"With an amp simulator, what do I actually connect to what?" When you start recording guitar in DTM, this is the first question you run into. There are lots of knobs, and the order of effects isn't clear either. Raise the gain and the sound gets crushed, lower it and it lacks punch. This article explains amp simulators. I'll break down the basic signal chain order and how to think about gain from the point of view of a home-recording guitarist. I've left out difficult theory as much as possible. Learn this shape first, and you can apply it from ...