Tube guitar amp with midi interface?

Casey

I have an Presonus Audiobox usb midi interface/ recording device and i connected the headphone-out jack straight into the FX return of my Mesa Boogie F-30 guitar amp to play music from my computer through it. It sounds alright when i put the return all the way up to 90%, but the sound is still kind of wierd. I tried just putting it into the input but it sounds really fuzzy. Is there any way to hook this up so that it plays the music clearly and without the preamp effecting the sound? Also, Is what i'm doing bad for the amp or anything else in any way? If it isn't id like to see how loud I can go with this!

Answer
Guitar amps are designed - on purpose - to change the sound. They're made to accentuate the frequencies created by a guitar, and do not respond well to the full audio spectrum. Stereos, headphones, computer speakers... these are designed for the full audio spectrum (the lowest lows to the highest highs). Any one of these will give you better performance than a guitar amp. But to get a really accurate representation of your sound, which you need for any kind of serious recording, you need studio monitors.

If you turn it up real loud and there's so nasty bass, yes, you could damage the guitar amp.

Also, if you're going to do this anyway, try a monitor out from the audio interface. The headphone jack is designed for headphones.

Good luck.

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If you plug a guitar into an audio interface where does the sound come from?

guitar interface image

Steve Padi

I really don't get it, you plug the guitar cable into the interface to record, but you need to plug it into the amp to play. Is there some kind of virtual amp that makes the sound or something?? If there is, how do people have such amazing tones in recordings? I doubt some digital amp would sound any good. Is this how professional guitar players record? By plugging there guitar into an interface without using an amp?

Answer
There are a few ways you can do it.

One is by using software on the computer to give you the sound you want. Programs such as Amp Farm and AmpliTube can replicate the sound of pretty much any guitar amp that has ever been built. It lacks some of the "feel" of playing through a real amp, but only a professional musician or sound engineer will be able to tell the difference.


Another way is to use the "line out" feature found in most decent amplifiers. What that does is send the signal from the guitar to the pre-amp, and then it bypasses the power amp section and sends the signal to an outside power source. You can send it into a computer for recording, or if you are playing live you can send the signal straight to the PA, bypassing your amp's own power section and speakers. Doing that lets you capture the tone of your amp without any outside interference. The only downside is you will need some sort of speaker emulator program to replicate how your amp sounds in the room with you. This is because the type of speakers you run your amp through have a lot more effect on the amp's sound than most people realize.

A 3rd way, which is a more recent development and isn't found on very many amps yet, is to run a USB cable straight from your amp to the computer, bypassing an audio interface altogether. This feature is mostly found on digital modeling amps such as the Fender Mustang or Line 6 Spider. In that case, you are essentially doing the same thing as using amp duplication software, but having it built into an amp gives you physical knobs to tweak your settings with, which a lot of musicians prefer.

And most professional guitarists still do it the old fashioned way. They plug into their favorite amp and put a microphone in front of it in a studio.

Audio interfaces are more intended for people who want to record their music, but don't have the luxury of access to a recording studio (which is very expensive if you are renting time). They are also useful for a guitarist who wants to record a part he wrote before he forgets it, so he plugs into a laptop and records it right then and there.

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What's the best way to connect a FireWire-based audio interface to my laptop with no FireWire ports?

guitar interface image

Justin

I have a Focusrite audio interface that only connects to computers through Firewire cables, except my Dell Latitude laptop doesn't have any Firewire ports. I have a couple of questions about how I can connect the interface to my computer.

I've looked on Newegg and Amazon and have found a few USB to Firewire adapters, but they all have bad reviews and often claim either they don't work at all or they run into power issues. Are there any reliable adapters? I've also looked into PCI Express cards with Firewire ports after researching this problem, since I have an EC slot in my laptop (which I assumed was for PCI-E cards, but correct me if I'm wrong). Will a PCI-E card fit into my laptop? In so, do I need a PCI-E card with both USB and Firewire ports, or will the Firewire ports essentially be hardwired into my computer once I insert the card?

Finally, I can connect another "interface" (it's really a guitar effects processor that also acts as an interface) to my laptop through USB, but there's a lot of latency (~.5 seconds probably) when I play my guitar through that interface into my laptop. I've read that it may just be due to the nature of USB's method of transferring data, but I was wondering if I bought a Firewire to USB adapter, would there still theoretically be latency? (I'm not 100% certain that the latency is solely because of the USB connection).

Answer
PCI-E isn't a laptop interface. You need an EC (ExpressCard) card firewire interface such as the following:

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-ExpressCard-Firewire-Adapter-EC13942/dp/B000RKUKMG

It has pretty good reviews.

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What are good free instrument audio drivers?

guitar interface image

jose

My computer is a refurbished 745 with upgrades. 250 gb and 4+ gb ram. I have the default MME/DirectX audio driver that it came with. I read on a few websites that only certain types of drivers are suitable for instrument interfaces such as guitar. I have this cheap behringer guitar interface and was wondering what free audio drivers are good. may you suggest some?
Thank You.

Answer
Hi,
I see you want to find a free driver, but I think the function of free driver is limited. Maybe you can google to find DGTSoft, and then click into the official website to get the "Drivers Update Utility Series" to get the drivers automatically. It knows which drivers are compatible with your computer system. Google to try right now. Good luck!

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can someone give me some advice on a good usb interface for guitar?

guitar interface image

Alex

i've been looking for a good usb-to-guitar interface and i've read some reviews that say some are good and awful...can someone please give me some advice on a brand to buy? or a type? cause i cant afford studio time at the moment and wanna do things cheap and from my laptop. i just need something thats reliable and something that isnt professional. just something within $100 and is just something to work with until i do get studio time, thanks

Answer
Propellerhead reason

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If you plug a guitar into an audio interface where does the sound come from?

guitar interface image

Steve Padi

I really don't get it, you plug the guitar cable into the interface to record, but you need to plug it into the amp to play. Is there some kind of virtual amp that makes the sound or something?? If there is, how do people have such amazing tones in recordings? I doubt some digital amp would sound any good. Is this how professional guitar players record? By plugging there guitar into an interface without using an amp?

Answer
There are a few ways you can do it.

One is by using software on the computer to give you the sound you want. Programs such as Amp Farm and AmpliTube can replicate the sound of pretty much any guitar amp that has ever been built. It lacks some of the "feel" of playing through a real amp, but only a professional musician or sound engineer will be able to tell the difference.


Another way is to use the "line out" feature found in most decent amplifiers. What that does is send the signal from the guitar to the pre-amp, and then it bypasses the power amp section and sends the signal to an outside power source. You can send it into a computer for recording, or if you are playing live you can send the signal straight to the PA, bypassing your amp's own power section and speakers. Doing that lets you capture the tone of your amp without any outside interference. The only downside is you will need some sort of speaker emulator program to replicate how your amp sounds in the room with you. This is because the type of speakers you run your amp through have a lot more effect on the amp's sound than most people realize.

A 3rd way, which is a more recent development and isn't found on very many amps yet, is to run a USB cable straight from your amp to the computer, bypassing an audio interface altogether. This feature is mostly found on digital modeling amps such as the Fender Mustang or Line 6 Spider. In that case, you are essentially doing the same thing as using amp duplication software, but having it built into an amp gives you physical knobs to tweak your settings with, which a lot of musicians prefer.

And most professional guitarists still do it the old fashioned way. They plug into their favorite amp and put a microphone in front of it in a studio.

Audio interfaces are more intended for people who want to record their music, but don't have the luxury of access to a recording studio (which is very expensive if you are renting time). They are also useful for a guitarist who wants to record a part he wrote before he forgets it, so he plugs into a laptop and records it right then and there.

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what guitar recording interface has 2 inputs and 2 outputs?

guitar interface image

Zack

i need a guitar recording interface with 2 outputs (for some speakers) and 2 inputs. what brand and model should i look at?

Answer
http://www.zzounds.com/item--DGDELEVENR

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What are good free instrument audio drivers?

guitar interface image

jose

My computer is a refurbished 745 with upgrades. 250 gb and 4+ gb ram. I have the default MME/DirectX audio driver that it came with. I read on a few websites that only certain types of drivers are suitable for instrument interfaces such as guitar. I have this cheap behringer guitar interface and was wondering what free audio drivers are good. may you suggest some?
Thank You.

Answer
Hi,
I see you want to find a free driver, but I think the function of free driver is limited. Maybe you can google to find DGTSoft, and then click into the official website to get the "Drivers Update Utility Series" to get the drivers automatically. It knows which drivers are compatible with your computer system. Google to try right now. Good luck!

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How do i use an interface with my guitar?

guitar interface image

ChuckeySha

I know I plug it into the guitar part but how do I get distortion if im just putting the plug from da guitar into the interface? Is that how u do it?

Answer
There are three main ways. The first is playing through an amplifier and recording through a microphone connected to the interface.

Second is to run your guitar into pedals, effects processor, etc, and then direct into the interface (check your interface manual for correct connections and settings).

Third is to connect your guitar straight into the interface, which will send a dry clean signal, and then use any number of guitar plugins to add distortion and any other effects. Some of these would be Amplitube, Guitar Rig, Overloud TH2, etc., although there are also many free ones as well such as those from LePou plugins - http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com/

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How do i use an interface with my guitar?

guitar interface image

ChuckeySha

I know I plug it into the guitar part but how do I get distortion if im just putting the plug from da guitar into the interface? Is that how u do it?

Answer
There are three main ways. The first is playing through an amplifier and recording through a microphone connected to the interface.

Second is to run your guitar into pedals, effects processor, etc, and then direct into the interface (check your interface manual for correct connections and settings).

Third is to connect your guitar straight into the interface, which will send a dry clean signal, and then use any number of guitar plugins to add distortion and any other effects. Some of these would be Amplitube, Guitar Rig, Overloud TH2, etc., although there are also many free ones as well such as those from LePou plugins - http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com/

Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster

What are good free instrument audio drivers?

guitar interface image

jose

My computer is a refurbished 745 with upgrades. 250 gb and 4+ gb ram. I have the default MME/DirectX audio driver that it came with. I read on a few websites that only certain types of drivers are suitable for instrument interfaces such as guitar. I have this cheap behringer guitar interface and was wondering what free audio drivers are good. may you suggest some?
Thank You.

Answer
Hi,
I see you want to find a free driver, but I think the function of free driver is limited. Maybe you can google to find DGTSoft, and then click into the official website to get the "Drivers Update Utility Series" to get the drivers automatically. It knows which drivers are compatible with your computer system. Google to try right now. Good luck!

Powered By Y! Answer Blogger Poster

If you plug a guitar into an audio interface where does the sound come from?