guitar tracks 2

  • Thread starter Thread starter lestat
  • Start date Start date
L

lestat

New member
I just purcashed Cakewalk Guitar Tracks 2. so far it is very easy to use and seems to fit what i need for now (demo's). one thing though is that the effects are pretty basic. i want to get a good distortion and maybe a few more interesting sounds. where can i get these plug ins? i've tried a few from the directxfile but when i run them i always get an "out of memory" error. is there something i am doing wrong? i have 3gigs of free space on the hard drive i am using and i also have 320mbs ram w. AMD 900mhz.


one more thing, how do you get good tone. woould you recommend using a mic or direct input?

thanks,
lestat
 
Last edited:
hi lestat,

are you able to use the plug ins that came with guitar tracks? have you gotten any other error messages? what operating system are you running and what kind of soundcard are you using?

ReValver and Quadrafuzz are two plug ins that do distortion for guitar....however, you may find them a bit pricey...you can get a demo of ReValver from alienconnections.com and a trial version of Quadrafuzz should be available thru the Steinberg North America site (or one of the other Steinberg sites). ReVAlver is on the DIRECT X FILES site...did you try it?....i did get an 'out of memory' message once when i tried to load it in SONAR, though another version of ReValver loaded fine...(there is ReValver SE and plain ReValver.)

Hitsquad.com has a lot of freebie and shareware plug ins....though many of these are VST and will not work in GUITAR TRACKS without a wrapper (a utility that makes VST plug ins work in a DIRECT X environment). I believe that there are still freeware wrappers available thru Hitsquad..

as far as tone goes, your preamp is going to be a major factor...if you are using a typical computer soundcard with the 1/8" mini jacks then you will probably get a better sound coming out of the line out, or headphone out on your amp than you will with a mic...though, something like the POD from line 6 or a SANSAMP would be a better way to go for a direct sound...however, if you are getting a sound you like out of your amp cabinet then it is worth trying to use a mic.... the thing is that a cheap mic will degrade your sound, as will the cheap electronics on a typical computer soundcard....low end soundcards are a lot more usable for midi than they are for recording audio.....however, there is no reason you can't get a usable sound with a typical sound card...the question is : what kind of gear do you have ? does your amp have a line out on it? do you have any pedals like one of the zoom things? of course if you have a soundcard with 1/4" jacks that would be great...but i'm assuming you don't....

good luck,
j
 
i am using a soundblaster pci512, which is, i know, a low end soundcard. i would like to get a better one but don't know what to get with such a limited budget. i am running winME and have gotten no other error msgs.

cakewalk came with an adapter so i can plug my guitar into my soundcard.

as far as my gear goes, this is what i have: crate vintage tube 50w, 2x10cab. i only use 2 pedals, a crybaby and phase 90. i am using a friends zoom. it has a lot of presets but not sure about distortion, guess i should try.

thanks for the reply and help,
lestat
 
well it's no help till you got the plug ins loading like they should...can u use the effects in your version of cakewalk? guitar tracks 2 supports general DX plug ins, so i see no reason why you can't get these to work , if you can use the guitar tracks plug ins...though i'm not sure where the bug is.
 
all the plug ins are loaded. i got the vst wrapper and it works. i guess i just want a nice warm tone instead of the dry direct in tone. i'd like it to sound more vintage and tube like. is it worth investing in audio fx 2 by cakewalk?


lestat
 
hey lestat,

i haven't used cakewalk's audio FX 2, but it looks pretty neat. there is a demo available from cakewalk, which i might try out later...you can also get a demo of ReValver thru the cakewalk site.

does your amp have an effects loop on it? if it does, you can go out of the effects send on your amp and into your sound card...this would allow you to use the preamp on your crate....if you are going to record direct it is better to have some kind of preamp than to go directly from your guitar to the soundcard. a good sounding guitar preamp can help you get the sound you're going for...

i haven't heard the crate amp...do you like the sound coming thru the cabinet? if so , micing the amp is an idea, like i said before...but if you were gonna try this it would be nice to have a mixer so that you could get a good signal going into the soundcard.....to be honest, i've never tried to record guitars using a mic that plugs into the mini jack on a sound card..so i don't know what you can hope to get this way....

you said that you got all the plug ins loaded...do you mean installed? i thought you were getting an out of memory message when you tried to load some plug ins.....have you been able to use plug ins with the vst wrapper? if you can't use any plug ins without the 'out of memory' message, then it is likely that guitar tracks didn't install properly, or that a file got corrupted...

as far as soundcards go, right now i'm using a delta 66 with a breakout box (the breakout box is called 'omni i/o) which has two preamps on it...i've been plugging my guitar directly into omni and playing thru the ReValver plug in in SONAR...i've also used a POD from line 6 and SANS AMP CLASSIC for recording direct stuff...some of the ZOOM pedals are also designed for direct recording.....there are a lot of options today for recording and processing guitar , so i'm sure you'll find something you like...though, for now, the first thing i'd try is going out of the effects loop on your amp, if it has one....then use some plug ins on your tracks to get a fuller sound...the cakewalk fxs or revalver might be good for getting a more vintage sound (used in conjunction with the preamp on your crate).(btw, in ReValver you can bypass the 'preamp' in the plug in if you are using your amp, and just use the effects and power amps in the plug in....i don't know if the cakewalk fxs will do this)...if all you're recording is guitar, you might also try recording the same track two or three times and pan them differently, this can really beef up the sound....

j
 
my crate does have an effects loop and as far as the sound, i love it. a very warm and rounded tone.

i did get the vst plug ins to work, thanks for that tip. i don't think i will get a great sound with the direct in unless i have a plug running or some effects.

i am going to download ReValver and see how i like that.


thanks again,
lestat
 
hey lestat,

you said cakewalk came with an adapter for your guitar? is it a 1/4" to stereo 1/8" adapter? if so, you can take a regular guitar cord out of the effects send on your effects return on your amp and attach the adapter to the other end, and run the cord into the line input on your soundblaster...if that adapter won't do it, then it's time for a trip to radioshack for adapters and Y cables, because if i'm not mistaken, the soundblaster line input is stereo , whereas your effects send is mono, though of course you probably have stereo returns on your amp...and if you have crappy computer speakers you could go out of the 'line out' on your sound card and into the 'effects return' on your amp , to monitor thru your amp instead of the comp speakers...another option is to take a mono signal and run it to the mic input on your souncard ....though, i've never done this....all in all, whatever you do, make sure everything is turned down before you do anything....

you aren't going to be able to use effects in real time with a soundblaster. however, if you can get a decent sound recorded , you can really sweeten it up with plug ins later....good luck

later gator
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top