Adding amp sims to synth leads

If you’re looking for increased power in your synth lines, the driven sound of amp simulation can offer something that regular distortion can’t It should come as no surprise that re-amping lead lines is often extremely effective at putting bite, power and drive in your mixes; after all, amps themselves are an integral part of every lead guitar line ever heard. But as we’ll see in the following steps, using either hardware or software amplifiers can prove effective on lead lines not generated by guitar parts too. We’ve got a lead synth line which is sounding rich, but flat and un-dynamic; it’s certainly not threatening to burst through the mix and take over the track as we might like it to. To rectify this, we’re going to use two treatments; a simulated amp set-up from Logic Pro’s Amp Designer and a more regular distortion treatment from UAD’s Raw. In both cases, the effects are only heard in the second half of the clip, so you can compare them to the original synth lead.

We’re starting with a five-part track. We have two drum loops, a biting midrange synth sequence and a pulsing bassline. To these we’re adding a lead line from Massive. This has a lot of power, but it’s a little high and dry in the mix, and its lacks...

We add two more effects. A washy echo is added to the lead from EchoBoy, while we double the lead’s driven sound with a second auxiliary, this time from UAD’s Raw, which adds weight to the midrange. The effects are introduced in the second halves of...

We set up Logic Pro’s own Amp Designer plugin on an auxiliary. We’re using the modelled Small Tweed Amp, feeding a Tweek 4x10 Cabinet. The 87 Condenser emulation is ‘picking up’ this signal in a central position giving lots of extra driven top-end...