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Recording

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  • 16-11-2005 11:12am
    #1
    Passenger
    Registered Users Posts: 6,147 ✭✭✭


    Basically I want to record music using Cubase. Is it just a case of plugging the instrument into the slot in the soundcard or do I need a preamp of some sort?

    Cheers.


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    #2
    DiamondJQuimby
    Closed Accounts Posts: 144 ✭✭DiamondJQuimby


    Really depends on what type of Soundcard you have.

    You get mixed results and quality depending on the type..

    I don't think you can plug an instrument directly into the soundcard you will need a pre-amp.

    Have you got a Guitar Amp take the line out from the Amp into the sound card although this is not the best way to record and instrument it will give you a signal in..

    D


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    #3
    Rustar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,217 ✭✭✭Rustar


    If you have any battery-powered stomp box or M/E with a level control, that should give you enough signal to at least get a good clean sound that you can dabble with plugins on.


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    #4
    condra
    Registered Users Posts: 3,849 ✭✭✭condra


    Passenger- Do you just wanna record your guitar?

    Will you wanna record anything simultaniously? Will you wanna add backing tracks such as drums, loops, virtual instruments etc?

    I hate to say it, but if you have a mac lying around, garageband 2 is quite good for that kinda stuff.

    If you just want a quick decent recording of your solo guitar, Adobe Audition would probably be best. If you already have Cubase you might as well use that.

    Are you miking ur guitar or using a lead? What kinda soundcard do you have?


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    #5
    Passenger
    Registered Users Posts: 6,147 ✭✭✭Passenger


    Well the soundcard is an E-MU 1212m. I want to plug the guitar directly into the Soundcard and was wondering what the best way to get good results was.

    Cheers.


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    #6
    Ghost Rider
    Registered Users Posts: 1,883 ✭✭✭Ghost Rider


    A guitar's natural output signal is very weak so you'll need to boost it before you can properly record it into a line-level input on your soundcard. You can do this in one of three ways:

    (i) Put your guitar through a guitar pre-amp designed for the job and send the output signal to one your soundcard's line inputs.

    (ii) Put your guitar through an FX unit which has a built-in pre-amp (- lots of multi-FX units do) and send the output signal to one your soundcard's line inputs.

    (iii) Put the guitar through an amp, mike up the amp and send the mike signal into one of the soundcard's mike inputs.

    Option (ii) is likely to be the cheapest solution, while option (iii) tends to be the method preferred by those who covet "classic" or vintage amp sounds. Option (i) would be suitable if you wanted a good, strong signal for further processing, say in a ProTools -type environment.

    I've gotten some pretty good results using option (ii) but only after messing around with the recordings for quite a while with various compressor and reverb plug-ins. A well-adjusted compressor can give an evenness to the sound while reverb can add the sense of the guitar having been recorded in a "real space" (depending on the rest of the mix, of course).
    Passenger wrote:
    Well the soundcard is an E-MU 1212m. I want to plug the guitar directly into the Soundcard and was wondering what the best way to get good results was.

    Cheers.


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    #7
    Rustar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,217 ✭✭✭Rustar


    Or
    (iv) - Get a Roland Microcube and send the Record Out to your soundcard. You'll be wondering why you ever considered anything else.

    :v: :D :v:


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    #8
    Passenger
    Registered Users Posts: 6,147 ✭✭✭Passenger


    Just plug the amp into your soundcard? Is that risky enough to ruin the soundcard?


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    #9
    Doctor J
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,848 ✭✭✭✭Doctor J


    No, the Microcube line out will send the signal at line level, which is what your soundcard is designed to take in. It is different from a speaker out.


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    #10
    Briony Noh
    Closed Accounts Posts: 154 ✭✭Briony Noh


    How sophisticated do you want to get? Have you a cassette recorder or a minidisk? Even a VCR or a CamCorder? Can you afford a POD or something similar?

    Anything with a LINE-OUT socket will act as a pre-amp, assuming it has a MIC-IN for you to plug the guitar into. You could also pick up a small guitar headphone pre-amp for about a tenner in most music shops which will boost the signal enough for the line-in on the sound card. But am I completely insane to think if you plug the guitar into the MIC socket you get sound??? Possibly a little distorted (depending on the impedence of your pick-ups) but nothing harmful.

    By now, you've probably already decided how you want to solve this issue, but I would recommend you try and pick up something nice and cheap and second hand that will add to your system, like a cheap old reel-to-reel recorder (echo chamber, recording medium for layering voices etc) or an old 4-track cassette (complete with on-board mixing desk!), like a Tascam or a Fostex. There must be a few of them in Buy-and-Sell, I'd almost bet...


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