DigiTech Genesis3: Multiply Your Mixdown Options

Take Your Guitar Recording to the Next Level by "Re-Amping" Your Guitar Track

By Craig Anderton

Although discontinued, DigiTech's Genesis3 remains a versatile, cost-effective studio processor. In fact, it's one of a select group of signal processors that makes it easy to "re-amp" your guitar track with a hard disk recording system's plug-ins.

What's re-amping? Guitarists usually like to record through their favorite amp and effects. However, suppose on mixdown you realize that the chorusing was waaaaay too intense, or the stomp box's reverb effect isn't as good as the one produced by your high-end rack reverb. If you recorded only the processed sound, you're stuck.

The concept behind re-amping is to let the guitarist play through a comfortable setup, and record the results -- while also recording the guitar's signal before it goes to the effects and amp. Then, on mixdown, you can feed the straight signal through plug-ins (or send it to an audio output that feeds a miked amp). Either replace the original sound, or blend the two.

FIRST, MAKE A DATE WITH AN UPDATE

The Genesis3 firmware has been updated several times since it was first introduced, and V1.1 made re-amping much easier. You can download the latest version of the cross-platform GenEdit editing software (V1.61A) from www.digitech.com/software; this version includes the latest firmware update (V1.4) and an easy-to-use installer. You can also download the firmware separately if desired, but the editor is well worth the download time -- it simplifies programming, and accesses some parameters unavailable from the front panel.

RE-AMPING CONNECTIONS

This tip exploits the "Dry Track" feature, which determines the signal that feeds the SPDIF out. There are three options:

• Off: Dry Track sends the total sound (including amp models, effects, etc.).
• 1: The S/PDIF out taps the signal prior to the time-based effects, but after the amp models and noise gate.
• 2: The out sends the straight guitar signal only, with no effects. This is what we want.

To access the Dry Track function:

1. Press Amp Save and Store simultaneously
2. Press Edit (or Tap-It) until the display shows DRYTRK
3. Turn the data wheel and select option 2.

Now make your connections. You'll need a SPDIF input along with analog ins to send to your hard disk recorder (with an analog-based studio, you can probably find something that converts a SPDIF input signal to an analog out, like a audio interface's converters). With my digital mixer, I feed the Genesis3 SPDIF out to the SPDIF in (channels 15 and 16), while the analog outs go to analog ins 13 and 14. Each stereo pair feeds a separate bus for recording, so this technique requires four guitar tracks (unless you know in advance you want only the straight signal, or record two mono signals).

RECORDING

Because the straight signal goes into your recorder directly via digital, sound quality is preserved. Meanwhile, the analog outs provide your main guitar sound (or feed an amp that you record into the recorder instead of the Genesis3 outs).

During mixdown, you can now take the straight signal and apply guitar amp plug-ins like Native Instruments' Guitar Rig, Waves G|T|R, IK Multimedia's Amplitube, or Peavey's ReValver, and tweak the sound as desired. Even some feedback effects are preserved, because if there was interaction with the amp while the guitarist was playing that made the strings sustain, that sustained sound will exist in the straight track.

I've also done tricks like recording Dry Track Option 1 (post-model/no effects sound) along with the analog outs. This allows changing the balance between the effects and the modeled guitar amp sound during mixdown. All in all, the Dry Track feature is very cool -- check it out.

Craig Anderton is Editor Emeritus of Harmony Central. He has played on, mixed, or produced over 20 major label releases (as well as mastered over a hundred tracks for various musicians), and written over a thousand articles for magazines like Guitar Player, Keyboard, Sound on Sound (UK), and Sound + Recording (Germany). He has also lectured on technology and the arts in 38 states, 10 countries, and three languages.