How To Connect An Electric Guitar To A Computer
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. If you lot purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission.
Equally a guitar player with a home studio, I accept connected my guitar to my PC many times over the years. I have done this for both recording and for practice. It did accept me a while, however, to piece of work out how exactly to connect to guitar to a computer, and what the best method is.
To connect a guitar to a PC connect a jack cable from the guitar'southward output jack to an input on an audio interface. The audio interface should be continued to the PC via USB or Thunderbolt. Connect headphones or speakers to the audio interface to hear the audio output.
Directly connecting your guitar to your computer is arguably the best way of recording guitar in a home studio today. You can also effectively plow your PC into a guitar amp this way. I take a whole commodity on using your PC as a guitar amp, which I recommend yous read if you are intending to do this.
Read on to learn the equipment you lot need for connecting your guitar to your PC, the reasons you might want to do this, and for a step-by-step guide to the all-time method.
If you are interested in checking out the best recording gear such as sound interfaces, studio monitor speakers, microphones, etc., y'all can find them at Amazon by clicking here.
Equipment needed for connecting a guitar to a PC
This article concentrates on connecting an electric guitar to a PC. For connecting an acoustic guitar, check out my article entitled "How to connect an acoustic guitar to a computer".
This diagram shows the guitar-to-PC setup nosotros are trying to create…
Every bit you lot can see, at that place is not much equipment required to connect a guitar to a computer. Here is a list of the equipment needed…
Audio interface
Your guitar will plug into an input on your audio interface, via a standard ¼″ jack cable. The audio interface will plug into your figurer, usually via USB or Thunderbolt.
Yous may be request why do you demand an audio interface when my computer already has an input jack in the course of a mic socket?
You could use that with a suitable ¼″ to mini-jack adaptor. The problem is that those inputs are non designed for high-quality audio or music applications. They will not piece of work with the dedicated high-spec audio drivers that audio interfaces utilize.
You could probably go it to work to some extent, merely the results would exist unsatisfactory with unacceptable latency (the time taken betwixt playing and hearing a note) and poor sound quality.
And so really, you need an audio interface. Fortunately, there are many excellent audio interfaces on the market that sound bang-up, take up very little space and practise non cost much money.
My personal selection is the Focusrite Scarlett series. I have been using these for years, and they requite great sounding recordings for non very much coin. You tin can buy the Focusrite Solo from Amazon (affiliate link) for a very reasonable price.
Sound interfaces as well come with specialist audio driver software, chosen ASIO drivers on Windows. These are small software programs that allow your interface to work with your computer to produce high-quality audio with minimal latency. You should install the driver on your computer.
There are specialist audio interfaces, designed specifically for but guitar such as IK Multimedia'south iRig ii. While these are groovy, I prefer the more than general interfaces as I don't just record guitars. I likewise record from microphones and keyboards, so I would only recommend these if you are sure you volition just ever record guitars.
USB Cablevision
The audio interface connects to your estimator via a USB cable. Usually, this is non something you accept to worry about, every bit the interface volition come supplied with a suitable cable. Just make sure you lot take a free USB port on your computer to plug the audio interface into.
Jack cablevision
Nothing special well-nigh this – information technology's just a standard jack cable, only like the one you utilise to plug your guitar into your amp.
PC
Information technology used to be the case that you needed a special music computer that was more than powerful than a standard PC. Fortunately, these days any standard off-the-shelf PC bought in the concluding 5 years or so will be fine. Just make sure it has enough USB ports to plug in an audio interface forth with your other peripherals.
Guitar amp sim or DAW software
While software is not strictly necessary to connect your guitar to your PC, I would argue that if you want to exercise anything useful with it and so you need some software.
There are two master types of software that are appropriate hither; amp sims and DAWs (Digital Sound Workstations).
Amp sims simulate guitar amplifiers, and you tin think of them as guitar amplifiers in software. There are many amp sims available today, both gratis and paid. For a nifty free option, I recommend Amplitube 5 CS.
DAWs are for recording – they are essential highly sophisticated recording studios in software. A DAW is the awarding you would utilise to record a song. Like amp sims, there are many free and paid options bachelor. My DAW of option is Reaper – I wrote an article looking at if Reaper is a good DAW for beginners, which is recommended reading.
You tin also combine an amp sim and a DAW, by using the amp sim as a "plugin" inside the DAW. This lets you record a guitar and have it sound like information technology's being played through an amp, without actually having to use a real guitar amp.
Headphones or speakers
To be able to hear your guitar or recordings yous will demand either headphones or speakers. These will plug into your audio interface.
For headphones, I highly recommend the AKG K-702 Reference Headphones (chapter link), which you can get at Amazon for a very reasonable price. These are the headphones that I have been mixing on for years, with great results.
While standard hi-fi stereo speakers are ok, you really need quality studio reference monitor speakers for any serious audio work. I highly recommend the Kali LP-6 Monitor Speakers (affiliate link) available from Amazon for a very competitive price. These are neat value speakers, which excellent clarity and detail for their price range. N.B: link is for one speaker.
Step-by-footstep guide to connecting a guitar to a PC
If y'all prefer your tutorials in video format, check out this video I made detailing how to connect a guitar to a computer. It'south not quite as detailed as the steps below, merely has all the information necessary to get yous continued…
For y'all text lovers, follow these steps to connect your guitar to your PC…
Connect your audio interface to your PC
If it is not already continued, connect the audio interface to a gratuitous USB port on your PC using the supplied USB cable.
If your sound interface is new and this is the starting time time you lot have used it, you will need to install the supplied software. Audio interfaces often come with a parcel of software, simply the important ones to install are…
- ASIO driver – this is important for sound performance, quality and latency
- Utilities – ofttimes the driver settings, routing and input blazon can be set in a supplied software utility
Connect your guitar to your audio interface
Not much to say almost this one. Use a standard jack cablevision, just like the one you employ to connect your guitar to your amp. Plug one end into your guitar's jack output, and plug the other terminate into a free jack input on your audio interface.
Set the input blazon
Some audio interface inputs accept a hardware or software switch that selects the input blazon. If this applies to yours, make sure the type is set to "instrument" and not "mic" for the input your guitar is plugged into.
Also, if your input has a selectable "Line" setting, make sure this is switched off or set to whatsoever the other option is (probably "Instrument"). Line inputs are for instruments that provide line-level outputs such equally keyboards or synths.
Set the input level on the sound interface
Setting the input level is very important, especially for recording. Y'all want the level to be as high equally possible without "clipping". Clipping volition result in unpleasant baloney or other nasty sound artifacts.
Yous control the level with the "Gain" control for the input on the sound interface. There will also be a clipping indicator for the input, usually some sort of blood-red LED.
First playing your guitar, and slowly turn up the proceeds. You volition get to a point where the clipping indicator lights upwards. When it does, back off the gain a touch. Keep playing and adjusting the proceeds until the level is as loftier equally it tin be without always clipping.
This is simply a brief overview of setting levels. For more detailed coverage of this very important topic, I have a guide to getting guitar recording levels right every time, which is highly recommended reading for anyone doing any sort of guitar recording.
Plug in headphones or speakers into your audio interface
If you desire to hear anything, you will need either headphones or speakers connected to your audio interface.
Headphones connect to a standard headphone socket, ordinarily on the front of the audio interface. Connect them but as you would to any consumer sound device such equally a smartphone, hullo-fi or mp3 player. Use an adaptor equally necessary.
Speakers will connect to speaker-out connections which are normally found on the dorsum of the interface. In that location volition exist ii of them; i for "Left", one for "Right". You could use any of the following…
- Powered (active) speakers
- An amplifier connected to standard active speakers
- A PA system (mixer, powered mixer, etc) – this is a typical setup for live functioning.
Start your software and configure inputs/outputs
You lot may have continued everything up, but you lot are unlikely to hear annihilation at this point. Your software needs to be running and configured properly to use the connected inputs and outputs
Each DAW and amp sim is slightly different, and so I will only talk in general terms here. In the settings of your software, yous will probably need to…
- Select the input your guitar is connected to (so the software knows which input to process the sound from)
- Select the output your speakers or headphones are connected to
- Yous may have to configure the ASIO driver from your software'south settings. This sounds scary just really isn't. It normally involves only playing your guitar, so selecting a buffer size until it sounds good and latency is acceptable.
Set level in the amp sim/DAW
We already fix the level going into the input on the audio interface before.
This should have done the bulk of the level-setting piece of work for us. However, nosotros also need to be careful of levels within our software too.
In your amp sim or DAW they may be a setting to control "input gain" or "input level". Much like with the audio interface input, nosotros want to avoid clipping at all costs.
I suggest for an amp sim, follow a similar process to setting input level for the audio interface.
For a DAW, it'south a little bit unlike. We want to brand absolutely sure to leave enough headroom to plow upwards the volume equally necessary when we mix our guitar recording with other tracks later. A good rule-of-thumb for this is to make sure the input meter averages at nearly -18dBm, peaking at no more than -12dBm.
Again, I'll signal out this first-class resource for learning how to set up guitar levels properly.
Plough upwardly the volume on your headphones/speakers
I've quite deliberately left this step till late. While we are plugging equipment in and configuring things, we leave the volume down so as not to cause unpleasant pops. In extreme cases, these can damage your speakers or headphones.
Slowly turn upward the volume to the desired level. If y'all first to hear excessive noise, that'due south an indication that something isn't prepare right. Become back and check you lot have completed the previous steps correctly.
Select a audio
I of the dandy benefits of amp sims is that they often give yous lots of sounds to choose from. Information technology's similar you ain hundreds of dissimilar guitar amp and pedal board rigs!
So spend a piddling scrap of time selecting a sound. Presets vary in usability – some are fantabulous and some are dreadful. Simply y'all can usually find one that at least makes a skilful starting point for tweaking to a sound that suits your guitar playing mode.
Why connect a guitar to a PC?
Why would we go to all this trouble to connect a guitar to a reckoner?!
The 2 main reasons are recording and playing.
Recording
Plugging a guitar direct into a figurer'southward sound interface is arguably the easiest fashion to record electric guitars today. The traditional method is mic'ing up a guitar amp, but this is a difficult skill to learn and very easy to mess up. Software amp sims allow us to record direct, at well-nigh silent volume and with much less equipment.
Recording guitars using amp sims is such a game changer for a dwelling house studio that I wrote a whole article on information technology! Check out my complete guide to recording guitar using amp sims. A lot of work has gone into this guide. Y'all'll learn the full process of recording a track using an amp sim, right from connecting up your guitar to tweaking the recorded sound.
Playing
This covers do at habitation, playing along to backing tracks, working through YouTube tutorials, late-nighttime silent practise, etc.
Simply you can as well use a guitar connected to a PC for alive performance. Connect the line-out from your audio interface to a PA system's mixer, and you have all y'all demand for a gig. At that place are several pro guitar players who actually adopt a setup like this to a traditional guitar amp.
Connecting a guitar amp to a PC
This article has been all most connecting a guitar to a PC.
Just there are also applications for connecting a guitar amp to a PC. For more information bank check out my guide entitled "how to connect a guitar amp to a computer". You'll larn several methods, the different applications and how to avoid common pitfalls when connecting a guitar amp to a PC.
Hither is some of my favorite home studio gear…
Thanks for reading this commodity. I hope you found information technology helpful in your home music-making activities. Here are a few of the tools that I personally use in my dwelling studio. These are affiliate links, so if y'all decide to employ any of them I'll earn a small commission.
Sound interface: My personal choice for audio interfaces are the Focusrite Scarlett series. I have been using these for years, and they have always given me great-sounding recordings. For a very reasonable toll from Amazon you can purchase the excellent Focusrite Scarlett 4i4, or if you don't demand MIDI adequacy the Focusrite Solo is a great choice.
Amp sim: Guitar amplifier simulator software has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, such that I tape all my electric guitar parts using amp sims these days. 1 of the very best is the incredible Amplitube from IK Multimedia, which I take used on many of my songs.
Headphones for recording: My favorite headphones for recording are the Sony MDR-7506s, which I use for monitoring during all my recording sessions. They tin besides be found in many pro recording studios. Go the Sony MDR-7506 headphones from Amazon hither.
Full general-purpose microphone: You can't become wrong with a proficient ol' Shure SM-57, i of the nigh versatile and ubiquitous microphones around. I've been using one in my home studio for as long as I can call up. Amazon offers the Shure SM-57 for a very competitive price.
To meet all of my well-nigh up-to-date recommendations, check out this resource I fabricated for you!
Source: https://homemusiccreator.com/connect-guitar-to-pc/
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