Pedal Steel Plugins?

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 13 Nov 2005 7:59 pm

I'm using both Cakewalk Sonar and ProTools for recording a project. I've got various VST and DXi plugins, such as compressors, EQ, etc. and I've got a couple of good guitar amp and FX simulators (Alien Connections Revalver, Amplitube, etc...).

I'm trying to come up with some decent patches for my ShoBud, to plug in direct, using a DI box going into the preamp. So far, the tone is pretty decent and clean, using the Revalver setup. Any suggestions on what I should look for? Just pretend its a REAL rig, and give me your preferences on how you set up your amp, speakers, tone knobs, etc. If you have any software ideas, all the better.

Thanks a lot.
john

Gary Shepherd · Post by **Gary Shepherd** » 14 Nov 2005 4:06 pm

Also check into Guitar Rig. I think Native Instruments makes that one but I'm not sure. Even if you don't like it for pedal steel it's a great guitar package.

I tried some pedal steel recording in Sonar last summer and never did get the sound I wanted.

I'd be interested in what you've come up with for pedal steel too. What kind of tunes are you doing, what instruments, how many real and fake instruments, etc...

Send me an email or a phone call. 580-673-2474

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Gary Shepherd

Carter D-10

www.16tracks.com

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 14 Nov 2005 4:40 pm

I've got the NI Guitar Rig, too. It's a pretty good overall guitar amp/fx simulator. I suppose my biggest problem (and that of many of us who use computers) is that there is TOO MUCH choice. It'd be simpler if there were just a compressor, an eq, etc. But no, we've got dozen's of 'em...[grin]

Right now, I'm pretty much relying upon the steel's tone by itself, with just a little bit of compression on it. I'm tracking without reverb or delay (I'll add those later) although I do put some in my cue mix when recording, just for feel.

There aren't too many "fake" instruments on this project. In fact, aside from a pretty good VST synth copy of a Calliope (go try to find one of THOSE at your neighborhood music store....), everything is analog. Drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, mandolin, dobro, fiddle, harmonica, electic slide guitar, lap steel, etc. I didn't even use pitch correction on the vocals (though maybe I should have...). I'm not a purest, but I do like players who are actually living.

The nice thing about using a VST plugin is that you can change it after the fact. I can play my Tele straight in, recording it plain, and running it through the Guitar Rig VST. If I decide the Guitar Rig patch isn't what I want, I can change it later on. Sometimes this can get you into trouble, but it's been a nice option to have on hand.

I guess I was thinking that maybe some of the more computer savvy people here might have presets that they use.

thanks,

john

Gary Shepherd · Post by **Gary Shepherd** » 15 Nov 2005 2:44 pm

I record guitar tracks through my outboard gear sometimes and sometimes directly (no FX). I suppose I should always run it dry because I can always patch back out to my FX and record the wet signal again. Hmm, maybe a combination of dry and wet would sound cool.

Anyway, do you do keyboard tracks too? I'd like to get a good keyboard player to do some piano tracks for me. I could trade midi drum tracks or just about any other kind of track. Interested? Or do you know anyone who might be?

I'm not a keyboard player but I think I'm going to get myself a nice Fatar controller this week. Then at least I'll have a keyboard to hammer on.

Let me know if you want to discuss any recording gear/ideas.

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Gary Shepherd

Carter D-10

www.16tracks.com

John Egenes · Post by **John Egenes** » 16 Nov 2005 4:08 pm

I'm not a bona fide keyboard player, though I do know how to play 'em. I'd be happy to take a stab at some midi keyboard tracks if you need some. If you get your Fatar, heck, you can do 'em yourself, no? [grin]

And yeah, it's good to record dry, then have the option of patching in whatever FX you need afterward. I do play tracks with EQ, reverb, etc, patched into my headphone mix, just so it sounds more normal to me. But none of those FX actually gets recorded.

john

Jim Peters · Post by **Jim Peters** » 16 Nov 2005 8:57 pm

Try Amplitude. It has some great amp/cabinet combinations, a pretty decent reverb, and in general some pretty decent tones. JP
Sorry, reread your original post, you already have it, JP
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Jim Peters on 16 November 2005 at 08:59 PM.]</p></FONT>

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 19 Nov 2005 8:58 am

I have been able to get a good direct tone by running the guitar through a small preamp with tone controls. I also use a mixer which has tone controls which I can change on record and playback into my power amp/speakers. You really don't need the mixer. I use it because I record with digital multi track recorders, then mix down into the computer.

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www.phelpscountychoppers.com/steelguitar