Tube Preamps into DAW or FOH?

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

I'm thinking of getting a tube preamp. Does anyone have experience running these straight into your DAW or the front of house? I guess you'd need some type of cab simulator too, right? I'm new to preamps I'm not sure how it all works.

Dan Kelly · From: Boston, MA

Hi Justin,

Yes. I ran my Sarno Revelation tube preamp into Presonus Studio 68c into Studio One DAW to record my album. You can hear how it sounds at:

https://dankelly1.hearnow.com

https://tinyurl.com/Apple-steel-cut-country

https://tinyurl.com/Spotify-steel-cut-country

https://tinyurl.com/amazon-steel-cut-country

https://tinyurl.com/pandora-steel-cut-country

https://tinyurl.com/deezer-steel-cut-country

There are plenty of plug-ins for Studio One or really, any DAW, to modify the sound in terms of amps, cabs, delay, verb... whatever after the track is recorded. However, I used an Empress EcoSystem pedal for delay and reverb on the way into the DAW from the effects loop on the Rev. There is lots of ways to cut a track in a DAW just going direct from the Preamp into the DAW.

Many people feel that capturing the Steel by using a microphone is the "only" way to go, but, personally, I have had more of a challenge getting a sound I liked with that approach. Also, it never fails that when I have a good take going, I get the "HONEY! There is a phone call for you" or a loud Harley rolls by to get on the track. Smile

That being said, I have been learning about "re-amping" and that may have possibilities.
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Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

Hey Dan, sounds good!

So for DAW, it would go:

preamp -> interface -> DAW with Cab Sim / IR plugins

How would it go for Front of House? I guess preamp into something like Torpedo X into the mixing board?

Earnest Bovine · From: Los Angeles CA USA

For live performance, I've been very pleased with the sound from a Revelation pre-amp straight into the board. The sound of steel from my monitor wedge is the same sound as foh, so I know what it sounds like.

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

OK great is Earnest is that with the XLR outs?

Michael Hartz · From: Decorah, Iowa, USA

I also ran my Revelation xlr out straight into FOH and it sounded awesome.

Dan Kelly · From: Boston, MA

Hey Jusitn

I do not do much live - So, I will defer to Earnest and Michael.

BTW, Brad Sarno, the Rev's designer and maker is a great guy, very accessible and totally helpful.
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Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

Thanks everyone I appreciate it!

I think I'll grab a preamp or two from Brad Sarno and go from there.

Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

For recording direct or sending a line to front of house you might want to consider the universal audio ox box. If you already have a good amp or two it’s hard to beat.

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

The new UA Ox pedal is a different thing than the full Ox box which has been around for 5 years or so. What makes the Ox box so great is that you can plug your favorite amp into it without a speaker, and get the sound of everything including the power section into a direct line. The new pedal just does the cab and mic emulations and plugin effects, and is geared more towards someone who wants to use something like an Iridium on their pedal board, and not carry an amp.

I've used different things for recording direct including the Revelation, V8, & Quilter 202 sig out. They can all sound good, but an amp that you already love into the Ox is on a whole other level. There's a lot more clean gain on hand too, which makes it very easy to get the right levels into your DAW. If you don't have a mic pre that has a lot of clean gain (preferably with a "line" option), that can be an issue with using a preamp direct.

For me, the Ox box was well worth it because of the flexibility of using any one of my amps with it. I can record direct with my favorite old Standel, or even crank a 100 watt tube amp up to 10 and play silently with headphones. There's also the added bonus of hearing what your amps sound like under a microscope, and not wondering if that funny sound is coming from the speaker, cab, or the amp itself.

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

Oh right I see what you mean. The Ox Box is kind of a competitor to the Fryette Power Station in the sense that both let you play your amps cranked at low volumes, and have lots of I/O options for whatever is needed. The Fryette can be used as a power amp as well, but doesn't have all the IR and effects the Ox has.

I really wish I could just buy 3 times as much gear haha.

Brett Lanier · From: Madison, TN

This guy right here is the most direct comparison to the Ox. The Ox has the advantage of being able to use 4, 8, or 16 ohm amps.
https://www.two-notes.com/en/torpedo-series/torpedo-captor-x-se/

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

That looks really good too. You still prefer the Ox Box though?

Dave Stagner · From: Minnesota, USA

I never fully trust sound engineers to give me a good monitor, so I always want a real amp onstage - but I also like a high quality DI out so I don’t have to rely on the sound engineer miking my cab correctly.

I recently got a Milkman The Amp 100 and took it out on its first gig tonight. I was VERY impressed with the sound it got from its DI out! I was running the power amp out to a JBL for self-monitoring, and of course that sounds great, but I could hear clearly through the mains and that sounded great too. It’s the perfect compromise amp for me, at least until I find something even better.
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Recording King lap steel with Certano benders

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

That's good to know, Dave. Milkman is on the list too. For now I think I'll try Sarno preamp into Fryette Power station so I can power my little cab and have a stage sound at any volume I need. Then I'll run the XLR out from the Fryette to the FOH if they want.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Ken Morgan · From: Midland, Texas, USA

I’ve been using a new to me Sarno Tonic for many recording things lately. Straight to DAW sounds very good, add a speaker simulator sounds very VERY good, and with a Ganz Straight Ahead amp and a speaker, about perfect.

Telecaster, steel, and old PBass are all excellent, and of course the preamp you plug it into either DAW or live makes a huge impact. I usually use a Focusrite Clarett or API 312.
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Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

Bob I'm on the list for a Spectrum, and I'm keeping an eye out for a good used Revelation on the forum, as I'd like one of those as well. Good to hear about the reverb as that is very important to me!

Ken I have a Scarlett 2i2 and I'd really like an upgrade. It's fine but there's lots of times where I find it hard to dial in the right amount of input gain. The extra headroom from the Claret would be great, but I'm unsure what model I'd like to upgrade to. There's just so many options and none of them are cheap. I'd like to buy one I can use for 10 years and be happy with.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

Justin Shaw · From: Ontario, Canada

Thanks Bob I'll check that out! The 2i2 was a gift from a family member who wanted me to record more. Until then I was just playing through tube amps for everything. I've never really wanted to be into the recording side of things but now that I'm playing through my computer so much for practice I can press a button and record so I might as well. This has led to other things like buying a MIDI keyboard controller so I can play piano. However trying to anticipate what I'll need in the future, including all the tech specs and I/O is pretty exhausting. I really just want to spend my time playing, with the gear being of sufficient quality to never get in the way. Maybe I'll get one of those RME Babyface ones. If money were no object I'd absolutely have a tech put all this together so that 100% of the time set aside for music was spent playing.

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