kongsmoelf Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Hi there. Silly question maybe, but... Is it possible to record some guitar, only with a computer and of course.. a guitar? In the future I am going to buy a "studio", or "remixing corner of my bedroom", but until that time comes, I would like to record some guitar. Is that possible only with a guitar and computer? Do I need some PCI or is it possible just to record throught my soundcard? -Smoelfen:< Ps. I got audacity, an amp, a jackstik (of course) and a sterio adapter, and a computer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Do I need some PCI or is it possible just to record throught my soundcard? PCI is just a type of connection for additional cards. Do you mean that your current soundcard is integrated into your mother board and you're wondering if you need an additional sound card? If that is the case, your onboard soundcard is fine and you probably won't need an additional card. When you record you'll probably get a lot of hum (from other components in your system and the electrical current that powers them) and hiss (from the low quality preamps in the soundcard) but you should be able to get decent results with some work. A better soundcard will give you a better quality signal with less work. Since you said you have an amp, I'm assuming you have an electric (or an acoustic electric) guitar, so alls you gotta do is plug the output of that into the line-in of your soundcard. You could also use the mic input of your soundcard, but you'll probably get a quieter and potentially noisier signal. Your guitar most likely outputs a mono signal, which can be a problem since your line-in/mic jack is probably stereo. When I recorded with that type of setup, if I didn't convert the mono guitar signal to stereo first using a 1/4"-1/8" mono to stereo converter (Radio Shack has them), I got no sound. Take that with a grain of salt because I really can't explain why that happens. You could also, and potentially more effectively, just use a mic to either mic the guitar itself or the amp. Just plug the mic into the mic input of the soundcard and record away. a jackstik (of course) Silly question maybe, but...what's a jackstik? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kongsmoelf Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Well I just used the (what you would call a TRS connector or jack plug:<) to connect the guitar into the computer soundcard, which is, what you said, build into the motherboard. Now I started record in audacity but no sound. It wouldn't even record anything. Is that the problem you just mentioned? About that "jack stik", I just thought that Jack sounded very english, so I thought that "stik" also was a part of the english word. But I mean a TRS connecter/Jack plug/phone plug. -SMoelfen:< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunahorum Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 for some reason my guitar doesn't sustain very well through the computer. It's like the preamp isn't that good. Anyways, use audacity noise filter works like a charm for my integrated SndCrd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kongsmoelf Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Could you give me a link to the 1/4"-1/8" mono to stereo converter:< -Smoelfen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 I knew you would ask that and I knew I wouldn't have an answer, because before I typed that advice I searched online and couldn't find a good link (even at Radio Shack). I'm heading home from work now though, and I'll look at my setup and try to remember where I got mine from. They exist though! I swear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Could you give me a link to the 1/4"-1/8" mono to stereo converter The fact that this adapter is so hard to find online probably means that there is a better way to accomplish this, but anyway: From audiogear.com, this 1/4" female mono to 1/8" male stereo should get the job done. Although it is really overpriced, just like anything else that has to do with Monster cables. Looking at my old rig, I actually didn't have a single adapter doing the job. It was accomplished using a 1/4" mono to 1/8" mono, into a 1/8" mono to 1/8" stereo (the title of the product is wrong but the product description is right). That's a lot cheaper than the first option. Also, I just tested a 1/4" stereo to 1/8" stereo on my laptop's integrated sound card and it worked fine. That was not the case when using the SoundBlaster Live card though, so I guess what connection is required depends somewhat on the card. Best advice is to experiment. Also keep in mind that it may have nothing to do with the connection. I don't use Audacity so I can't give specific advice, but make sure you have a track all set up to receive input from your line-in and make sure your line-in doesn't have it's recording volume muted (which you can check from the control panel if you're using Windows) for some reason my guitar doesn't sustain very well through the computer. It's like the preamp isn't that good. Anyways, use audacity noise filter works like a charm for my integrated SndCrd. Hmm. Might also have to do with your gain settings. I find that turning the guitar's gain to its max and setting the soundcard gain as low as possible gives me the best results with a SoundBlaster Live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunahorum Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 just get a 1/4 to 1/8 mono to mono jack. It's not like a guitar outputs stereo anyways. (Or at least the ones I've seen/have don't) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnappleMan Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ughh, I can't stress enough what a bad idea is to plug ANY unbalanced audio source directly into your soundcard. You can blow up your soundcard and maybe damage the rest of your machine as well. Buy a cheap mixer or something like an amp modeling DI pedal ***like this***. You can use that as an amp modeler, effects pedal, or just a DI box that'll send balanced audio to your soundcard. You should also upgrade to a decent soundcard, but that can happen later on after you learn music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ughh, I can't stress enough what a bad idea is to plug ANY unbalanced audio source directly into your soundcard. You can blow up your soundcard and maybe damage the rest of your machine as well. Why would that be the case? Most guitars are unbalanced, as are the inputs of most integrated or consumer-grade soundcards. Unbalanced output into an unbalanced input should be fine. Sure, you will probably pick up hum from the power source and you'll have problems with long cables, but I'm not so sure it will "blow up your soundcard." Besides, balanced vs unbalanced really isn't the issue when it comes to frying your equipment. It's impedance matching, right? Your consumer grade soundcard will probably be fixed at -10dBV. If you plug in something that's rated at +4dBu out then you may have problems with the signal being too hot (in which case just keep the gain on your guitar/equipment low), but will that actually destroy a soundcard? I've heard stories but I wouldn't say that it's a common problem, especially if you're not trying to do anything too crazy with low-budget cards. Bottom line for me is that in 5 years of plugging keyboards, guitars, mics and stereo systems into the line input of el cheapo soundcards, I haven't blown anything yet. I've always thought of frying soundcards as something of a myth based loosely on fact. Then again, maybe I've just been lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMT Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 If you want a cheap and easy way to record guitar, I recommend looking into one of these: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/JamLab-main.html I got mine for under $50, and it works perfectly. The latency is low enough that I can't tell the difference between this and my amp, and the quality is more than passable, too. As long as guitar is the only thing you're recording, this works fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lunahorum Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 If you want a cheap and easy way to record guitar, I recommend looking into one of these:http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/JamLab-main.html I got mine for under $50, and it works perfectly. The latency is low enough that I can't tell the difference between this and my amp, and the quality is more than passable, too. As long as guitar is the only thing you're recording, this works fine. Plug cable from guitar straight into sound card for a $5 1/8 to 1/4 converter at radioshack. Guitar gives off pretty low current/voltage. Mine doesn't have battery powered pickups so maybe you shouldn't do this if you have "active" pickups or whatever they are called. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion303 Posted November 1, 2007 Share Posted November 1, 2007 Snappul's high. It may be possible to fry your old Gravis UltraSound card by plugging unbalanced inputs into it, but I went straight in for a good 8 years with no ill effects on newer hardware. That said, pick up a $50 tube preamp. Mine (Behringer somethingorother) has 1/4" and XLR mic inputs and outputs and a 12AX7 tube. It makes everything sound so much nicer than plugging straight in. Believe me, once you hear the difference between your thin reedy guitar sound straight and the warm powerful overtones of a preamp, you won't regret the cost. -steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kongsmoelf Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Thanks for the replies. The hole idea was that I wouldn't cost me:-P (Exept those 5$) Well I thought about recording some drums too, and maybe some midi, but that is not the case right now. Guitar and some drumming from free software -Smoelfen:< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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