Non-pedal build: DIY Recording Equipment LINE2AMP

[lincolnic]

Boy, that subject line is a mouthful.

So anyway, I've been filling in some holes in my gear collection lately, and one thing I've always had my eye on is a reamp box. They're super useful for the studio, where aside from their intended use, you can also hook them up to integrate pedals into your mixing process. However, I've always found them to be slightly more expensive than I wanted to pay.

Enter diyrecordingequipment.com. It's mainly a collection of links and info about DIY gear around the web, but the guy who runs it also sells a handful of projects. When I saw that he had a reamp kit for cheap, I figured that was my cue to finally get one.

The build itself could hardly be easier - there's a transformer, four resistors, two jacks, and a ground lift switch. I think everyone here could put one together in 30-60 minutes, depending on how quickly you can work. Check it out:



The kit usually comes with a silk-screened enclosure, but he was out of them when I was putting my order in. I was impatient, so mine's just in a blank 125B:



The silk-screened enclosures are pretty nice, I kind of wish I'd waited. I'm not really upset about it, though - I still have a functional reamp for under half the cost of buying one, and in less time than it'd take to go to the store.

[jimilee]

Well that's neat. I read the reamp page, do you record live a lot, or what is your application for it? First thing comes to mind, so when the G3 tour was recorded, they all went back in and rerecorded their stuff in the studio. heart=broken. 

[GrindCustoms]

.....and then you put an OD in your drums overhead mics......and it's plain awesome!

Re-amping box is a great tool to fine tune your circuits when using lots of sockets or breadboarding....let the guitar track play in loop, try the pedal....bypass....change a cap or two.....Effect On.....happiness!

[raulduke]

Guitar pedals can sound really cool on loads of other stuff (drums, keys, synths, percussion etc.), so a re-amp box is really usefull for this.

A lot of cool producers use this technique (Tchad Blake, David Friedmann, Chemical Brothers etc.) to add a bit of 'dirt' to their priestine studio audio 

[midwayfair]

Thanks for the link to the project! Definitely something useful to have around next time I do some recording.

[lincolnic]

Well that's neat. I read the reamp page, do you record live a lot, or what is your application for it? First thing comes to mind, so when the G3 tour was recorded, they all went back in and rerecorded their stuff in the studio. heart=broken. 

I'm using it solely for studio work. I always record bass with a DI and amp when I can, but sometimes due to lack of isolation I'll just use a DI and reamp it after the fact. Or, like the other guys suggested, I'll use it to bring my pedals into a mixing situation for non-guitar tracks. It's gonna be fun.

[Vallhagen]

Yep, i definately need a re-amp box. Thanks for link and hint!