Best Sound despite neighbours

Modelling & Digital Amps

Modelling has gone through an interesting development. At the latest with the introduction of the first Line 6 POD as a saviour for various rock and pop productions and a do-it-all studio workhorse. It stood for finished guitar sounds including all reverb, delay, overdrive and distortion effects, straight into the console. No more hauling heavy vintage amps or elaborate mic’ing, not even a tuner was needed. That little red unit simulated the sounds of old classics quite convincingly, especially VOX, Marshall and Fender amps.

The relatively low price, flexibility and usefulness for home recording made the POD and its successors the standard in modelling and a forerunner for many products that followed. At the same time there were still many purists who wanted nothing to do with all that “digital gimmickry”. The (preferably old) Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul naturally belongs plugged into an (also preferably old) Marshall JCM800 or JTM45, Fender Twin or Tweed Bassman, anything else borders on high treason in the guitar community. And indeed, dynamics and playing feel simply weren’t on the level of the real originals for a long time.

... Back to the Future

But with ever more technical progress and improvements in modelling algorithms, the world looks very different today: amp models are becoming increasingly faithful and can sometimes be indistinguishable in recordings from their real studio-recorded forebears. Also worth mentioning here is the Profiling Amplifier from Kemper, which uses a specially developed method to create “sound fingerprints” of existing amp-cab-microphone combinations. These so-called Profiles come so close to the originals that Kemper amps can now even be seen on the world’s biggest stages.

Modelling and other digital amps are therefore now a more than serious solution for home use. Since most of them not only have a headphone output for almost silent practising at any time of day, but also one or more output channels, they can be easily connected to an audio interface and recorded. Here we present some different models to you.

Loadboxes & Attenuators

Few people will probably have the opportunity to run their 100-watt all-tube head with a matching 4x12 cabinet in the living room without starting a neighbourhood war. If you still don’t want to give up your beloved tube amp but want to practise at home, an attenuator — also called a loadbox or power soak — comes highly recommended.

These devices are placed between the amplifier and speaker and ensure that only a certain, adjustable portion of the amplifier’s power reaches the speaker. This means that even a very powerful tube amp, driving that much-loved power-stage saturation, can be played at room volume and without loss of tone. Most loadboxes also offer the option to act as a so-called silencer, i.e. to send no signal to the box at all. Then you can plug your headphones into the Headphones Out or record conveniently and at minimal room-level via the Line Out into your audio interface. On the computer you will then need to add an Impulse Response, i.e. a cabinet simulation, unless the attenuator you use already integrates this function.

Don’t do it by halves — OX it!

Particularly noteworthy here is the OX amp from Universal Audio. It isn’t just a superbly working loadbox; the OX also offers further features that guitarists love. The integrated cabinet simulation provides numerous different speaker models in various configurations and designs as well as several freely combinable microphone models. To give you an even better overview of the extensive features of the OX amp, watch the video in which our Olli — an analogue fetishist and digital sceptic — and Benny from UAD present the OX in theory and practice.

In combination with the freely adjustable and high-quality room reverb, there’s a top-class sound for every taste, either for recording via the Line Out or for quiet late-night practising via the headphone output. The settings can be edited with the special OX Desktop or Mobile app and saved as presets. Six of these presets can be assigned to the memory slots selectable with the RIG control for quick access. That way you can focus on what matters in a hectic live situation and leave the iPad at home with a clear conscience.

Here’s the OX Amp!

Guitar Software

Another way to work on your guitar playing in complete silence is to use specialised amp‑modelling software on your computer. These differ in functionality and scope depending on the manufacturer, but each is comparable to a modelling amp that uses your computer’s processing power and the connections of your interface. This software can then be used directly as a plugin in your DAW for recording.

Audio interfaces come in a wide range of sizes and configurations. For using an amp sim you should make sure the interface has an instrument input, also called a Hi‑Z input. That provides an optimal preamplification of your guitar signal so the software can process it best. How many inputs and outputs your audio interface should have is usually determined by your use case. If you only want to record your guitar with a bit of vocals and maybe an external keyboard, simple variants are enough. These usually have between 1 and 4 inputs for microphones, guitars and external sound sources. As so often, there’s no upper limit to the connection options. As a small extra, most audio interfaces include a recording software (light version) in the scope of delivery, so nothing stands in the way of you getting started right away.