Guitar/Computer Interface

[Casper]

Hi Folks-
I have a simple proposition for the hip guitarists on this forum. :)

I have a decent computer at home with good Bose speakers. I am completely ignorant of guitar technology available today. (my pedal board is 95% analog). I am looking to find a way to incorporate my guitar into my computer for practice:
1. What device do I get to plug a 1/4" guitar cable in. Does it require software to support or will the computer recognize it?

2. I would like to be able to play and record practice tracks for developing guitar solos. I don't need fancy wave form editors or racks of effects. Just a decent sound I can strum lines to (well maybe some effects?) and then play it back to where I can develop stuff. What is a butt-simple program for this...Line 6 something or other??

Can someone point me in a direction, post links where to start looking or where to buy?

Thanks in advance...

Shaun

[pipedwho]

Do you have a Mac or a PC?

There are lots of interfaces out there, but you need software to run on your computer that has guitar amp plugins. On the Mac, Garage Band is pretty easy to use and does everything you'd need. On the PC, you could shell out for something like Amplitube.

It's worth getting a two channel interface as you can plug your guitar into one channel and a mic into the second to record vocals.

[Casper]

Thanks Piped! It's a pc. I found a Behringer plug in last night on Musicians friend. It's like $ 40 bucks and looks simple. I also believe it has a program with it for recording. I need to research it a bit more though. One input is fine. I just want to work out songs I have to learn. Thanks as always

[pipedwho]

If it's just for recording an acoustic guitar or the output of electric guitar modelling pedal (or mic'd amp), then any recording interface like the Behringer should be fine.

Most interfaces come with some sort of recording software, but it is usually pretty bad. Or a badly limited and buggy version of an otherwise full version of a decent app.

One bit of multi-track DAW/recording/looping/mixing software that is easy to use is Tracktion. The older version can be downloaded free from their site. And it's pretty cheap to get the latest version if you want the extra features. It's also a VST host and works with ASIO drivers, so it should work with any interface you end up buying, and will host any VSTs you find.

(BTW, VSTs are software plugins that require a 'host' application to run them - some VSTs like Amplitube come with their own standalone host if you don't already have one).

Note: if you want to record/play electric guitar by plugging directly into the interface, then you want to make sure it has low latency ASIO drivers (or use ASIO4All if it's a standard audio class USB), and that you have some decent amp emulation software like Amplitube or Revalver.

Another super simple free recording application is Audacity. It's great for just recording and basic editing.

[Casper]

I think that's the rub. Some of the reviews for the Behringer software are sketchy. I just need to be able to play recorded passages back to work out solos. For 40 bucks it looks like a great deal. I guess I could load one of the others you mentioned if the Tracktion program is crappy? Thanks for all the help Piped!

[pipedwho]

The Behringer works with the free third party ASIO4All driver. And Tracktion is good - written by a guy that has nothing to do with Behringer. Not sure what software the Behringer interface comes with, but I'm guessing it's out of date and unsupported.

Just download ASIO4All and Tracktion or Reaper. Far more likely to work than ancient drivers that come with the device.

You haven't said if you need the computer to model a guitar amp or not. What other equipment are you planning to use?

[Casper]

I'm sorry Piped, I assumed the Behringer came with a few amp models. I didn't read much beyond the interface section. I could probably load amplitude or something just balls-basic is all I need. I'll look a bit moreontp these things this weekend. Cheers!

[pipedwho]

I'm not sure what the Behringer comes with, but if it's buggy and out of date, then there are loads of free options. You can always download Amplitube Custom Shop which has a bunch of basic amps and effects that come with the free download.

Lots of good options out there.

[Casper]

This popped up in my mailbox this morning...Its like it was fate. Pulled the trigger. Its the stupid deal of the day on MF. (regularly $79.00) For $25.00, I think its pretty cool? Will let you know how it goes...

http://www.voxamps.com/amPlugIO

[pipedwho]

Perfect! That looks like the perfect interface for a guitar. And I trust Vox more than I trust Behringer.

[Casper]

Thanks! I should get it later in the week. Will post my experience! Hard not to like Vox

[dannopelli]

If that does not work out for you, this is a pretty good practice tool. Comes with lots of tones too:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SonicPort?adpos=1o2&creative=55397965321&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQjwmKG5BRDv4YaE5t6oqf0BEiQAwqDNfGwQqOXM 7sWBkJLcAW6A3JCcb9aFDj5ZQtXeLsh-RRgaAscQ8P8HAQ

[Casper]

Thanks Brudda-
I have a PC though. This is for Mac. I got the Vox thing today, plan to use it this weekend..will report!

[Casper]

Its a really nice program so far, but the latency is horrible. I am trying to figure out what I need to do. It has to do with buffers and sampling rate from what I've read so far. Will partnering with Amplitude or another program improve this?

[pipedwho]

You need to reduce the buffers to at most 128 samples, which gives you a round trip delay of 5ms. You'll need a driver that can handle low latency adjustments. If the interface didn't come with ASIO drivers, you should download and install the free ASIO4All driver. Then set your software to use the ASIO driver interface rather than the generic Windows USB audio class driver.

Buffer settings are usually made in the DAW/host software. For a DAW with the appropriate control, take a look at Reaper, Tracktion, or the free host that comes with Amplitube.

Also, don't forget to check the preferences/settings/options of the software that came with your unit to see if there is a buffer setting and/or ASIO driver selection option hidden away.

[Casper]

Thanks as always Piped. I hope to be able to devote some more time to it this week. All of this interface stuff is completely new to me, I appreciate your insight very much. :)