Why Does It Sound Wrong...?? Amp Sims, Interfaces & Impedance 

@@ChrisM541 thank you very much!!

Thank you very much!!!

Absolutely...I’m a newcomer to all this stuff too...I only realised all this when I got my iD44 interface because it had the DI input in the front...makes such a difference

Use CL 1, 2 Cloudfilter. Problem would be fixed automatically.

@@HarvinderSingh-yy8th Can you elaborate more on this? How will a cloudfilter fix the problem? Also where in the signal path do you intend to use it?

Thanks Adam

Thanks Wilfried...glad I could help!!

Glad it was helpful!!

Thanks rolo!!

Thanks Bill!!

Glad it helped!! And thanks for subscribing!!

Hi! I just sort of want to clarify why this is happening. When the guitar's output signal is being run into the rear (Low-Z) input on the interface as opposed to the front (Hi-Z/instrument) input, ONLY TWO THINGS are actually changing: 1.) the level at which the DAW receives the signal, and 2.) there is some high frequency roll-off. The overdrive effect you're hearing more of in the Hi-Z/instrument input is only a consequence of that signal being received by the amp-sim as slightly louder, i.e. there is more DRIVE going into the amp-sim. Notice how when Gabor turns up the gain on the interface, the overdrive effect increases. The only change in timbral quality is the aforementioned high frequency roll-off. This is just a consequence of the physical aspects of impedance, which is a whole other can of worms to dive into. Have you ever seen on like a Scarlett 2i2, the inputs have a switch on them that says "Line/Inst"? The reason for this is that line-level signals are low-impedance and thus come into the interface LOUDER, while instruments typically output a fraction of that level. If you get the chance to use something that has a switch like that, flip back and forth between the two settings and you'll be able to hear what I'm talking about! You can think of it almost as if the interface is compensating for these differences in levels :)

The other thing I see so much from other musicians especially when trying to record they have input levels maxed out, FX levels / inputs / gain / drive etc on full and wonder why it sounds crap or not like they heard somewhere else. Also as I work as I sound technician at a rehearsal / recording studio and play in a band in Manchester, England, the amount of bands I hear that when they start to play in rehearsal basically have everything maxed out and levels so fucking high! Guitarists obviously the worst for this! With my band we start at a pretty low level and then work up to slightly higher level as we play a few songs and to me the great thing about working this way our songs sound so much better dynamically when we build up for choruses / solos / crescendos / endings etc, or when we want to play softer it sounds much better, plus being the lead singer & guitarist in the band working like this really helps me vocally to sing well & in tune and not straining and trying to sing to loud all the time and then vox ends up sounding Shite! I’ve learnt to let the microphones do more of the work when needed instead of shouting or turning guitars etc up to No.11, on my guitar amps now I rarely go above 4 or 5 as that’s their sweet spot and sound great and if I sometimes need to be louder then I’ll mic up the guitar amps and bass amp, this works a treat for me and my band dynamically so everything nowadays is crystal clear and it doesn’t end up being a battle of the guitars against each other and then against the bass and drums and it all becomes a huge too loud mish mashed distorted mess!! But it did take quite along time for myself and the rest of the band to realise starting quieter and building to your desired levels as you go works much better.

It’s definitely difficult to keep your eye on all this stuff when you just want to plug in and go...I only really just learned about all this stuff too...

How.

If you run 192KHz project you’ll get rid of aliasing

Thank you very much!!

Thank you very much! I did an unboxing/first impressions video with the Axe I/O SOLO a little while ago and I have been using it for most plugin videos I have filmed lately! It’s great...works really well and was very easy to set up! I’ll try to get a full demo of it done soon!!

Thank you

The iD4 Mk2 has the DI input in the front...it should really just be a matter of getting your input signals right. Get the Id App up on your screen and play your guitar as hard you'd play it when you dig in. That should hopefully work

Thank you Nicolas

I'm not a Cubase or Amplitube Sim user myself, but have you tried recording into a stereo track and running the insert on that? Maybe the amp sim will just register it as a mono signal and output accordingly. I'd definitely try that out, but keep in mind you may have to compensate on the amp sim's output by +6dB to combat volume loss due to mono summation

Yeah it’s amazing how much of a difference all this stuff makes...and like you said it’s the same when going direct into a PA at a gig...amazing how much of a difference a DI makes

I don’t think it’s necessary to buy an iD44...it’s a great interface but I’m sure you can get similar sounds out of any interface! Check if there is an instrument input on your interface or a switch to change it to instrument level...if not then a cheap DI will do the trick

@@TSFAHTPS ive bought id14 and it is fab) im happy so much) thanks alot)

@@proparket_officialhello what did you noticed with the upgrade?

Hello friend. I also have focusrite scarlett solo 2nd gen and pretty much every plugin sounds crap. I thought something is wrong with the focusrite so I purchased expensive Babyface Pro FS. But I get same crap results. I thought the problem might be in grounding in my apartment as it's an old apartment. So I dug up 25 feets and inserted a pure copper rod into earth and connected only my computer to this grounding rod so that no other device/appliance can interfere with the ground loop issue. Only my PC is connected to this grounding rod and nothing else. Also the PC is not connected it to any other equipment so as to avoid ground loop. Result is still the same crap sound. I thought something might be wrong with electricity, so I purchased a Online UPS which basically gives a constant pure output electricity signal. But yet, still the same crap sound. Finally I thought to try a different PC. So I purchased a new windows 11 laptop. Yet he same crap sound. It sounds the same on any interface, PC. Muddy, dead and very weird. I'm out of options now. Not sure what's wrong. Were you able to figure out your issue?

@@ratedrsuperstarthega What amp sim do you use? I used guitar rig 5 and 6, helix native and bias fx. They sound very crappy. Now I'm using neural dsp archetype plini which is the best match to my cheap guitar and sounding great. I think the problem we got is adjusting the right sample rate. Almost everyone record everything with 44.1 kHz. But they mix and master with 48 kHz or above. At first my DSP sound really crappy while listening my playback with 44 khz. Then I switch to 48 kHz and sound become a little bit better. But it give more latency which recording. But you can record with 48 kHz if you don't use too many plug-in too get few latency. My advice is that you have to record with 44.1 kHz first. It may sound crappy. Then export the track and then put it back to 48. Try this instead. I will be keep in touch. Then we will talk about adjusting EQ. I'm didn't know much about audio engineering. But I'll help you as I can.

@@ShalomPhone Hello sir! I have actually use ALL the plugins out there, haha! Yes guitar rig 5, 6, helix native, amplitube, bias, everything sucks FOR ME. Strange fact, even all the neural DSP plugins suck for me. Somehow only overloud works just a little in the ballpark of an acceptable tone. I'd still prefer it to sound much better. But overloud is only plugin I can play through sounding 10% of how it must sound. I've tried playing with 44.1hz, 48khz, 96khz, 196khz, I think 196khz sounds little bit better for maybe just 2minutes initially and then maybe it sounds the same to other frequencies. Some of the plugins don't support more than 48khz, so I keep my default settings on 48khz or 96khz these days. I am mainly trying to get a guitar playing tone right now and not looking to record guitar atleast for next few months. But it just doesn't sounds alright like we hear in other youtube videos.

@@ratedrsuperstarthega My problem is when I put distortion sound crappy. Clean tone works fine. I doubt about IR loader too. DSP and helix have built-in IR loader. So, I stick to these plugins.

No idea…sorry

Dude, trust me, I have been dealing with exact same issue since past several years. I've tried pretty much every plugin that exists out there including Bias, Amplitube, Neural DSP, ML sound, Overloud... You name it and I've tried them all. I too had focusrite scarlet 2nd gen. I thought it's the problem so I upgraded to more expensive RME Baby face Pro FS. It made absolutely NO difference. Sounds the same like focusrite. So $1000 wasted. I've tried all different guitars with Seymour duncans, Dimarzio, Fluence, EMG... Nothing ever sounds right. It's always muddy, horribly weird. Can't even explain in words. But you know it when it's not right. Did you figure out what's wrong with your setup?

@@ratedrsuperstarthega yeahh actually I have , I made the switch to Universal Audio Appollo Twin . I m using a charvel with seymour duncans JB and 59 guitar straight to my pedal board , switch on the 808 and plug directly to the interface , its nice because they have tons of plugins and you can demo them for 14 days before actually buying them. I have to say after buying a wide variety of their amp sims they are awesome and as close you'll get to the real thing, about around 100 dollars US. Like I said you can try before you buy so thats awesome. I was really blown away by the Suhr PT100 , its a very versatile amp and it sounds awesome. You will want some reverbs too , im using the capitol chambers or the ocean ways studios , its awesome really . Combine that with delay EQ and compression to your tracks and it sounds Kiillllerrr honestly. Now I never want to stop playing .... but sure its very expensive.

@@ripperthecrooks6428 I bought RME Babyface Pro FS which is high end interface too. I didn't notice any difference between RME and Focusrite honestly. I can do A/B and not know which is which with blind test. I'm glad you were finally able to get awesome tones from the plugins. But like you said, they were Apollo plugins. Are you able to get good sound from Amplitube, bias, overloud, neural, stl or any of those plugins which don't particularly require a mandatory apollo device?

@@ratedrsuperstarthega I understand your concern , I was exactly like you asking myself and people around me the same questions. That made me waste a lot of money for what I wanted , people would usually not answer my concerns because it took too long or they trying to keep the secret to themselves. Well, here's the truth. I can get a pretty good tone out of Amplitube4 and Neural stuff , but they usually dont sound as perfect within the DAW , so there is a lot of gain staging involved here and also a lot of EQ work has to be done where as UAD stuff you can configure and then commit to the sound by recording it straight to your daw. Thanks to Unison Technology , it actually matches the impedance to one of a real amp, they sound really realistic. Maybe try to EQ the signal to get it as clear as possible then boost the volume with compression or gain knob. But overrall , if I knew first hand , I would still go with UAD stuff because it would save me a lot of hassle. Hope this helps you down the road , good luck

Did you find one?

@@j.ramsey8863 yeah bought a a warm audio active/passive DI box and it's great. Did eventually switch to an AxeFx though so I've needed to worry about amp sim gain staging for a bit

Really…I use an Ormsby Hype GTR 7 with passive pickups quite a bit and I never had issues with the input gain…I’ll look into it!

@@TSFAHTPS Yes it just has a weak sound that even seems hard to be beef up with EQ and an amp sim. Not horrible, but just not very full to me. The line in sounds much more full and big, but the downside here is that it lacks clarity that the Hi-z has. It’s frustrating and makes me want to try a more interfaces.

Hey did you fix the problem?

@@jorgeguitar2540 DI box. Then a better interface.

Thank you!!

Hi Aditya Bali…I’m not sure why that is happening? Did you try the iD app and see if you can turn the volume down more there? Or maybe try the rear mic input and see if that distorts your guitar too?!?

@@TSFAHTPS thanks for the response! I tried the mic input in the back of the interface, ofcourse the tone became thin due to low impedance of the input but the output of the bridge pickup was still quite hot. I haven’t tried to adjust input gain at the software because i did not know that was possible. I’ll try and hope for it to work. Do you recommend using a DI box work mic input to solve this output problem? Because right now my guitar sounds like it has a tubescreamer built inside it

@@adityabali1939hello did you solve the problem?

@@adityabali1939was the issue solved bro? I faced the exact issue with Cort 7 string that came with fishman fluence modern active pickups. Signal clips even at 0 gain on the steinberg interface. Absolutely unable to record anything without clipping. The line inputs sounded muddy and clipped as well. I finally did some research and installed jumper shunts on both pickups to lower the pickup output gain by 8db and then ran the guitar through a passive DI box into the audio interface. There has been a significant improvement after that. I can now raise The input gain knob on the interface till about 1 to 2 o clock without clipping the signal. Basically my understanding of this problem is that most budget interfaces in the market are not really designed to handle high impedance signals. There are some videos explaining how to increase the headroom of the preamps in audio interfaces by modding the guitar cable or adding some resistors to the interface. But eventually the di box is what is keeping me afloat. Problem solved at least by 80%

I have no idea what the problem could be - maybe the speakers or headphones you are using?!? It seems to sound really good through every interface I have tried it with on my end. I am not doing any editing to the audio of the guitar…no eq, no compression…nothing…so no idea…sorry!!

I have the exact same problem, and it's driving me nuts. I have a Focusrite Solo. But I've managed to borrow high end souncards in the past and it made no difference. I get good tones with other peoples DI's. So it's clearly something in my signal chain that's not up to par.

@@Antelano I have tried 3 different interface. Focusrite solo, latest RME BABYFACE PRO FS which is very expensive and Antelop. All 3 sound exactly same. Very very woofy and wrong. Yes even I get nice tones from other people's DI when processed through same plugins. Can you tell me about your computer's configuration? Do you use windows PC or mac? More detail would be appreciated.

@@ratedrsuperstarthegadid you find out the problem?

No need, your Solo has an Instrument Hi-Z input (right input #2 on the front). 👍🏻

@@aleixdorca many thanks Alex

Nice question. I also want to know the answer)

Any particular answer?

I think you misunderstood what I was saying...I was saying that you may want to try a DI if your interface does NOT have a Hi-Z or Instrument level input! Also if you have a really good DI or possibly a Valve/Tube DI you may prefer the sound of that to the Hi-Z input on your interface...there is really no right or wrong here...just whatever works for you!

@@TSFAHTPS Ok, fair enough.....Then it is my bad, I m sorry. Thanks for your videos ;)

@@TSFAHTPS sure....ok mate ;)

Ports 3 & 4 are the same as 1 & 2 without the DI. You misunderstood what the video is about...it’s not about my interface and my DI inputs in the front...it’s about other peoples interfaces - I’ve had people message me and say that they tried plug-in amp sims but they didn’t sound anything like they did in my videos and that they sounded really dull and lifeless...and I’m hoping to help people by showing them that they most likely only need a DI to make it sound good

@@TSFAHTPS ok I wrote too fast probably :-) , yes the impedance is a topic not so known out there for beginners, I understand. Honestly I was wondering about a problem with a beautiful audio interface like that, that's my misunderstanding, and sorry for the stupid question, on the back I noticed ports 3 and 4 as line in input, but there is no jfet indication on the user manual for the rear ports actually. I own an id14 mkii and it works fine at the moment, and the jfet port works ok as well. Ps: beautiful guitars!

Thank you very much. I’m not sure what I do differently...I’m running a Mac and Logic...I think the cable I was using in this video was a not very expensive Fender cable...there is no EQ or post processing...sorry but I’m not sure why it doesn’t seem to work for you!

maybe its the guitar? old strings? eletric wiring? did you solved man?

@@joaov7802 No it did not get solved yet. Guitar and strings are not problem because I've tried with multiple guitars. Regarding electric wiring, not sure what you mean. Are you facing the same issue or everything seems to work fine with you regarding the tone?

@@ratedrsuperstarthega Hey, I am getting a terrible sound out of any amp sim, though I have a really good guitar and pickups. If you get some answer to our question about this, let me know please. I'll do the same.

@@Razor235G same here.. can you describe what you mean by terrible sound? Are you using mac or Windows? Desktop or laptop? Also which audio interface?

Sorry 😜

@@TSFAHTPS hehehe

I never had the chance to try either...I like my iD44...thats about as much as I can say...sorry!!

That’s kinda the whole point of the video…