Recording Little Sister with PC

[BenPerkins]

Hi guys,

I have a Friedman Little Sister (great amp) and Amplitube 5 on my laptop. What are my options for recording silently (with headphones)? I live in a place where quiet is required.

I have an iRig HD2 but not exactly sure that will fit the bill. Thank you for any insight.

 

[BenPerkins]

On a side note, I do have an attenuator with xlr output:

 

[Mincer]

I'd think you'd need an audio interface and some impulse responses to choose from, and some sort of recording program.

 

[Seashore]

Amplitube has standalone cabinet sims, right? You should be able to run out of your amp into the attenuator, then use an adapter cable from either the xlr or headphone out of the attenuator into the iRig, into the laptop via USB, and use the cab sims on the computer. No idea if that would sound "good" but it should at least function. I did something similar running out of my old Weber Mass.

I read good things about the Two Notes Torpedo Captor a while back. Attenuator plus cab sims for taking an amp direct. Haven't tried it though.

If you don't have a DAW on your laptop I would recommend either Reaper (free to try) or a cheap version of Cubase.

 

[BenPerkins]

Amplitube has standalone cabinet sims, right? You should be able to run out of your amp into the attenuator, then use an adapter cable from either the xlr or headphone out of the attenuator into the iRig, into the laptop via USB, and use the cab sims on the computer. No idea if that would sound "good" but it should at least function. I did something similar running out of my old Weber Mass.

I read good things about the Two Notes Torpedo Captor a while back. Attenuator plus cab sims for taking an amp direct. Haven't tried it though.

If you don't have a DAW on your laptop I would recommend either Reaper (free to try) or a cheap version of Cubase.

Come to think of it, I also have a Mini Mass 50… I think I’ll try the Line out to the iRig HD2.

How did it sound when you used your Weber Mass?

 

[BenPerkins]

Amplitube has standalone cabinet sims, right?

Standalone? Not sure… I know you can select which cabs & speakers you’re “using”, but I’ve only done that with the provided JTM.

 

[Mincer]

Another free and pretty full-featured DAW is Tracktion's Waveform.

 

[Seashore]

Come to think of it, I also have a Mini Mass 50… I think I’ll try the Line out to the iRig HD2.

How did it sound when you used your Weber Mass?

Honestly I didn't like it at all. I didn't try putting it through a cab sim though. I just realized it wasn't gonna work for what I was doing and moved on.

 

[jeremy]

yeah, thats just a line level out. youll want a cab sim to make it sound good

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, a cab sim at least, but really some kind of IR to model the microphone in front of the cab as well.

 

[donaldr]

Yeah, a cab sim at least, but really some kind of IR to model the microphone in front of the cab as well.

Honestly I don't understand why modelling a microphone would be a must? To simulate the "vintage way" of recording? Why not just the modelling of the speaker, s we all hear it when we play?

Using a mic was the only way to record a guitar sound until modelling, but now we have speaker modelling. Is the speaker modelling not there yet and we must still rely on using an IR?

 

[donaldr]

I have an iRig HD2 but not exactly sure that will fit the bill. Thank you for any insight.

You can plug your guitar directly into the iRig and use Amplitube as the amp/cab sim. On Mac/iPhone/iPad you can use Garageband (which also has amp/cab/effects if you don't want to use Amplitube).

 

[beaubrummels]

Honestly I don't understand why modelling a microphone would be a must? To simulate the "vintage way" of recording? Why not just the modelling of the speaker, s we all hear it when we play?

Using a mic was the only way to record a guitar sound until modelling, but now we have speaker modelling. Is the speaker modelling not there yet and we must still rely on using an IR?

So, where is your ear in relation to that speaker? How many feet away? How many degrees off-axis? What size room are you hearing it in? What are the walls, ceiling and floor made of? No matter what, you'd have to model more than just the speaker to make it sound natural.

 

[Mincer]

Honestly I don't understand why modelling a microphone would be a must? To simulate the "vintage way" of recording? Why not just the modelling of the speaker, s we all hear it when we play?

Using a mic was the only way to record a guitar sound until modelling, but now we have speaker modelling. Is the speaker modelling not there yet and we must still rely on using an IR?

Yeah. The sound of a recorded guitar that we grew up listening to used a microphone in a room. It couldn't get on tape any other way. Now, if you want to experiment with sounds that are really unique, then the sky's the limit.

 

[donaldr]

So, where is your ear in relation to that speaker? How many feet away? How many degrees off-axis?

My cab thru an SM57 is not sounding like my cab and I don't need the SM57 "color". That's what I'm saying, maybe speaker modelling, alone, is not there yet. They need to model human ears

What size room are you hearing it in? What are the walls, ceiling and floor made of? No matter what, you'd have to model more than just the speaker to make it sound natural.

This has been accomplished by reverbs for a long time now. No microphones involved in the algorithm.
​

 

[Seashore]

My cab thru an SM57 is not sounding like my cab and I don't need the SM57 "color". That's what I'm saying, maybe speaker modelling, alone, is not there yet. They need to model human ears

This has been accomplished by reverbs for a long time now. No microphones involved in the algorithm.
​

What you want is an IR of your amp recorded with a Neumann Head.

 

[zionstrat]

Another free and pretty full-featured DAW is Tracktion's Waveform.

Thanks Mincer! Didn't know that one.

Have you used it? I'm assuming it has to be easier than Reaper

 

[Mincer]

Thanks Mincer! Didn't know that one.

Have you used it? I'm assuming it has to be easier than Reaper

Yes! I use the paid version, but used the free one for years. I love it. Easy, intuitive, and a user base that is interested in helping each other. Watch some videos and download it, and just play around with it.