very confused

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rebel
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Rebel

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I have been reading and reading Q/A on this sight for some time and I'm increasingly more confused with each hour - I just have a couple simple questions. All I want to do is record a few tracks onto my computer - 4 at the most. My voice and my guitar are my only instuments. I understand that I can hook my voice mic into my computer with an adaptor I bought at Radio Shack but can I plug in my guitar (which is an electric acoustic) in the same way or do I need to use my amp some how, or is there other equiptment that I need to buy? In short how do I record my electric acoustic guitar onto my computer?
 
It's easy to get confused by diving in to forum Q&A. I think it's better to get some grounding first by reading something about the subject if it's totally new to you.

About your question, well, you can plug your guitar into the sound card preamp as you describe, but it is not likely to sound very good. (Then again, neither are the vocal if indded you are using the preamp on the soundcard. They are meant for those cheapie electret condensor mics and re not of very high quality.) Much better is to put your mic in front of the guitar amp, or in front of the guitar itself, it being an acoustic/electic. But it takes a fair amount of experimentation to get a good sound this way. Use a line-level output from something like a POD or J-Station if you want to get quick, easy, and very useable tones on "tape."
 
What you need is a soundcard, a preamp, and a microphone. If you want to record acoustic guitar, plugging it is is almost always the wrong way to go, unless you are going for a processed semi-electric sort of sound. If you want that, use an electric and mic a good clean amp. Get a good cheap preamp like M-Audio Audiobuddy, and a Shure SM57. Then add an Oktava MC012 or better, 2 of them, for recording the acoustic. I'll let those who record with computers advise you on soundcards.-Richie
 
hi,

you need a preamp to get good results with the guitar and mics. I use a small behringer 6 channel mixer to get in and out of the sound card.

the mixer serves as a break out box and has preamp gains. musicians friend has these small mixers for just over $50 US.

granted, these are not the best preamps, but they work well and are very clean. the price is right to.

BTW...what soundcard are you using?

cheers,
baba
 
it depends if you're making a hobby of it, if you want something expandable.

if i was starting out wanting to spend as little as possible now i'd go with:

mics - shure sm57 or studio projects B1 (B1 cheaper and more versatile IMO, but 57 tried tested and reliable)
pre - a cheap/small behringer UB series mixer or yamaha MG series mixer. if i only wanted two channels at a time ever, audio buddy is good, but a mixer has more options to grow with you.
soundcard - m-audio audiophile 24/96. good AD/DA converters, good price. great track record (excuse the pun).

man i'm putting in some good hours on this newbies board again!
 
If you're going to DI (direct input) a guitar into a soundcard, then get a decent amp simulator. I'd recommend this even though you're using an electro acoustic (as opposed to just electric). Modern simulators have a decent sound for acoustics as well as electrics, and have a pre-amp built in. Assuming you are a real beginner, the an amp sim' will save you many headaches.
 
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