Hello,
I am looking for some advice. My  setup is basic and includes the following, Boss Gt-6 guitar fx, Focusrite Saffire 6 usb, Behringer mxb1002 mixer, two alesis M1 MK2 active monitor speakers, and Sonar X1 producer. My problem is no matter what settings I make to the boss or the mixer, I cannot get a good quality guitar sound through my speakers. I am looking for the same sound quality as I would get plugging my guitar into a guitar amp. I  would appreciate any advice anyone could give me in achieving this. Perhaps different settings, additional software or a new external guitar fx. Thank you.

Have you tried the demos of software modellers such as Guitar Rig 5 or S-Gear: http://www.scuffhamamps.com/download .  I find they give me tones I could only wish for live!  See if they are any help in getting you close to what you have in mind.
I always found floor modellers like Boss and Digitech too 'digitally' and 'fizzy', but of course what constitutes a good guitar sound is highly personal to the individual.
 

  What you are probably lacking is a good cab simulation, it's the most important part, which is looks like the boss thingy doesn't do., amp sims and pedals without a cab sim at the end sounds absolutely terrible.

For starters, you could download and install the free amplitube3 "shop" version, it comes with a few amps and some cabs which are free, you can also try out cabs and amps from the shop for free for 2 days I think it is.

That way you can get an idea of what a cab will do for your sound without to much hassle.

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/amplitubecs/

There's also many free amp/cab sims, but they can be a little more tricky to get going.

I concur! 

I believe the Boss unit is meant to be played through a guitar amp, so the cabinet part is the missing link!

The speakers are the problem.

Try headphones.

Unless you have a good pair of active monitor speakers, you'll never get a correct cab sound through PC speakers.

If you use guitar software, make sure the signal from your Boss pedal is "pure" ie no effects at all.

Cheers,
Jerry

joakes


The speakers are the problem.

Nothing wrong with Alesis M1s. I seem to remember they were the defacto project studio standard around the turn of the century...

Just in case the problem isn't which software emulation to use but is a signal chain issue, make sure the output from the Boss matches whatever input it's plugged into eg line or HiZ/instrument

I have a GT-3 that has a settings option under utility. That should be set to Line(headphones) or Line out. From there I would run into the interface line in ( usually a RCA input ) however your interface may not have a line level input. Check your owners manual. You may be able to use the instrument input. I would try not to use the mixer if possible.

SvenArne

joakes


The speakers are the problem.

Nothing wrong with Alesis M1s. I seem to remember they were the defacto project studio standard around the turn of the century...

Then maybe they need calibrating ?  The cab, for me is where the speakers are, or am i missing summat ? Room accoustic problems ? Call for Arc ?

Whatever, monitors, reference or not, will never replace a 4x12 cab ;-))  IMHO.

My Altec PC "gaming" speakers produce a semi decent sound from my RP500 pedal. Through my Samson monitors ...... wow, great. But through a Marshall 100w head into a 4x12 cab is a different kettle of fish, which is why there are three schools of thought for recording - direct, mic'ed and both, no ?

Anyway, you can simulate a cab with a modern guitar pedal, but it won't beat the real thing.
 
So yeah, speakers, for me, are the issue.

Just my 2 Euro cents worth, not looking for a fight or anything, everyone has a unique POV  !!!

Cheers,
Jerry


Edited for attrociously bad spelling. Doh !

joakes  

 The cab, for me is where the speakers are, or am i missing summat ?

Yeah, but hifi equipment, be it PC speakers, studio monitors or headphones won't ever produce a "guitar cabinet" sound. Guitar cabs are basically very poor speakers with little low and no high end. That's what makes an electric guitar signal (another poor invention, fidelity-wise) sound listenable or even pleasant! That's why we have digital guitar cabinet emulation in our PODs, Guitar Rigs etc. Such an emulation is what the OP needs between his pedal board and his output!


Sven