Recording guitar onto a computer without expensive equipment
By Jose Banuelos

Just as you can digitize a photo, store it and modify it on a computer, you can also do the same with sound. In recording studios you typically see numerous microphones, digital mixers, samplers, dynamics processor, etc. At home you'll be surprised at what you can come up with using just a computer, guitar, amp and the right software.

First thing to consider is your basic equipment: guitar, an amp with another output besides the speaker (headphone or line out), a cable to connect your amp to the microphone or line in jack of your computer, a computer with a decent sound card and sufficient memory and disk space for your files.

Software
The software you use is one of the most important things and there is a wide variety to choose from. For recording and editing there's Sound Forge from Sonic Foundry, Cool Edit from Syntrillium, and Wavelab from Steinberg, just to mention a few. For mixing audio and sequencing there is Acid Pro from Sonic Foundry, Cubase VST from Steinberg, Sonar from Cakewalk, and others.

For effects and to make your recordings sound more professional you can install plug-ins; you will find plug-ins for Direct X (also known as DX plug-ins) and for Cubase (also known as VST plug-ins). DX plug-ins can be used with programs that use Direct X (Sound Forge, Acid Pro, Sonar, etc.), VST plug-ins are used in Cubase and Wavelab.

There are many shareware and trial programs you can try before getting the complete package, make sure you know what you need and try to get as many trials as possible to get a better idea which program is the best for your needs. In my opinion there are many programs (but especially plug-ins) that are outrageously expensive, so be on the lookout and decide how much you want to spend. If you're on a budget I don't recommend spending a lot of money on a piece of software, money that could be used to get other equipment instead.

Getting Started
Assuming you got everything ready and connected there are a few checks to perform before recording. You should first check the recording levels on the computer, then the guitar and amp volume settings too. Do some recording tests and make combinations with volume, effects (if you are using any), and EQ until you are satisfied with the results. Make sure the combinations you decide on yield the least possible hiss (unless you want to make some lo-fi recordings or simply don't mind the noise), it also helps to record at the highest possible level without distorting the sound. When you exceed peak levels you'll sometimes notice pops and crackles.

One final thing to consider before recording is what you want to do with the actual recording, there are two main possibilities, a one-shot (the sound is played once) or a loop (the sound is repeated a certain amount of times). For example, suppose you have a song in which you repeat the same guitar riff eight measures, if you have enough space on your computer you can just record the eight measures (a one-shot), but if you don't have enough space or you have trouble with timing, etc. you can record one measure and on the mixing software or sequencer you can just make the same sound repeat itself (a loop).

Recording
You are now ready to record. Get everything ready, start your software and record - after this you just have to re-record your piece until you feel it is right. When you are happy with your piece be sure to save it before you make any modifications.

The next step should be to eliminate the hiss and noise with your sound editor. The capabilities of noise removal vary from program to program (some leave residual noise, on some there is a loss of high frequencies, etc.), so it is a good idea to check this before getting the software.

After eliminating any noise you are ready to cut and crop the sound just the way you want it to be, just keep in mind if you want a one-shot or a loop. If you want a loop you'll have to practice on where to cut the sound, it is also a good idea to fade in at the very beginning and fade out at the very end of a loop to avoid any pops or crackles when the loop repeats itself. Any other effects or processes should be applied now. Make sure you save your work.

Mixing
OK, so you have your first piece ready, now it is time to start the sequencer or mixing software and start making your song. You'll usually have to enter or modify the BPM (beats per minute) timing to match the timing of your piece. After this just insert your piece into place. If you want to record an additional sound to go with the song, get your recording software ready, start playback on the piece you already have while recording the next. This will help a lot with timing and with getting additional ideas. Once you are finished, edit the sound and insert it into the song mix. Depending on the software and plug-ins, you can later add drums or other sounds. There are numerous websites where you can get royalty-free sounds to use in your songs. ACID for example comes with a library of loops you can already use.

Summing Up
This is basically it. It is not easy and it takes time to get used to it, but eventually you should be able to make good songs this way. By no means is this the only thing you can do - there are many other things you can try. You can record the bass (and/or keyboard) with this same technique; you can try using a microphone instead of using the line out of the amp; if you have two amps and a microphone you can try using the guitar with one amp while using the other one to amplify the microphone's signal; you can mix audio with midi; you can even record drums but you would need various microphones, a microphone mixer and a preamp. These are just a few ideas, there are endless things you can do, just remember that all you need is time, a few pieces of equipment, knowledge and lots of creativity and experimenting.

Jose Banuelos is an independent musician, he began making music at the age of 13, starting out with an old computer and sequencer he began to learn about electronic music, midi, sequencing and digital audio. After composing in various styles and playing in a band for a while he started experimenting recording and mixing electric guitars with electronic sounds. After focusing on softer and relaxing forms of music he started recording under the solo project named Blurred Images. You can visit his web site at: www.geocities.com/blurredsound/. Or email at: blurredsound@yahoo.com