pedals -> Amp
Guitar -> TU2 -> TU2 Bypass -> DI

Hope that helps.

ZV Yoda

I have a Fender 212R & Marshall MG30CFX. The Fender has a line out, but it's post effects - so if I use the amp's reverb or OD, then the line out signal has them too. The Marshall doesn't have a line out.

ZV Yoda

Cheers folks.

Prob should have said... aside from the built in amp effects, I don't currently have/use any other pedals. I use the tuner in Pro Tools.

Sounds like the TU3 might be the simplest solution. Thanks!

mkegvn

ZV Yoda wrote: »

Cheers folks.

Prob should have said... aside from the built in amp effects, I don't currently have/use any other pedals. I use the tuner in Pro Tools.

Sounds like the TU3 might be the simplest solution. Thanks!

Plug your guitar into the DI and link it to the amp in that case, and keep using the tuner in PT.

ZV Yoda

mkegvn wrote: »

Plug your guitar into the DI and link it to the amp in that case, and keep using the tuner in PT.

I originally got the DI box for recording bass guitar. At the time, I found that midi VIs gave me better bass results (given my very basic bass guitar skills & equipment). I sold the bass guitar & the DI was left on the shelf. What a waste of a DI...

I got Amplitube 3 in the end - it seems a lot more stable with PT than the previous versions. I tried your DI suggestion out on the electric guitar last night. It works perfectly & I'm impressed with the results so far. I need to play around with it a bit more but I reckon I can get a great blend of my mic'd guitar sound combined with the DI/Amp3. Seems like a great solution for the home recordist.

mada999

what about using one of these....used one like it before and it worked perfect:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/1-4-mono-plug-to-two-mono-1-4-sockets-adaptor-1272

or this :

http://www.maplin.co.uk/mono-1-4-jack-splitter-31562

counterpointaud

I like the Little Labs Reamp Box/DI for this. Take the signal straight after the guitar and before any effects and amp(s). Added advantage is that you can use the DI track to Reamp through different effects/amp chain afterwards. Compared it to a few different DI's including the instrument input on the Focusrite 428, and it is a really nice clean sounding unit. Can be picked up cheap on eBay.com and US classifieds.