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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ 3 Ways To Treat Di Guitars
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 1 2022, 11:44 AM
These days, we use a LOT of DI guitar tracks. We feed those tracks to virtual amps and in some cases we feed them to real amps and do actual “re amping” with an actual amp. Of course, we can re amp with virtual amp as well, using the same DI. Let’s talk about how to treat a DI. This could be your own guitar, or a guitar track you were sent to integrate into a project that you are working on.
The pitfalls for working with a DI track are many. After all, your amp, be it virtual or actual, will only sound as good as the signal that you feed it. There are a variety of things that can get in the way of a good signal. Anything from weak pickups, to dead strings, bad DI box, etc. can result in a less than ideal direct signal being recorded. If this is the case then your work is cut out for you. Whether you recorded this yourself or were sent it, doesn’t really matter. The same problems are there either way. If you have a bad DI signal, you can spend way longer than is needed trying to tweak it to properly feed the amp, virtual or otherwise, that you are trying to feed in order to get good results and serve the mix and the song. So what can be done?
Well, firstly you can try to E.Q. the DI. Before the signal is fed to an amp or a sim, you can pass it through a parametric E.Q. and try to get the level and frequencies up to snuff. You can start by filtering out unwanted low end frequencies below about 80hz. This will come down to your own ear of course, but lower frequencies can overwhelm any high gain amp and result in a very boomy sound that is just not tight enough. It’s better to try to trim the lower frequencies before they get anywhere near your amp/sim.
Next up, trim the mud. There is often a bit of muddyness around 200hz or so. Take your parametric E.Q. and pull back that area with a soft bell curve. This will allow the tone to remain tight and pull out the muddy vibe that can easily wreck a mix. Next up, use your ear and find a good spot to boost the high frequencies in your parametric E.Q. to add clarity. At this point your Sim/Amp should be in the loop so you can hear the results.
Next up, add a compressor after the E.Q. This is a great way to catch peaks and adjust the compressor until the signal is nice and smooth. Try a fast attack and a slow release so that the overall volume doesn’t jump around too much. Now try to boost the makeup gain on the compressor so as not to starve the amp/sim from having enough signal. So we have now shaped and boosted our singal, all in software.
You can also get creative and duplicate the DI track and use an octave plugin to create a lower octave version of the same track. You can then adjust the EQ for this track as it can be much deeper. Adding this octave lower track can add real depth to your tone. Boost the output volume a bit on the octave track and blend it with the original track and BAM. Chugg for dayz.
*This video was very helpful in creating this article.
Posted by: Phil66 Jan 1 2022, 08:32 PM
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. I think he could have used a better track for the demo in the video though, it sounds weird to me, like someone is slowing down the turntable intermittently.
This could be helpful for some too https://www.gearnews.com/improve-your-production-skills-5-great-tutorial-sites-and-channels/
Cheers
Posted by: Todd Simpson Jan 2 2022, 05:47 AM
Indeed it does 
Thats a very trendy djent thing doing a reverse bend. Starting with a note bent up a bit and striking it then letting it fall. It sounds odd. Thats what the kids dig
This could be helpful for some too https://www.gearnews.com/improve-your-production-skills-5-great-tutorial-sites-and-channels/
Cheers
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