Plugging guitar amps into soundcards

[doughcutter]

ok, i'm a newbie at recording. bear with me as these questions will seem absurd i'm sure. I currently use Audacity. I am recording amps live (i.e. "dangling" mics). I have a guitar amp and also a keyboard amp. for recording "live", the sound is actually not bad BUT I want to go straight through the soundcard without the mics to get a better sound without picking up "live" noises of course. So, can I go straight from my lineout on the amp directly to the line in on the soundcard ? I have the adapter needed. I have an SB Audigy 2 ZS soundblaster. do you use the line in on the soundcard for both a microphone (as I am currently doing) as well as a guitar amp cable? I can't quite make out what the symbols mean on the back of the soundcard in the computer. I know the microphone works great as-is but wondered if that is actually the line-in that it is plugged into? thanks!!!

 

[keithersgsx2003]

hey,

you should be able to go from the line out from your amp to the line in on your soundcard.

BUT i would like to make a suggestion..............

The soundblaster soundcard you are using has VERY CHEAP converters installed in it.

The best way to start recording like this is to buy an Audio Interface, either Firewire or USB, I record my gutars with a mic as well, and you just can't replace the sound you get with a miced guitar amp,,,,,versus plugging it into a soundcard.

So I would buy an Audio interface and a Mic stand if i were you.

I have an M-Audio Fast Track USB that, works very well for me.......Its only 99 bucks with M-audio's Session software, so you will have EVERYTHING you will need for just starting out.

You will be AMAZED as to how much better your sound will be with a setup like this vs your current setup, and all in all it will only set you back 120 to 130 bucks!!!!!!


If you would like to learn a little about Audio interfaces check out

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

If you decide to go this way and after you have read tweakz guide, i would also reccomend buying home recording for dummies by jeff strong.


This is a GREAT way to start out, and when you ready you can upgrade your equipment.

CHEERS!!!!!!!!!


ps.......keep micing your amps man............place your mic 2-3 inches from the center of your speaker cone,,,,,,,,,,,record your guitar or whatever you are recording,,,,,,,,,,,,then pan it HARD right,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then record the EXACT same riff,,,,,,,,,,,,,,then pan HARD left...........

 

[Dani Pace]

Your soundcard should have several inputs, the mic input is not a line in it is a mono mic input. The line ins are the ones with the little arrow pointing toward the input plug and these should be stereo inputs. The one with the arrow pointing out is a stereo line out. It's been a while since I used a Soundblaster but if i remember rightly there are two line in inputs, one is for digital (CD, Mp3) the other is for analog (line in from amps, mixer boards or stereos.) Do NOT plug a line level signal into the mic input and never plug a speaker output line into any of the inputs on a Soundblaster card.

When I first began recording on computer I used a Soundblaster and Audacity on Windows XP. I quickly learned computer mics are pretty useless, get a decent mic and boom stand. You need to be able to point the mic toward the sound source (amp) not just dangle it in front, later you too will discover the importance of mic placement. With a better mic (or mics) you will need some sort of pre amp. I improvised by using an old 4 track tape deck as both a mixer and pre amp, this gave me 4 mic/instrument inputs to stereo outs which I conected to the soundcard's line in, this also allowed me to record 2 tracks in Audacity at the same time. This was really a cheap set up but it was enough to allow me to learn the bacics of computer recording and make some semi decent recordings.

Recording from the line out of your amp(s) is not going to give you a better sound, in fact you may find you loose much of the tone you get when micing an amp. This is a greatly debated issue and may work well for you, I preferr to mic amps.

The set up I described is pretty much a makeshift sort of "wanna be" studio but it worked. Beyond the cost of the computer I may have spent $125 for the rest of the set up, I bought used mics and the tape deck. I spent more on stands and cables than for the rest of the stuff. If you can afford it I recommend getting a real audio interface, good preamp, decent mixer and good mics and cables. If your budget is tight you can try something similar to what I did. It wont give you a great studio but it will get you going and be enough to get you hooked on recording, you can all ways upgrade as you can afford it.

BTW good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[kcearl]

just remember when panning guitars hard left and right its always a good idea to turn the distortion gain down around 25-30%, they'll loose nothing of the "heavyness" but will sound bigger imho

 

[keithersgsx2003]

just remember when panning guitars hard left and right its always a good idea to turn the distortion gain down around 25-30%, they'll loose nothing of the "heavyness" but will sound bigger imho

NICE!!!!!!

I didn't know this!!!!!

Thanks man!!!!

 

[kcearl]

i read better than I play