Right now, I just plug my amp into the line in on my computer. It sounds like crap. Its really quiet when I'm recording it, but when I play it back, its loud and distorted beyond belief.

Also, should I record the guitar tracks with distortion or should I record them clean and add distortion with a recording program (don't even know if this is possible)

Sorry about this, I'm a n00b when it comes to recording

[djskrimp]

I'm not much better, but here's what I think:

You can record clean and then add distortion.

I think the answer to your problem about the first thing is...if your are loud as heck when recording amp to puter, maybe you have the amp too loud...also, don't DI boxes take care of that problem?

I know it wasn't much help

Even with my amp as low as it can go, it distorts it when its clean

Even with my amp as low as it can go, it distorts it when its clean

Check your input volume in the soundconfiguration thingy, check if you use line or mic input?

The best-sounding way to record guitar amps is also the simplest: stick a decent dynamic microphone in front of the amp's speaker, move it around until you find the sweet spot, then hit record. You'll want a preamp between the mic and your soundcard to get a healthy level. This could be in the form of a mixer channel or a standalone preamp.
Alternately, you could totally skip the amp and record your guitar direct, then use software amp modelling. However, plugging into the Line-In jack on your soundcard won't produce enough level without cranking it all the way up (which, in turn, increases noise). So you need a DI box, aka Direct Box, for impedance matching. They're pretty cheap (Behringer makes one for around $30). And there's some good software amps out there, such as Guitar Suite, which is available for free and does a pretty nifty Marshall JCM sound. However, a decent soundcard with low-latency drivers is essential for using live effects like that.
I'd recommend against using the output jack on your amp, unless it has some sort of speaker emulation or you have a SansAmp box, because the signal from an amp sounds pretty bad without a speaker (imagine cutting a chalkboard in half with a buzzsaw).

What program do you use for recording?

Right now, I just plug my amp into the line in on my computer. It sounds like crap. Its really quiet when I'm recording it, but when I play it back, its loud and distorted beyond belief.

Also, should I record the guitar tracks with distortion or should I record them clean and add distortion with a recording program (don't even know if this is possible)

Sorry about this, I'm a n00b when it comes to recording

Hey.

I've been recording on my computer for years. I have some thoughts.

In my experience it sounds shitty to record guitar "clean" and then add distortion to the recorded track. But, it sounds better if you add things like reverb, chorus, and delay to a track that was not recorded with those effects. Distortion is just too dependant on your actually playing with it in order to sound right.

Do you have proper software and a sound card meant for music composition? If no, you really do need to get them. I prefer Sonar software because it is much easier to learn and it is capable of VERY nice sounding recordings. If you already have good software, then you need to get a digital interface. I use the Delta 1010 sound card with a 10 channel input and 10 channel output digital inteface, powered studio monitors, and an 8 channel powered mixer for bass, mics, guitar pre-amps, whatever. The other inputs are for a drum module and my primary guitar pre, both hooked up in stereo. Look into the Delta 1010. It is really simple and nice. Great sound, too. If you had a proper interface you would not need to plug your guitar into your computer and you would save yourself a LOT of frustration. And I would also advise against micing a guitar amp. Going direct gives you a better siganl and therefore gives you more audio data depth and an overall better sound. THEN you can use mic modeling or amp modeling software to process a more detailed signal. If you mic your amp you are recording the sound of the mic and that will never go away. Which is fine if you WANT to do that, but I've not found a mic that I think sounds good for recording guitar. Even the mighty SM57 doesn't cut it in my opinion.

Second, I know lots of guys don't want to spend any money but still want to make great recordings. I understand that budget plays a huge part in recording gear. But the simple fact is if you don't get decent stuff you will not be able to create decent recordings. That is fine if all you are doing is recording riffs so you don't forget them. But if you are creating a cd for people to hear, then it is critical to get good gear. You don't need a top of the line $10,000 studio to make killer tracks. I spent a grand total of around $1000 on the recording gear I have (excluding mics, guitars, basses, amps, and the computer itself) and in my humble opinion, my tracks sound better than most "demo's" other bands spend $1000 recording in a "professional" studio with a "professional" engineer. And I have unlimited studio time:D.

Get good gear. Shop around. Do research. And make sure you are getting what you need. Remeber, EBay is your friend. After that, just use your ears, be patient, and soon you will have found your sound and be off recording efficiently.

If you are just recording riffs to remember them, all you need to do is turn down your computers internal input and output volumes untill you are not distorting the signal on either end. All of your distortion needs to come from your amp. Good Luck!!

I am using Cakewalk Guitar Tracks 2.0. I decided to try recording by just plugging my digitech GNX1 directly into the computer instad of going through the amp, and it also still sounded pretty fuzzy, but definately better than my amp. I tried plugging it into the line in and mic ports, and both fuzzed up the sound. And for the mic, I have a mic on my mp3 player (Iriver H120). Its a pretty good mic, but when I tried to record my guitar how you said (placing it in front of the amp), it sounded like shit. Almost as bad as most Black Metal bands

I am totally lost on what to do next. Do I need a better soundcard? A better mic to record with?

Sorry about the vaugeness of my first post, I hope this helps people answer my questions better.

If your going straight in from line out try playing with volume levels. I did some recording a few weeks ago and had the same problem but we found at that there we could go line out on a low volume and still get a good sound from the amp. Just play with turning different volume levels way done and see what the signal does.

I am using Cakewalk Guitar Tracks 2.0. I decided to try recording by just plugging my digitech GNX1 directly into the computer instad of going through the amp, and it also still sounded pretty fuzzy, but definately better than my amp. I tried plugging it into the line in and mic ports, and both fuzzed up the sound. And for the mic, I have a mic on my mp3 player (Iriver H120). Its a pretty good mic, but when I tried to record my guitar how you said (placing it in front of the amp), it sounded like shit. Almost as bad as most Black Metal bands

I am totally lost on what to do next. Do I need a better soundcard? A better mic to record with?

Sorry about the vaugeness of my first post, I hope this helps people answer my questions better.

Still more thoughts. I hope this helps you. This is WAAAAYYY long, so just read it all and ignore what you already know or don't care care about. I tend to ramble sometimes.

Well, that is decent software. Your Digitec GNX1 is a good signal source as well. Neither of those is the problem.

Are your levels correct on your "audio track" display? Are you in the red while you are recording? Each track should have a level display indicating signal strenth. If you are in the red, turn down. But you probly know that already. Something to try is hooking up a good set of headphones to your computer (NOT your digitec) and using them to monitor what you are playing, as you are recording it. What you hear through the head phones should be EXACTLY what you hear when you play back your recording. This capability is a basic necessity of recording. If you can't hook up headphones to hear what you are playing as you are recording it, get a new soundcard and interface. If you can do this and what you hear through the headphones is different that what you hear during playback, check your computers output volume and be sure nothing plays back louder than it was recorded. You should be using your software level controls for volume, not your computers volume controls. Set your computers volume control at....say.....70% and forget about it. Use the software level controls from now on, if that is practical for you. Again, you really do need to be able to hear what you are recording AS you are recording it. Your computers internal speaker isn't good enough. What you hear acoustically from playing the guitar isn't good enough.

Do not rely on the mic fron your MP3 player. You have already discovered that it will not do what you need it to do. It is not designed for this purpose.
Since your signal gets fuzzed any way you try to record, getting a better mic would solve nothing. I think you should solve the basic issue of your degraded signal before you spend $$ on mics.

The only thing left to worry about is how your computer is getting the signal from your Digitec and how much of that signal is getting to your software. Since I do not know what sound card you have, I cannot say it is good or it is bad. But it IS suspect. What I know for sure from your post is that you do not have an interface designed for audio recording. Plugging your Digitec directly into your "line in" on your computer tells me that the sound card you are using is the same one that came with the computer, but I could be wrong. If it DID come with the computer, you really should replace it. Your Cakewalk software owners manual will have a list of all the compatible sound cards, or at least the reccomended ones. I strongly urge you to look at Delta sound cards: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/D ... -main.html

The bottom line is you don't have a proper interface, which is likely the issue. You might or might not need another sound card. You should be able to tweak your computers internal levels enough to get rid of the "fuzz". But, you might not be able to. Some sound cards just do not support this kind of audio recording. Like I said - I don't know what you have. Just tweak untill you can't tweak anymore. If you can't fix it in a day or two, getting a proper sound card and interface WILL make you VERY VERY happy if you decide to upgrade. I promise.

I think I've said the same thing about three times now, in different ways. Sorry about the rambling. I hope some of this makes sense and ends up helping you.

And 512 RAM is a good upgrade as well......

Good luck....

To put it plain and simple (well, even in long form, it's not much more obscure ), I record like this:

1) Shure SM57 in front of guitar amp cab
2) Into Behringer MX602A mixer
3) Into Audigy 2 Line In from the Tape Out of the mixer
4) Into recording software (Acid Pro 4.0)

Ok so I looked at my computers specs, and I think this is the name of my soundcard: SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio

Yay or nay?

I haven't had time to dink with the volume levels, Ill probably get around to doing that this weekend (I'm bogged down with studying for finals )

Big Nay for recording. If you want a card that plays games well and records decently, then you might want to check out the Audigy line from Creative, but if you don't need it for gaming, get a proper recording sound card like the Echo MiaMIDI or M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496, for good value.

Thanks for all your help everyone. Looks like I'm gonna need a new Soundcard from what everyones telling me. Now time to save up

Big Nay for recording. If you want a card that plays games well and records decently, then you might want to check out the Audigy line from Creative, but if you don't need it for gaming, get a proper recording sound card like the Echo MiaMIDI or M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496, for good value.

I've heard a lot of good things regarding the M-Audio 2496. I too want to replace my crappy onboard ac97 sound. However looking closely at the 2596 there are only RCA inputs! How can I connect my guitar to RCA inputs?? I know I need a preamp like a Line6 Pod but even the Line6 Pod has a 1/4 jack output so what needs to be done to have a killer set-up with the Audiophile 2496 and my guitar?

edit: please do not suggest a mixer.