The transformer’s output goes into a 680-Ω load resistor, which absorbs most of the signal going into it. This project uses an inexpensive 600:600-Ω transformer because it is easy to cheaply manufacture a good low-ratio transformer. This works well, doesn’t infringe on the patent, and is very similar in actual practice. Instead, we’re going to make my Kludge reamp box using lumped-sum elements to simulate the source impedance of the pickups. So, we’re going to take a totally different approach because building something on the bench with off-the-shelf parts makes it impossible to use special purpose transformers. And while it does an excellent job, it only enables one sort of pickup to be modeled.įigure 1: The Kludge reamplifier box uses lumped-sum elements. However, the Reamp requires a special transformer.

In 2010, Radial Engineering purchased the Reamp patent, trademark, and all business assets from Cuniberti (see Photo 2). In an interview with Recording magazine years ago, Cuniberti talked about how using a conventional DI box wired in reverse for reamplification was unsatisfactory and resulted in poor low-frequency response (which I have also found to be the case).Ĭuniberti’s patent, US Patent 6005950, details the use of the special transformer design and it is well worth reading because it provides a very ingenious approach to the problem. John Cuniberti patented one excellent way of doing this and it was sold commercially under the product name “Reamp” (see Photo 1). (Photo courtesy of Radial Engineering, Ltd.) In 2010, Radial Engineering Ltd., acquired the Reamp brand and the patent for the technology from John Cuniberti.

Photo 2: The Radial Reamp JCR is the latest version of the original Reamp that was designed and patented by John Cuniberti. And, of course, it’s important to be able to isolate the instrument amplifier’s ground from the rest of the studio grounding system. Since there is some interaction between the pickup and the amplifier input stage, it can also be worthwhile to have a device that models the source impedance of a typical pickup. To reamplify, you need a box that takes the balanced output from your console or recorder and turns it into a high-Z unbalanced output that matches a typical instrument’s impedance. This means all the tracks recorded that evening will have the same basic tone. For live recording, the sound crew records a DI feed off his instrument, then later reamps it in the studio. With guitar amplifiers being what they are, not just the volume changes, the instrument’s tone changes as well. For example, a well-known guitar player has a reputation for constantly turning up his amplifier over the course of the evening, starting out with it much too soft and ending up with it much too loud. However, the practice also has several other applications.

This option has become very popular in recent years, as we have had increasing numbers of tracks available in the modern digital production studio and wanted more options available for mixdown. Also, if you get the tone you want, you can record a direct injection (DI) feed from the instrument, which provides additional flexibility for later. If you have a limited amount of time for tracking, you might not have the time to get the exact tone you want or if you aren’t sure what tone you really want, reamping can be a great solution. With reamplification, you actually record a direct instrument signal from the guitar or bass during tracking, and later play that signal back through an instrument amplifier. He later patented the design, which he called the Reamp. Photo 1: In 1993, out of necessity, John Cuniberti designed and built an interface box to solve a problem he was having in the studio.

Reamp recording studios