Help

[dansala2020]

Hello

I'm quite new to amplitube and recording in general, and I wondered if someone can help answer what is probably a stupid question.

I'm currently doing some demo recording using Garageband and running Amplitube 3 for the guitar and bass amps. I'm using a Focusrite 2i2 as my interface.

When I started, I read somewhere that you should crank the input and turn down the output to get a crisper, more overdriven tone. I've set the output pretty high, at around the 7/8 spot on the dial, and the output at around 4. So when I play my input is going into the red and the output is staying well in the green. I've then recorded with these tones, and they sound great. I'm not having any problems with clipping when I listen back through my monitors, but is this something I should be concerned about (i.e. will the clipping be heard on better monitors or headphones)? The focusrite is also staying in the green at input stage, and the track in garageband (both the guitar/bass and master) are in the green.

I guess what I'm asking is, if I'm not hearing any clipping when the input is hitting the red during and after recording, do I need to adjust the input, or am I okay leaving the tone as is? What is the risk of having the input hitting the red if the output is staying in the green?

Sorry for the newbie question, and i'm sure the answer is something like "if you're not hearing clipping, don't worry" but as I've recording 4 or 5 complete songs, I don't want to start mixing without checking any issues I might run into.

Thanks (and sorry for the essay!)

[garfy]

Hey dansala2020

i'm sure the answer is something like "if you're not hearing clipping, don't worry"

I'm sorry, but you hit it right here.

If the Focusrite is staying green then you're not actually clipping the recording itself, so your performance recording is safe. If you get red lights after turning up the input on AT4 then you're driving the software too hard but if it sounds right to you, then it is. It might not be "best practice" but that's how most musical discoveries are made - by breaking the rules.

So, you're clipping (read breaching input headroom) on the way into the software. The amp/cab/mic/room probably minimises or uses the clipped signal to give you what you want in the sound. The most important element is the output level, as far as I'm concerned, so if that's green then carry on.

Bear in mind that, as you're not clipping your original dry guitar recording you can always go back at a later stage and change settings in AT4 if you're not happy with the end results. Remember, AT4 does not impart its sound on your guitar recording as you're only using it as an insert effect to monitor your guitar through. Bypass it and you'll just hear your dry recording.

Hope that helps.

[carlaz]

Garfy has already steered you right, but just to augment what he said ....

I also use a Focusrite 2i2 at present and run into Logic (which is just like GarageBand, but with more stuff). As long as the LED "ring" light around the gain knob on your 2i2 input stays green (i.e. isn't clipping in the 2i2) and the input indicator(s) in GarageBand likewise stay green, you should be fine. Even if your dry signal as recorded in GarageBand seems surprisingly low, there are tons of low-noise digital headroom in contemporary DAWs (including GarageBand), and you should even be able to gain it up fairly dramatically (though this is probably not necessary!) without trouble.

Then, within the Amplitube plugin, if I recall correctly, IKM recommends setting the virtual Input knob within the plugin so that your signal is just tipping into the yellow on the peaks. (The level of the input signal will affect how the digital models in the signal path within the plugin behave/sound; so, obviously, yours is to some extent a creative choice regarding how hot you want the signal within the plugin to be before it starts hitting the digital models.) You also want to make sure that the virtual Output knob within the plugin is set so that the output level is not running into the red, either. (In my experience, if you are one of these people who is trying to manage gain-staging within your plugin chains so that things stay around -18 dBFS between plugins, then you can bring the output gain from Amplitube down considerably.)

Anyway, the good news is that as long as your recorded dry guitar signal was not clipping in the 2i2 or going into GarageBand, everything else is "just software". If you have the "virtual" signal in to, or out of, Amplitube too hot (which, again, is to an extent a subjective call), you just tweak the virtual knobs, and everything is OK again. You can, of course, be running the volume out of your computer into your headphones or monitors so high that they start to distort -- but, again, that's just a matter of turning things down again. No harm (except possibly to your ears!) done.

Basically, if the signal wasn't clipping in the interface or DAW inputs when you recorded it, you're fine. If the LED "ring" light around the gain knob on your 2i2 input stays green, it's very unlikely to be clipping going into GarageBand either.