I have an electric guitar and an m-audio preamp-usb and would like to use my laptop to record music as well as listen to what I am playing. I would also like to use it as an effects processor. Ι have an amp but no effects or overdrive.
asked Jan 7, 2014 at 17:01
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1what operating system are you running?– seanreadsJan 8, 2014 at 14:30
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8 Answers
You need amp emulator software.
Guitar Rig is one well known example. You can download a demo version for free.
Whatever software you get, it will come with detailed instructions. Your USB audio interface also has detailed instructions. It may well have come with some demo software.
To record, you need a digital audio workstation. Examples of these for PC include Cubase and Ableton Live.
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What is the difference between a computer and a real amp in terms of functionality ? Can I get the same fx with a laptop + effects software ? Can you also recommend some effects software, besides amp ? Thanks. Jul 13, 2014 at 18:15
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1Some people think real amps sound better, but this is subjective. If you already have a computer, using something like Guitar Rig is much cheaper than a real amp. Real amps are loud. Most of the amps simulator apps, like Guitar Rig, also simulate effects like delay, phaser, chorus etc.– slimJul 13, 2014 at 19:16
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@slim Not sure if it is completely subjective, since (and especially older) amp simulators had trouble simulating the dynamics of tube amps.– RecipeAug 11, 2014 at 10:27
if you wish to use your computer as an "effects pedal", I recommend IK Multimedia's Amplitube 3 - it has an extensive array of effects and amplifiers with all kinds of crazy and fun tones to mess around with. Theres a ton of effects, so I recommend you check it out. It is a bit pricey though ($199 for the standard edition). If I were you, I would download the Amplitube CustomShop, which is basically a free demo version of the full software.
When it comes to setting it up, I keep it simple. I like to run the headphones jack of my computer into my amplifier, with Amplitube running on said laptop (ofcourse).
If you are familiar with - a special kind of - programming, you can use something like Pure Data or Max MSP. Pure Data (PD), for example, is an open source, visual programming environment for manipulating streams of data like audio (or video). With PD you are able to build your own individual FX chains or use community contributed patches (In PD speech "programs" are called patches). But I think it's not as trivial to use as out of the box products.
I've used 3 effects applications till now: Amplitube podfarm and guitar rig 5. The best software I found so far is guitar rig the sound it gives is amazing it has some pretty good presets and it has an intuitive interface I recommend trying out demos of every software to see which better suits you. I recommend guitar rig. I would suggest using a PC instead of a laptop because they're processor intensive. Anything that's part of the is series is great (i3 i5 i7). Good luck and remember to get asio4all drivers google it and get the newest drivers
Audacity seems working well as general purpose recorder / sound editor. It can also do some sound effects (while surely not as much as dedicated commercial tools) and even has a programming language to design new sound effects. Audacity is free and has Windows and Linux ports.
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1Audacity is a great free program. But unless there are recent improvements I haven't encountered yet, its effects are limited to being applied after a track has been recorded.– slimJan 8, 2014 at 13:30
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This is correct and probably not very suitable for performing "in front of public". It may be more for preparing records ...– h22Jan 8, 2014 at 15:16
You can assemble your own system from disparate components, hardware and software, and spend a lot of time and confusion getting them all to work together. But the easiest and ultimately most cost-effective route is to purchase one of the least-expensive Apple Macintosh computers, all of which come with Apple's free GarageBand software installed. This will provide you with a wealth of tools for amp emulation and effects in an integrated environment for multi-track recording and editing (and it includes a wealth of drum machine, synthesizers, and sampled instrument libraries as well.) If you outgrow Apple GarageBand, you can suppliment it by purchasing Apple MainStage for $30 and/or Apple Logic Pro for $200.
Apple GarageBand comes free with all new Macintosh computers, and it only runs on Macintosh. There is no "GarageBand for Windows". But Apple also has a cut-down version of GarageBand for iOS (iPhone and iPad) that does quite a bit and can be used professionally on stage and in the studio if you also purchase an iOS-compatible external audio interface.
Another advantage of an Apple Macintosh computer is that they come with a much better built-in sound card than those of almost any brand of Windows PC. You can actually use the headphone audio output of any model of Apple Macintosh without needing a professional audio internal or external audio interface and get acceptable results. Of course, if you do in fact want the highest-quality audio output, especially for multiple channels, you would want to purchase a third-party external audio interface.
I am using Ableton Live 9 with my electrical guitar (through a sound interface like yours) and I think that is a good setup. In Live I can easily use effects as Looper and map that to some midi-pedal or similar, to get it to act as a real guitar pedal. I'd recommend that!
Your M-Audio USB A-D converter module should have come with the free version of Pro Tools (and possibly Cuebase). It should have some native effects, and there are 3rd party effects plugins that work with it.
