Just re-amped with Amplitube 5

I am finding that the custom shop amps in there are quite good, I got both Fenders and the Hendrix one in the group buy.

One thing I have noticed is that reamping can be a little hit or miss even when the sounds are great. I think it has something to do with the variations in touch response between amps. When it works it can be such a life saver, as with your client.

One time I sent some original Pod kidney bean tracks back out to my amp. Technically “wrong” but it so much more vibe than what we started with.

Reamped with the Axe for the solo…way easier than I thought it was going to be. Most of the stuff I’m tracking for clients are session guys, so I haven’t really needed or wanted to…

I've only used their Ampeg bass amp plug, but it's killer. I actually had the same amp being modeled and it honestly sounded exactly the same, without the amp hum.

I'll have to try re-amping next time something needs fixing. I usually try it only when a particular part sounds really shitty. I've been using lots of different delays lately to change the vibe of a song a bit.

I love it when the picky ones also want to dictate process.

#sarcasm

When someone pays for "time" and then their demands are "I don't like that tone, can you change it?" but it ends up happening a half-dozen times..  It's just easier to switch over to a sim and carry on.

They get the tone they want, I get to save a lot of time.

I've found that artists don't "speak the same language" as audio engineers.  In this case, the artist was sure that sim tones were inferior because he tried a sim 10 years ago and didn't like it.  He demanded using his real amp because he thought it would be a superior tone, and he liked his tone during tracking...

But then after the first mixes, he changed his mind and didn't like the tone that we got.. 

But then because it was easy for him to ask for changes and he knew nothing of the work behind the scenes, it's easy to keep asking for more and more changes.  

So maybe you'll retort by saying "bill him more time" or "tell him no", but when you're working with an artist that's unhappy with something they're previously OK with, it typically means that they're insecure about what they're doing, and they're much, much harder to please and these are the kinds that will typically dig their heels in and sooner go somewhere else than be argued with.

As an engineer, half the work is actual audio engineering, the other half is a combination of psychologist and manager.  I could have easily told him to piss off, but he would still be unhappy and I would have a disgruntled artist out in the world badmouthing me for something that wasn't even really MY fault.

The next best solution is to give him what he wants.  He doesn't *really* want a "real amp", because we ALREADY did the real amp and he wasn't happy with that either.  What he *really* WANTS is a good tone that works in the mix, which he *believed* would only come from a real amp based on his own bias.  But as I mentioned, artists typically don't know how to communicate these kinds of things.  As you pointed out, I have to know where the artist's world ends and mine begins..

My job is to deliver a good mix.   If I have to change things around to deliver a good mix and the client is happy, then I have delivered what he *really* wanted all along.  

I hear what you're saying and understand the difficulties you describe, but I still think transparency is always the best route.

Sims, samples, whatever are all valid tools. I just think engineers should be upfront about the use of such tools and have the conversation. That's all I'm saying.

For what it’s worth, I’m always trying to help them get “their sound” in tracking and wouldn’t push an amp sim on anyone when (critically) the right amp is likely going to be much more inspiring.

Reamping at mix stage though… that’s a dumb hill to die on and I know first hand how smaller shops like Svart’s bleed for their clients, for scant money, and often very incomplete gratitude. I also know how “sound guys” ruin innumerable sessions and gigs for artists. It’s kind of a crap sandwich. Remind me why I do it, again? (Less and less, to be honest. I’ve only done remote client work and (lots of) personal projects since the pandemic started).

Well there's always been that sort of battle between artist and engineer. It's one of the reasons that many artists have gotten into recording themselves, especially given the proliferation of affordable but good quality gear in the last 10+ years.

I still maintain that transparency is the way to go here, but to each their own.

Well that's the critical thing right?  As long as everyone is on the same page about whatever sort of things are being "replaced" during the mixing stage, I have no problem with it.

As for volunteering to list out your tool set, I'm not sure what you mean.  If you're talking about not wanting to detail every little "trick of the trade" such as plugin settings or whatever that you're using during the mix stage, I don't see a problem with that.  I've just been saying that, a recorded amp (the expectation that that actual recorded amp is what is being used in the mix) is the sort of thing that should be discussed if a sim replacement for it is being considered during the mix stage.  That is all.

For my music I go to the trouble of setting up my Tone King Imperial MK2 or Princeton 68 custom amp and stick a 57 and AEA R92 in front as the tone is sublime.

But for client music or writing demo's I've been using sim's like AT5 or S-Gear and I think the results are really quite good and definitely usable in a mix.

I think my job is to use appropriate tools to deliver a great work product.

Now, if I was recording some SRV wannabe, I’d def not use an amp sim.

We’d have front loaded all the work to getting a great guitar sound in a real effing studio, otherwise I don’t see the point.


By the same token, if I were recording modern metal I’d be totally confident in using samples and would not worry about getting permission. It’s where the genre is at.

If I was recording someone with Quint’s strong feelings on the subject of what constitutes “cheating” (my word not yours, and no disrespect intended) it would be my hope that the artist would air their strong beliefs up front towards a mutually beneficial collaboration.

In other words, if there are rules, that’s great… but the artist needs to express that they have a vision that does not include X widely accepted modern production techniques because, guess what, we are taking largely about 4 digit budgets in my world and we have to be hyper efficient to do good work, and taut absolutely might include an amp sim under certain circumstances.

That's kind of my point.  Even if everyone in the room knows it's better for the mix, there's always that inherent bias against certain things that will derail improvement if you let them.  Sometimes democracy doesn't work when hard decisions need to be made.