How to record electric guitar properly W/O feedback

[Izgert]

Hey,

I'm fairly new to this, so if I could get some advice.. My current "recording equipment" consists of my guitar plugged into the amplifier and then through a 3.5" male-male jack into my laptop. I thought this would give a clear sound since I'm not using a microphone, which in itself would have caused feedback issues (I imagine). But for some reason I keep getting a lot of feedback or background noise.

If someone could recommend another method of recording live samples with minimal feedback, that would be awesome. Or if there's some way to process a WAV file to get rid of feedback which I'm not aware of, please do point me in the right direction!!

Thanks,

Iz

[Sixto]

What kind of noise is this background noise? Could be a ground loop hum or the natural noise from a dirty/driven amp and noisy pickups. If the problem is a ground loop, check your amp. It might have a ground lift switch. Use that. If it's a matter of noisy pickups and amp, use a noise supressor pedal. Also, how are you connecting your amp to to your laptop? Which output from the amp?

[Fray]

Are you plugging into a microphone jack or a line jack on your computer? A mic jack is going to have a preamp in it, which you don't want since your guitar amp is already doing that job.

[Wiesty]

The most efficient way to record a guitar is to mic the amp with a couple of instrumental mics. If you go directly in, your not getting the true sound of the guitar, your mearly getting the signal that the pickups are sending. The amp's job is to display the guitars true sound, so you get a better quality with natural reverb etc.

[zykO]

actually, micing an amp is not necessarily the most "efficient" way of recording a guitar, at all - it might yield you the most organic sound but aside from that you can run into a myriad of problems

a optimal scenario would be to record your guitar both directly (that way you can get a clean feed to fill out your EQ) and through a mic (to pick up the organic, warm sound of an amp). the key to remember is tone... you aren't just going for what sounds alive but also what will sound good in the mix...

wiesty described how to mic an amp perfectly. the question now is what kind of amp you have. big amps, despite sounding awesome, are better fit for performance at high volumes. i love using my little 12 inch amps for recording if i'm going that route.

as for your feedback problems, i think sixto might have already nailed it with mention of the ground loop. technically, with direct-in recording, you shouldn't be geting any feedback outside of device buzz. in other words, how close are your pickups to your computer screen, TV, halogen lamps, etc... you'd be shocked to know that if you have overactive pickups, you'll pick up just about every electromagnetic interference in your room if you aren't careful. move around in different directions and spots trying to find a spot that is immune to your surrounding electromagnetism.

or somethin like that

[Fishy]

in other words, how close are your pickups to your computer screen, TV, halogen lamps, etc... you'd be shocked to know that if you have overactive pickups, you'll pick up just about every electromagnetic interference in your room if you aren't careful. move around in different directions and spots trying to find a spot that is immune to your surrounding electromagnetism.

zyko speaks truth. I had a bad week once where I just couldn't get this damn buzz to go away, and I found out that as soon as i turned off my TV which was only on standby 6 feet away, i got perfect sound. You just really need to be aware of your surroundings and what can interfere.