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Re-amping is a process often used in multitrack recording in which a recorded signal is routed back out of the editing environment and run through external processing using effects units and then into a guitar amplifier and a guitar speaker cabinet or a reverb chamber. Originally, the technique was used mostly for electric guitars: it facilitates a separation of guitar playing from guitar amplifier processing—a previously recorded audio program is played back and re-recorded at a later time for the purpose of adding effects, ambiance such as reverb or echo, and the tone shaping imbued by certain amps and cabinets. The technique has since evolved over the 2000s to include many other applications. Re-amping can also be applied to other instruments and program, such as recorded drums, synthesizers, and virtual instruments.
Examples of common re-amping objectives include taking a pre-recorded electric guitar track and adding musically pleasing amplifier distortion/overdrive, room tone such as reverb, audio compression, EQ/filters, envelope followers, resonance, and gating. Re-amping is often used to "warm up" dry tracks, which often means adding complex, musically interesting effects. By playing a dry signal through a studio's main monitors and then using room mics to capture the ambiance, engineers are able to create realistic reverbs and blend the "wet" (modified) signal with the original dry recorded sound to achieve the desired amount of depth.
The technique is especially useful for "softening" stereo drum tracks. By pointing the monitors away from each other and miking each speaker individually, the stereo image can be well preserved and a new sense of "depth" can be added to the track. It is important for audio engineers to check that the microphones being used are in phase to avoid problems with the mix.