Congratulations and thank you
on your purchase of the Radial JCR Reamp
®
. Radial is
proud to continue the tradition set by John Cuniberti on building the very finest recording
tools and are confident that you will find the JCR to follow suit. It may in fact become one
of your favorite studio tools of all time!
Even though the JCR Reamp
®
is plug and play easy to use, we recommend that you take
a few moments to read through the manual to understand the features and functionality
and take full advantage of the many attributes that are built in. If you find that there is
anything missing, please consult the FAQ section on the Radial JCR Reamp web page.
This is where we post questions and answers that often can assist users with our products.
If this does not address your needs, feel free to send us an email at [email protected]
and we will do our very best to reply to you in short order.
OVERVIEW
Reamping™ is usually referred to as a process whereby one takes a pre-recorded track
and then sends the signal back to guitar amplifiers and effects pedals. In years gone
by, this has mostly been applied to guitars. But today, Reamping is applied to bass,
keyboards, voice and even drums!
The benefits to Reamping are many: It allows the engineer to capture the performance
and then worry about details such as the tonal character of the instrument, the ‘width’ it
will take in the track, and how effects such as reverb, flanging or compression may be
used to enhance it during a passage or be applied to move it out of the way of a vocal.
In other words, Reamping lets you make production decisions as you go along. You are
not forced into making a commitment before all of the tracks have been recorded and
assembled.
This user guide explains the process and discusses examples on how you can take
advantage of the magic that Reamping brings to recording. Once you get started, you
will quickly come to realize why Reamping has been the secret bullet for so many top
producers and how it will become a critical part of your recording process. Have fun and
don’t be afraid to experiment.
GETTING STARTED
Reamping is a two part process. One typically begins by recording a dry track using a
direct box and then plays it back via the Radial JCR Reamp. On playback the JCR Re-
amp does the work of converting the balanced signal to unbalanced, sets the level and
introduces transformer isolation to eliminate any hum and buzz that may be encountered
when mixing balanced professional studio gear with unbalanced guitar amplifiers. As
with all audio equipment, make sure all levels are turned down and audio components
turned off before making any connections. This helps avoid plug in transients that could
damage sensitive electronics or blow speakers.
RECORDING PROCESS
Connect your guitar to the input of the Radial J48 or other direct box. The ‘thru-put’ is
then connected to the guitar amplifier. This enables the guitarist to play and hear their
amp under normal performance conditions.
Amp Sound (trk-1)
Radial J48
™
Direct Box
Dry Track Out
(record trk-2)
Thru-put to amp
Microphone
While this is happening, take the balanced low-Z out from the direct box and send this
‘dry track’ to the recorder. The dry track is be recorded on a second track and saved for
Reamping. We recommend placing a mic in front of the guitar amp so that you can record
the amp’s sound at the same time as the dry track. This can be used to play back the
track for the guitarist to review the performance or even saved and used at mix-down.
You will find that editing flubbed notes, moving things around or adjusting pitch is much
easier when the track is dry (clean) as opposed to wet (distorted). If you are satisfied
with the performance, you can send the guitarist home. You are now ready to start using
the JCR Reamp.
REAMPING PROCESS
Take the dry track from your recording system and send it to the JCR Reamp. The JCR
Reamp is equipped with both XLR and ¼" input jacks that make it easy to adapt to most
recording systems. Connect the ¼" guitar output from the JCR Reamp to the guitar am-
plifier. Hit play… bring up the level on your recorder and then slowly raise the level on
the Reamp until you have reached a comfortable listening level. If you like, try interfacing
some pedals in between the Reamp and your amp to hear their effect.
Radial JCR Reamp
®
New Reamp Track (trk-3)
Hi-z Out To Amp
Dry Track In
(playback trk-2)
Microphone
Basic setup with multi-track recording system, the JCR Reamp and amplifier.
Radial JCR Reamp
®
Hi-z Out To Amp
New Reamp Track (trk-4)
Guitar Effect Pedals
Microphone
Dry Track In
(playback trk-2)
Alternate setup with guitar effect pedals connected.
Once you get comfortable with the effect, we suggest you go back and test the levels by
first connecting the guitar directly into your amp and then comparing the loudness when you
are feeding the dry track from your recorder. Both your guitar and the recorder’s playback
should drive the amp at about the same level. Take note of the signal levels on both your
workstation and the JCR Reamp so that settings can be repeated.
USING THE MUTE SWITCH
The JCR Reamp is equipped with a super handy mute feature. This
allows the engineer in the studio to temporarily turn off (mute) the
incoming track without changing any of the guitar amp or Reamp
level settings.
For instance, the amp levels may be excessive and you may need
to discuss a mic placement with your assistant. You can have the
recording system playing back a loop and simply mute the Reamp
to allow you to converse as you move things around without having
to go back into the control room to stop the track.
USING THE PHASE REVERSE
There are several benefits to having a phase reverse switch (180°
polarity) on hand. The most obvious is when using two JCR Reamps
together with two amps - you may find that one amp is out of phase
with the other. By depressing the 180º polarity reverse, you can bring
the relative phase in line. The easiest way to test if you are in or out
of phase is to face both amps together up close and play bass notes.
If the notes disappear, you are likely out of phase.
Another benefit is when Reamping with a couple of mics in the room.
Switching the polarity will actually move the hot spots (room modes)
which can sometimes eliminate troublesome resonance. Simply de-
press the switch and listen. Choose whatever setting sounds best.
USING THE GROUND LIFT
The very fact that the Reamp JCR is transformer based means that
you will immediately enjoy the benefits of 100% isolation. This being
said, there is still a common ground that connects the input to the
output. This ground connection can be broken by depressing the
ground lift switch. This disconnects pin-1 on the XLR. If you encounter
hum and buzz, it is most likely being caused by a ground loop. Often,
lifting the ground will alleviate the problem.
USING THE EQ FILTER
The JCR Reamp is equipped with a three-way toggle switch that
introduces two types of filters or may simply be bypassed to revert
back to the original Reamp circuit.
The down position is bypass. Moving the switch to the middle position
turns on a high-pass filter that reduces the low frequency content of
the signal. This can be helpful when trying to clean up the sound of
a muddy guitar track. This can be particularly effective with heavily
distorted tones.
Moving the switch to the up position turns on a low-pass filter that
reduces the high frequency content of the signal. This is used to tame
overly bright guitar amps. This can be particularly useful when trying
to push a bass track back into the mix.
Radial Engineering Ltd.
JCR Reamp
®
Users Guide
Radial Engineering Ltd.
JCR Reamp
®
Users Guide
Radial Engineering Ltd.
JCR Reamp
®
Users Guide
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HIGH-PASS FILTER
LOW-PASS FILTER
Freq. response with high-pass filter engaged.
Freq. response with low-pass filter engaged.
