Dial in input and output knobs when using as a AU/VST?

[joeyyepez]

I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the optimal signal, its very annoying to try tweaking an amp and pedals when I keep reading different things about the levels.

I have read that it is good practice to set the peak to 12 db in DAW (Logic) but then when I select an amp, it is often the case that the input signal in my DAW either the peak drops or clips significantly. Should it ideally remain around the peak I set?

I swear if someone can chime in on this you would be my newest guitar hero, as I love the program and amp sims but I am spending lots of time trying to figure out how to dial in a preset and just want to play!

[garfy]

Hi joeyyepez and welcome to the forum.

Ok, first thing to get your head around is that Logic (as with most other DAWs) will be recording your guitar signal clean ie without AT4 processing. If you have set your input gain so the signal is at -12dBFS without AT4 in the insert slot and the channel fader at zero, that is the level which will be recorded irrespective of what AT4 tells you on its own meters.

So, now when you put AT4 in an insert, whatever you do to the input and output levels on the UI it will make no difference to the recorded signal, only the levels you are monitoring at. However, if you change the physical gain on your audio interface, this will make a difference to your record level.

Personally, once I have set my physical gain for my 'clean' record signal, I will tweak the input level on AT4 to get the tone I'm after depending on how the rest on the pedal>amp>cab chain reacts and then set the output level in the UI so that it's not going into the red. However, if it does hit the red it makes no difference to the 'clean' record signal.

Hope that answers your question.

[joeyyepez]

Hi joeyyepez and welcome to the forum.

Ok, first thing to get your head around is that Logic (as with most other DAWs) will be recording your guitar signal clean ie without AT4 processing. If you have set your input gain so the signal is at -12dBFS without AT4 in the insert slot and the channel fader at zero, that is the level which will be recorded irrespective of what AT4 tells you on its own meters.

So, now when you put AT4 in an insert, whatever you do to the input and output levels on the UI it will make no difference to the recorded signal, only the levels you are monitoring at. However, if you change the physical gain on your audio interface, this will make a difference to your record level.

Personally, once I have set my physical gain for my 'clean' record signal, I will tweak the input level on AT4 to get the tone I'm after depending on how the rest on the pedal>amp>cab chain reacts and then set the output level in the UI so that it's not going into the red. However, if it does hit the red it makes no difference to the 'clean' record signal.

Hope that answers your question.

Thank you! It does... Even though I researched the hell out of this, I could not find a clear answer. I was thinking that once enabling AmpliTube, the input should match the dry signal.

So in the end I guess what I am trying to figure out is if you are using a preset such as the Hendrix set where there is a specific song and tone to reference, how does AmpliTube intend the knobs to be so that if it were Hendrix recording it it would be the same?

Should the input and output be "hot but not peaking?" if so I would have to probably set my input knob to 4 o'clock and master knob at 9 o'clock, which doesn't sound right— its way too distorted.

I'm really not looking to be spoon-fed here, I've been trying AmpliTube for so long and it just seems like I'm the only one who can't get the hang of it. Thanks again!

[DarkStar]

There is probably no single 100% correct answer (unless you can ask JH himself ).

From what you've posted I'll guess that you input is too high and is pushing the gear into excess distortion.

garfy's approach seems good to me. Bypass AT4 and set the levels for your clean guitar signal. Then enable AT4, set its Input low and try that. Adjust AT4's output so that the audio level is close to that of the clean audio.

If that's not the tone you are looking for try adjusting the controls on the gear. Or nudge AT4's Input up a bit and its Output down a bit and try again. And so on... This exploration will also give you a good insight into how the gear performs and help your listening skills.

-----------------
Step B, which will take a bit longer, get accurate models of JH's guitars and learn to play exactly like he did.

[carlaz]

Your audio interface may well have some kind of indicator to let you know whether you are clipping on the way through it. As long as you aren't, you should be fine in your DAW (as even an unexpectedly low DI guitar signal in the DAW can usually be gained up just fine if necessary).

Another thing you can do is put a metering plugin both before and after AmpliTube in your DAW. Then you can see just what your levels are both going into and coming out of AmpliTube -- and, if your metering plugin lets you gain things up or down (which many do) you can adjust things there.

Although I don't think IKM officially recommends a reference level for going into AmpliTube, many plugin makers recommend levels hovering around -18 dBFS, so I tend to set my metering/gain plugin in front of Amplitube to keep things around there (just in case!). I'll then adjust the Input control within AmpliTube if necessary to ensure the AmpliTube's input meter isn't peaking higher than in the "yellow". I believe the official manual actually suggests: "Set your audio device’s input gain so that AmpliTube’s INPUT LEVEL meter is starting to go into the red, then back off just a touch." Very technical, I know but, well, OK then! The stock AmpliTube presets tend to leave the input control at +/-0, so I leave my own presets that way, too, and then gain the DI signal up or down before and/or within AmpliTube as appropriate.

Then, I find that output from AmpliTube can be pretty high, so I also have a metering/gain plugin after AmpliTube, and I'll dial back the output level within Amplitube until my metering plugin is again showing around -18 dBFS (so that it's likely to be at a happy level for any other subsequent, downstream plugins). Probably I should always use the mixer controls in the Cab Room portion of AmpliTube to adjust output, but I generally just grab the output dial and roll it back. It is quite possible with some amp model configurations to roll the output dial all the way back but still have output levels that are on the hot side so that's when I go into the mixer controls in the Cab Room.

[joeyyepez]

Thank you to everyone who replied, the information you gave was very helpful and I truly appreciate all of you taking the time to give me detailed responses!

AmpliTube certainly isn't a simple program, but I need to just find a few presets I like and tweak them right!