Mar 12, 2007 06:47 pm I can't speak for the technicalities of your question, but if I had the heaping glory of a Triple Rec, I'd have that puppy mic'd up everyways but sideways. (and maybe sideways...)
Tube amp into mic input on sound card?
Posted on Mar 12, 2007 05:12 pm
wheeler
Almost August West
Member Since: Mar 12, 2007
Hello all, I was hoping someone could help me out with a question that I hope won't make everyone dumber for having read it....I bought an M-Audio Fast Track USB to run my Triple Rectifier tube amp through for recording on Sonar Home Studio, but I'm having problems with the M-Audio so I am running the Triple Rec directly into the mic input on the computer using the "Slave Out" on the amp. I have my cabinet hooked up to carry a load so that the amp doesn't explode. Can this setup damage the amp or my computer? Thanks in advance for any advice/input.
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Mar 12, 2007 06:47 pm I can't speak for the technicalities of your question, but if I had the heaping glory of a Triple Rec, I'd have that puppy mic'd up everyways but sideways. (and maybe sideways...)
Mar 13, 2007 11:12 am I know, I feel like I'm committing a crime...but apparently - as determined by the intensity of pounding on the wall of my townhouse - the neighbors are not quite as appreciative of the tonal possibilities that the volume knob on the Triple Rec provides.
Mar 13, 2007 02:49 pm www.zzounds.com/a--884907/item--THDHP
definately better than gooin' direct with that head.
Mar 13, 2007 06:25 pm Beautiful....if I understand correctly, that device will allow me to free the beast. Thanks for the heads up.
Mar 13, 2007 07:47 pm I don't know about "free", but definitely "unleash"!!!
Mar 13, 2007 07:58 pm Works for me! I shall now resign myself to a 2-4 week diet of Ramen Noodles and Totino's Party Pizzas, with all money saved to be directed towards said unleashing. Thanks for the input everyone.
Mar 13, 2007 08:05 pm At least you got your priorities straight :)
Mar 14, 2007 09:55 am Not that it's relevant now, but,
you wouldn't want to send line out into a mic input.
Line level is in the 1 - 2 volt range, whereas mic signal is on the .1volt range. So you're sending signal that's lot's bigger than what a mic input (preamp) want's to see.
It can fry stuff in the preamp.
If you really really have to hook things up this way, then send the line out signal at a very low level, like 1 on a 1-10 scale. Then you won't be pressing the preamp so hard.
That out of the way, you can make a amp fort. Build a fort of couch cushions, or something similar, that will absorb a ton of the sonic bombastiness.
Brandon Drury made one over at the recordingreview.com, that he's very fond of.
Mar 14, 2007 11:44 am OK, thanks pjk, I had a hunch that running a monster amp directly into a mic input couldn't be a good idea. Here's what I've come up with: A)Return M-Audio FastTrack bc I can't get the d@mn thing to work; B)purchase the attenuator so I can at least approach the tone that the amp is capable of (not ideal, I know); C)build the amp fort; and D)mic it with an sm57, which most people seem to respect and isn't very expensive. Does that sound like a workable setup?
Mar 14, 2007 02:29 pm Check out www.amptone.com for lots of reading on getting cranked amp tone at more moderate volume levels. There is no perfect solution other than owning a recording space that allows you to make as much noise as you want, but there are some good suggestions there like isolation cabinets, power attenuators, or even simply using lower wattage amps.
Mar 14, 2007 03:03 pm Cool site, thanks Tadpui, looks like lots of useful info.
Mar 14, 2007 04:35 pm What I'd do:
www.musiciansfriend.com/p...-Amp?sku=482798
You've got a 150 watt all-tube amplifier in your townhouse. You're not going to get the tone you're looking for without doing something kinda crazy, and at that point you're better off getting a sweet little combo amp for recording. Don't get me wrong: I've got a triple rec too, and since I have a studio I can turn it up as loud as I want: holy crap it's sweet :) But I'd never try to record it at home...
Mar 15, 2007 11:44 am Sadly, I know it. I'm just in a MAJOR state of denial...band broke up a while ago and here I am stuck with this uber-expensive volume/tone monster and absolutely no use for it. I've just been clutching at straws trying to find some way to get it back in action. But yeah, I pretty much knew in the back of my head that I'd have to bite the bullet and pick up an amp more suitable to my situation. Thanks for the input and amp suggestion anarchist.
PS - That being said, I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to do the "sensible" thing and sell the Triple Rec to buy the new amp. >: )
Mar 15, 2007 11:52 am maybe build a sweet isolation mini-room type of thing for it...like a little outhouse for your amp...
Mar 15, 2007 02:25 pm That would be killer dB...but when pjk posted about the "amp fort" earlier, I did some research, and it seems like a decent isolation box for a 4x12 could run a couple hundred bucks, which I would be more inclined to put towards the attenuator or the combo than a d.i.y. project that I would almost certainly botch. Still, I'm going to try out a low-level amp fort this weekend with sundry household items. By the way, "...like a little outhouse for your amp" cracked me up...I pictured a little crescent moon on the door with a generic-looking half stack sign. (Insert joke about sound coming from amp)
Thanks for the input dB!
Mar 15, 2007 02:27 pm perhaps you could retrofit an existing area of your house...a closet or something...
I dunno, just thinkin out loud...
Mar 15, 2007 05:02 pm Now that you mention it.....I have a closet about 5 feet from my stack that's basically filled with boxes, clothes I don't wear, and guitar cases....I suppose it wouldn't be too difficult (even for a hopelessly inept unhandiman such as myself) to insulate the hell out of it...could probably even be done in an impermanent way (sort of like Drury's fort, but with a premade box) that could be removed if necessary...good suggestion! I'll poke around in the forums and online for sound insulators - effectiveness vs. cost - and see what I can see. Thanks again dB, please think out loud as you see fit.
Mar 20, 2007 02:08 am Sell the triple rec.get a low watt class a amp.There are so many amps that sound WAY better.IMHO
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