anyone know how i can connect my guitar to my PC so i cant record directly to my PC. i would use a mic but the sounds quality is rubbish. i have a load of audio cables and jacks so thats no worry. i have an amp head i can use ( i dont have a line 6 pod btw ) i also have a minidisc i can record to if anyone knows how i connect my amp / guitar directly to that? cheers
Since a guitar signal is alot different from a classic analogue signal (like a cd player, for example), I don't think u can use any of the classic audio-in lines. I'm sure some brand makes PCI cards with guitar-in lines or something like that. If not, then I'm sure there is alot of hi-fi stuff that comes with a guitar-in line and a classic signal out. good luck L
Should be possible, just need to get an adapter to turn the larger jacks used with guitars to the smaller one (headphone-ish). You shouldn't need to use your amp, though you will probably need to boost your signal at the computer end. You can buy some hardware if your serious about recording at home. Ive just the Creative Live Drive II for two years, it fits into a 5.25" drive bay, and comes with a PCI card too. It has loads of inputs: Those huge guitar jacks Optical in/out SPDIF Phono (those red/white ones) MIDI In/out If your serious about music technology its a must. Turns your computer into a small mixing desk
just a quick tip I learnt from experience: do NOT plug your amp's output directly into your soundcard! I blew one ages ago. Looking back now I can see that it was a bad idea! Does your amp have a headphones socket? This shouldn't have the amps full wattage running through it, so try plugging this into your MD player and recording on that, then play this into your PC. I'm not sure how this would sound, but it's what I would try
i thaught that guitar pickups were jus LIKE microphones. and instead of a cone theres magnets and they move when the string is moved. thus creating a signal like a mic would. mabe better in the music forum
cheers for all the replies... think i'll give it a miss for now and get some proper recording equipment then cheers again
Many amp heads have a pre-amp out (basically this is just the signal before it goes in to the power amp part of the amp). This is specifically for recording or feeding in to a mixing desk for live stuff etc. If your amp has this just connect it straight in to 'line in' or 'mic in' on your sound card. If you don't have a pre-amp out, just plug the guitar straight in to the 'mic in', it might not sound brilliant (depends on exact pick ups), but it will work and wont cause any damage. If you get round to trying it, give this software a go. Thousands of pounds worth of digital effects for free Max
Yeah, if there is no amplification going on, it should be fine to connect it to the mic in on your soundcard, and ensure the +20dB boost is enabled in the volume control/mixer on the PC.
I read in a mac magazine that you can connect an electric guitar directly into the line in on a powerbook so I assume you can do the same for a PC's line in. You just need an adapter to a smaller jack.
You have no need to plug the amp into the sound card. What is the purpose? When I plug my guitar into my computer I use the loop from the sound processor. I could also use the signal out, but i like the sound from the effect loop. This signal is at the correct level for a line in on any sound card. You can spend lots of money on a fancy sound card (not a sound blaster or the like, but a real musician card) but it's not neccessary. I have been running a setup like this for years. The signal comes out of a QudraVerb GT at the effectsd loop (normally to go into another bank of effects) and goes directly into the line in on the cheap sound card in the computer. I then use software like CakeWalk, MasterTracks, CuBase, MOTU etc. It all works great. Another way to do it would be to mic the amp and sampole at a high rate. Of course this depends on your application. If you are looking for a midi application, this probably won't work well. If all you are doing is recording multiple tracks then using the line in will work fine although it is a rather slow way to do it. More expensive sound cards have multiple lines to handle more instruments, effects, etc. Look at SamAsh, Musicians Fiend, and Guitar Center. As far as the MiniDisc goes, what are you trying to accomplish. Don't forget that the sound comming out of your guitar and amp are completely different. If you record the sound directly from your guitar, it will be raw and have whatever tone the pickups and tone controls are set to. The sound from the amp is, well amplified, and tonally different. I assume your head has tone controls and probably an overdrive circuit. It sound completely different. Hit the bypass and there you go. Not the same at all. If you are recording notes to get some inspiration recorded, then connect it directly to the MiniDisc otherwise, you need to mic the amp and record it on the MiniDisc. I don't recomend connecting the MD to amp since the speakers in the stack add much to the overall sound and it will be different on the recording.
Nah, seeing as there are different amps for bas guitar, regular guitar, singing (microphone), etc.. but I'm not for sure though, I just would NOT advice connecting it to the audio-in line.. L
The reason for different amps for Bass, and normal is due to the frequencies which each guitar can produce... if you were to put the frequencies of the bass through the cones in an amp for normal the cones would tear (if the volume is too high), also the equilisers for bass and normal amps are for different spectrums... So all in all, you appear to be talking out your bottom Line in will be fine... it's what I always use, and do tend to when recording stuff...
