Amp Sim / NAM Reamp & Input Calibration

This is the Second video in this series to get your setup calibrated.
The two basic things to measure and calibrate are the Reamp Levels and DI levels. Once you have these your setup is good to go! If you're using amp sims just use the spreadsheet below to see the amp sim input spec
If you're using NAM captures you have to hope the person who provided them has provided that info (there's no way of knowing unless they tell us).
Part 1 - Amp Sim / NAM Accuracy - • Amp Sim / NAM Input Le...
Reamp and DI Spreadsheets - www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5xqt0n...
Amp Sim Spreadsheet - docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Ed S UA-cam Channel - / @eds4754
Ed S Reamp Measure - • How to set your Guitar...
Ed S DI Measure - • How to measure your Gu...
Join the AmpsPedalsPickups DISCORD Server - / discord
Email Questions - [e-mail]
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Overview
00:49 - Multimeter Setup
01:22 - Calibrate Reamp Levels
04:08 - Measure Reamp Levels
06:01 - Measure DI Levels
08:09 - Calibrate DI Levels
09:45 - Final Thoughts / Questions?
GEAR USED
- Balaguer Woodsman BB Lightbringer
- SOLAR 1.6A Vinter
- Gibson SG 61 Reissue
- LTD EC-1000
- Fishman Fluence Moderns
- Evertune
- RedSeven AmpCentral LoadBox
- STL Amphub
- EBS Patch Cables
- RME UCX II Interface
- Creation Audio Labs MW1 DI/Reamp
- Samson Patchbay
- Shure SM7B
- Rode Wireless Go
- Rode VideoNTG
- TC Electronic Sentry Noise Gate Pedal
If you have any gear or software demos you want me to take a look at just comment or email and I can chuck it on my list.
Thanks for watching!
- Nathan

[@eds4754]

Great stuff Nath, very well explained!

[@ampspedalspickups]

🤘🤘🤘

[@StudioAmpCaptures]

Great video Thanks!
Thoughts for Topics to cover for future videos:
1 Difference between dBu and DBFS.
2: Headroom - How 13 dBu is how much headroom you have before you clip the input of your Interface. (using Pads may change this)
3: Impedance - Using instrument input when hooking guitar into interface, unless using the Line input if using something like a D.I box before interface.
4: Calibrating Reamp Box dBu without Multimeter using your interface instrument input to measure if you know interface specs. Is this as accurate as using multimeter?

[@ampspedalspickups]

Great stuff! The by product I get out of all this is researching these things and continuously going one level deeper…. And then trying to make it all digestible info for “old me” (I know what makes people tune out haha).
Will include some of these, legend

[@BrainDeadTX]

Wow thank you! btw what’s the name of the Reaper skin? Looks very cool

[@ampspedalspickups]

It’s a modified version of the @reapertips free theme. Alejandro from reapertips is a weapon, great theme to start from and customise

[@ratedrsuperstarthega]

Hi, I have RME Babyface Pro FS interface.
There's a setting on it which says +4db or -10db.
Which do you think must be selected for guitar input?
I am plugging my guitar into the side of the interface which says input 3.
And I keep the gain knob on the Totalmix software to 0.
And thanks for making this great video.
If possible, please upgrade that google sheet as more and more info is released/known from more amp sim companies. Would be great.

[@ampspedalspickups]

Just had a look at the manual
Maximum input level @+4 dBu, Gain 0 dB: +13 dBu
At the +4 setting on 0 gain you'll have 13dbu of headroom so it's exactly like mine (which says +13dbu). So yeah just follow the spreadsheet for RME and you're good to go!
And yeah the line3/4 inputs are the "instrument" ones there. Forgot to say that what makes them instrument is they have the proper instrument impedance. If you use a line level it'll have a different/lower impedence and it'll be a darker sound, the higher the impedence the brighter it is generally. Either way Input3 is the way to go!

[@WEB-df1of]

it would be great to be able to calibrate plugins for example if an ampsim expects -13 db for example but an overdrive (plugin) is used on the front of ampsim, you would have to calibrate the overdrive to see what its gain stage is before hitting the amp.

[@eds4754]

Yeah, you calibrate for the first plugin in the chain. If a pedal is 10dBu and the amp sim after is 13dBu, you’d adjust your input level for 10dBu, and then decrease the output of that plugin by 3dB so it’s matched for the next one.
Or you can set all of the plugins for unity, which makes it easier to bypass or combine different plugins without having to recalculate each time.
if your input is 15dBu, you’d boost the input of the pedal by 5dB, and then attenuate the output by 5dB. Now you’re back at 15dBu. Then for the amp sim, you’d boost by 2dB.
Both ways are fine, but I like the 2nd method. I just save default presets with the input and output levels already set

[@WEB-df1of]

Thank for the great work

[@chugbawamba]

perhaps you can do one for those without a multimeter real world use aka "plug your guitar in, hit hardest chugs and have peak level hit (___) Db (dbfs, dbu idk?) and also recommend a free metering plugin?

[@eds4754]

@@chugbawamba that method doesn’t really work very well accuracy wise and leads to a lot of inconsistency between users. If you don’t have a multimeter, use the instrument input on your interface and refer to the specs.
Or match your DI to a known headroom like the one on an interface. You can’t use the guitar to calibrate level, it needs to be a constant and known voltage source.
Worth having a multimeter in a studio, you can get one for $10-20

[@chugbawamba]

@@eds4754 right but if you had to, not for giving a standard measurement, but for personal setup fast on fly aka ballpark.. I don't see why it wouldn't be helpful in a pinch. The meter will always be more accurate to science and calibration, but for a personal setup fast is what I am thinking

[@eds4754]

@@chugbawamba The issue is that the peak level you see in the DAW will be different depending on the converters you use. One person could be using a converter that has low headroom, so chugs are already clipping, and someone else could be using converters with lots of headroom and the same chug is at -20dBFS.
Each amp sim has no idea which converters are being used either, which is why they have to pick a value and allow everyone else to adjust for it. The options are either do it accurately, or guess. If I wasn't sure, I'd probably familiarise myself with that particular amp's real life counterpart to know roughly what amount of gain to expect and then adjust accordingly.