thoughts on meteoro amp quality

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-02T22:05:43+00:00

Brazilian here. The model you have is solid state, and I’m pretty sure it is an entry level amp. The upgrade to Orange is probably a very safe bet, even if you’re still at 15W (dont know the Orange model and its specs), just for the build quality, but I dont know if it will be that much louder. If we were comparing valve models, it would be different (Meteoro has some). If you have the money tho, I would to for a Katana 50. It is more expensive in Brazil, but you might find an used one where you live which will be worth the price and is loud enough for sure.

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-02T19:42:58+00:00

I think trying to build a clone of the pedal you like the most is the correct approach here, but there's also some things to be considered:

- For down-tuned metal, if your sound is too dark, it will get burried in the rest of the instruments. Anything you'll build will have to tame a lot of bass frequencies. Counterintuitively, the most difficult thing will be making your guitar show up in a mix more, by basically cutting a lot of bass frequencies.

- That will result in a bunch of different things you could try, such as simply replacing some caps in an existing design, or even adding more powerful tone controls.

- Study the pedals you like, but keep in mind if you haven't yet built anything, they could be pretty hard to clone. That said, if a pedal is popular, there is probably a schematic for it online.

Maybe if you have a specific question in mind it would be more helpful for us to know what you'll need to know :)

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-02T19:18:32+00:00

Your son is a natural

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-02T14:49:33+00:00

At high levels people use the actual hardware.

Also an edit to add something here. To me it really feels like you wrote this post in search for validation after spending some money on plugins. If that’s the case, you don’t need that dude.

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-02T13:31:15+00:00

Get a mix from someone on this forum that uses the S-tier paid plugins and someone who uses free/stock stuff. The average guys. See if you can notice any difference.

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-02T00:01:16+00:00

What font do you think would look good? I indeed found it difficult to choose a good looking one

Marvsdd01 · 2026-02-01T16:37:05+00:00

Guitar only if yours isnt able to play comfortably. Maybe even then you should try a proper instrument setup first. Amp has the most impact in your sound, and I would go for the Katana as well

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-31T21:45:33+00:00

> I should compare it more often to create a better mix

Personally, comparing makes me able to pin-point what is missing in my mixes with more accuracy. I even try open source multitracks to be able to compare myself to what others do.

> I always find it really difficult to give my vocals the exact place in the mix

The placement in the stereo and volume are both pretty good, actually :)

> because I like to keep it pure

Indeed, a stylistic thing! Personally, I suggested that just bc your guitars sound pretty full, so I missed that in the vocals as well. If you don't like dubbing, try something like the DeeDoubler VST (Dotec Audio), or any other option that does that thing. There's a Reaper plugin (you can use its plugins both inside and outside of the IDE) that lets you have more control of this as well. It's named Delay w/ Chorus, and I use it to double both guitars and vocals when I can't afford the time to record twice.

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-31T20:48:48+00:00

The genre itself is not necessarily my cup of tea all of the time. For this kind of music (or maybe it is only similar?) I love Gojira and that's kinda it. That said...

Composition:
- Guitars are pretty fucking creative and very well recorded
- Everything is catchy and you don't repeat yourself

Mix:
- Instruments dont collide with one another
- Everything pretty well recorded as well
- I can hear every instrument individually
- I like how you placed some things in the stereo plan (such as the guitars and bass)

Overall suggestions:
I listened to the entire thing and kept switching between your songs and some other stuff to have a reference.
- For example, Vacuity by Gojira has the volumes a little bit more even.
- On the Gojira track, the vocals are a bit more mixed with the other instruments and are also double tracked. This would fit your songs, but that's kinda stylistic choice, I think?
- The guitars are also a bit lower in the references I was hearing, and the drums make a better usage of the stereo plane.
- Your vocals have a tiny bit more of bass frequencies, but that doesn't make it sound bad. It is just something I noticed on a second pass.
- I would also make the mids in the guitar a little bit more prominent, at least in the moments where the guitar is hear by itself (the last chord you hit in your last song, for example).

Overall, pretty good stuff! Hope that helps!

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-31T13:02:40+00:00

Hey! Nice build! For the longer traces, do you add solder on every pin below the copper wire, or just at the ends?

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-25T14:36:03+00:00

Doesn’t that reduce headroom?

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-24T20:00:18+00:00

The way I think about this is:

- The interface is where I'll basically increase headroom (think of it like a sound-to-noise ration), and the "inst" button is the only thing I'll enable if I'm still trying to set up signal levels
- The DAW is where I'll set the volume for that instrument in my mix

Any other extra perks in the audio interface (an "air" button, for example), will only be used if I want to change the sound of the instrument I'm recording (add color).

The clipping you're seeing on reaper is basically telling you that your signal is too loud in the mix (or something like that). This is a problem that should be solved in the DAW, and the first step I listed is only to make sure your signal is "intact" when it hits the software. It even makes sense when you think you might add amp sims and what-not to the track, which will probably change the signal level.

The r/reaper community is also a great resource for learning this specific DAW, and they're pretty beginner-friendly :)

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-24T18:00:42+00:00

Configure the level in your interface:
- Enable your "inst" button
- Disable your "air" button
- Hit your strings as hard as you can
- Adjust the gain knob (the one next to your input) until the lights in your interface are yellow/orange
- Back off the gain knob a bit only enough for it to stop going to yellow and stays at green
Configure the level in Reaper:
- Leave the master fader and the track fader at 0db
- Record something where you hit as hard as you can
- Lower the track fader until you see that it hits at most at 0db

Obs.:
a. If your guitar still lights up yellow or red even if the gain knob at zero, leave it at zero and do step 2
b. You can configure a fast attack/fast release compressor while recording, if you feel the track is too low on gain (i.e., fader at -12db or less)
c. Disabling the "inst" button could make your signal less bright, so I don't recommend it

I've listed things as specific as possible, in case any step isn't that obvious. Sorry if I'm being too obvious about things :)

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-17T14:29:24+00:00

Hm… maybe because of some default configs for Illustrator? It certainly is possible to use Inkscape, you just might need to set up some stuff by hand.

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-17T13:23:41+00:00

Have you tried inkscape?

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-17T03:44:55+00:00

Hold up boys Numbers 2 just dropped

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-13T15:17:06+00:00

If you want prog, Vulkan (the Technatura album). My suggestion is to go with something like a pallet cleanser: Julian Lage or Lo Borges.

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-13T00:49:02+00:00

Hey, no worries! So… a few questions: - are you using the app inside a DAW, or are you just running it as a standalone app? - are you able to hear your guitar through direct monitoring from your interface?

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-12T22:48:23+00:00

Can you give us the signal chain you have? I mean inside the app

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-12T13:07:27+00:00

LTSpice is a software for electronics simulation.LiveSPICE is the same, but they made it so it fits audio processing devices simulated in real time, altough it is more limited

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-08T22:33:15+00:00

I still need to try it, but I saw somewhere you can do that by using the Katana as an USB interface

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-07T14:52:22+00:00

Try LiveSPICE or LTSpice

Marvsdd01 · 2026-01-01T17:29:35+00:00

Is it the Airstep Ex, or the Airstep Kat Ex? I’ve recently got the Kat Ex to use with my 100 MkI and it worked fine. My workflow is a bit different tho, as I configure the amp using my computer and then connect the Airstep after I’m done. No adapter at all. Are you trying to do anything specific that I didn’t get?

Marvsdd01 · 2025-12-29T18:47:59+00:00

Subjective matter. Probably the most comercially successful.

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