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[stratman33]

hey guys.people keep saying they're playing through there computer.does this mean they're plugging there amp cable in somewhere or what...because i cant find a good way to record..i have no recording gear and am recording by playing and my computer justs picks up the sound.i was just wondering when people say "playing through my computer" what it actually means..probably a really dumb question but i dont know.

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This post has been edited by stratman33: Feb 2 2008, 01:54 AM

[Ivan Milenkovic]

In order to play through a computer you need a some kind of an audio interface. You can plugin your guitar in your soundcard, but the sound is bad because the soundcards in mainstream computers are bad generally. THey are not made for guitar recording or any type of music work for that matter. IF you want to record music on your computer you'll need a n aduio interface. It's a specially designed audio card device that is fast and has decent quality AD/DA converters that convert your guitar signal to digital fast. Also these devices have low latency issues (the time that takes for the signal to go from your guitar to computer , be processed and send back to the device and onto the speakers, mesaured in milliseconds - ms ).

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[fkalich]

In order to play through a computer you need a some kind of an audio interface. You can plugin your guitar in your soundcard, but the sound is bad because the soundcards in mainstream computers are bad generally. THey are not made for guitar recording or any type of music work for that matter. IF you want to record music on your computer you'll need a n aduio interface. It's a specially designed audio card device that is fast and has decent quality AD/DA converters that convert your guitar signal to digital fast. Also these devices have low latency issues (the time that takes for the signal to go from your guitar to computer , be processed and send back to the device and onto the speakers, mesaured in milliseconds - ms ).

good advice as always Ivan. However, I have been recording on my laptop with card that came with it. for my purposes it is sufficient. just hearing yourself. it sounds fine. not professional sound quality, but it is ok.

it is a good experience to record yourself stratman, just to hear yourself, and also to use it to remember things you come up with. I plug my Zoom G9.2tt into my laptop, and use Reaper to record. I think you just have to set the audio source in reaper, I forget what I did, but it was just one thing, and simple. The controls are very easy to use.


edit: btw, Reaper can be used full featured without paying. I would encourage a person to pay them the small amount they ask for if you have the money. But they don't force you to.

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This post has been edited by fkalich: Feb 2 2008, 02:39 AM

[stratman33]

wait-so do i have to buy a special cord or something to be able to play directly into the computer?

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[fkalich]

wait-so do i have to buy a special cord or something to be able to play directly into the computer?

assuming that you are responding to me, no, just a usb cord, you probably have one of those. I am also assuming that you have an effects device with a usb output jack. maybe you don't.


if not, I believe you could get an adapter from radio shack for a few bucks and plug right into the input to your sound card. Would not sound great as Ivan said.

my zoom box sound is not bad, but the analog to digital conversion is done in the zoom box. So I doubt your quality would be as good if you plugged right into the sound card directly from your guitar or the analog output of some device.

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

If you need to record your guitar directly into computer, than I suggest you buy somekind of transformer that turns unbalansed signal from your guitar to balanced signal that soundcards on PC support. (line in is a balanced line input).

THere are several solutions based on the financial factor, here is the range from cheapest to expensve ones (note that the price ranges are very relative, but this should give you some idea what to look for in the entry level of the market)

- DI box. Cheap Behringer DIboxes can be bought everywhere and cost little money. You can then record with little better quality. You still need software processing onboard for this one, so only clean signal can be achieved with no latency issues.
- Guitar2USB interfaces. These are new interfaces, and with them you can directly plug one end of a cable into guitar and the other into PC. Practical and cheap, but haven't tried any yet. Must look for some reviews.
- Processor unit. MulitFX, or modeller proc units can be cheap or expencive, and they all do the digital conversion internaly and better than most software modelling apps. With them, you need only a cable that connects processor to line in on your card and your good to go for recording. No latency except the one that your card has by default because you will be using no software modellers that slow down the signal.
- Audio interface. units that serve as an audio card, has a relatively quality made AD/DA converters. maybe a mic input as well, and even modelling software onboard (like some Line 6 devices, check them out).

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