Three Steps To Better Direct Drive Tone | Secret Weapons
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- We've come a long way since the days of the kidney bean POD. Direct amp rigs have gotten, not only increasingly accessible, but better by leaps and bounds year over year. Silent recording and portable amp solutions may solve for a lot of problems but they do introduce a few as well. So let's take a look at one of those issue today and walk through my three go-to steps for getting my direct rigs dialed for overdrives.
Get 7% off your first year of DistroKid and support the channel with the link below:
distrokid.com/vip/markjohnston
Support me on PATREON and get exclusive access to the music in this video, behind the scenes content, and my Discord: / markjohnston
Signal Path:
Jennings Navigator
Bondi Squish As
1981 DRV
Benson Boost
Chase Bliss Brothers
Benson Preamp
Strymon Timeline
Strymon Cloudburst
Strymon Flint
UA Ruby/Dream
Timecodes:
00:00 Intro Song
01:37 Sponsor Spot
02:44 Some Thoughts on Direct Rigs
07:50 Step 1 - Planning Your Rig, Setting Up Your Amp
12:08 Step 1 Sound Samples
17:14 Step 2 - Picking The Right Drives
19:38 Step 2 Sound Samples
24:10 Step 3 - Mind Your VOLUME
26:26 Step 3 Sound Sample
Recorded in Universal Audio LUNA
Thank you for watching. If you like what you heard here, consider following me on Instagram for more music, gear, and a look behind the scenes of producing videos like this.
/ markjohnston
Below is a list of the gear I use to make these videos. They are affiliate links and help support the channel if you purchase anything.
- VIDEO GEAR -
Sony a7sii - amzn.to/3oEiSYr
Lenses - amzn.to/3Fqeana amzn.to/3iEdKiY
Lights - amzn.to/3FnmZOq
Monitor - amzn.to/3ljLrZ2
Tripod - amzn.to/3mBRzvd
- AUDIO -
Shure SM7B - amzn.to/3BngLf8
Soyuz Launcher - amzn.to/3g9WrFa - Hudba
Mark, you’ve gotten some incredible tones for direct recording.
Maybe the best on the internet.
Oh my goodness.... THIS IS BRILLIANT!!! now that i hear you talk about it it seems so common sense - but coming from someone who just very recently started to have pedals to even mess with... The value of this understanding cannot be understated. From the honest bottom of my heart - Thank you Mark
the Duophany has been a gamechanger for me, thanks for turning me onto it. Super cool to throw my stereo effects into a Dream+Woodrow combo and have both amps contributing to the tone. The only problem is my real Deluxe Reverb is starting to get jealous, I haven't turned it on in awhile lol
I've been on full direct rig for about a year now. No regrets. I run my drives and modulation into Iridium. DS-1w and Fairfield ~900 as my dirt. And I use delay and reverb pedals after Iridium. So it simulates adding them in post for a more studio-type sound, especially considering it's a tape delay. Works better that way. It sounds huge.
I've recently been moving to a more direct (ampless approach). I have been looking for a video like this for months. You made it. THANK YOU!
I have listened everytime. My ear consciouseness, and i how i sound, how it serves. Never cared abt brand rep. One. I cant afford them. But i also acknowledge OTHER options. Thats on me. But early on, thru my dad, i realized its all about the sound, the tone, the context, regardless. How it serves the purpose. I relate to this. I havnt perfected this yet, since im still in this wonderful journey/study Thank u man.
Your tone is literally goals.
you've got a very refined touch to what you play. amazing opening track. very nice.
what a great vid. these drive tones sound incredible!
The Benson preamp sounds incredible! Why would you need any other gain? That + boost and your set.
Your tone is the best man!
I love your tone man.
I've been driving the Iridium, Fender setting with York Audio IR with a Fairfield Circuitry Barbershop and I really love it. Running mono and adding time based effects in the DAW.
Fantastic video. Incredibly helpful. We run an ampless stage and use IEMs as our sole monitoring. I have a direct to FOH board and will definitely use some of these tips in dealing with my issues (thin, fizzy, getting pedals to play nice, etc.). Thanks!!
This was incredibly helpful! Thanks brother.
Great sounds. Good video.
Just found your channel. Excellent work sir
everytime I watch one of your videos I feel an urge to turn my rig on and start messing with stuff. Just a testament on how good these videos are I guess.
Also I might be changing my mind on the DRV. I was on the "just a 250 USD rat clone" camp, but man those low gain settings sound so good.
Oh man, if you haven’t checked out my demo on the drv from last year I highly recommend it. I would hazard to say that it’s the drive video I am the most proud of on this channel. The dev is probably my most used drive across everything from sparking cleans through big singing leads (here I’m using it on the lead during the big chorus section of the intro song w the benson boost for tons of weight and texture ).
Try the DRV. Do it. I was of the same mindset that $250 is dumb for a Rat clone. Deep down I was still intrigued though and ended up scoring one for ridiculously cheap on Reverb. First time I fired it up I was enamored. Totally blew away my Ratsbane. A few months later and I still love it. I’d happily pay full price if it ever left me.
Super informative, thank you
That DRV at 27:35 reminds me so much of Billy Duffy "Live" era stuff it made me giggle.
this is so helpful
thankyou so much.
id like to learn more about the signal chain from the amps, into the daw
for another episode idea 😊
Been working out tones in separate rigs with the EAE Model Fet and Citadel, I’ve found that stacking a low gain preamp or boost like the Spaceman Redstone or Saturn VI in front really can fatten up and fill out your tone. Also found that volume control is probably the most important thing when setting up an amp sim rig. Excited to try experimenting with some of your suggestions.
1981 Drv is great for this too. I rarely even use it for distortion anymore.
Great stuff man...I have to give you all the props for making this video. There are not much of videos like this out there and I like the fact that someone really did this methodical approach towards direct guitar rig philosophy. Thank you so much and please keep videos like this coming!
Awesome timing. I’ve been on a DI tone quest lately. This video is helpful, thanks. At this moment I’m experimenting with 1981 DRV -> EAE Citadel -> Jazz Chorus effects loop -> Jazz Chorus direct out -> interface. Mostly satisfied, but still tinkering to see if it can be improved.
JC’s can struggle pretty heavily w drive tones. I think the citadel is a strong choice as a way of setting up an additional gain stage meant to be further clipped w drives / boosting ahead of it. My advice there is the same as here, try and find your sweet spot for unity on the JC and be careful not to push too much harder past that on volume as you stack gain stages.
@@markjohnstonofficial thanks for the sage advice. That’s why I’m still tinkering. I’m yearning for better clarity and saturation of my DI tone. I’m going to try swapping the JC for heavy gain tones.
Love your videos man. Thank you so much! You are a cool dude. Thank you!
I also share our first amp. The Line 6 Spider III was great for what it is.
Love your channel. Great information. What brand guitar is that?
Aw man, I used to like playing my Line 6 Spider on the Insane mode. My tastes have refined since
Hey, Mark, many thanks for this video-for the last month or so I've been meaning to ask exactly about this topic over on your discord. I've got a stack of fuzz & drive & weirdness on my mono/dry side, then into a Supro Delta King 10 which I'm basically using for tone/dirt + dry-side monitoring, then into a stereo/wet side which is mostly the entire Walrus Mako line plus various guest FX. Each side sounds great, but man, it's tricky getting the right tone and levels into the wet side without wimping out or (worse!) going in too hot and getting very nasty clipping in the Walrus inputs. I've been looking for something to manage that transition - anything from an EQ with a level control (like the Tone Job) to a studio style limiter (like the Keeley GC-2). My ears perked up when you mentioned that the Benson Germanium Boost worked well as a cut! Any thoughts about level and tone options to tame the dry side heading into the wet? (And sorry for the giant comment, and thanks again for your incredibly inspiring videos.)
Would love to see this entire study/video done again but with the wet effects post-amp modelling. I find I absolutely need my delays in front of my Ruby, but I also wonder if I could get that same compression/saturation on my delays that comes from putting them before an amp, of one could run them into the "power section" of a physical amp of some sort.
Thank you.
These ideas are incredibly helpful. Do you think about volume control in the same way when using fuzz into an amp sim? I’ve never been able to get a direct fuzz tone that I’m happy with.
This info is amazing. You mentioned you also use the QC. I use the QC for amps only, and run my board into the front of it. Have you found that the same tricks you use for thew UA pedals, translates to the QC as well?
It's ready to forget because I i have and I rewatched this video several times. Volume output is HUGE! Dialing pedals to a real amp has so much more room but when i use my acs1, the volume knobs are tweaked the most.
Very good information here. Have you even considered consulting? While this is great all encompassing advice, I’d imagine each board has its own pros and cons.
Insane mode forever 🤘🏻
That guitar… 🥰👌gorgeous!
Jennings makes the coolest guitars.
I like your tones :-)
I've recently been going down this personal rabbit hole as of late myself. Mainly in attempting an integration between analog "front of amp" pedals (i.e.
fuzz, wha, boost, OD, and distortion) into amp plugins via my Focurite, and then using other plugins for my wet FX via midi control.
My first solution was using a Victory V4 "The Jack" tube preamp at the end of my direct to interface chain, but at $500 the time I bought it?
It was initially kind of way over my budget, and despite the fact that it did exactly everything I was after?
Unfortunately after my GF's sudden medical issues?
I ultimately was forced to sell it to help make ends : (
My desire to the whole digi/analog "hybrid" conundrum was to possibly recreate the "feel" of a driven amp on the verge of clipping or already in crunchy territory, and then use drive pedals to push that clipping over the edge into saturation bliss.
Although, as you obviously very well know? Doing so by merely going direct to interface leaves much to be desired, and is, to say the least, disappointing at best.
Just the other day however, I picked up a second hand "Silk Drive" from Vox's ValveEnergy Nu-Tube line of pedal/preamps, and I'm basically utilizing that as an overall set to clean tone sweetener and analog pedal chain headroom limiter before going into my Focurite's instrument input.
I typically play anywhere from mid to high gain genre stuff and I use a RAT and/or Muff style drive for the more DooMy tones, and while I feel this Vox Silk Drive isn't perhaps as pedal friendly as the Victory V4 was?
It's definitely more affordable by far, and honestly has me wanting to eventually pick up the rest from the now discontinued line:
(Copperhead Drive-Marshall/Mystic Edge-AC30/Cutting Edge-5150-Mesa Rect)
Great video my dude.
Cheers!
Thanks for doing this Mark. Companies making amp simulation pedals need to understand everything in this video. I keep seeing amp simulation products released with a mono only input and mono only operation and it makes me wonder if the people working at these companies all play Les Pauls and Strats straight into a Marshall. Stereo guitar rigs have been around for over 40 years and stereo wet effects in front of two amps is a sound that a lot of people are using in 2023. If you make an amp sim pedal with mono input, you're effectively making it incompatible with all other stereo pedals. I see a lot of argument over this online and people talking about all these so called issues and complications of making an amp simulation pedal in stereo. If Strymon, Line 6, Walrus Audio and Universal Audio can do it, so can others. Whoever takes the current AI machine learning profiling technology and develops a stereo profile player pedal, the size of a Boss pedal with a supportive community is going to win the guitar gear industry for the next couple years. Might it be the Neural Amp Modeler software adapted to stereo operation and ported into a hardware pedal product?
To be fair the neural plug-ins already support stereo in/out and they have a robust stereo in / multi out hardware option. I know a couple people who use it exclusively for amps (I use mine as a rig replacement / hybrid usually)
@@markjohnstonofficial I'm referring to the Neural Amp Modeler, aka NAM. NAM is an open source AI machine learning software project developed by Steven Atkinson. It has no association to Neural DSP or any other company. NAM is currently the best sounding amp simulation. It's sound is 1:1 with real tube amplifiers. I've tested it thoroughly and highly recommend checking it out. NAM is extremely disruptive, because its totally free and sounds better than anything else, even an Axe-Fx III, Kemper and the new ToneX plugin and pedal.
@@BobGuido I’ve been pretty intrigued with NAM I saw John Cordy recently did a video and it sounded really great! It’s a bit overwhelming to get set up but I’m sure easy tutorials will be popping up soon I’m not quite tech savvy enough to be confident in setting it up quite yet .
My first setup was a line 6 spider iv and a mid 2000s ibanez rg with an insane splatter paint finish, 15 year old me loved insane mode, my parents didnt lol
Hey Mark, great video. Have you investigated using an all in one modeler? I’m kinda done with dealing with pedal boards. I play quite stage to front of house at church. Thanks!
Wow thank you for this great video !!!
I see a quad cortex in the background.
Could you replace the uafx pedals with the quad cortex and get the same fantastic sound or is the quad cortex not capable of that as the uafx pedals are ?
Thanks so much again !!!
Gr,
Jan
Thank You for making this. I have been struggling for a bit to like my tone for recording. I also absolutely love my 1981 DRV but I have been using a Line 6 HX Stomp as my amp sim with a tube amp. Also was trying to get along with my Two Notes Captor X too. Its nice to see that you can get these great tones and even demo pedals using these UA pedals. Looks like its time to ditch the Captor X and try recording direct with the ruby.
This was super helpful thank you. Binged the Habit series last night. I notice you don’t seem to use the Quad Cortex as much. I was considering one and was wondering what your thoughts were compared to the Ruby/Dream route. I like that I can have 2 inputs for a synth/guitar and then run a stereo effects loop but after watching this vid you got me thinking that an effects loop might not be the best option and I might need both inputs for just guitar stereo
I actually use the QC a ton and in some spaces where I am deeply grateful for it (a lot of live gigs, some off camera recording, took it with me for an LA shoot recently that’ll come out soon). It just doesn’t get used specifically on the channel as much because it’s a faster and more narratively cohesive workflow to use my normal rig when covering gear that would be used in a normal rig.
@@markjohnstonofficial Ah I see. That’s cool I look forward to the new vid. So do you run all your pedals before it like you do with the Ruby/Dream? And then for live just run it to FOH and monitor through stage monitors or in-ears?
Tech 21 Sans Amp is tha bomb!
Very helpful video! I just picked up a Benson preamp. Where in the chain is yours?
I usually run it last EXCEPT for clean EQ pedals. I like a bit of mid contouring after the benson
This is super helpful, thanks!! ive really struggled to get clean tones from the Dream or the Ruby and I don't really get why. the only usable clean i could find on the dream is with the Vol/Gain at just about 0. ive also played many years of AC-15/30 amps and couldnt get the Ruby CLOSE to that glassy beauty I can get out of all of them.
and are you playing a Jennings?!? bc me too.
I think a lot of people have been sold a somewhat false sense of “clean tone” on fender amp model over the last couple years. The UA dream breaks up a lot more like a vintage fender in this vein would. A lot of other amp sims treat”fender style” as more of a “clean platform” I’ve found that I really love the Ruby for how it sits at that edge of break up and how well it handles gainstages ahead of it. But I’m also multiple years removed from the last time I played a proper ac30
Yep. I’ve had a voyager for… almost 5 years now and have had this navigator out on loan from Chad for the last few months. I’ll be heartbroken when it’s gone.
Second what Mark said, if you interact with a Deluxe irl you'll realize they breakup fairly quickly, and to keep it clean that volume knob isn't going past 9 o'clock. The real amp gets fairly loud at that point too. More loud+tubes+speakers often means overdrive. Set your Dream Volume to 7 or 8 o'clock, use the Gain as your master, and the Boost knob as giving it "a little more", I set mine also around 7 or 8 o'clock. After that, unless you've got something else in front hitting the Dream with more input gain, that should give you a fairly clean platform.
Hey not sure if this was covered but how and why are you using both the Dream and Ruby simultaneously? What order are they in with respect to each other? Thank you!
15:10 do you set an amp sim to do the same when not using an amp? I’m trying to work on setting up my Mako ACS1 to be versatile with gain staging (just a Tumnus and Timmy)
still using the 1998 POD
Do you pan hard left and right when running the dream and Ruby ? I find it sounds great through monitors but through headphones it’s awful
Please review this Bondi Squish As. thanks!
Once it *officially* exists haha
You make the Benson Preamp sound phenomenal 😟 what else fits this category you described? Would the Browne Atom be an alternative?
Spaceman Effects Redstone
Revelation Effects Revenant
Gain staging post pedalboard and amp sim at my interface is my problem area. Sounds great out the headphone Jack and even through the PA at church. But my interface makes it sound weak and lifeless.
SAME. Wondering if this is an issue with my interface. What are you using, Ben?
Try pushing the gain the interface. Slightly higher than unity, but not until it clips. Then crank the output of your monitors/headphones as well. These amp sims need to be output loudly to have any sort of high end presence. If you just lower the gain a bit or turn down the output volume, it’ll sound lifeless. Go give it a try
"If less is more, then how much more is more?" Awesome insight to keep in mind. Thanks!
How did you blend Dream and Ruby?
Could you run the drive effects into the front of the Ruby and send the wet effects to another input and record the effects alone on stereo tracks? What that make sense?
So are you just running it straight out of the pedal in to your audio interface? My own limited experience with purely digital drives to feel harsh - difficult to achieve a smooth drive.
All the drives are analog. We’re using digital amp emulation hardware running into a line isolator to the DAW.
I cannot tell the difference between the sounds made by most gain and distortion pedals.
FantASStic.
Is that a new bondi overdrive I spy?
It’s their new compressor. Not officially released yet.
Is anybody know what reverb/delay he uses on around 20:55 ?
Can I buy one of your 1981 DRV? It's hard to find a white one on the market. lol
No
I just listed a clay colored one on reverb. Beautiful color!
First here. 💪🏽🧔🏽
The point where amp sims disappoint me is listening through speakers. I’ve tried a headrush and powered studio monitors and they both sound kinda crappy compared to headphone. I don’t like wearing headphones all the time especially when practicing.
Headrush kinda sucked until recently.
@@CMHobbies I think he’s referring to the Headrush speakers. Those have been solid as far as I’m aware.
Interesting through my studio monitors it sounds badass especially when cranked up
I always love your tone but this is the first time I really dont, now i wonder if the other videos were Ruby or real amps or what.
Every single video lists the gear being used. Nearly every single video on this channel for the last several months, basically since the UA amps have been released, has been the UA amps. really, the only exceptions have been explicitly amp reviews, or the quad cortex
@@markjohnstonofficial Yes I went back and chekced, I think maybe the benson germanium boost really helped in the other videos
@@markjohnstonofficial Yes the Meris LVX video was the best I have ever heard... so a pretty different chain than the build. Awesome work Mark!!!
Just buy an ox
I’ve got a waza tube amp expander. I also have used and love the ox. But “mono tube amp into load box” solves for a different set of problems than a stereo amp sim does. They’re not the same tools and they don’t seek to solve the same problems.
@@markjohnstonofficial I was half tongue and cheek. Thanks for the well communicated response. For context I probably should say that I have gone down the rabbit hole with the hx stomp, the ua pedals and grew so frustrated with the feel of it that I became pretty biased towards the digital pres of today I will probably use this video as the guide as I still am primarily and HX stomp for live on the road travel gigs
Fair. But the ox is such a phenomenal piece of gear that “dude just buy an ox” is something I also tell myself frequently so it’s tough to judge sincerity on that point. For certain uses I absolutely would prefer that over this rig 10x. Especially in that vein of demoing out drives (assuming I’ve got the right amp for the context) but my day to day is so much more heavily couched in amp sims and that’s the case for a ton of other musicians.
no offense, what you call crap i call "heaven"
Beardyman likes his expensive shiny pedals .. .. Soulless $$$ sounds .. God help us
Refunds for the video are available at point of purchase
Jesus Christ. We clicked on this video to hear guitar tones, not to see you talk and talk and talk and talk.
Refunds are available at the point of purchase.
But also on a less sarcastic note; there are clear chapter markers for where the sound samples are so whatever whiny complaint you have is on you.
@@markjohnstonofficial Dude, there's like 2 minutes MAX of guitar playing in this 31:27 long video. You just like the sound of your own voice.
I’m thinking maybe, JUST MAYBE, my channel isn’t for you. Sure seems like, based on the comments section, that this video designed to be an explainer is actually helpful for other people. So in the colossal sea of free content from hundreds of people on every aspect of guitar that is CZcams, maybe you’re spending too much time being mad about a channel that isn’t for you.