Which DAW + Interface + Modeling amp/software do you use?

I'm still waiting to find out what the OP doesn't love about his setup.

Maybe he's out turning water into wine, or taking a stroll on a body of water somewhere?

 

I think the latter, he's not replied on the identical thread at TDPRI either.

 

Kemper Profiler
Presonus Firestudio Project
Digital Performer (and, sometimes, Logic Pro X)



Using the Kemper made it much easier to get a great recorded guitar sound. Miking an amp never sounded anywhere near as good.


In terms of sound, audio interfaces and DAWs are so good these days that it really does not matter what you use. Completely up to taste, and personal preference for which kind of workflow one likes.

Even the plug-ins that come included with DAWs are, in general, so good that it's not really necessary to get 3rd party plug-ins to get great results.



A good starting point to improve sound (after recording) is to choose one good EQ and one good compressor plug-in, and really learn how to use them.

 

I use Logic Pro X with a UAD Twin | X Duo thunderbolt 3 interface. Very cool. Mostly mixing down band stuff, when I was in band.

 

I use my 20 year old POD 2.0 > Scarlett 18i8 > Logic Pro
I have tons of POD presets that sound great and I love cementing my guitar tone to the track versus coming back a few years from now and your virtual amp has either changed, or isn't available anymore.

Take a listen to one of our band's songs. All done in the box except for the drums which were 4 mics. And the vocals of course!

 

I use a pedalboard with an amp and a microphone. However in the DAW (FL Studio) I use a few free plugins from https://lostin70s.com/plugins and not just for guitar. E. g. Devil Spring reverb, Bass Deluxe for bass, which I record directly. Their keys and organ plugins are great too.

 

I use any amp head through the Universal Audio OXBOX into a apogee symphony interface into protools.

 

Presonus Studio 24C with Presonus Studio One Pro. All I can say is with power comes complexity but this setup works for me. I have a larger 16 channel rack for live capture when needed, which is rare these days.

 

Pod Go into GarageBand. Tbh I've stopped bringing amps to rehearsal/gigs. Modeller into amp return (depending on where master vol is in circuit)/ PA sounds good enough. My whole rig is under £1200 max depending on what guitar I bring.

I'm definitely a modelling convert. Less weight, less hassle, less that can be stolen/lost/broken

 

Zoom R16 as capture device to an SD card to computer to Reaper for mixing and mastering.

 

Same here. I recently acquired a Headrush MX5 that I'm still learning with live amps -- I'll try recording with it soon.

 

I use (or used to use) a Behringer USB mixer so that I didn't have to re-eq based on what instrument I was recording....electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, vocals. I dedicated a channel for the various types. The amp I used was a Fender Vibro Champ XD utilizing the line out and speaker unplugged. For the electric guitar I used clean or overdriven but no other effects. The effects were added to the "dry" track as effects can NOT be adjusted if they were part of the track,,,,it would require recording again. For a DAW I used Reaper.

 

Necessity is the mother of invention . If you need to record you will find a way.

garage band as a DAW is free. Lots of quality cheap interfaces out there. Loops are free too.

 

I play into a THR10 running USB to my laptop, then into Guitar Rig 5.

The THR10 basically acts as my interface and powered speakers at the same time. I set it to flat with all the knobs at 12:00. I love it...I can load tracks into Guitar Rig to play along with, it's a great practice tool, and frankly can't beat the variety of sounds I can get for the money!

 

I get a good sound running out of a Roland Micro Cube, into a Tascam interface, into a Windows computer running Reaper.

 

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https://ubuntustudio.org/




Reuse an old PC you already have around or buy a used cheap one...




If nothing else is available, start with Audacity (plus find all the Audacity plugins/additions as they are like giving yourself a massive pedal board).


.

 

@jvin248
Sadly, I retired my Ubuntu studio setup in favour of a Mac and Logic. I gave up struggling to make stuff work:
Helix - only via sp/dif, not usb;
Native instruments - forget it, even with wine;
Calf plugins - a bit iffy with Ardour DAW;
Upgrades - always a gamble - do I stick with LTS or take the biannual releases?

Good on you for making Ubuntu Studio work for your musical pursuits. (I use Ubuntu for work and wouldn't have it any other way.)

The Mac world is not trouble-free, but for me, I've found I spend less time wrestling with the software and more time learning how to use it productively. And at least I have a bash prompt, should I need one.

 

Focusrite Scarlet 8i6
Cakewalk or Studio One
AmpliTube, TH3 or S-Gear

 

The first thing I tell myself is that the answer to better recordings is to play better.

No single setup is all things to all people, so give yourself a few options. Experiment. I use a couple of different mics, and a high-value Behringer audio interface. I sometimes record direct via USB from my Mustang amp. I sometimes record using my iPhone with a Shure MV88 mic.

Your DAW is fine, Garageband is what I use. The amp sims are great with lots of available tweaking. I would start there by getting the most out of your DAW.

 

That sounds great.

I bought a THR5 used about 6 months ago for cheap but haven't used it to record yet. I used to play through it while I listened to the safety meeting at work when working remotely....... I do like using the THR app on my laptop which lets you really tweak the effects/settings and save the presets for quick recall versus trying to do it with the knobs on the THR. The THR10 may have preset buttons, but the THR5 doesn't. I have also used mine as my DAW speaker for quick things I do on my laptop. Powerful little amps.