How to Use Guitar Pedals as Effects in Your DAW instead of Plug Ins 

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Nice video but would have been good had you shown it practically.

You explained everything thoroughly & well but I just couldn’t follow you without seeing exactly what was going on. Nice video though! 💯

I've used a tube screamer for parallel saturation on vocals, acoustic guitars, and drums. It can really help to add some warmth to the tracks!

I once put a snare track through a Tube Screamer into a cranked Blackstar HT-5 and man that gave it some balls! Had to compensate for latency but it was well worth the experiment.

have been running a mixdown of multiple tracks through an overdrive pedal, then heavily compressing it. this provides a "glue/grit" layer that i mix back in. works great for a unified/warm vibe

Thank you so much, this information is life saving. I've been so confused trying to get my gear to not sound horrible through my computer.

yes...love it. I'm totally trying this soon. I did something similar couple weeks ago. ran a mic through a small pre amp for phantom power then into a splitter (the direct thru went into my DAW) the split (transformed) signal went to > mixing board mic input>pre fader aux send to my guitar pedals > to a DI box >pre amp >DAW. I mixed them in post and the vocals sound sick!!!

Would it work if I went from my interface straight to the effect and then straight from the effect to the preamp?

As a guy getting onto the electronic music scene after years of being in a band this is the way forward for me, plug-ins are inherently better for simple things I get it and when I have the money for a decent reverb I'll pay it but that's just the fact, plugins that don't sound souless are few and the same price as boutique pedals at times with no re sell value. I'll definitely be experimenting with my pedals down the line. Also something to keep on mind is the guitar pedal industry is highly competitive so they spend a long time coming up with blends of sounds to make a pedal interesting, straight away my boss tera echo comes to mind, I barely used it live just for small parts some gigs but it could be a really interesting addition through an FL studio track, at the end of the day no plugin would sell sounding like a terra echo hah

Mixing Engenier Vance Powell has been using this technique for years now... he even sticks them to his effects Rack with Velcro.

Found this very helpful for finding the best way to run a send and return on my console. Thanks!

Interesting video, and got me thinking about what I need for this very purpose. Thanks! Like others, however, I would have appreciated more detail. For instance, will the re-amp and DI boxes change the tone of original performance AND the pedal in the effects loop? Can this be helped? Can you run this into an interface's DI input instead of DI box --> preamp? etc.

I´m going to use guitarist's analog delay (EHX memory man, nothing special) for vocal in "half acoustic song". I tried it even without reamp box and results were quite satisfing - much warmer than digital simulations I had chance to hear and nice feel of depth in the song. I was waiting till the end you´ll show something. Maybe it would be awesome to tell us in next video your wildest idea with these stomp boxes...

Thanks. I know this is a few years old now but I was struggling with the Line level/Instrument level back into my pre-amp and of course the DI box was the solution.

Just found this channel. This info is invaluable. Thanks!

Hi! Thanks for a very cool video! I'm also interested in learning how to use this technique. Over the years I collected a bunch of different guitar stompboxes/pedals by BOSS and other vendors. For example, a wha-wha, many distortion pedals, a digital delay, an ensamble chorus, a tremolo, etc. For my "home studio setup" I use a Win 10-computer, a USB Audio Interface (AI) by Steinberg called "UR44". It has 4 "good quality" pre-amps (D-pre's) in it that equals to: 2 MIC/Hi-z and 2 MIC/Line Inputs on the card. My DAW is Cubase Pro 10. My question is, would I also need to have all the other equipment you mentioned, the DI-box, the pre-amp and the re-amp box? Or could I skip the DI-box at least, since the card should already provide with that "signal conversion"? Could I just connect a guitar stompbox directly to one of the MIC/Hi-z input on the Audio card itself? Or would I still need a re-amp box at least? I want to try this out because I hope it would open up many, new possibilites for me when recording/mixing in my home studio. Ty for any advice! :D

I've actually used a simulated clean guitar preamp in my daw to get some really cool and clicky kick drum sounds.

Awesome video! Good explanation. Since most reamp boxes are mono how would you handle stereo pedals? Would you need to reamp boxes and 2 di boxes?

What a great idea. Have been re-amping essentially to get my pedals in the chain (not necessarily the amp itself). Now with a dry DI guitar track I can use my pedals and not worry about microphones and their placing, but get the effects I want on it. Top tip.

so, does this work?? guitar or any other instrument into guitarlooper into audiointerface into daw ??

can i use daw effect for performing live & can i use padels too with it.?

That is a DIY reamp box. It also has an attenuator so that you can play with the level and get really creative. It's $59 plus a little soldering (took me five minutes to make). I have 3 and use them all the time! Thought that would help anyone who can't afford a radial one.

Hi do you know how to hook it up and how to use it to add say reverb on a track when mixing

hei, this is a great video, I have some questions though, what if I have a Stereo In/Out Pedal, what kind of reamp do you recommend in that case, and if my interface has build in preamps can I take the stereo outputs of my pedal directly into interface?! thank you

I thought you only need reamp to convert mic > line level aka low-z > hi-z... why do you need the reamp box to go from an interface's line level out into pedals? Isn't the line-out of an interface the same impedance as any keyboard out or regular line level instrument that can be used with pedals?

I would really like to try out the extc by radial and use that to control my guitar fx post recording . My only concern would be latency induced signals . Is ok to move a wave track back a few milliseconds or use another tool like the ibp by littlelabs to align the signal back into a session to blend with the original signal ? Also how would you use delay and reverb if stereo was desired ? Wouldn’t that mean I would need two extc boxes and two ibp’s ?

Can I substitute the DI box with a USB interface instead? (Focusrite Scarlett Solo) Also, for multi-effects units like the Boss ME-80 or the Line 6 stuff which have direct record, is it better to use the direct record or do I place an audio interface in between the effects unit and the computer?

Hi Ryan, my interface only has 2 main outputs, I want to be able to use an outboard compressor and remap tracks and use guitar pedals when mixing. I was thinking of getting the big knob so I could send one output of it to my monitors and the other to a compressor or reamo box and be able to switch between both on the big knob and then back into the interface to record. Do you think this would work? Would I lose and quality in the audio? Or do you have any other solutions to allow me to use outboard equipment with only 2 main ohyouts on my interface? Thanks Alex

Hold on, so here's what I want to do. I have a Behringer X1204USB mixer. I want to plug a noise gate pedal into the aux send and return. Can I simply do that? Or do I need these pre-amps?

The ''blue box'' is the Radial ProRMP 1-channel Passive Re-Amping Device

I believe my Buzz Audio MIA will do this all in one, reamp and DI, but if not, it can do the reamp duty and then my interface has a HiZ input anyway. I want to use the Reecho Pro.

Great tutorial man! Always fun to come back to this one

Can I use something like a patchbay to keep all my pedals hooked up and easily pick and choose which pedals I want to use at any particular time?

why using a D.I box ? can you just use the soundcard preamps instead?

Love doing this 👌

Will the sandamp be good to use as di then I have a bass pedal and di for other pedals to go through or dose it not work like that,?

My pedals like chorus or delay all work fine even without a di box if I go straight into the interface except the distortion pedal...why? Can you help me?

Can I do this technique with a radial duplex. which is basically a jdi passive box x2

Thank so so much for making it easy to understand u help a lot of people

If i make a loop in a looper pedal , can i record it simple by conecting the pedal to an interface?

How about this. From Electic Guitar itself to Effect Pedal to computer and record with Guitar Recording Software. Is that even possible? Coz I dont have any Interface only of those.

would have like to see you set it up ...still don't know how to do it

Does the impedance match using a transparent pedal like wha /whammy /volume directly into a audio Interface? Wanting to use these pedals with bias amp sim! Thanks

I usually put a Boss DS-1 on a snare drum and screw it up, then print that and blend it in for texture

Without the DI box, the signal will clip right? But what if I had all my effects in the chain in the most minimal level, would it still clip? I'll be using a Presonus AudioBox 96.

Can you tell me the chain setup? Like Amp, DI Box, Daw, Pre-Amp and maybe some brands to look at as well. thanks

Cool video! Did someone tried using a germanium booster? Is it good for adding some grit to a track?

Dose any one know of video of this actauly working live run ?

Could you also hook it up to a mixer aux?

Do you think I could do a chain like this? Guitar>Instrument in 1>line out>reamp box>instrument in 2 Im getting really confused with all the different levels

So im extremely new to all of this. So i may be misunderstanding. But I have an interface that has line outputs (1/4"), can I just run an output to the pedals, then back into the interface? Because the purpose of the blue box you have is to convert xlr to 1/4", right? So if i already have a 1/4" output I can just run 1/4" through everything then back into my interface that has preamps built in.

Perfect! i have a question if you don't mind. Can i reamp a guitar track that i have already recorded using my sm57 + Vox ac15 + overdrive +Eq +Distortion pedals ? (no effect pedals). I want to record my basic tone and add effect pedals later in a separate track. is it possible? i already have the Radial PRO-RMP. Does the reamping box work only on DI tracks? thank you:)

Ryan, so would be that signal chain? Play the track you want through one of the outputs of your interface (that would be line, not mike despite the xlr cable, but balanced) than into the reamp box , the the output of the reamp (that would be unbalanced, but line level) into the pedals. Afted the pedals, into the input of the DI box then into the preamp (an instrumemt preamp of an interface for instance) What about guitar pedals into vocals? From the pedals into the DI and then to a mike preamp of the interface? Is that right?

Great concept but u lost me in the explanation 1 when u referring to this box (blue one) what is it 2 demonstrate how it will be set up from A to Z 3. You mentioned in beginning u would only need 1 additional box but it looks like ull need more than that so identify each component 4 Thanks

So how to put an analog delay pedal etc behind a distorted amp sim (so the delay wont get distorted) for a guitar running trough a focusrite 6i6 second gen? No problem putting the delay in front of everything. Problem is getting that delay after amp sim.

thanks bro, you really know your stuff and helped come to grips with it.

So we can’t go directly from chain back into an input that has a line/instrument switch? My Focusrite 4i4 for example has this option and I assumed was there specifically to change to line level..?

How can I do this with my Steinberg UR22?? Is it possible? It only got 2 Outputs... I really hope you can help me out.. Thanks

I focus on the mixer. What kind of mixer you use?

Can these pedals be used for only like guitar and vocals or more things because guitar is amid range instrument? Was thinking of making the big sky my main reverb for my daw would that be a good idea thanks ?

example: daw-interface output-reamp box-pedal-interface HIZ input- daw is it correct, in this case, bypass the DI?

Can't wait to try this! I have a reamp box and a direct box coming to me soon. :)

What kind of preamp were you using? That’s the only piece of equipment I’m missing from this setup. Thanks for the information, great video!

Thanks I'll have to try it sometime.. I have both of those boxes. :)

isn't an active reamp box better for this purpose than passive?

So I have a T Rex Replicator pedal that uses real tape for saturation/delay/chorus, and I’ve wanted to use it to add some tape saturation to my mixes by putting not just one instrument through it but a whole project. The problem is I only have the 1 pedal and it has only 1 mono input and 1 mono output 😰 so I’m not sure how to go about this lol

I would like your opinion... You mentioned, a DI box is needed. Wouldn't a preamp with a Hi-Z input (for electric guitars or basses) be sufficient for sending the signal back in the DAW?

Couldn't figure out why my Digitech Trio was sounding so bad... and then stumbled on your video. After watching your video, I think I've got a high/low impedance thing going on. Thanks, Ryan.

Can I use an Interface instead of a DI box?

Hi! great video! one question, It's freaking me out...if I would want to use this chain : guitar ---> overdrive pedal ---> daw (amp simulator VST) ---> delay pedal Delay should be at the end of the chain (REAMP) but... what about the overdrive? no possibility to use on the reamp section, isn't it? I think there is no possibility to insert the AMP SIM between both pedals in the REAMP section. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone know if this can be done with fl Studio ?

Hi Ryan, have u seen these UMC204HD behringer interfaces? These come with "insert" inputs, one for each input channel wich i guess does the same as what u were saying... Or am i sayin nonsenses?

is it possible to resample saved drum kits back into your daw using only an audio interface and the guitar pedal itself ??

Hey man great video. I understood your point with the DI box, but my question is, is there any real noticeable changes with or without the DI box? Let's say I'm just sending my signal from one of my outputs on the interface to bring it back to one of the inputs and record the processed signal. Would that be considerably noticeable without having the box?

Thanks for this! I'd love to hear some examples if possible. For our initial demo tracks we did bass direct through my pedal board going out of a sansamp but didn't have a reamp box in front and that's why we ended up micing the cabs for the real recording. this could be a whole series because it's right up my alley! btw, I saw the countryman box. What are your thoughts on that when side by side with a sansamp?

What’s the name of the first box?

I am researching using effects pedals with audio interface for my live rig. I have just got a Macbook pro with guitar rig 6. I am using a Native instruments audio 6 interface. The reason behind this is I got fed up of carrying big amp stacks around. I have collected a lot of useful pedals which I hope to hook up. I like my Decimator for noise reduction. I have an Eventide H9 and a TC electronic nova. I am thinking of hooking up the guitar to the decimator then into the interface. The other effects I want to plug in from the out of the interface. The logic behind this is that it is less work for the Mac and I will be able to change patches and switch effects on and off live. Maybe eventually midi it all up and have my DAW change effects so I don't have to stomp on a box with my foot. I can just put everything into a sports bag and go to a gig on the bus.

The Eventide Space (pedal) works awesomely well. Especially in stereo.

I've noticed input/low end tone loss skipping the DI box and going straight into my preamp/hi-z input, would a DI box before my preamp remedy this?

You've convinced me, but what in the name of the Transparent Bison Who Controls Us All is "this [blue] box"? Perhaps you could favor us with the model, brand name and/or generic category (as you did with, to use your hermetic terminology, the "direct box").

So the signal chain will be guitar->pedals->reamp->audio interface? am i right?

I use the 1818vsl interface, Littlelabs 3D phantom re-amp box DI box with a Boss GT-8 effects board and a cheap old semi broken Fender amp that only works on one setting. Thank you Ryan, would love too meet you in person one day. 😎

so how would you go from say protools using amplitube out than a harmonizer pedal (it has to be at the end of your chain after amp or in this case amplitube) im also using an eleven rack as the interface ...

I'm missing somethings (yeah I know..brains). He's talking about reamp boxes and preamps and di boxes. He's pointing to a blue box I can't tell if it's a di or a preamp. What do I need?

Yes does it work. Show us

i did this by going out from my 3/4 outputs on my focusrite scarlett 2i4 via a chinch to 1/4 jack cable and then go back into the interface with a normal guitar cable. So basically I don't use the reamp and di box and it works well. So is there any reason I shouldn't do this?

great video! i've seen your videos a while back and they helped me out a lot but I forgot to subscribe. did now. I have a question. If I have an instrument level input on my interface, do I need the DI box?

Exactly what I was willing to do for a while. Got a bunch of guitar pedals that I can't substitute with plugins (although I might find good VST alternatives eventually). And I don't like to record with pedals - especially for double tracked guitars since effects tend to behave a bit differently in stereo. BUT that also requires an interface with at least three outputs, right? And that's completely different price range from cheap 2i/2o usb interfaces :( Not sure if I want to upgrade solely for this purpose...

I like to record my keyboard with its own effects, effects that I edit myself on the keyboards. But, one time a guy confused me saying that we should record the keyboard turning off all the effects so he can add effects from the plug ins in protools. Please tell me that he was wrong.

I am curious if the analogue guitar modulation pedals (such as phaser/flanger) are actually better than the plug ins? Guess I have to try it out to find out!

I'm hands on, showing the connections etc... Would have been a big help.

If you have midi capable pedals, do you need this ? Is there a way you can use midi ports of your sound card and use some kind of a plugin or software to save patches and use with DAW when recording?

This video was exactly what I was looking for. This is a "huge deal" to be able to achieve what you described, really very very cool .... However ! I'm gonna echo the other posts... Please come back with another video and give... 1. examples of exactly what the blue pedal is, manufacturer etc 2. The same with the black pedal 3. do an example showing everything hooked up. Big Thanks

Does this mean that i can put a guitar amp in the signal chain and going back straight into my interface without a cab or mic?

I was under the impression that when you come out of the "output" of guitar efx pedal you can go straight into the input of interface since it's a di. I've watched a lot of reamp videos and don't see any one saying to run into a di box after fx pedal then into interface. Or are you referring if your interface doesn't have that, but I don't recall running into a interface that doesn't. Thanks

Guitar>pedalboard>focusrite scarlett solo2 >macbook(logic pro) ..is that chain okey or need anything else like DI box etc.

Hope you can help I have a Boss DD500 and an Earthquaker Avalanche Run for my synth but not sure how to connect all to my mixer... I had it working but unplugged it and bamm brainfart.... just don't want to blow it up or short out something

how would I do this for Live practicing, so i can hear my pedal effected guitar through my headphones from my computer?

So this setup he is referring to goes like this: Sound Source > Re Amp Box > Effects Chain > D I Box > Computer Interface/ Mixer Is that right