How to Record a Tube Amp with Amp Central EVO

This setup records your tube amplifier through Amp Central EVO without a sounding guitar cabinet. Begin with a simple mono recording, confirm the signal and levels, then add stereo processing or additional recording tracks if you need them.

You will need a compatible amplifier, a suitable speaker cable, Amp Central EVO with its correct power supply, an audio interface with an appropriate input and gain stage, and headphones or monitors. This workflow uses the analogue audio outputs. The USB connection described in the manual is for VoidX control and IR transfer, so it is not the recording connection used here.

1 Check the load before powering the amplifier

Make speaker connections with the amplifier switched off. Amp Central EVO’s internal load is rated at 100 W RMS and 8 ohms. Check your amplifier’s manual for output selection and compatibility, including any power-rating restrictions. Do not infer compatibility from the model name alone.

For this silent setup, connect the amplifier’s 8 ohm speaker output to FROM AMP OUT using a suitable speaker cable. Leave TO SPEAKER empty. Inserting a jack into that socket bypasses the internal load, even if the cable’s other end has no cabinet connected.

Leave LINE IN unused for this workflow. It is for a preamp or pedal source, and the manual states that using it bypasses the FROM AMP OUT input. If the impedance choice is unclear, check our amplifier impedance guide before switching on.

2 Connect the recording path

For a processed mono recording, connect one MAIN output to a suitable input on your audio interface, using the cable and input configuration appropriate to that interface. Start with its input gain low and phantom power off.

The manual distinguishes the MAIN outputs from LINE OUT. It describes MAIN as requiring an appropriate gain stage, with its level affected by the source and preset volume. Do not assume that every interface’s fixed line input will provide sufficient gain. Follow your interface’s instructions when choosing its microphone or other compatible input path.

Create a mono audio track and assign that physical input. Keep headphones or monitors low while establishing the signal. You can also use Amp Central EVO’s headphone output to check the sound before it reaches the interface.

3 Choose a simple starting preset

Select a known working cabinet IR and SUM routing for this mono setup. SUM sends the combination of the two selected IRs to each main output. Begin with restrained processing so that you can hear the basic amplifier and cabinet sound clearly.

If your firmware includes IR bypass, make sure the IR block is enabled when you want a processed recording. For this real-amplifier workflow, begin with additional power amp simulation disabled. The amplifier already supplies its own power stage; the simulations described in the manual are intended for sources such as preamps connected to LINE IN.

Leave out external effects for the first check and bypass the noise gate temporarily. Restore those features after confirming a reliable dry signal.

4 Calibrate the input

With all load connections verified, power the equipment and bring the amplifier into operation following its manufacturer’s sequence. Set the amplifier to a sensible level comparable to normal cabinet use, rather than turning it up because the room is quiet.

Start Amp Central EVO’s INPUT LEVEL at zero with PAD off. Choose your cleanest, most dynamic sound, play firm chords, and raise INPUT LEVEL gradually. The manual’s target is a steady 0 dB indicator with occasional +6 dB activity, avoiding CLIP.

Check the channels, boosts and playing dynamics you will actually record. If CLIP appears, reduce the input level. A meter labelled 0 dB on this device is not the same reference as 0 dBFS in recording software, so do not try to make the DAW meter reach its maximum.

5 Set the recording and listening levels

Once the input is calibrated, set the interface gain and output or preset level as appropriate to obtain a healthy recording with headroom. Watch the interface and DAW meters while playing your loudest passages. Avoid clipping at either stage.

Set listening volume with the headphone or monitor controls. INPUT LEVEL is not the control to keep raising whenever your headphones seem quiet. Likewise, pulling down a DAW fader cannot undo clipping that has already occurred at the interface input.

Choose one monitoring route. If you hear the interface’s direct signal and a delayed software-monitored version together, the sound can become hollow or doubled. Disable the unwanted route, then record and play back a short passage to verify the actual file.

6 Decide what you want to capture

For a finished cabinet sound, record MAIN with the IR enabled and avoid adding another cabinet IR automatically on the track. If you want to choose the cabinet later, record LINE OUT into a suitable line-level input and use an IR loader in your recording software. LINE OUT has its own level control and is not the same output as MAIN.

That unprocessed recording includes your amplifier’s sound. It is not a clean guitar DI. Our cabinet IR guide explains the editing flexibility this gives you.

For stereo, connect both MAIN outputs to two appropriate interface channels, choose STEREO routing, and assign left and right correctly in the DAW. Amp Central EVO’s external effects loop sits after the IR section and before the final outputs. Add effects only after verifying the basic recording path, and check their level compatibility.

Save your preset and note the amplifier settings, input calibration and interface routing. If something does not behave as expected, work through the Amp Central EVO troubleshooting guide before changing several controls at once.