While virtual instruments bring almost limitless possibilities to any arrangement, they can lack some of the magic enjoyed by a real source recorded with mics. We show you how to get some of it back when using VI’s.

Virtual instruments afford the composer a whole raft of expensive sounds sometimes recorded in world class facilities, but inevitably, mixes that use a lot of these can sometimes suffer from results that could benefit from the natural sound of real, moving air. The same can also be said of real guitar and bass recordings with amp simulator plugins across them.

Re-Recording

Re-amping is the time honoured technique of running recorded sounds back out through real amps and speakers to be re-recorded with microphones. While the technique is strongly associated with guitar and bass guitar sounds, almost anything can benefit from the treatment including voices, keyboards, or even drums. In many cases, the aim is to imbue sounds with the overdrive and filtering characteristics that instrument amplification brings, although the technique can also be used to place existing sounds into new spaces for transformation or augmentation.

Moving Air

Virtual instrument sounds can benefit greatly from being re-injected with the authenticity of a recording made with microphones. When this is done using a high quality speaker system, such as the studio’s monitors, instruments can soak up the authentic sound of a microphone recording while retaining their fundamental characteristics. This is especially suited to instruments that aim to create real sounding instruments using synthesis as opposed to sample based techniques. That said, there is nothing to stop the technique being used on sounds that were themselves captured with mics.

How To Do It

CAUTION: THIS TECHNIQUE CAN CAUSE UNWANTED LOUDSPEAKER FEEDBACK. BEFORE ANY SETTING ANYTHING UP, TURN DOWN YOUR MONITORS COMPLETELY.

Muting outputs and inputs does the same thing, but unmuting can cause sudden loud noise.

1. Keep your mic nearby, but away from the monitors for now. Fully turn down the gain on your pre. Create a track for your microphone. Fade it fully down. Enable input monitoring and record enable your microphone track.

2. Ensure your audio interface’s direct monitoring is off.

3. Solo the source track to be re-recorded. If low in the mix, it can be faded up to 0dB

4. Press play and SLOWLY raise the monitor level back up to its previous position.

5. Position the mic and set its level. Record.

6. When done, record DISABLE and input monitor DISABLE the mic track. Make a note of the mic pre gain and turn it fully down.

7. Un-solo the source track and mute it. Press play and fade up the mic track.

8. Repeat WHOLE process if needed.

It’s best to record a few different mic positions to start off, and fine tune by listening back. This avoids having to repeat the whole process more than is necessary, or for setting up the potential for feedback.

For two or three-way monitors, some experimentation will be needed to get the best combination of each driver which may involve working a bit further away. For single driver loudspeakers, pointing the mic at the centre will capture more top end- best for when you need to capture as much information as possible for full range instruments. Basses can benefit from a position nearer the edge. Watch in the video how we use the technique on both a piano VI, and electric guitar through a virtual amp.

Virtual Sound, Real Capture

With some thought, the technique can be done in stereo if needed. When a more ambient sound is needed, a full range setup can be used in a good-sounding space. While the results can be subtle, it’s true to say that for many, nothing beats the sound of air being moved and captured. By taking a few simple steps to set up, re-recording your sounds in this way can really bring in-the-box sounds back to life.