# Guitarists: what do I need?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [November 22, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107 "2004-11-22T14:15:01Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/1 "2004-11-22T14:15:01Z")
I want to be able to plug my electric into my computer’s soundcard so I can record myself playing. I’ve looked around and there’s hundreds of different programs which are all related to computer music, but I’m not entirely sure what they are. I already have a jack which converts my guitar jack into the one the soundcard needs for its line-in, so all I need is the software.
Can someone recommend me some free software that allows me to do this? Preferably it should be able to handle multiple tracks (i.e. I record a backing track and then other tracks over the top of it) and it being able to handle VSTs (i.e. effects) would be great too.
Thanks in advance.
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### Author:  [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/2 "2004-11-22T14:32:17Z")
Not sure about free ones, but for under £20 there are plenty of good programs in shops like Game or Electronics Boutique. The eJay range are good fun.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/3 "2004-11-22T16:47:04Z")
Thanks for the suggestion, but I don’t think eJay is exactly what I’m looking for, after browsing their website (unless I’m mistaken). It seems to be more suited towards creating dance music, and from what I gather has no support for VSTs.
Thanks anyway.
Perhaps if someone could provide me with the name of the type of software I’m looking for, I could search myself? Is it a mixer, sequencer etc. what I’m looking for, or something else?
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### Author:  [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/4 "2004-11-22T16:58:46Z")
eJay allows long datastreams to be recorded with or without effects, and allows the addition of effects afterwards. You can create your own rythmns - dance is not mandatory! You then get to make you own trippy “videos” with some spacey graphics packages, all for £10.
Still, for a more traditional recording studio, CakeWalk is probably your best bet. You should be able to find an older version either free or cheap.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/5 "2004-11-22T17:00:03Z")
Cool, thanks.
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### Author:  [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/6 "2004-11-22T17:13:56Z")
> [@+MDI](#):
>
> I already have a jack which converts my guitar jack into the one the soundcard needs for its line-in, so all I need is the software.
A naked untreated, unbuffered electric guitar signal is not what you want to be starting with (unless there is some _magic_ software that can cope with such nastyness). Run the signal through an amp simulator before injecting it into the soundcard or at least get a proper DI box to match impedances and levels.
I am utterly out of touch with modern sequencing software, but I’d think anything that isn’t completely dance-centric would do the trick.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/7 "2004-11-22T18:51:11Z")
I have a Korg AX10G multi effects pedal, will that do the trick?
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### Author:  [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/8 "2004-11-22T19:01:27Z")
I think I’ve done this before, and IIRC, I simply went:
-Guitar to effects panel (Boss ME6)
-Effects to amp (Little Marshall practice amp)
-Amp to soundcard (through a jack converter, to give me a 1/8 stereo jack instead of the big fat one the amp uses.)
-And I just recorded the input with MS Sound Recorder.
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/9 "2004-11-22T19:45:06Z")
I use a distortion box and a mixing board (that I happened to build myself, but any decent mixing board will do). I either go straight in through the mixer into the sound card or I mic an amplifier, depending on what sound I’m after, and may have a few other effects pedals in the chain as well. I wasn’t very happy with the sound quality of just plugging the guitar straight into the sound card. YMMV.
On the computer I just use the free version of N-track. It occasionally pops up a nagware screen but other than that it works pretty well. It has support for effects but I use hardware effects boxes so I’ve never tried it and don’t know what the capabilities of it are.
I tried a bunch of programs. Cakewalk seemed like one of the better ones but I had problems getting the sound from different tracks to sync up. I happened to be fiddling with N-track by the time I figured out that it was my el-cheapo sound card that was causing the problem and not the software I was using, so since N-track was the first one I got working I stuck with it.
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### Author:  [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2004, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guitarists-what-do-i-need/276107/10 "2004-11-22T21:06:18Z")
I’m downloading n-Track now, that looks to be what I’m looking for. Thanks all.