How to Re-Amp

Re-amping used to mean one thing: sending a clean guitar take out of your DAW and back through an amp to dial in tones after the fact. But these days, it’s a lot more than that. Whether you’re routing synths through pedals or giving drum loops some amp grit, re-amping is a fast, fun way to make digital tracks feel alive.

At Franklin, we make two re-amp tools built for this kind of creativity:

The RA-10 – mono with our signature variable impedance (Z) control.
The RA-20 – stereo with 4 routing modes for every re-amping combo imaginable.

Classic Re-Amp Setup with the RA-10

Here’s the traditional approach:

1. Track your clean DI guitar or bass. Use a DI box or instrument input on your interface.
2. Choose a spare output on your audio interface (one that's not used for monitors). Example: If monitors are on outputs 1–2, use output 3.
3. Send the DI track out to that output, either by setting the track’s output directly, or creating a new send. Set the fader or send level to 0dB (unity gain).
4. Connect the interface output to the RA-10 input using a balanced cable (TRS or XLR).
5. Connect the RA output to the amp’s input using a TS instrument cable.
6. Mic the amp, and record the mic signal back into your interface on a new track.

The benefit of this approach is that you can add new amp sounds to your toolkit as part of the mixing process. If an amp tone is clashing with something or not quite feeling right, you can explore different amp and mic combos later, after the performance is locked in and in your own time.

Bonus tip: tweak the Z control to match your original pickups—lower for single coils, higher for humbuckers.

Use Your Pedals Like Plugins

Want to run vocals through a phaser? Or smash your drum loop with a fuzz pedal?

The RA-10 lets you send anything from your DAW out to your pedalboard and back again—like using your hardware pedals as plugins! Route a track out of your interface, through the RA-10, then into your pedal chain. Bring the signal back in through a DI or hi-Z input. No guesswork, no tone suck, heaps of headroom.

Try it on synths, vocals, drum loops—anything.

1. Choose a spare output on your interface (other than your monitors).
2. Send your track out through that output. Set the track output directly, or use a bus/send. Keep the level at 0dB (unity gain).
3. Connect the interface output to the RA-10 input using a balanced TRS or XLR cable.
4. Connect the RA-10 output to your pedal input using a TS instrument cable.
5. Take the output of your pedals and connect them back to your interface, either through a DI box and mic pre, or directly into a high-impedance input.
6. Record the return signal on a new track in your DAW. Use input monitoring if you want to hear it live.

Go Stereo!

If you’re working with stereo synths, drum busses, or mix-ready tracks and want to process them through stereo pedal chains, the RA-20 is the tool for the job.

Here’s how to set up stereo re-amping with pedals:

1. Pick two spare outputs on your audio interface—not the ones you’re using to monitor. For example, if you’re using outputs 1–2 for speakers, use outputs 3–4 for re-amping.
2. Create stereo sends from your DAW. Either send a stereo track (e.g. synth pad or stereo bounce) directly to outputs 3–4 or set up a stereo bus/send for parallel processing.
3. Connect those outputs to the RA-20 inputs using two balanced cables (TRS or XLR). 
4. Connect the RA-20 outputs to your stereo pedal chain.
5. Take the stereo output of your pedal chain and send it back into your interface. Depending on your setup, you might go into a stereo DI and then into mic preamps or use two high-impedance instrument inputs on your interface
6. Record the stereo return on a new track in your DAW. Use input monitoring if you want to hear the pedals while you tweak.

*Note: Use Mode 2 on the RA-20 (button 2 down only) to maintain true stereo while re-amping and control both channels with just one set of controls. 

BONUS – Dual Amps with the RA-20

Want to send one take through two amps at once? The RA-20 makes it easy.

1. Send a mono DI signal out of your interface using two outputs. You can either copy the track to two mono outputs, or route it as dual-mono via a stereo send.
2. Connect those two outputs to the Left and Right inputs of the RA-20 using balanced TRS or XLR cables.
3. Connect the RA-20 outputs to two separate amps.
4. Mic both amps, and route each mic to its own track in your DAW.
5. Blend, pan, or EQ to create contrast or space between the two tones.

Blend clean and dirty, bright and dark, vintage and modern—all from one take. It’s like multitracking without playing it twice.

Tips for Better Re-Amping

Routing & Setup

• Always use spare interface outputs—not the ones you use for monitoring.
• Keep interface output levels at 0dB (unity gain) for a clean, predictable signal.
• Use balanced cables (XLR or TRS) between your interface and the RA-10 or RA-20 to reduce noise.
• Keep unbalanced cables (TS) as short as possible to avoid signal loss or interference.

Impedance & Tone

• Z Control:
  Lower = brighter (great for single coils or bright tones).
  Higher = darker (suits humbuckers or mellow sounds).
  Set by ear—use it to shape how your amp or pedals respond.
• Use 100% wet settings on pedals if you plan to blend with the dry signal in your DAW.

Phase, Hum & Noise

• If the re-amped signal sounds thin, hollow, or phasey, try the polarity (Ø) switch.
• Hearing hum or buzz? Flip the ground lift (GND) switch to break ground loops.
• When summing stereo sources to mono, check polarity for phase alignment—especially if the sounds were processed separately.

Recording & Monitoring

• Use input monitoring in your DAW if you want to hear pedals or amps live while tweaking.
• Print your re-amped tracks to new channels to preserve your originals and keep flexibility in the mix.

Creative Tips

• Try re-amping non-guitar sources—synths, vocals, drums, even field recordings.
• Use dual amp setups (RA-20) to create contrasting layers or wide stereo blends.
• For stereo pedals or FX chains, the RA-20 gives you two independent channels with full control—ideal for wide pads, stereo delays, or spaced-out verbs.
  

Happy re-amping!