Silent Recording with the Zoom H6 - Advice Needed

babysnake

My love affair with the guitar began in the early 80's...the heyday of Award Session! I can't remember if I ever actually owned any of the amps (I was using HH 100w combo's then) but they were everywhere!...very popular, and they sounded great! 

steamabacus

I believe the current Blues Baby amp Stewart Ward makes (fits into a Fender Blues Junior cabinet) is based on the JD-10.

As to my home setup signal path, it has evolved over about 15 years to a quite complicated path - if I have to repair or adjust things I often forget exactly how it's now set up! I'll try and remember what the current routing is.

Everything goes into an old Behringer mixing desk (with a Lexicon rack reverb in the auxilliary send) and the signal can be routed from the desk either to my Focusrite audio interface for the computer or, alternatively, to a Sony minidisc recorder. I find computers need an entirely different 'head space' for me so the majority of the time I will record ideas direct to minidisc. I don't need to switch on a computer to be creative.

My guitar looping setup is based around a Blackstar HT-5 and two pedal boards (split into 'pre' amplifier - drives, etc - and 'post' amplifier - delays and looping).

I used to use the HT-5's direct out but I found the emulated output a bit too dark and now it basically functions as a glorified pre-amp and I take the signal from the fx send (the amp stays silent).

So the signal path is (if I remember correctly!)

Guitar > 'pre' fx board > Amp IN > Amp FX SEND > Boss GE-7 EQ pedal > 'post' fx board (STEREO OUT) > 2x JD-10 (stereo speaker emulation) > Drawmer stereo compressor/gate > [edit - Mooer Ocean Machine, see below] > Digitech JamMan Solo XT looper > mixing desk

The GE-7 and rack compressor are there  to try and improve the sound and feel through headphones which I have had to move to in recent years (although I do still have monitor speakers for the desk output).

Here's the two boards and the Digitech looper. They normally sit out of the way under the desk but this pic was taken during a looping recording session with a keyboard player and bassist when they were set up out in the room more ...

The pre board has changed a bit since this pic - the homemade boost/switcher box started misbehaving and now that space is filled by an MXR Micro Amp Plus and a TC Electronic Sub'n'Up octaver. [edit - The black VFE Dark Horse distortion has also gone, replaced by a DopeFX Everything Zen (ZenDrive clone)] The Peterson tuner to the right is on a parallel out built into the pre board. For many years, the Line6 DL4 was my main looper but that got augmented by the addition of the Digitech JamMan which can save loops (I often start from a saved drum loop) but can't do the ambient sonic mangling in real time that is the DL4's strength.

To complicate matters more, I've recently added a Behringer BDI-21 Bass preamp/DI which goes into the auxilliary in on the JamMan looper (so parallel to and separate from the guitar signal). I can now lay down a bass part over the drum loop and then layer up guitar parts on top of that. Before, I'd been using the Sub'n'Up to create 'faux bass' from the guitar (which I can still do, if I choose)

It's all evolved gradually over 15+ years - I'm not one for buying and selling and constantly changing the kit I use. I tend to slowly accrue new bits and bobs over the years and use what I've got to do whatever job is needed.

I forgot! A while back I bought a Mooer Ocean Machine (delay/reveb/looper) which is currently placed after the Drawmer compressor and before the JamMan. It might not stay there though. I was planning a new single 'direct' board (same size as the two above) using the Ocean machine and incorporating both the AMT V1 and the other JD-10 running into a modern IR-based cab sim (I was looking at the Hotone Binary CAB unit). I'd got so far as mapping out how it would all fit on the board but all this CV-19 stuff kicked off and the purchase of the IR cab sim has been put on hold for the time being. It takes an age for me to commit to buying a new bit of kit in normal times without coronavirus getting in the way!

babysnake

@steamabacus ;  very interesting setup there! Man, I would love to have an auxiliary input on my looper! I have been wanting to add a fretless bass to my room for a while now but not got it together as yet. Thanks for another really great post, your setup has really got me thinking! 

steamabacus

Do report back with whatever solution you go with.

babysnake

Will do...