Thanks, buddy! I knew about that “save” setting, just don’t use it (yeah, the menu system gets me too) all that often, because I really like to play the song like it’s played originally and that takes a LOT of fiddling around.
Also, I brought one of my guitars (the Epi Les Paul) in here where the computer is so that I can practice with the guys that give free lessons, but it sure isn’t comfortable. (I know, “bitch, bitch, bitch”, right?:)) I have the piano bench from the keyboard that I sit on, but then when I want to play Warcraft, I have to switch chairs to get comfortable for the next 2 hours or so.
What I would like to do is copy the lessons onto a dvd, and take that into the den which has more room and play/practice over the dvd player.
I picked up an American Standard Strat a short while ago, rosewood Sienna Sunburst SSS (like this) from GC. I don’t know if this purchase will stick, but I have a terrible time evaluating an instrument in a guitar store so I just hauled it home to see if I really liked it enough to make it a family member. I damned near bought a LP Traditional Pro (60s neck), but they didn’t have a color I could live with (burgundy or solid bright red were my choices, sheesh). I did play a LP Custom that was sooo fine, but $3300 on sale was too nose bleed pricey for me.
I just spent the last 20 minutes setting up the Strat trem properly. Man, those Fender Am Standards come setup terribly. They had 8 or so of these guitars at the store and every one was setup wrong, except one in an unfortunate color (charcoal metallic, sigh). I guess if I return this axe the next person at GC who plays it will benefit from my labor today. So I’m not just getting a free guitar rental, I’m giving back to the community.
Good luck! I’ll warn you that Ableton is quite weird if you go in as someone who wants to just do traditional recording. Hell, ALL current music software seems to specialize in weird and hard to understand interfaces and workflows. Perhaps with the exception of Adobe Audition, but I’m a bit biased there. There’s a decent tutorial in Live, give that a go.
Well, that was quick. Not really what I expected. I think I was looking for the IK Amplitude stuff. I used to have the Stealth Plug and was expecting something along that line. But that’s what the trial was for, right?
Yeah, I was, but if I thought my amp was complicated, this is even more so and not really what I was looking for. There IS one called “AMP” which does list for $97.00, but there’s no trial unless I missed it.
Getting your guitar signal into a computer so you can use software on it. This is one thing you would need an audio interface. If all you want to do is get the audio into the computer then listen to it on computer speakers or via the output of your built-in audio card, then you need an exceptionally simple interface. There are a ton of low priced simple audio interfaces out there.
1a: if you want to have a bunch of stuff going into your computer and being mixed and have effects sends and yadayada, then that’s when you buy a much more capable audio interface with like 8 inputs and 2 or 4 outputs or whatever. It doesn’t sound like you need such a beast.
Once your guitar signal is inside the computer, it’s sound great, right? No, and that’s why you need software that models and amp. There’s some cool software you can download on trial, like Guitar Rig, that’s a lot of fun and you can play with modeling and see if you like it. GR doesn’t do recording, except in the simplest possible way, it’s merely an instrument “amp” + FX package.
Recording. You can also use an audio + MIDI recorder/sequencer package (often called a DAW, Digital Audio Workstation) like Ableton and many others to record audio and possibly MIDI (think drums, keyboards), and have essentially a recording studio on your computer/laptop
Plug-ins. How do you put Guitar Rig or other effects into your DAW so you can use them in whatever software packages you own? Plug-ins. Little bits of software that the larger audio software finds when it launches and makes them available to you. VSTs are one flavor of these and are widely supported. You can run Guitar Rig inside Ableton Live using a VST that the GR people give you when you buy GR. There’s also a zillion free audio plug-ins out on the interwebs, of varying quality.
That Behringer box you posted is looks like a pretty brazen knockoff of a Line 6 POD, something I actually own. The Behringer or the POD lets you do amp modeling completely outboard from a computer, and in fact you could just plug the analog line out into a clean amp or PA or home theater system or whatever and play guitar that way. The Behringer ALSO includes a computer interface so you can send your guitar signal to your computer, regardless of whether you are conditioning the signal first using Behringer.
All I want to do is use my computer as a guitar amplifier. I know there are several “styles” (Tweed, tube, etc.) and there are effects such as flanging, chorus, etc… That is really all I want.
I had the Stealth Plug many years ago, and still do have the cord (1/4" to USB), but because I lost its serial number I can no longer use their amplifier program. I’ve tried, believe me. IK’s customer service dept. sucks big time.
So I started reading about other types of virtual amplifiers, thinking I could find one better than the Stealth, and got myself in a mess with all the techno-speak and not understanding it.
I downloaded the NI “Rig” free program and like to have shit my pants when I saw all the buttons and stuff. I just need simple.
So that’s really all I want. Just a virtual guitar amp.
Thanks, Squeege, for putting up with my DUMBNESS and trying to help me.
Huh, apparently you’re not the only one. That’s deplorable for a $99 product. I haven’t dealt with IK (and pretty much won’t after hearing you and that other guy), but I’m familiar with this rigamarole surrounding serial#'s and logins and dongles and crap, and it is maddening. Have you tried getting on their web site and logging in with your old username as the help person in the link I posted suggested, and do a “reset password” command? Or can you not get into whatever e-mail address you would have had when you registered the product?
Hmm, I do like the Guitar Rig stuff for that purpose. This version is even free. It’s a shame you don’t have an input device at this point and can’t try it out, I find it pretty easy to use – choose an amp model you want, add a “speaker cabinet”, then add a bunch of “stomp boxes” outboard of that, and just experiment til you find a tone.
Do you want to learn to play classical guitar, or do you want to learn finger-picking? “Finger-picking” usually means Chet Atkins/Tommy Emmanuel/et al. But you mention a classical guitar. Finger-picking does not necessarily mean a nylon string guitar. What kind of music? Then we go from there.
I have a Takamine amplified nylon string guitar which I really like, but I play almost no classical music; I generally use it for Latin jazz (and the occasional “Classical Gas”). And I can play with the fingers on my right hand but I’m not a finger picker
I want to learn finger-picking with a classical guitar to get the rich sounds of the nylon strings combined with the body of the guitar. Chet Atkins often used a classical guitar to do some of his best music finger-picking style.
Okay, let’s make sure I am making myself clear: I “learned” to “play guitar” while still playing drums in some rock groups in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. I basically just asked to be shown a few chords and from that point on, I pretty much strummed “rhythm” guitar.
Just recently, I came to the realization that I never learned the guitar correctly and before I get too much older, decided I want to do that. - from the ground up, so to speak.
I took a look at some YouTube videos, and caught a couple where the instructor used the finger-style/picking technique and I thought that sounded pretty good: accompanying myself on the bass strings of the guitar, while “picking” from the high e. The instructor, playing a classical accoustic/electric guitar explained it was his guitar of choice because of the rich sound one could get from the nylon strings combined with the body of the guitar, and I agree with him.
Finally, you asked what songs I would like to play and/or similar style.
Pretty much anything by John Denver, some by Simon and Garfunkel (“Sounds of Silence” comes to mind), and a tune I have always considered beautiful and which features a finger-style guitar: “Color My World” by Chicago.
I have a Fender G-DEC 15 watt amp, through which I would like to run a microphone. From what I read, I’m told NOT to use the “play-along” guitar cable input on the back, but to use the two rca type inputs instead along with a separate amplifier?
Are any of you doing this, and what kind of amplifier would serve my purpose (cheap if possible, the amp is listed as a “practice amp” and I don’t need anything stronger than that)?
Isn’t the G-DEC already an amp? Are you trying to make the guitar sound louder via a second amp? Or am I misunderstanding, and you want to mic your voice or whatever to play through the G-DEC?
