a different approach to home recording

[ankh]

I have several amps at home and for me-due to circumstances-it is not possible to just record using a microphone in front of the amp,especially since many of the amps i have need to be pushed hard to get a good sound( i.e. the 67's bassman, the marshall).Often the combination of different factors lead to great results, and ,in case of the amps,part of the sound is generated-apart from ther amp head- by the way the output trasformer is reacting to the signal,not to mention the speaker movin air,the way the sound bounces on the surfaces of the room etc..

So usally, for my vids i record direct using the guitar throuhg different effects going into the looper,avoiding using ther amps altogether.

in the past i've used the palmer speaker simulator,the PDi-09-a great device for home recording.It takes the signal from the speaker oput and then splits it in two different ones, the first one,"A") goes to the speaker,the second one,"B"-that can be attenuated as much a s 30 db- will go through a three position switch and then to either a mixer,a PA,a recording device or an fx

I wanted also to avoid using the plug ins since,even tough they sound very good-some of the amps i own aren't listed in those softwares.

I've tried a power attenuator, and,when it has been built properly ,could be a good compromise.

Then i had an idea,sparkled from different articles i've read.

Basically i wanted to use the palmer-the model i have doesn't have an attenuator- and also the amps i own,without driving anybody crazy with loud volume,and ,at the same time, push the output trasformers enough to make the amp sing,especially for combos like Marshall.

So i've brought for 20 euro a wooden box made with a plexiglass top,some holes in the front and a control panel on the side .Originally it was an unexpensive active subwoofer for the car stereo.The original speaker-the magnet was blocked- was taken off and four different car speakers were put in its place.Where the original panel was we did put two switches(one for impedance selector from 4 to 8 ohms) and another to change the speaker phase,together with a big resistor,so the volume would be reduced accordingly.
I will add some insulating foam just to have even lower volume, the original holes-meant to spread the sound- will dissipate heat.

So the chain will be like this:

Guitar-od-fx if needed- amp-"A" signal-palmer- the "box".The other part of the signal-"B"-the one going through the 3 preset eq- will go to the recording device, the fx, the mixer,whatever.

This way the amp will"see" still a speaker and it will be pushed as hard as i want, without driving anybody crazy, the sound coming out of the box will be reduced at will and the recording device will get a fuller sound.

The total expense was of about 35 euro(20 the subwoofer box with acrtive electronics,15 for the four car speakers ,plus two tweeters)

AS soon as i will have the chance to try it out,i'll let you know if this thing works.

Thanks for reading!

[Genebaby]

Cool man, some pics will be good to see.

[ankh]

i will post the pics soom,i've tested it with my Fender chamnp 12 and it works great.At maximum volume, the sound coming out of the box wasn't loud at all,you could speak over it.

As soon as i can i'll test it with my Marshall and my Bassman

[Genebaby]

Ooh, Marshall test, sweet!