[1]

How's that for a catch all title?

I found this post over on the FAS forum:

Reamping I got hiss - Page 2

And am still not 100% clear. When I reamp, all I do is use one of the rear TRS outs on my MOTU 828 and send that into the rear of my Axe-Fx II. My DI signal is obviously a lot lower output than my wet signal when I'm tracking, but having poked around the MOTU manual I'm still not sure if I'm sending a low impedance signal back into the Fractal for reamping or not.

It sounds (by that post, and from some Googling) like I should be sending a high impedance signal in for reamping, in which case I'd be well served to run a DI box in line with my reamp signal chain. So instead of:

Reaper DI track > MOTU analog output > Axe-Fx II

I should be going:

Reaper DI track > MOTU > Reamp Box > Axe-Fx II

Using something like this for the DI (Radial X-amp) to take my low (?) impedance signal from the MOTU and make it high impedance before I reamp it.

Amazon.com: Radial Engineering R8001028 X-Amp Active Re-Amplifier: Musical Instruments

Is that correct? I haven't had any issues with reamping without it, but I'm reading that a HI signal tends to have less noise, which is always a good thing, and there are some other upsides to it as well. I'm just not sure what the impedance of the reamp signal I'm currently sending out of my DAW is.

 

[1]

There's this version of the X-Amp too, which appears to be newer.

 

[406]

I am also not sure, but if you get yourself a reamp-box - I'd recommend the Little Labs Redeye instead of the Radial X-amp. The Radial X we had was - in A/B with the LL - missing highs and got muddy in the lows.

 

[1]

Which Radial did you have, the blue or the yellow? I'm seeing both and I have no idea what the difference between the two is.

I'd hate to spend $300 on a box that basically does nothing for me, but at the same time I want to make sure I'm reamping the right way.

 

[105]

You need the reamp box.

Get this one: Radial Reamp® JCR

I have the original Reamp, which this basically is, and I have been very happy with it.

 

[1]

Any chance I could borrow that off of you for like a week? :lol:

I'd send it back, just like Dave returned my hard drive! :idea:

 

[105]

Sure.

When?

 

[MDV]

I think actually line to line you dont need it, and using a reamp would likely be worse.

DI boxes are there to provide a conversion from guitar pickups unbalanced to balanced and provide impedance conversion for a mic pre (note, *mic pre*, which itself exists because mics are not line-level).

Reamp boxes do nearly the opposite; they take line level and covert it to high impedance unbalanced for guitar amp inputs, which are designed to 'see' guitars (very high impedance (>1Mohm, ideally, which a good DI should match or better).

You used a Hi-Z amp-like input in the axe at the start of the chain and now youre feeding from line level to line level, it should be alright, and adding impedance conversion and balance switch in between will probably just fuck things up.

TLDR: Reamp boxes are for proper amps.

 

[MDV]

Also, yeah, X-Amps and radial reamps in general suck balls. Their DIs are good, but the red eye is better for that as well. For a DI+Reamp setup the Red Eye is the only sensible choice

 

[Cassidy]

So, are you getting hiss, Chris?

 

[1]

So, are you getting hiss, Chris?

I'm not getting hiss, but thanks to the power company putting in a substation about a mile and a half up the road from me, my house is an EMI noise nightmare. I get a little bit of interference when I reamp (though not nearly as much as if I direct record w/o a gate), so every little bit helps tame it.

 

[MDV]

Theres no way way changing a balanced signal path to unbalanced (even partly) will reduce noise. Thats the point of balanced. Its glorified noise cancellation.

 

[406]

Which Radial did you have, the blue or the yellow? I'm seeing both and I have no idea what the difference between the two is.

It was the blue one. I have to admit, I've never seen the yellow one before..