Cerrax Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Okay. I want to record guitar BUT, I am not in a situation that allows me to purchase any expensive equipment (by expensive I mean more than $50). SO, the challenge is, how do I get the best sound from my guitar with the set up below? 1 Gibson guitar 1 Dean Markley Amp 1 iMac G5 Logic Express 7.2 The guitar goes into the amp, then out of the amp and into the line-in on my computer. I currently have Logic's denoiser set up and I think I've got it set as best as I can (unless there is a Logic user who can suggest a better set up for the denoiser). The biggest problem is that for it to not get too fuzzy and horrible, I have to set the gate and reduction quite high. This makes low velocity notes come out garbled or not at all. And held notes tend to do the same thing as they decay. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I'd skip the amp altogether, plug the guitar straight into your sound card, and use a vst amp modeler. Guitar Suite is pretty good, and it's free. I've used it in every mix I've done to date that used an electric guitar (though I'm using something else for my upcomming mix of -- ohwait, that's secret) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splunkle Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I'd do what Taucer says, given your budget. But, if, in the future, you have more monies, and that amp is a amp+cabinet, not just the amp head, then grab yourself a microphone - an SM57 should do fine, and mic that baby up. Of course, you will need a mixer or a nice audio interface to use the microphone as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Yeah... SM57 for your amp. It's not an expensive mic. Also, make sure you have a decent audio interface for recording so you don't introduce even MORE noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Yeah... SM57 for your amp. It's not an expensive mic. Also, make sure you have a decent audio interface for recording so you don't introduce even MORE noise. stfu, guitarn00b! ... Actually, yeah, you're right. As far as bang-to-buck ratio for recording amps, you really can't beat an sm57. But that assumes you have an audio interface/preamp/mixer/something with mic inputs. The mic may be just $90, but if you don't already have the ability to record it, getting that will likely cost at nearly as much as the mic itself, if not more. Though honestly, unless you have a REALLY nice amp, I'd spring for modelling software (ie guitar combos, amplitube, guitar rig) before I'd spring for a mic if all you're gonna use it on is guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 I suppose in essence what i do is similar to what Tacuer does. Guitar > Line6 Spider212 (which is basically a modelling thing) > DI to Sound card If your wanting to use lots of distortion (like me) I discovered that the noise problem can be fixed simply by changing where you play. If i face my computer i get fuzz, If i turn around or sit further away i get none. Cable interference or something, but you don't always have to comprimise tone for noise reduction, and its not always something you have to spend money on. Obviously fuzz can also come from faulty cables, good just to check. If you get it just normally while you play through the amp its easier to spot. In that case you'll want to play with a clean tone and use a good vst modeller like taucer says. I do also have an SM57, but without a proper pre-amp its near-on uselss as you have to boost it so much or record at arrestable levels. I'm sure with the right sutff its probably a better alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Er, ANY mic without a preamp is useless. By design, mics require one to function properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrax Posted December 1, 2006 Author Share Posted December 1, 2006 Well, I grabbed some better cables, hooked the guitar straight into my computer and than used Logic's gain boost along with the denoiser and Guitar Amp Pro. I have to say the results are quite stellar! Thanks for all your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Er, ANY mic without a preamp is useless. By design, mics require one to function properly. PC mics dont need one for recording (i guess they use a tiny internal one but whatever ) I'll be expecting a guitar mix from you soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweex Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Er, ANY mic without a preamp is useless. By design, mics require one to function properly. Not to be a stickler here, but Pre-amps were not always around and a lot of musical artists made do without the pre-amp for a long time. I know that modern technology has increased the sound quality, but mic placement and mic choice is an artistic choice for the sound you want, so I would have to disagree that ALL mics are useless without a pre-amp. Who knows, the compressed sound that the lack of a pre-amp may be just what an artist wants? Heck, same thing can be said about Equalizing. Before EQ capabilites, it was ALL about the mic placement and no one can say ALL songs are useless without EQ work done to them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Guitar Suite is pretty good, and it's free it is pretty good, but it's PC-only so Cerrax can't use it. but there's already amp emulation and effects in Logic anyway. another that does work on OSX is mda Combo Pre-amps were not always around and a lot of musical artists made do without the pre-amp for a long time. could you back up this claim, please? pretty please? it would entertain me greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweex Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 could you back up this claim, please? pretty please? it would entertain me greatly. Perharps I am reading this sentence wrong: "Since the output signals of most microphones are at levels far too low to drive the line level input stage of most recording systems, engineers were required to find a soultion: the Preamplifier. Weak signals in recordings was a continuing problem for some time. A mic preamplifier must be used to boost it's signal to acceptable levels (often by 30-60 dB)...." so on and so on. Modern Recording Techniques "Microphones: Design and Application" Pg. 133 David Miles Huber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrax Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 Guitar Suite is pretty good, and it's free it is pretty good, but it's PC-only so Cerrax can't use it. but there's already amp emulation and effects in Logic anyway. Yep. That's pretty much what I did. hooked the guitar straight into my computer and than used Logic's gain boost along with the denoiser and Guitar Amp Pro. I have to say the results are quite stellar! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Perharps I am reading this sentence wrong:"Since the output signals of most microphones are at levels far too low to drive the line level input stage of most recording systems, engineers were required to find a soultion: the Preamplifier. Weak signals in recordings was a continuing problem for some time... figures. a 'continuing problem for some time' isn't exactly what i'd call 'making do'. if you really are referring to the time before pre-amplifiers then you're comparing modern recording to ancient history. it is ignorant of you to suggest using a preamp isn't necessary for recording, because it is necessary. hooked the guitar straight into my computer and than used Logic's gain boost along with the denoiser and Guitar Amp Pro. I have to say the results are quite stellar! how do you have Guitar Amp Pro in Logic Express? the Guitar Amp in LE is the same as the one in GarageBand, which isn't too great. i get better results from mda Combo. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrax Posted December 2, 2006 Author Share Posted December 2, 2006 how do you have Guitar Amp Pro in Logic Express? the Guitar Amp in LE is the same as the one in GarageBand, which isn't too great. i get better results from mda Combo.cheers. Oh. I thought all versions of Logic had Guitar Amp Pro. Oh well. It still works pretty darn good for me. I think the incredible ease of use of Logic has allowed me to get way better sound from the Guiatr Amp than GB would ever let me have. Meh. I'll check out that mda thing, but for now, this is working fine. Againa thanks everybody for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekm Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 There are one or two USB mics on the market now that have had favorable reviews. Nothing amazing, mind you, but from what I hear definitely worth not having to shell out on a sound card and/or mixer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoHamster Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 I used to have very cheap way of gettin a pretty thick and ungrainy guitar sound a while back. I had a Guitar wire jacked Microphone wire. I ran it into an old 8 band EQ guitar pedal I had lying around (some cheesy piece of junk, then ran a wire straight out of the pedal and into my PC. Yeah it's not ideal. But if you have something like that lying around it's cool. And make sure you have a mic stand for recording amps because otherwise you get all kinds of bad noise. I'm still not convinced by emulation software. Guitar Rig 2 you really have to wrestle with. I've heard a lot of praise for the Line 6 Pod which is a hardware modellor, I don't know what people around here think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souliarc Posted December 5, 2006 Share Posted December 5, 2006 And make sure you have a mic stand for recording amps because otherwise you get all kinds of bad noise. And a shock mount and/or placement on something thick and soft (like polyurethane foam). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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