anonymous
30 November 2004
i saw a port on a mac that was an amp plugin for a guitar, bass etc. where u could play and and record that into a software and make a CD. does anyone know if i can buy that seperate for a pc, and where, and what would be the best recording software to go with it
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The answer to this question is a very long one, and depends grea
The answer to this question is a very long one, and depends greatly on what level of sound quality you want. You can probably find most of your answers by doing various searches on this very forum, but for now I'll give you the short of it.
To record on the computer you need several basic pieces of equipment in your audio chain. First is the soundcard in your computer. This takes the audio into the computer where you can manipulate it via your recording software (of which there are many good choices). However, your computer can only work with a digital signal, so you need to convert that analog signal (guitar, microphones, etc) to digital. This is done with an AD Converter (anolog to digital converter), and is a major variable in your overall sound quality. You can either get a soundcard with a built-in AD converter, or a separate outboard unit. You can sometimes use your computer's onboard soundcard, or any one of the generic gamers' soundcards, you'd be best off with one that's made specifically for audio recording (don't worry, these can start out very cheap). To record your guitar, you can either put a microphone in front of the amp (usually a much nicer sound), or record direct. If you decide to mic the amp, you'll also need a mic pre-amp (another very important variable in the overall sound quality). If you do not use an amp, you'll probably want a DI box to get the gain up to a usuable level for recording into the computer. Now, to hear what you've recorded, either during the recording or during the mixing, you'll also need DA converters (digital to analog converters) since most speakers are analog. Again, you can either get a soundcard with built-in DA converters, or a separate unit.
This is just a very simplified explanation, but will hopefully allow you to better understand what is needed. There are some very cheap all-in-one solutions that include soundcard, AD/DA converters, and mic-preamps that could get you started if you're not too concerned with pro-level sound quality. Many of these cards actually come with recording software, also. For a PC, Cubase is a very good program (they write their software drivers first for PC, then for Mac). Good luck.
Joe