#Build a reamp box how to

Usually, older audio interfaces don’t have unbalanced outputs, which means that you may get some issues with noise and mismatching. If you use an older audio interface, reamping a guitar wouldn’t be as simple as that. A very simple splitter or a pedal with multiple outputs could easily help you with that. The only drawback of this method is that you actually need a way to record a DI guitar signal. Since you’re using an unbalanced signal with a proper cable, there wouldn’t be any issues with noise and impedance mismatching. Then it’s just a matter of putting the right mic in front of your amp and pressing the record button. All that you have to do is route the guitar track output in your DAW to one of the line-outs and connect a TS output to it. The latest generation of modern interfaces usually offers you both balanced and unbalanced outputs, which means that you can easily send a guitar DI signal to your amp. If you’re a happy owner of a modern audio interface, there is a pretty good chance that you don’t really need a reamp box at all. However that may be when impedance mismatch occurs you could simply tell that your guitar just doesn’t sound right. This effect might be represented by the addition of even more noise or by making the signal appear significantly weaker. Depending on the situation, it can be completely unnoticeable, but usually, it has a rather audible effect. Unbalanced signal has a significantly higher impedance than the balanced signal and if you try to send a balanced signal into a device that was designed to receive an unbalanced signal, you will get something that is called impedance mismatch.

Usually, outputs of your audio interface are balanced and the guitar signal is unbalanced, which means that if you send your line-out directly into the amplifier, a quite noticeable amount of noise would be introduced.Īlso, balanced and unbalanced signals have different impedance which means that they resist the flow of AC electrical current differently. Furthermore, a balanced signal usually has reverse polarity in order to cancel out the noise and the devices that accept balanced signal switch polarity back. Unbalanced cables have only two conductors and balanced have three conductors with an isolated ground loop which makes them less susceptible to RF interference. Some problemsīalanced and unbalanced signals differ in the number of conductors that carry the sound. You just need a bit of ingenuity to overcome some problems that might occur while you try to reamp a guitar without a reamp box. Of course, using a dedicated reamp box although very useful and convenient isn’t really necessary, it’s just one of those things that makes your life easier, but there’re other ways of achieving your goal. To simply put it, this is your best and the most reliable option to reamp a guitar and there’re plenty of very decent reamp boxes available on the market, but what should you do if your budget doesn’t allow it or if you’re simply in a hurry? Reamping a guitar without a reamp box Connect the output to the balanced input of your reamp box and send the unbalanced output to your amp. To reamp the guitar with a reamp box, you should send the DI guitar signal from your DAW to one of the DI outputs in your audio interface. Then it’s a matter of a very simple routing in your DAW.

If you wish to record both a DI guitar signal and the amp, you need to connect your guitar directly into a reamp box, then send unbalanced output from the reamp box to the amp and balanced to your audio interface. The more advanced models let you split the signal and record both an amp and the direct input of the guitar. This basically means that reamp boxes serve to make guitar amps react to line-level signals as if it was directly connected guitar signal. Reamp box is a device that is used for converting a balanced line-level signal to an unbalanced high-impedance signal and vice versa. And the easiest way of reamping the guitar without a reamp box is to use digital amp emulation. Reamping is also possible if you manage to get your hands on a guitar amplifier with balanced inputs. U sing an older audio interface is far from ideal but still possible with the addition of a DIY or factory-made DI box. If you’re an owner of a recent audio interface, you can use an unbalanced output but you would need a splitter or a guitar pedal with multiple outputs in order to record guitar in the first place.

#Build a reamp box how to

How To Mix A Song | Mixing Guitars | Part 5 of 7