Cab you help a Noob?

[wallygreen]

I've been playing guitar for 25 years and NEVER plugged it into a computer. So I thought I'd get with the times.
At a garage sale, I bought what is supposed to be a home recording kit.
It's the following:
1. A Alesis Multimix 8USB
2. Two mics - Shure SM58, Super Cardioid XM1800S

I have a fairly new computer already. I'm just curious how this all hooks up.
I managed to plug my guitar into the Alesis and then it into my USB port and record through Audacity. but it sounds very low (not much volume).
Am I missing some equipment? I don't need an amp or soundcard do I? Are they built into the Alesis. It was supposed to be complete!
Thanks
Wally

 

[pipelineaudio]

It seems like you got all you need. Does the Multimix have a DI input on it? If you are plugging your guitar into that and the volume is still too low (aim for -6 peak or lower on audacity's input meter), turn the gain knob up on the multimix for that channel

 

[wallygreen]

Thanks,
Yes, It has a direct input 1/4" for my guitar cable.
So the Multimix has a built in amplifier?
I will try as you said.
Wally

 

[wallygreen]

I looked at the specs on line, but it doesn't say anything about an amplifier.
How strong is the amplifier in the Multimix, or am I stuck in analog terms and they don't apply here?
Wally

 

[pipelineaudio]

There's your preamp gain. Turn that up on whichever channel you've got your guitar plugged into. Im going thru the manual looking for any reference to DI. You might need a cheap Direct Box, but lets see

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply that I keep in Wordpad:

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ce&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info:
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books:
http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)

Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)

Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/

Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/
(It's $40 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($20) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they're giving away SamplitudeV9SE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

 

[TyphoidHippo]

I assume you have a guitar amp, right?

Plug your guitar into that - put a microphone in front of it. The only way you can get any kind of even halfway decent tone out of a direct-in guitar is by using Amplitube...and even then, just putting an SM57 in front of your existing amp will just sound better. It just will...really. DI-electric-guitar is always dead and devoid of all the life, harmonics, and (perhaps most importantly) the sound of air being moved by your amp...

Your 58 will actually work quite well for recording a guitar (given that it's the same inside as the commonly used sm57). Put it right in front (like...almost touching) of the speaker pointed directly at the outside edge of the cone (NOT the middle!) I've never heard of that other microphone, but it's worth experimenting with. Try bringing it back a bit and pointing it directly at the outside edge of the cone of another speaker in your cab...then mix the sounds of the two mics and see what you get. (If it sounds tinny or hollow when both sounds are played together, flip the phase on one of the mics).