I’ve found that it’s always a good practice to record a direct signal as well as the amp/simulator signal when recording guitar. That way you have the ability to change the sound later if you need to, and the clean waveform makes it so much easier to edit distorted guitars. Even if you have a clean signal that you want to later feed into some pedals or an amp, there’s still the problem of easily getting it there, and that’s where the Replay Box from United Studio Technologies comes in.
You might wonder why you even need an interface box like this to do reamping, but it has to do with the impedance mismatch when connected right out of the DAW. That changes the frequency response, causing the sound to be weak and wimpy, which is something that you have to fight to overcome right away.
The Replay Box solves the impedance mismatch problem thanks to its transformers so the sound going into the reamp device is as you heard it in your DAW, if you want (more on that in a bit). In fact, the unit is passive as it’s cleverly designed around those transformers so there’s an additional 3dB of gain, which can be controlled by the Level control on the front panel so you can tailor it to the device you’re feeding.
What’s more, there are actually two transformers that you can select – one that provides a transparent signal and the other (called Harmonic) that’s specifically designed to add character. This transformer is wound to offer a steeper gain ratio alongside a very gentle rolling-off of the uppermost high frequencies. It adds both harmonic and phase distortion in the sub-bass region, fattening the low mids and delivering a more aggressive and warmer tone.
There’s also a Polarity and Ground reversal switches, and the rear panel features an XLR input jack and ¼ inch output jack. There’s also an additional ¼ inch Input/Thru jack.
The Replay Box will ship in July and has a recommended retail price of $399. You can find out more here, or watch the video below.
