willy,

yes, there are several types of mics. a condensor mic needs external mains to work. it is supplied by the mixer or by an external box if it's really swank. the botton or swtch is usually labeled +48V and is refered to as phantom power. a dynamic mic does not require mains to work. the audible difference tends to be that condensor mics are more sensitive and provide a clearer high end. obviously, all mics are different and have their a unique sound. for the acoustic guitars, i might recommend trying both out. have you used the guitar with a pick up before? a good quality condensor mic is usually a good bet, but i'm not that familiar with pick ups and wouldn't know what is what. :)

the fuzz you're hearing could be as simple as readjusting the levels on all your pedals. generally, you want to have the level high enough so that the signal is healthy and strong. if one pedal is too low, then the next pedal will have to make up for both levels. try doing this, which is generally a good way to go about working on a problem....

you've already tried to go straight into the conupter, and you know it's fine. next add one pedal and connect to the computer. set levels and check for anything dodgey sounding. continue adding pedals and setting levels til you work out what piece of equipment is causing the problem. it sound be levels, it could be old leads. just work carefully through all the items first, and let us know what happens.

also, what do you mean by 'mic volume'?

Hi Trixie thanks for responding.

Ok I did a bunch of trial and error tests this weekend.
I have it setup

Guitar > Effects > Line 6 Spider > Direct Out > Soundcard

After dialing in everything, (lots and lots of trial and error) i got it sounding pretty good. Barely any fuzz or noise.
I started another thread about mic's, I am looking at a SM57 and a VTB1, but I am not sure if if will be wortht the money.
Will those items really improve my sound quality that much?

"mic volume"........
I got a new Dell with the SoundBlaster 24bit thinger, and in the settings window, there is a "mic volume"(the louder I turn it up, the more I hear through my speakers, this is when I hear, and thus, record all the fuzz) and a "mic record volume" as long as I have this one up the whole way I get enough volume, but cant hear my playback, because the "mic volume" has to be down so low,

Maybe headphones would solve this problem?

willy,

i'm glad the fiddle with the levels worked out. the balance of all the fx, etc can get complicated sometimes. well done!

for a guitar cab, a 57 is a classic and reliable choice. it's brilliant on electric guitars and will last a million years if you take care of it. they're hardy little suckers. and the good thing about micing the cab instead of using a direct out is that you'll be recording the sound of the cab too. if you like your cab and think that you're sound would benefit from it, then go ahead and get the mic. 99.9% of guitarists want this when playing gigs or recording in the studio. they want they're expensive gear to be heard. :)

just a thought about the noise... are you plugging into the mic or the line input on the pc?

Yes Trixie your smart....

I have 4 "plugs"

Green - Speakers
Black - Line Out
Yellow - Line Out
Blue - Mic In, Line in

The problem was that I had "mic in" selected and not ""line in"
one click of the mouse and 99%of the problem was eliminated.

Ok, so i should mic the cab, i have a combo, but that doesnt matter right?

Then I need to preamp the signal right?

willy,

glad the noise is sorted! well done!

having a combo shouldn't matter. you'd mic the cones in the amp.

give it a shot without the pre and see if you've got enough signal. if you find that it's super quiet and you have a lot of hiss, then you'll probably need a pre amp.

good luck!

Sounds great Trixie, thanks so much for the help.
It might be a week or two till i can get a mic (jeep just went into the shop) uggg.

I will keep you posted(no pun intended)

willy