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Brian's Bedroom » Home Recording » Equipment » Guitar direct

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Author Topic: Guitar direct
NoBelly
Member
Posts: 1
Post Guitar direct
on: May 21, 2009, 07:04

First - thank you Brian for the excellent work on this site. I’ve really appreciated it.

Second - I’m looking to start a little discussion on recording guitars and the equipment people are using. Currently I have used a Behringer MIC200 to record guitar/bass with pretty decent results. It does a good job of getting the sound in, is relatively quiet (what can you expect for such an affordable piece and this isn’t Electric Ladyland) and is pretty straight-forward. I like it for bass, acoustic guitar and vocals, since it has a 12AX7 and warms up pretty nicely. I want more for electric guitar, though.

I have some constraints, mainly that I have to keep my hobby to the wee hours of the night and morning when my kids are asleep. Mic’ing up my Boogie is not an everyday option, so I’m looking for something that can go direct, either by USB or through a small mixer (currently I’m using a small Behringer Eurodesk). I’ve started using a Roland Micro Cube, and while that does a pretty decent job for driven sounds, I can’t help but feeling like it lacks in warmth and depth. Again, what does one expect for 0? It performs admirably within its constraints.

I’ve been checking out Carl Martin’s Rock Bug. I have liked the sounds that you get, even if there aren’t a thousand different tones and amp models. I really just want one good tube amp sound - to which I can add fuzz, wah, boost, etc.

Anyone using the Rock Bug? What else are you all using?
Brian the Lion
Administrator
Posts: 42
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: May 22, 2009, 01:58

Hey Nobelly,

Thanks for starting this discussion. The electric guitar is a really important part of getting a good track - however, getting a good guitar sound is also one of the toughest things to do in home recording.

I’m not typically the electric guitarist, Mike, my brother and co-author will have more to say. But what we have been using typically is just an old Marshall practise amp (really nothing special) and the Boss GT-8 multi-effects pedal.

It sounds like you need to use a line-out configuration because of late-night recordings. This is a problem, because even the best amp won’t give you that great sound, unless you crank it to high volume and use a microphone. But my website’s all about making a plan for the hobbyist - so let’s give it a go…

I would try a line out from a good effects unit and turf the amp completely. The Boss effects pedals have a feature called COSM. This basically emulates the way sound would react in an environment - which adds some real warmth, and natural good sound. Natural is always better, hence the loud amp and mic suggestion.

What are your thoughts on this?

Later,
Brian
SR
Member
Posts: 3
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: May 25, 2009, 12:44

I use a Digitech GNX3000 (which has been replaced by the GNX4). Can be connected via USB (with a sample rate of 44100) or through line out. I use the line out into a M-Audio Firewire Solo. It creates a fairly convincing cabinet simulation which is better than anything I would do with microphones in my house.
Brian the Lion
Administrator
Posts: 42
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: May 27, 2009, 11:53

Hey SR,

Thanks for the reply. Always good to hear other hobbyists’ opinions

Later,
Brian
bruinsfan
Member
Posts: 4
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: September 11, 2009, 21:34

I’ve been using the Line 6 Toneport GX. For , it’s not too bad. Works easily with Audacity anyways. Can’t quite get a great metal crunch out of it, though. Always sounds a little off. Quite a few amps, cabs and effects for cheap money.
thrakkor
Member
Posts: 7
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: November 8, 2009, 11:09

i use a presonus firepod. i originally used it under windoze and used Cakewalk HS2XL, although i have long since switched to Ubuntu Studio, Hardy, with no plans to go back. now just to get the hang of things!

last time i recorded guitar, it was acoustic (tacoma). we ran it thru a sovtek Mig60 and used the line out. sounded great.

basswise (that’s what i play), i always go direct with ome kind of tube in the signal chain. these days i have a tubeworks blue tube II, or if i’m really lazy, my presonus tube pre isn’t bad.

http://www.sampsel.us/~jsampsel/mp3/jam1.mp3

i always found dirty guitar hard as hell to record.
Brian the Lion
Administrator
Posts: 42
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: November 9, 2009, 11:06

Hey Thrakkor,

That’s an awesome song you have there. It’s a very interesting riff and some great sounding bass. I would be keen to hear the finished piece.

Later,
Brian
thrakkor
Member
Posts: 7
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: November 9, 2009, 19:41

alas, that song and some other cool potential songs were never finished because i moved away for my career and my guitar player moved as well. i did however contact him about resurrecting our stuff long distance, due to your request. hopefully he is down.

here are a few other songs from old bands. everything but the previously posted one were recorded by running into my carvin mixer into my pioneer cassette deck. i then later recorded thru pc sound card into audacity.

http://www.sampsel.us/~jsampsel/bass/band1.html

and thanks for the comments and nice little site (yet informative)

i am already messing with some of your hydro beats.
caddyjoe77
Member
Posts: 4
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: January 7, 2010, 00:46

Hello all

newbie to recording here. I am using Ubuntu Studio 9.10 tied in through a presonus firebox via firewire. My sound card is a sound blaster audigy which i was HOPING that i could go through red and white audio cables to output to my speakers so that i could hear what i was playing. Alas no luck yet. Here is what I have experienced so far.

I am using ardour and QJack COntrol. Jack rune fine and my presonus lights up blue as it should when it is synced. But, i still get no audio out to my speakers. It is almost as if Jack and ALSA are having a fight with Jack winning.

Im a total newb at recording, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks for the great site.
Brian the Lion
Administrator
Posts: 42
Post Re: Guitar direct
on: January 7, 2010, 01:12

Hey Caddyjoe,

First off, you need to try get sound out of your computer without using any input devices. So play a music CD or MP3 using a player which just uses ALSA, no JACK. I have a feeling that the way you connected the speakers might be wrong, so use a set of headphones first. The reason I say this is because, as far as I know, the red and white connections on the Audigy are actually inputs and not outputs. Also, you can’t connect directly to your speakers, you need to go through an amplifier of some kind - maybe a hi-fi or something. If your speakers are actually monitors, this will not be true because they come with amplifiers built into them.

Once you have got sound working with a CD or MP3, you can try using JACK. The best is to open Hydrogen and make some noise. If you open the Connect tab on JACK, you should see a whole bunch of inputs and outputs. Hydrogen should automatically connect to the ALSA inputs (L-R, one for each speaker) which is essentially your sound card output. If not, play around with these connections till you hear something.

Once you have got Hydrogen to play through JACK to your soundcard, you can try playing with the input from your Firebox. Connect your Firebox how you think it should be and then open the JACK connections tab. I also have an Audigy and I normally have a crap load of outputs listed. However, the default connection is never the right one. So connect each of the ALSA outputs with the ALSA inputs one-by-one whilst playing something into your firebox. The sound should make it to your speakers if you’ve found the right connection. So now if you want to record into Ardour or something like that, you need to connect the correct ALSA output with the right Ardour input as listed in the JACK connections tab.

I know this all sounds kind of convoluted, but if you have problems. Just ask and we can try to help further.

Later,
Brian
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