Recording guitar to computer.

Robbie444

Hey, just wondering what is the easiest way to record guitar to computer? Not looking to actually keep any of these recordings and they are just for song writing purposes so they don't have to sound great or anything. I am assuming there is some cheap way of doing this without getting a professional program like ableton and an interface?

DamagedTrax

YOU WILL NEED AN INTERFACE BUT THERE ARE PROGRAMS AVAILABLE EITHER CHEAP OR FREE TO RECORD INTO.

FREE: AUDUCIT - probably best suited to your needs as its very very simple.

cheap: cuckos reaper - i think a license is €60 but tthe fully functional demo is free. its a little morw complicated than auducity.

as far as interfaces you you can pick up a cheap m-audio for less than 80 and it usually comes with some free programs that might suit you.

good luck :cool:

Robbie444

Thanks. You think this would do the job? It seems to be based for guitar and stuff.
http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/EUR/M-Audio-Fast-Track-USB-Guitar/Mic-Recording-Interface/art-PCM0004036-000

Robbie444

Sorry just got another question. My PC was only about €400 from Dell 1 year ago and I'm not too sure if there is a good quality sound card on it. Would this be totally necessary for using an interface with software? Also, you know any way of checking whether there is a sound card on it?
Thanks

DamagedTrax

that fastrack would be perfect for you.

your onboard sound card will introduce too much latency into the signal to record properly. on a dell its usually an AC97 card and it just wont work.

spending a few quid is 100% your best bet.

kfoltman

I think if you use recording options in the soundcard's mixer, it would work even with built in, using microphone input. The quality will suck badly, but if it's for brain backup, then who cares?

Audacity would be adequate for that use, if you don't mind bugs.

Robbie444

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I just checked what sound card I have there and it says Realtek high definition audio. Not sure if this is it but am assuming it is the sound card. I'm on a really tight budget with regards to buying music equipment and I am also looking to buy a laptop eventually over the next few months so dont really want to go spending money on my PC i use now as I want to save it for a decent laptop that I can have a good sound card on. Basically I just want the audio interface to recoed my self playing guitar parts and set up a few loops etc to help with writing songs. Also want to put my sytheziser through the computer too but none of this will be for actual recordings. My friends I play with have proper mac book pros and good recording software so any recordings will be done through them. I just want a sort of home pratice set up.
Thanks

TelePaul

Robbie444 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I just checked what sound card I have there and it says Realtek high definition audio. Not sure if this is it but am assuming it is the sound card. I'm on a really tight budget with regards to buying music equipment and I am also looking to buy a laptop eventually over the next few months so dont really want to go spending money on my PC i use now as I want to save it for a decent laptop that I can have a good sound card on. Basically I just want the audio interface to recoed my self playing guitar parts and set up a few loops etc to help with writing songs. Also want to put my sytheziser through the computer too but none of this will be for actual recordings. My friends I play with have proper mac book pros and good recording software so any recordings will be done through them. I just want a sort of home pratice set up.
Thanks

The fast-track will work fine with your current PC, reaper is a great sequencer which is free to demo, albeit with no restrictions. The Fasttrack will essentially take over from the inbuilt realtek card.

Robbie444

You know if it is possible to use the fast track for live use? Like say I connect it to a laptop while playing live, can I play through the laptop for the guitar effects on the software that comes with it?

TelePaul

Robbie444 wrote: »

You know if it is possible to use the fast track for live use? Like say I connect it to a laptop while playing live, can I play through the laptop for the guitar effects on the software that comes with it?

Yes, I know it CAN be done by taking outputs from the fast track and plugging them into a suitable amplifier/desk. Personally, I'm not a big believer in the reliability of laptops for live use but in theory, yes, you could do it.

Robbie444

Thanks, yeah not sure if I'd be doing this as I am more old fashioned myself when it comes to live use and prefer to use pedals but good to know it can be done. Think i'm gonna go ahead and order one of these tonight. Hope the guitar effects on the software it comes with are good but I'll most likely be using Reaper or ableton so doesn't really matter I guess if they suck. Just need it for the interface really.

DeadMoney

Hey, am thinking of getting one of these also but just wondering will it work fine when putting a synthesizer through it or is it just for guitar/mic and keyboards?

studiorat

You can pretty much plug any instrument that has a wire coming out of it into it. Keyboards, guitars, microphones, tape machines, cd players blah blah. A record deck is a little different, but basically you can plug the audio output of any line or instrument level machine into it.

Things you can't plug in include, mains cables, garden hoses, power amplifiers, kitchen appliances or sex toys. Most other stuff will be fine though.

Also I'd suggest you read up a little about MIDI if you are considering using synthesizers and computers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_Instrument_Digital_Interface

Media

As a recording software I would recommend MP3 Recorder Studio, it records to wav or mp3, you can apply settings to audio file like frequency, bitrate, mode (stereo or mono). Works perfect for me, I use it to record skype calls and from my keyboard.

kfoltman

Also in "freebie" bucket, and most likely good enough for recording ideas:

http://www.wavosaur.com/

TelePaul

Reaper!!!

DeadMoney

TelePaul wrote: »

Reaper!!!

Got ya!!

Robbie444

Hey, just ordering this now for the xmas and there seems to be a different model on thomann than on musicstore. It looks like just a new version but not sure. Was wondering if anybody could tell me if they are the same thing?
Thanks

http://www.musicstore.com/en_EN/IEP/M-Audio-Fast-Track-USB-Guitar/Mic-Recording-Interface/art-PCM0004036-000

http://www.thomann.de/ie/maudio_fast_track.htm

kfoltman

Looks like same thing in a slightly different case. It has the same basic limitations, at least - only USB1.1, up to 48kHz sampling rate, no phantom power.

kfoltman

Actually - I was totally wrong in the post above. Thomann's version is the newer one, WITH phantom power and usb 2.0.

Doh!

Robbie444

kfoltman wrote: »

Actually - I was totally wrong in the post above. Thomann's version is the newer one, WITH phantom power and usb 2.0.

Doh!

Thanks, so is phantom power better than I take it?

TelePaul

Robbie444 wrote: »

Thanks, so is phantom power better than I take it?

Yeah it's a simple way of powering condensor mics.