Plug My Guitar To My Laptop... Options

[Philippe]

Another newbie question...

I've listen to some collaborations on GMC, and I've been surprised by the nice tone some managed to get. On the other hand, I only managed to get a crappy tone. Maybe I need to experiment more.

Here's what i have:
Hardware
- a laptop (macbook)
- a behringer v-amp 2
- a jack cable 1/4 to 1/8
Software
- amplitube
- garageband

So far, I plugged my guitar into the v-amp 2, and then using the jack cable, into the computer. It worked, but it's not that great... I also tried to plug the guitar directly to the computer, and then I used amplitube (software amp simulator), but there's just too much latency. However i think it sounds better than the v-amp.

My question is: do I need a recording interface? i read on this forum that it would solve the latency problem I have with amplitube. I'm not sure to understand why though. The recording interface converts the guitar signal from analogic to digital which saves some processor usage? I also read that the signal of the guitar is too low and needs some sort of amplication. That surprises me too, because it seems that apart from the latency, I get an ok tone from amplitube. And that weak signal wouldn't explain the delay.

Anyway, what could I do to get a better tone?

Thanks
P.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!