|
Post by Phil on Feb 13, 2014 15:36:08 GMT -6
I thought I'd start a thread on guitar interfaces, recording software, tips on recording, etc. Recording directly into a computer is new territory for me, so any input from you more experienced people would be appreciated.
In one week I've gone from hating my Behringer Guitar Link to absolutely loving it. It still does not function as advertised, however, I found a way to get it to work. Now I can say that it was well worth the $40.00 that it cost.
Matonanjin or anyone else who has one of these and is having problems: It works just fine once I start up Native Instrument (NI) or Amplitude Fender amp modeling software. The former came bundled with the Guitar Link and the latter with my Fender Mustang amp. I can also get it working by starting up Ableton recording software, which also came with my amp.
The NI app has a couple of other features - I can load and playback an mp3 backing track which is very conventient, and it has a record function that I haven't tried yet. I'm not sure if the recording function will produce a high quality recording so I'll probably learn to use Ableton. Ironically, the Guitar Link came bundled with Audacity, but it looks to me like Audacity is not capable of using an ASIO driver which is necessary to get it to work with the Guitar Link. I may be wrong about this. I've always like the simplicity of Audacity.
Matonanjin, did your Behringer come with this NI software? If so install it and give it a try. Each amp has an input volume which should solve your problem of barley hearing your guitar through your headphones. There's a very low learning curve with NI. The manual is clear and to the point. Amplitude is more complicated. Don't give up on the Behringer just yet!
Phil
|
|
|
Post by grampalerxst on Feb 13, 2014 15:53:20 GMT -6
Good idea to start this thread.
Computer recording is still fairly new to me as well. My setup is somewhat different. I use a Line 6 POD which has some fairly sophisticated amp and effects modeling, and one of it's primary intended purposes is for "direct" recording (no need to play loud and mic a speaker cabinet to get customary guitar tones as it models microphones and speaker cabinets along with amps/effects). I'm able to pipe the output to the computer via usb and I've been evaluating Reaper as a recording app. I still have 30 more days, but will probably fork over the $60 to get a legitimate license since I like Reaper and will probably stick with it. Once I got over a couple quirks the Line 6/computer/Reaper interface is pretty easy to work with (when connected the POD becomes the "sound card" for the computer), and given how relatively little effort I've put in to crafting the tone out of the POD, I've been reasonably pleased with the results. Some day I'll sit down and start tweaking and see if I can't get something that sounds "good".
So anyway, can't help much with the Behringer interface specifically, but I thought I'd throw out my rig in case anyone out there uses anything similar.
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 13, 2014 16:04:16 GMT -6
grampalerxst,
The line 6 POD sounds like a pretty sophisticated stand alone unit - could you tell us how much it cost?
|
|
|
Post by grampalerxst on Feb 13, 2014 18:01:38 GMT -6
grampalerxst, The line 6 POD sounds like a pretty sophisticated stand alone unit - could you tell us how much it cost? It's definitely a standalone device, and yeah, "sophisticated" is probably a fair term. Mine is a "floorboard" unit with footswitches and an expression pedal, so is the variant that's intended for "live" applications (still has all the functionality for direct recording, just packaged different than the rack unit counterpart). A brand new, latest generation, POD HD500X goes for about $500 at places like Guitar Center and Sweetwater. I'm actually very close to trading in my older POD X3 Live for an HD500X. I have a "0" birthday this year, and am single again, so it's just a matter of cobbling together the $350-380 I'll need to cover the difference. What I really want is one of the Fractal Audio units, but they go for about $2000.
|
|
|
Post by matonanjin on Feb 16, 2014 12:15:31 GMT -6
Phil, thanks for thinking about me. But I ordered the Focusrite Scarlett 212. I was sick of fighting with the Behringer. It shipped FedEx not USPS, so I could possibly even get it tomorrow. Then I will get back to doing some recording!
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 16, 2014 12:33:07 GMT -6
Phil, thanks for thinking about me. But I ordered the Focusrite Scarlett 212. I was sick of fighting with the Behringer. It shipped FedEx not USPS, so I could possibly even get it tomorrow. Then I will get back to doing some recording! That looks like a real nice unit. Since it's more in my price range than the Line 6 POD, I may think about getting one some time in the future. What I like about it (from the description I read) is that you can control the gain from the unit and you can also connect up a good mic to it, since it has XLR inputs. Keep us posted after you try it out. Phil
|
|
|
Post by nursedad on Feb 17, 2014 9:33:09 GMT -6
Phi I too have a Mustang amp. I can record directly from the amp via usb to either Audacity or Ableton now am I have latency issues as discussed elsewhere? Maybe. Of course its very basic.
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 17, 2014 11:06:29 GMT -6
Phi I too have a Mustang amp. I can record directly from the amp via usb to either Audacity or Ableton now am I have latency issues as discussed elsewhere? Maybe. I have a Mustang I v2. On the 1st two recordings I posted I used the USB from the amp and recorded into Audacity. However, none the the effects I set on the amp came through the USB. It came through essentially clean. I added the reverb post production (that sounds a little grandiose ) using Audacity. I didn't have any latency issues. Then again, 2 weeks ago I didn't even know what a latency problem was. Here's how I had it set up for those recordings and may explain why I didn't have latency issues: 1). I ran a cable from the headphone outlet of my computer to the aux input of my amp. 2). I plugged my headphones into the amp. 3). USB from amp to computer. 4.) I did not change any settings Audacity. It was in whatever default mode it's normally in. I didn't know enough to change anything. 4). Loaded the backing track into Audacity. 5). Hit the record button. So, I was not hearing anything from my computer's sound card. I don't know if this had anything to do with me not having a latency problem, but there doesn't appear to be any problem with the recordings other than the sound of my guitar and my playing. The ASIO audio driver is supposed to lessen latency problems. There's one called ASIO4all that I think is open source and, therefore, might be compatible with Audacity. With Ableton you should definitely be using ASIO, but you probably already know that. Phil
|
|
|
Post by nursedad on Feb 17, 2014 15:38:21 GMT -6
That is exactly how I record from my Mustang III v2 to Audacity and Ableton.
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 17, 2014 16:03:29 GMT -6
That is exactly how I record from my Mustang III v2 to Audacity and Ableton. I guess great minds think alike. So, just to be clear. Are you having problems with latency? Phil
|
|
|
Post by nursedad on Feb 17, 2014 16:28:47 GMT -6
That is exactly how I record from my Mustang III v2 to Audacity and Ableton. I guess great minds think alike. So, just to be clear. Are you having problems with latency? Phil I'm still not 100% sure about that. But why wouldn't/doesn't this setup get selected effects coming through on the recording?
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 17, 2014 17:40:36 GMT -6
I'm still not 100% sure about that. But why wouldn't/doesn't this setup get selected effects coming through on the recording? That's a good question and it's the reason I bought the guitar link interface. Another good question is why did Fender include a copy of AmpliTube Fender and AmpliTube 3 with the amp? I can't tell you how much time I wasted trying to get them to work with the amp only to find out that they only function with a direct USB interface and have nothing at all to do with the Mustang amp. My guess is that the USB connection is there primarily to download effects from Fender Fuse and software updates for the amp. Maybe it was never meant to be used for recording, and therefore the effects from the amp are not routed to it. Phil
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 4, 2015 14:29:05 GMT -6
I never used Audacity with the Guitar Link because Guitar Link wouldn't show up on the Audacity preferences. That's probably due to my old computer. I also remember reading somewhere that you can't use an ASIO driver with Audacity. I also don't know if you can record through the amp modeling software into Audacity. Maybe you can, I just don't know.
Anyway, I got around all this by getting Reaper and learning the basics of using it. It offers a lot more flexibility than Audacity, but also has a much steeper learning curve. I think Jack1982 also uses it. As an example - you can import your Native Instrument software into Reaper as a plug-in which is a real advantage when recording.
BTW, I've come to really like the ACBox Combo. You can play a BYCU track or backing track through the "Tape" player at the top, and it also has a dial to slow down the track without changing the pitch.
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 4, 2015 15:08:50 GMT -6
T-Bone, are you getting the ACBox effects in the Audacity recording? You'll probably have to control the input volume from your guitar. Also, there's a switch on the side of the Guitar Link to increase the output volume to Hi or Lo. Those are your only controls over the volume going into the computer.
|
|
|
Post by joachim on Feb 4, 2015 15:26:09 GMT -6
T-Bone, an advice would be to buy a DAW like Reaper (the only commercial one I have used). It's much better than Audacity, and then you don't have to spend time learning to use and configure another DAW when you decide to upgrade from Audacity. Reaper is only about $60 for a personal license, I think, and it's free to use for the first 30 days without the usual painful download registration etc.
|
|
|
Post by bluesbruce on Feb 4, 2015 17:43:45 GMT -6
Tbone,
If you've got a recent version of Band In A Box for Windows, you should also have the Real Band program - which is a perfectly functional DAW program, which also incorporates some of the BIAB features. I used to use this program back in my Windoze days....
Bruce
|
|
|
Post by jack1982 on Feb 5, 2015 5:23:57 GMT -6
Yeah Audacity is great for learning about recording on a computer. I started out with it and it's easy and intuitive. You'll probably want to move on to something with more features soon enough though. Reaper is great (and inexpensive) but it certainly has a learning curve. I guess that's inevitable though - if something has a thousand different features, the feature you want to use is probably going to be hidden deep in a submenu someplace.
|
|
|
Post by bluesbruce on Feb 5, 2015 7:43:40 GMT -6
Tbone,
I think if you learn how to use one DAW program, then it's much easier to pick up another one if you decide to. They all do the same thing - it's just the slight differences in how they do it. I think you'll be glad once you learn how to use Audacity. It'll open up a whole world of computer recording and music production to you, and the price is right. I think it's kind of like Garageband in the Mac world - it'll cover all the basics, and if you decide you need more specific features down the line, then you can look at moving up to some other program. I'm ready to collaborate when you are!
Bruce
|
|
|
Post by jack1982 on Feb 15, 2015 13:19:27 GMT -6
Glad to hear you've got that all working well Tbone. I remember when I bought my Pod Studio - the next day I was threatening to send it back to Amazon It's always a learning process to get this stuff working the way it should.
|
|
|
Post by Phil on Feb 15, 2015 13:52:08 GMT -6
Happy to hear you got it working, T-Bone. There is nothing more frustrating than getting this digital technology to function as it is supposed to.
|
|