Recording Electric Guitar

[stevebusch]

I'm new to recording so can anyone tell me how to get a better sound plugging my electric guitar directly into the computer (Using Cakewalk) vs. micing my amp. I like the amp sound so much better, so maybe I should mic it, but I have another problem...
When using the mic input in my soundcard, the line input which is coming from my midi piano, turns off, so the only way to hear the rythm and midi parts is to plug my headphones into the piano. Then of course, I can't hear the audio parts I've already recorded on the computer.

If I plug the guitar directly into the computer, I don't have to worry about sound bleed, so I can turn the volume of the piano up AND hear the computer stuff.

Any suggestions on how to set things up, and how to get a decent sound plugging directly into the computer?

Thanks a bunch.
Steve

[The Green Hornet]

Yo STEVE: [how's Edie?}

Here is a suggestion but I'm not sure if it will apply in your gear set-up.

I had a good friend at my studio who did some bass lines for some stuff I recorded.

When he brought in his electric bass, that's all he had with him.

So, being the green genius I am, I plugged his bass into a cool Kruger/G amp that I own. It is a tiny little box but it has this great feature of a line/in/through feature. This means the signal goes in and through but bypasses the speaker; soooo, the sound goes right to the recorder, and of course the headphones so he could do the lines with what was already recorded.

K/G amps are not cheap but this little dude of an amp has come in handy for me many times, especially with the sound through feature.

It is difficult at home to record your guitar from the amp's speaker -- but, I hope this might help you out.

Green Hornet

[stevebusch]

Thanks for the idea.
To clarify one point; I actually realized that I get a better sound plugging into the computer directly, BUT I can't hear what I'm playing like I can when I'm plugged into the amp (sans reverb or volume for that matter) Its almost like playing electric guitar without plugging it in to anything, if your a great guitarist then I suppose it wouldn't matter, but I'm not so I really want to hear how good or bad my playing is while I'm recording.

The volume level of the computer mixed with all the other parts just doesn't let the guitar come through enough to hear whats going on.

I'll look to see if my amp has line outputs...yes it is a 1/4" jack that says 1 volt line output, so I'll give your suggestion a try and hopefully it will help me avoid micing the amp. (Pretty obvious solution now that you mention it)

Thanks again.