This thread is about recording your guitar into your PC, it's a commmonly asked question,i've merged the threads together, here you go.
here's one resource that shows you how to do it:
http://www.ultimateguitarpage.com/recording/
the guy hasn't updated that page in a long time, maybe we can email him and pester him for the lessons

but the barebones equipment you need to get started is:

an adapter which accepts a 1/4" mono plug (to accept your guitar cord) and fits 1/8" plug (for the input into your soundcard).
here's an example:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...%5Fid=274%2D885
(doesn't have to be gold by the way, that's just an example)

recording software to record the sound. something like Cakewalk or something. everybody has Windows sound recorder on their computer, but that sucks ass for recording.


so the connection is :

guitar->cord->adapter->line-in or mic input in soundcard

that's a pretty crappy deal, you don't have any distortion for your brutal metal sound

so then you add a distortion pedal

guitar->cord->distortion pedal or effects pedal->cord->adapter->soundcard

still that's a crappy deal, it sounds bad, most of us don't have super good soundcards.

you need something to shape the sound before and/or after the sound gets into the soundcard:

the line-out of your amp
an E.Q pedal
shaping the sound after your record with Cool Edit or something.

and here comes the more expensive choices:
a pre-amp
line6 guitarport (this works very well)
mic-ing your amp with a nice instrument mic, like a Shure SM57, and after that you'd probably have to run that mic thru a mixer or mic pre-amp

so there you go.
the following are suggestions from other threads.
Atif

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I always got tired of having to hook my guitar into the back of the comp. (through the mic jack on the soundcard, so after looking around found Creative Lab's Live! Drive IR, where you can simply hook any instrument/headphones in through the front of the comp. Also the software that comes with Live! Drive IR has excellent clean and vocal effects (not good for distortion though).

Magix Music Studio Generation makes Window's audio recording software look like kids toys. You can record up to 16 tracks, edit, sample/resample, add effects, and more. I purchased it at Best Buy for about $50 and it's definately worth the price.

My Current Setup For Audio Recording:

Windows XP Pro.
Creative Live Drive IR (Hardware)
Magix Music Studio Generator 6 (software)
Yamaha CD Burner
ESP F205 (bass)
Zoom 505 (bass pedal)
Marlboro Lights & lighter
Guitar Cords
Headphones
Microphone
Coffee Table (to set the computer on)

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ok, i need some help with a lot of stuff. So, its time for numbered questions!

1. What is a condenser microphone? Does it have to do with recording

2. Is Cakewalk a good program to record from a PC? How do I record instruments onto the Cakewalk program? How do I get the MIDI drum sounds on Cakewalk?

3. For someone who wants to make a demo and is all alone, would this thing be a good choice to make a demo on? Or can I get better stuff for the $1000?

Here is the machine

4. What do you think of the Digitech Master Metal Pedal?

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another question

If I make a demo on a CD-R, can I take it someplace and have it made into many real CDs?

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You're going to get better way quality out of the digital recorder

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yes/no... yes, they can burn the same CD (the ones they use will be of higher quality, and the burning will be better, and won't damage as quickly, will last longer etc.). However, they won't be able to alter your mix, master the disc, and all that fun stuff if you want a professional engineer to work on your music. You would need the original tracks for that. Whether or not you can burn that info onto a CD and take it to them, I really don't know.

For the record, I use Cubasis, and would recommend it. On the other hand, I have no experience with Cakewalk, and couldn't tell you either way. Do you have external MIDI control, or do you need a computer based program for your drums?

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Thats my biggest problem with recording with my PC. While my PC is not that old, it is not equipped to handle recording. It has no inputs for a MIDI cable. I guess I'll just have to save up $1000.......

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How many inputs do you need to record at one time? You can pick up an Echo Mia soundcard and an SM57 for around $250... I don't know if that solves your MIDI problem.... FWIW, that's almost 50% off of that unit, and I'd say it's a pretty nice deal. Built in drum machine, up to six inputs simultaneous, built in CD burner... pretty nice unit if you ask me.

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Heres a suggestion that i was going to do. Save up 800 -1000. There is a extremly good digitial 8 - 12 track recording system (with 256 virtual tracks) and it comes with a cd burner so when you record it, you can just burn it. Also it comes with further editing software for your computer, you just transfer the shit on your computer and edit it and transfer it back. The reason i wouldnt go with PC recording material is becasue if you wanted to get real drums in there, how are you gunna record it. With this the digital ones you can take them anywhere and have good sound quality. Boss carries the best ones for this. I suggest if your going to buy anything you buy it from guitar center becasue they have a 30 day trial, and if you dont like it you can return it within 30 days.

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Thats exactly the type of thing I was gonna get, except it was by Zoom. By the way, what are virtual tracks? Whenever I read ads for recording stuff, it always says like 4-10 tracks and then several hundred virtual ones.

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I downloaded sonar xl (made by cakewalk) and use that to record directly to my laptop. I have no use for an external recorder. If you do it like this though you will probably need to upgrade to a better soundcard with the number of inputs that you need. I had to get an external soundcard because I use a laptop instead of a desktop but it works great. Another thing I suggest is getting an external hard drive to use strictly for recording on. If you record to your system hard drive, by the time you finish laying down several tracks and redoing tracks over and over and over to get it just right, your system HD will be fragmented to shit. So I go with an external. I can control everything the virtual way on my screen (i.e. levels, effects, etc..) and don't need any hardware like a digital recorder. Get good mics too. They make a huge difference. As for drums, there are several excellent drum programs and plugins available for cakewalk programs, all fairly inexpensive, and much easier to control, cut and paste and stuff like that than an analog drum machine. My band uses a real drummer so we don't record the virtual drums but they are good to have when laying down new song ideas and stuff like that. I've recorded in a studio, I've recorded using digital recorders, and I've used my laptop. Nothing beats the laptop because of the creative control you have. Hope this helped.

yeah, it's fine....
to record an instrument in CW you have to open the track properties, and select the source (audio)
then go to the principal screen, press the button R of the track you wanna record, press "record" and it's done!!

and to write midi drums, you must select a track, open the properties and select channel 10
then go to the staff view and write the drums in the pentagram

NOTE= the closed hi-hat is F sharp and the open is B flat

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I honestly think you should get "Guitar Fx Box". It's meant for use as an amp (great effects), but can handle recording of wave files. So you can record yourself several times and stuff, and you could also play over a drum pattern, or something.

I think it's about $200, but not sure.

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First off, here's my gear:
- Schecter Omen 6 (changed the strings very recently, and the battery for the pickups too)
- - EMG 81 bridge pickup
- - EMG 89 neck pickup
- Boss Metalzone distortion pedal

Anyway, I've been trying to record myself, and it sounds like crap. First, it's too damn muddy, kinda like Nile (which in and of itself isn't bad, but I'm not trying to play death metal at all). Someone tells me to cut out the bass frequencies, so I drop the dial down to 1/3 and it cuts out the muddiness.

Now I realized it just sounds like crap. So, the way I figure, there are a few possible things going wrong:

- The newness of the strings has a stronger effect than I realized
- The pedal sucks without bass frequencies
- The pedal sucks, period
- My soundcard is terrible (I got people telling me my soundcard is fine for what I'm doing, though. . .)

At this point, I'm trying to get a good melodic metal sound, from Blind Guardian in "Mirror Mirror" to Opeth on "Blackwater Park" to Immortal in "Withstand the Fall of Time". Is there anything that I can do with my current setup to get a good melodic sound, or will I have to get myself a new pedal? (Which I can do, so recommend a good pedal if I need it. . .)

what are you recording onto and what are you recording with?

if its a plain old computer mic, then its a bad deal.

the metal zone needs bass on it, if you have no bass on it, it'll suck.

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Recording by sticking a regular guitar cord into a 3.5mm adapter, then plugging it into the Line In port of my computer. Using the program Cool Edit Pro to record.

What sort of soundcard for that "line in" port? If it's stock, I'm willing to bet that's the problem. I also wouldn't use a Metalzone to record (or any pedal for that matter)... do you have an amp with a line out/headphone out/preamp out option?

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My amp is a Fender Roc-Pro, I don't think it has such an option, unless "footswitch" isn't what I think it is.

My soundcard is a Creative Sound Blaster AudioPCI 64V.

What I normally do when i record on my computer is to mike the amp. dont plug yourself directly into you computer. get a decent microphone, hold it close to the speaker of your amp and record. Just be careful not to get any background noise in the recdording.

I havent listend to blind guardian much, but i know Opeth very well. First of all, Opeth uses Laney amps with the gain turned down a bit. The reason for the gain being turned down is to get rid of the muddieness so you can actually be able to hear some of their fucked up chords so your gonna have do get rid of some of your gain. 2nd of all, your emg-81 isnt going to sound right. I know mike uses PRS guitars exclusivly for electric recordings. And 3rd, do not use the metal zone. Its signiature sound is mud. Maybe i despise the metalzone so much because of the fact i play an Opeth type of metal. Pedals i would recommend for this sound though would be Ratt distortion, possibly a big muff pedal. The ratt is a really diverse distortion pedal,its got just about everything, it sounds real good except one huge problem, if you put alot of gain in it you get alot of extra noise, so only operate with a noisegate of some sort. The big muff has another problem too, it come outa the box with alot of mid, so if you want it so sound more "metal" your going to have to EQ it.

1. My one friend is always raving how Cubase is such a kick ass recorder for pc. Is it any good? Can someone give me an explination of how it is?

2. If I get a personal recording studio that doesn't have a built in cd burner, how would I get cds after I make my music?

3. Can I use Fruty Loops to add drum tracks to my music?

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1. I'm using Cubasis, as scaled down version, but it's still pretty good. It's simply a matter of being able to sequence things easily, and the way you want to. For me, it's more a matter of the fact that this thing hasn't given me any problems.

2. Personal studio? Could you be more specific? It may depend on what kind of workstation you're using. Also, from the sounds of things, you're going to be using a computer with this... what are you looking at for a setup?

3. Yep, I'm currently using the demo version to do just that.

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A personal recording studio is a hardware for recording. You only need the studio, not a computer.

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like one of those all-in-one workstations?

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The ratt i am talking about is the duecetone ratt. And it gets the problem when you have 2 distortions "cascading" insto eachother.

if your trying to achieve a sound thats really smooth...EMG pickups might not be the best bet. IMO they have TOO much output

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i use my line in and my boss metalzone and edit with multitrack studio i think it sounds clener through my boss. i tried usingmy amp and it sounded like shit. there was a terrible amount of background/excess noise. just make sure you use some kind of equalizer to clean it up a bit

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REcord your stuff on a good tape recorder for 99 bucks, then play the tape and
connect the output to the input to your computer.

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i want to record my guitar playing on my computer. does anyone know a good recording file i can download off the net? prferably one that lets you record something then record over it so that i can play like 4 different things at different times but when i play them i will hear every thing at the same time. also i'm looking for something that can add things on. i'm working with a drum machine as well. oh yeah, free stuff is good

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Cool Edit is a pretty awesome recording program, it can be downloaded straight from Kazaa. As for a drum machine, Sequbeat is the best one I've found so far, even though I'm sure there is better stuff out there.

do u need a 4 track or any shit liek that?

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yeah something like that except for a computer

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how does this cool edit theing work?

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Ive used this digitech thingy but my friend is sending cooledit to me tonight and it is the #1 home recodring editor so im pretty exited, ill let you know how it is freak.

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It will do what you are looking for. Your next task is to find a way to get a cool guitar sound direct into your computer. An amp modelling station like a POD would be ideal, but they are expensive. The is amp modelling on many multi effects pedals, or you could just plug your distorion box into your computer.

why dont i just put my mic right next to the amp?

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it woudl prbably feedback or have a fuzzy shitty sound too it but i have never done it so i dont knwo

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I have a Digitech GNX3 that I record through. I have a SmartMedia card in it. Record all my guitar tracks and then put the card into the SmartCard reader attached to my computer. Then I do the best I can to edit with Cakewalk Guitartracks. Its pretty weak (the version of guitartracks I have) or I dont know how to use it...one of the two. I am needing to get a new drum track program....the Digitech has a really weak drum loop machine. Maybe I should just find a real fuckin drummer. Im gonna try some of those programs.

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Why don't you just do that?

now that ive tried this, it is a good idea. i have a roland/boss me-30 multi-fx pedal and i plugged that into my computer. very nice sound

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by the way, this cool edit thing rocks. 128 TRACKS ... wow... after you get the hang of it, recording's a breeze.

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I have GNX3 too, if fucken rules! How much was your smart card media reader?

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I wanna record my bass on to my computreer, but i got a bad feeling that it will blow my speakers

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ok hey this is for any of you POD users out there on there computer
ive been having my pod for about 2 months now and i just bought some addapeters for it to go into the sound card from the output. now i put the output in the recorder slot of the back of the soundcard now how do i get sound and record i have cool edit 2.o but how do i start recording from here

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ok i have sound out of my speakers on the computer but when i play it dosnt record when i click record on the sound recorder any help?

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Dude the MR200 from Fostex or something is pretty cool, you can transfer
files from the recorder into the computer by using USB

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Piper:
Bring up "play control" (don't know if that's the real english name, the thing you get if you dblclick the little speaker in the system tray, with lots of volume controls), and click Options->Properties. Click Recording, and check mic input and line in (well, really, only the one on which you connected your guitar). Click OK, and check the Select checkbox under the correct volume control.

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hi !

i am searching a preamp for direct recording guitar in my sound card
what do you think the best (im playing death metal)

rocktron (voodo valvle) ?
line6 podXT ?
Behringher V-amp2?
mesa boogie rectifier recording preamp ?
or other maybe ....

thanks for your advices

Pod- it's got a decent price, and can model most amplifiers with amazing accuracy. It's not exactly the same but for $250 it's pretty damned good.

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ive heard the pod is the best bang for your buck..

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The PODXT is pretty expensive, put the POD 2.0 is great....
Plus it has footswitchable effects....The fooswitch is only
30 - 40 bucks. The POD itself (2.0) is 200 bucks depending where
you get it ...I recommend you to go to EBAY

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Whats the best setup to record guitar and vocals? I got a good computer program, but my mics suck ass. Anyone use recording on their pc? what kind of setups do you use?

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Actually I'm in the process of recording my Demo / Album, I also need a good
Mic for recording vocals, probably you should get a cheap mic for 10 bucks from
SONY and Envelope the excess noise.

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I'm using a old h&K Tubeman (little tubepreamp with a lot pssibilities to connect to any hardware) to play directly into the mixer (mini Behringer 16 channel), From the mixer i have an connection to my pc. I'm using an old Steinberg Cubase Version to record audio over the mixer. Voices is a little bit difficult, because you need to have a good microphone, a place where you can sing without any soundreflections from walls etc... And you need a good voice .....

It's easy to use a pc for soundrecording. A other question is the recording. You have to know, who you record different sources (bass, drum, vocals....)
For guitars you should use a good pickup(for acustic guitars), for electric guitars use a good preamp (an other possivility is the recording from a 4x12" Box. I've build a big woodcase, where i can put the big 4x12 Box in, and a good nicrophone. Then i close the big case, so you will hear nothing outside, when you play. This is the way to record the fat marshall sounds in a house with many stressed neighbours)
For Drums you should use 3-4 Microphones (or more) ....one for the snare, one for the cymbals, one for the base.....and record on different tracks.......
The rest for songs i take mostely any samples an drumloops since i have no bandroom with a band anymore. But the digital fuck is not my world. Yesterday i have recorded 3 guitartracks, 1 basstrack, 1 sologuitartrack, and the rest out of my soundlibrary........and ready is the song, but with a complete band you will have more fun to record.


edit

my english is really awfull.....weia

/edit

I record with a mic computer and it suits me just fine. Maybe because i play mostly blackmetal.

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I'm also recording a demo, but I can't afford a mic that is over 50 bucks....
Do you guys know anything about mics that are good and under 50 dollars?

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I don't know what your situation is like, but what me and my band did when we recorded our demo was that we used a mixer table (is that the correct word? you know those thingies with a hell of a lot of volume controlls....) that we borrowed from school (the guitars go to some multi-FX and then to the mixer, and then on to the PA), and plugged a computer in the "Rec Out" on the mixer. Then we recorded all of us at the same time, and then made individual recordings for each instrument.
This obviously requires acces to some pretty expensive equipment, but if you can get it, then it's a really good way.

As to just cleaning up an MT2 without getting crap sound, I have no idea...

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Actually I downloaded Cool Edit 2 Pro, and it comes with an EQ which makes
the guitar sound better than if you we're using Windows Sound Recorder
or sometimes Cakewalk. The Program can let you record 128 tracks
and I personally love this thing....I just plug my guitar into my amp,
then I use my headphone jack to connect to the computer's line-in.
I LOVE THIS PROGRAM.....

P.s. Cool EDit is like 250 bucks.....But there's always something that can stop that

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Does anyone have a GRAPHIC EQUALIZER preset for Cool EDIT PRO 2 that
I can use to make the guitars more heavy?

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Make the guitars more heavy by yourself, dont use programs to edit it. If you do and then play live your gunna suck balls. Im debating wether or not this should be in gear or not, but its not neccessarily "gear"...o well.

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It sounds heavy on my amp, but when I plug my dist. pedal
into the computer it sounds weak.

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Whats the filename for Cool Edit on Kazaa? Right now I'm downloading this one called.."Cool Edit Pro 2.0 + Reg Full Version - Works Great!"

i'm thinking it's your computer speakers.

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actually I'm using headphones

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What pedal are you using?

Generally, unless it's engineered to go directly in, it'll sound like crap. You might try a direct box, or you could use an amp with a DI output, or you could mike your amp. The most preferable of these would be miking the amp, the cheapest would be a direct box.

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would a 40 dollar AUDIO TECHNICHA microphone work?

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Boss Metal Zone

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yeah its cooleditpro 2.0+whatever. if you use a mic next to the amp it will sound like shit. ive tried. i found a cord to plug in my gnx3 into my computer tonight and i have cooledit so ill try it.

would a small 50 dollar behringer mixer work good for micing my amp?
And should I adjust my EQ with the mixer of with Cool Edit Pro2?
Plus my Line in jack is fucked up, so I'll try my mic input.

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Plugging a distortion pedal in the mic input or whatever on a computer sounds like shit because all computers have a hi-fi sound cards. I've always found micing to be the best way to record unless you have a recording pre-amp i.e. POD, V-amp, ect. You don't even need a mixer for micing the amp. I have a $10 mic plugged right into the mic input on my computer and it sounds fine.

The reason distpedal->soundcard sounds bad is that the pedal is usually built to be output through a speaker which lacks high-frequency response. So *if* you plug your distpedal into your soundcard, just do an EQ where the higher frequencies are significantly reduced.

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aight mofos my guitar teacher told me about this wicked program called Audacity
find that program its totally free and totally awesome

you might want to look at www.musiciansfriend.com or somewhere for a 4-track/sampler thing, my friends band uses a roland one, it has a sampler(drum machine) built in and a zip drive. plus 4 tracks, each with like 8 vitual tracks. i think it costed him like $700ish.

(if you guys find any other threads that you could merge with this, post the url in this thread)

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I have the same problem!
Also when I plug my guitar through my pedal(Boss ME-30)
or Straight in to the PC it plays only from one speaker!I tried
changing the settings on my computer
but it's the same!!It only sounds from both speakers when I
plug it through my amp but it sounds like shit(it sounds
like it has too much treble but even when I change
the equaliser settings it still sounds awful)

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I have recorded and mastered several tracks on my PC using quite a simple setup. If you want samples go to www.mp3.com/gasoline_baptism/ ...My recording setup is as follows....

Guitar:

I run the guitar through my Korg Toneworks effects station. This multi-effects pedal has a headphone output, which allows it to be run directly into the Line-In port of the soundcard without and reduction in sound quality. Pretty much any pedal or amp with a headphone output will be able to transfer a clear sound through the sound card. Most Marshall amps have an emmulated line out that works great for this.

Another factor in quality is the choice of cables. Most people doing direct recording use a regular mono guitar cable that runs from the ouput of the pedal to the line in of the soundcard, I use a stereo standard PC audio cable with a 1/4" stereo adapter that plugs in at the effect pedal's output. THis allows you to record in stereo instead of mono.

For recording software, I use Sonic Foundry's Acid Pro 4. This program is excellent and quite simple to use. It has a large assortment of effects for post processing such as delay, reverb, Parametric and Graphic EQ's and more. Once you figure out how to use the program its quite simple to get a really big, heavy sound out of the guitar.

Drum Tracks:

For the Drums i use Fruityloops Studio 4, an excellent drum sequencing program. The program itself does not come with very realistic drum samples so i downloaded some online. The best samples i have found are made by Manytone. If you search google for Manytone Drum wavs you should find them easily. They come in four packs for cymbals, snares, toms and kicks.

Unzip the samples into the fruityloops directory, they can be easily loaded into Fruityloops and sequenced. Fruityloops also has a playlist feature where you can string several drum patterns together to make an entire song, which can then be exported as a wav or mp3 into your recording software.

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tell us more about this cable, if i were to buy this at Radio Shack, what would it look like?

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its a standard 1/8" Stereo audio cable, the same cable you would use to connect your PC speakers to your soundcard

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Dont know if this has been answered yet, im to tired to read through every page, so if it has, im sorry, dont kill me

While im not overly experienced in hardware recording, the problem you're experiencing is due to the fact that the MT-2 in its self is a high gain pedal. Thus, it sounds great coming out of a speaker, but when run direct through a line, it sounds ultra fuzzy and muddy. Ive had the same problems with my MT-2, the problem is apparent with any sort of recorded distortion, it always sounds muddy if you record direct.

So, i picked up a semi-decent microphone from Long & Mcquade for about $70 and placed that infront of my amplifier.
Direct line recording isnt always the best option as you lose alot of tone and power in the sound. Most professional recording is done with nice amps in soundrooms with some high quality mics placed infrot and/or in specific/strategic areas. (granted im no recording pro, but i believe this to be somewhat correct).
Try it, at any rate and youll notice a huge difference in the recording, and the sound of the distortion. Then, once you've got your sound file, you can import it into anything like Sound Forge, or Cool Edit, to run it through equalizers and the like. (I actually do that beforehand in my setup, ive got a Boss GE-7 that i run the mic through while recording, so i can change the equalization in real time). using this method, i managed to achieve a sound similar to Opeths "Ending Credits" from Damnnation

Aditionally, ive started working on something new, if rather odd, no idea if its going to work, or sound half decent. (itll probably sound like crap, to be honest, but im trying anyways )

Ive created a (roughly) 5 x 5 foot wooden box out of pressed, particle board. Ive then lined the inside with styrofoam. The idea is to create a box i can place around my amp to create a sound resistant barrier, so i can record my amp's sound directly without worrying about outside noise interfering.
The major problem of this, is that with such a small box and using styrofoam, you lose all acoustical atmospherics. I havent tested it yet, but i fear this may be a large issue and have a noticeable impact on the richness of the sound. But time will tell i suppose.

Just a thought for the table, anyways

Just to tell you guys, what can be done with even the cheapest hardware.When recording my first demo song, I had some PC, Zoom 505 II and a LIVE! soudcard. I made an excellent sound...excellent even on that piece of crap Zoom 505.

Everything I did is...I put my guitar (Ibanez rg470) to The Zoom, then directly to the Line-In on the sound card. And then switched the hardware equalizer to Techno.(Im in the technometal thing The sound was full, and after I managed to record it twice, it was as powerful as any other sound i heard. Maybe the drawback is that I had to downtune my guitar to B for this...but as I say...the sound was perfect...

To produce drum loops I reccomend either Anvil studio or Fruity loops. From Anvil studio you can export it as MIDI file and from Fruity loops as a Wav file...even each instrument alone, so you can mix it properly.

For recording I used Cubase VST32, but now Im using Cubase SX. Its very difficult to learn almost anything in the Cubase, I myself tried it three times until I finally found out, how to use it...But Its very proffesional...Theres another one program however called Nuendo, but I didnt try it...it should be very similar to Cubase.

I think, that when youre starting with recording, you should use Cakewalk home studio, it has nice colours and its easier to use.

I now use digitech RP200 pedal and I part the sound...One part is going through the amp and Mic to the Mix. this signal is recorded as one Track...then another at the same time is from the pedal to the computer and through hardware equalizer...the sound is AMAZING POWERFUL AND BREATHTAKING

Just a hint...whenever youre recording guitar on PC ALWAYS have the LINE-IN on full...if not, youll loose the power. you can then lower whole volume, but never move LINE-IN from the max.

Hope, that this will help.

i record with the following gear:
Guitar
Boss MT-2
DigiTech RP5
headphone output (stereo)
My PC
Cool Edit Pro 2.0

the sound isn't the killersound, but getting a better result with less expense is difficult and the weakest part is IMO the RP5 (crappy sound) my soundcard is not a very good one, but my pc-soundsystem is even worse, so i don't know excactly how that is. as said above not the best solution, but works well

So you're saying to raise the LINE-IN volume to the max?

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I dont believe this is entirely true. It works for you because you're using an effects pedal that has stereo support (most digital pedals, like the digitech's and Zoom pedals, have this, additionally, the headphone output on your amp is the same thing)

Applying a 1/4" stereo adapter to a standard Amp cable (i.e going direct from guitar to computer) will make no difference, youll still have mono (left channel) sound.

Most amplifiers with a headphone jack, will basically just copy the left channel to the right channel (so in effect, its still not true stereo sound technically). But, aside from that..
Its easy to tell a mono plug from a stereo plug.

Both plugs, you will notice, will have colored (usually black) plastic rings on them. A mono plug will only have one plastic ring (hence, only one sound channel). Whereas a stereo plug, will have 2 black rings. (left channel, right channel). Look at your amplifier cables, and your headphone cable jacks, and youll notice the difference right away. So, basically, to get stereo sound, theres a few ways to go about it.
1. Get a pedal or amp that supports it, most any decent amplifier will have a headphone output.

So use that in conjuction with the small, 1/4" adapters as stated above by vileangelofdeath to plug into your PC. However, DONT GET RADIOSHACK ONES! they're awful. I get an obscene ammount of buzzing when using my radio shack converter. I dont know if its faulty, has lousy electrical shileding, or what. But id recommend against them (maybe i just got a bad one, whos knows, but ive still got a sour taste in my mouth, radioshack isnt known for quality).

If for some bizzare reason your amplifier doesnt support stereo headphone output, there are some pedals that do, such as the Boss Chorus pedal (Super chorus CH-1) which has an optional stereo output (though i believe it might be only for the stereo chorus effect, not sure if it stereos the guitar sound aswell, ive never used it my self, always used mono, so i dunno).

Or if you've got the money, you can go all out with a digital effects pedal, which usually has pretty good stereo sound, not to mention alot of nicer recording options (noise gates and equalizers to name a few). Be forewarned that digital pedals have a bad habit of chopping up any tone your guitar might have though.

Addtionally, i think there might be some cables that copy left channel to right channel sound (mono-stereo converters) though ive never seen one, im fairly certain that they do exist if you do some searching.

One other thing id like to mention (in reference to alot of the other posts here in recorded quality). Its really important to run your sound through an EQ, alot of people dont do it, but it can have a hugely noticeable impact on your sound. I did a quick example.

Basically, im playing just a really simple, slow riff. (nevermind my fuckup at the end, its 8 in the morning and i havent slept yet, so eat me ) The first part of the mp3 is the sound quality of my lousy, shitty bheringer amplifier, the second part of the mp3 is (almost) the same riff, played again, but being run through my GE-7 EQ pedal with some basic tweaks on the mids and highs.
Click here for the sound sample

Now you tell me it doesnt sound better run through an EQ

I tried it many times...but if you have the LINE-IN on half, you can have the overall volume on max, the sound wont be as good as with the LINE-IN on full...it looses the power...in computer the sound changes, amplifies and the like. You must keep the signal going to PC cleanest as possible and with high signal...If its too loud, just turn down the volume of your effect or amp, but dont turn down the LINE-IN...

Its like when recording...if you record something loud...you can always turn it down, but if you record it quiet...you have to turn the volume up and the sound is pretty weak...and theres a lot of noise...

Yeah, you can say...so whats the compressor thing for ? Yes, I use it too...but you have to make the original sound as good as possible...then you can experiment...

Farting becomes... burning

FUCK USING THE LINE IN JACK!
Get the Motu Firewire 828 system, its fuckin great.
Also get a new soundblaster for monitoring.
And maybe buy some SM 57's or Condensors...
Thats it, fuck using Line In's. Line Ins get too much information bottlenecks.
And wth the MOtu 828 it doesn't.

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Ok. I am looking to use my RP7's headphone jack to send a patch into my Line In on the comp. What all will i need to accomplish this? i know it has probably been covered a few times, but i am not exactly in the mood for fishing through this post.

Thanks.

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I did that with my RP5 and it was being fine. you will need an adapter from 6,3mm jack to 3,5 mm jack to get a the connection. for recoding i used cool edit pro and that was prety good, you can get it w/ serial on kazaa

I mean, what kind of wires will i need to do it? Could i find them at a damn radioshack?

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I used headphone wire, because it's shieldet and stereo, works fine

i started playing guitar years ago...then had a break and wrote electronic music for a few years...got pretty good to...almost got a deal but i rejected it cause i stole most of the samples.....abit too risky so i said fuck it...


so as far as software goes for drums...id use fruity or reason and u can sequence in those or cubase...its up to you..

now the drums dont sound realistic enough for me even though i can get them sounding good...the trick is not to use too many samples...keep it simple like the pc drummer has 2 feet and 2 arms....so dont write anything u think a drummer couldnt do..

u can use pre-made loops but they suck cause they dont match your riffs and you dont wanna write around some other fuckers beats..

i actually record little tracks for ideas through my whole pc...soon im gonna do whole songs...just weird songs with guitars, bass, vocals and samples

i run my amp into my soundcard and muck around...the guitars sound shitty but its fun mucking around.....im gonna work on getting as better sound or just mic up my amp..dunno..

as far as samples go for rock beats...rip em outta metal songs...they have the coolest kicks and snares and cymbals..

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Okay, I'm all new to this and I've read the first couple of pages and am still lost.

I've got a Marshall MG50dfx. Got a pretty new computer. Shit soundcard etc.

What do I need? I have this cable I got for 10 euro a while back. Thats about all I have...

You can't really record well with a shitty soundcard that keeps producing noise. You need one that has minimal noise and it should support full duplex operation... I have an SB Live! and it's pretty good for that sort of thing.

In theory you should be able to take a mic to your amp and record it, but it's better to record it directly into your soundcard's line-in. You'll never get a perfect sound with that alone though, you need some sort of software equalizer to edit the sound afterwards.

my setup for recording....
Guitar--Digitech rp100---custom made cable i made in my dads shop--back of my computer---Cakewalk
i have a couple of different settings i made just for recording, some reason any normal setting that sounds moderately loud on an amp just cause the SOB auto distorts. mostly EQing, i have a couple of sound clips recorded, and i cant figure out how the heck to get a drum track on the thing

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Ok. What diameter cable do i need?

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Hey, can Diamond Cut Audio (DC-Art32) work for recording myself? If so my setup would be guitar>cord>pedal>cord>amp.., and microphone>back of PC>Diamond Cut>Cakewalk Pro Audio9. Uhhhh, yeah ghettoness...

...and I got 4 different plugs to choose from in the back of my PC. Which one do I use? (pentiumII) There's black, green, yellow, blue, and pink.

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shut up, buttfag, and answer the damn question!!! my drummer can d/l cakewalk for free, and all i need is a god damn headphone cable to go into the damn computer.

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Plugs going into any PC are all 1/8 inch diameters. Any dumbbutt would know that but you. Now answer MY question!!!!!!

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SBlives do the job...but they are pretty shitty.....but not super shit like some..

but there is no point in getting a super duper soundcard unless u want to do some pro stuff....if its just for fun and to show some mates....then use what u have.

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Fine, you dumbshit. Yes, it should work. Thanks for replying.

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u get picked on at school??

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