Just curious how most do this. I record direct via card using Guitar Rig2/Amplitube 2 in Cubase.

It sounds great. I can't hear a difference with amp modelers vs. amps on recordings.

I'm not in a band or play live, so I don't need a big amp.

Anybody out there done both???? What's the difference???

When i actually do record something it's definitely direct. :rock:

if you are happy with recording direct - stick with it as it is by far the easiest method to get a great sound!

Its all personal preference mate, there was a time when i wouldn't have touched a modeller with a barge poll (when they were not that good) but these days the modellers are amazing pieces of equipment and i use nothing else atm.
The only thing i miss from a real Amp is feedback, but i'd never get away with playing a Marshall Stack in my neighboughood anyway, i'd soon get an ASBO thrown on me lol.
But direct recording is common in many studios now, even pro studios, and it no way costs you quality from your tone (the soundcard you plug into might do though if its not that great, onboard soundcard mainly).

I always record direct with my guitar port when I record electric guitar, but when I play acoustic I use a mic. It's just too hard to capture any sort of decent acoustic sound recording direct, in my opinion.

moddlers are great for a quick simple solution to recording a good guitar sound and they do sound good. but you cant beat a great tube amp miked up. however just sticking a sm57 in front of your cab does not mean it will sound good, to get a great recorded sound from your amp you need a very good amp, at least 3 mics and a knowledge of where to place them, a common problem people have when miking an amp is the recorded sound they get is no where near as good as the sound that was coming out the amp at the time, this is why mic placement is very important.i can see why a lot of people say that amp sims are as good but i also know the reason is a lack of understanding. i use 4 mics 1 centre cone 1 outer cone 1 at the back of the room slightly to one side and 1 at the rear of the 4x12 this config gives you your EXACT amp sound that comes through your amp. its a lot of messing about but if you have the space time and gear there is no question that a real amp miked correctly blows any moddler away and thats not just my opinion, its a fact. i love moddlers as well i use them a lot when writing songs but when i finish a song i allways redo it with a real amp and the diffrence is huge, im no amp snob either if somebody made a amp sim that let me capture what i can get with mics id never use an amp to rec with again, theres a huge misundestanding on this subject with most guitarists. yes there is a diffrence and yes its huge, ill shut up now ,,lol

I have no clue about this issue, I never had played-recorded anything on any tube amp, in fact the only amp I have is a cube30, which I only use for some partys with friends. So I will speak just as a listener. I reckon I like to listen to some room real hiss when I listen to any guitar playing. I guess that´s due to miking an amp. And that cannot be acheived with a moddler.
And yes, there should be something besides software production on it, I just was thinking of that a while ago while listening to DC´s Whole lotta Rosie, me and a friend are recording it for the sake of it. But man, no way to get that clean sound off a moddler. But again, I´m clueless as to everything of production for music.

moddlers are great for a quick simple solution to recording a good guitar sound and they do sound good. but you cant beat a great tube amp miked up. however just sticking a sm57 in front of your cab does not mean it will sound good, to get a great recorded sound from your amp you need a very good amp, at least 3 mics and a knowledge of where to place them, a common problem people have when miking an amp is the recorded sound they get is no where near as good as the sound that was coming out the amp at the time, this is why mic placement is very important.i can see why a lot of people say that amp sims are as good but i also know the reason is a lack of understanding. i use 4 mics 1 centre cone 1 outer cone 1 at the back of the room slightly to one side and 1 at the rear of the 4x12 this config gives you your EXACT amp sound that comes through your amp. its a lot of messing about but if you have the space time and gear there is no question that a real amp miked correctly blows any moddler away and thats not just my opinion, its a fact. i love moddlers as well i use them a lot when writing songs but when i finish a song i allways redo it with a real amp and the diffrence is huge, im no amp snob either if somebody made a amp sim that let me capture what i can get with mics id never use an amp to rec with again, theres a huge misundestanding on this subject with most guitarists. yes there is a diffrence and yes its huge, ill shut up now ,,lol

As far as Mic placement goes....Guitar rig 2 lets you "put" the mics where you want. Center/Edge/Close/Far

Because I've never recorded w/ mic (except in the old days when I recorded on a boom box :rock: )....I don't know how good it sounds. Guess my next goal is to get an amp....lol.

I used to have a Marshall cab and an MP1 preamp (remember those)? I couldn't get a good tone to save my life....because I couldn't turn it above 1! lol...

Here is how I feel about it as I have done both. When it comes to recording acoustic, there is no comparison...mic'ing is definitely the way to go on that and I think most would agree with me. To capture that authentic acoustic sound, you gotta mic it.

For recording electric, it really can go either way and depends highly on your how much you are willing to spend on equipment and your ability to use it. Obviously, recording direct can be dirt cheap...you can just hook up the guitar straight to the sound card and let GuitarRig or Amplitube do the work. Ironically, some direct recordings done this way sound more authentic than some of the mic'd recordings I've heard because that person really understood the principles of what he or she was doing and that really made all the difference.

Bottom line is, if you are masterful at the method you choose, the recordings are gonna sound great...its just that simple.

A note about mic'ing: I don't necessarily agree that you need to use multiple mics placed in different positions to get a good recording. Most professional studios do this, but one mic is a great start and you can accomplish a lot with just that. The key to getting that to work for you is all in the EQ.

I almost always record direct, but mainly for the sake of flexibility, simplicity, convenience and consistency. When you mic an amp, you put yourself at risk of capturing unwanted background noise (unless you have an isolation booth to use or a soundproofed room), disturbing your family and/or the neighbors and inconsistency if you don't place the mics the same each time.

The other thing I would mention is that in a lot of professionally recorded music, the guitar parts are often doubled or layered and you may be used to hearing that sound. If you dont' reproduce that technique, you may not be able to achieve the sound you want regardless of whether you're going mic or direct.