What are some ways, or the best ways to record guitar to computer software? I know these days there are mini POD's or such that hook up to USB ports. I am new to this stuff.
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What are some ways, or the best ways to record guitar to computer software? I know these days there are mini POD's or such that hook up to USB ports. I am new to this stuff.
I'm surprised nobody jumped on this one.
The favorite for a lot the users here is the J-Station. Unfortunately, they have been discontinued, but Music 123 still has them in stock.
It has a SP/dif output for direct digital, but I don't use that. You can make a Y cable and run the stereo outputs to your aux port of your sound card, but I also, when I'm lazy, just run the headphone output to the computer aux input.
I went with the J-Station, not because everyone was using one, but because the people who really mattered were using them. The recording pros. Fezz and Chaingun (Bonglation) were the ones that provided me with the most convincing argument for the J-Station.
Thanks photoweborama. I've never heard of that one. I'm going to look it up, though. The one I've been hearing about lately is the Line 6 GuitarPort.
Wisertime,
I didn't jump in cuz I'm a digital recording rookie & I'd probably do more harm than good.
FWIW, I run a Line 6 POD into my soundcard. Fun to mess with, just need to try and improve the sound quality (and playing too).
Pods and guitar ports are ok.
These are of course my personal opinions and that of a lot of others. I'm trying to be diplomatic, but I doubt I can in this case.
The J-Station has the closest sound to the real thing. Amps will always be the best, but the J-Station can get you there better than anything else can.
When I was deciding what to buy, my main concern was sound quality. What mattered to me was not that everyone had one, but that the people that really counted had one. Basically the pro and semi-pro studio guys.
Fezz Parka and Chaingun/Bongolation were really instrumental in my J-Station decision.
Here is the link to a soundtrack Fezz did on the J-Station. That was pretty much the clincher for me. Not that I sound anywhere that good, but at least I know it's not my equipment holding me back. It's me....
Fezz Parka/Chris Neel
The thing that sold me on the J-Station (besides the sound) was the J-Edit software. Connected to the computer via MIDI i/o, the J-Edit software allows you to control the box (and all of the deep edit stuff) through the computer. I never touch the J-Station except to use the "tap it" feature. PODs are good, the AmpFarm plugins for ProTools are good. I've got a laptop loaded with J-Edit and all of my patches that I'll take to do sessions at other studios. It really has increased my productivity having all of my sounds in a little box.
What really is the difference between the J-Station and the GuitarPort? I've read that the GuitarPort is much better in amp and effect sound quality. Not too many places seem to sell the J Station. Do they still make it?
Those recordings are excellent by the way.
Unfortunately, they've been discontinued. But as photoweborama said, Music 123 still sells 'em and they're 99 bucks. I paid 350 for mine and would do it again. IMO, the guitar port is a toy. The J-Station is a great tool, and a steal at 99 bucks. It doesn't connect via USB though. You'll need to connect to your soundcard or whatever audio interface you may have. The level of control, via J-Edit, over the various amps, cabs, and effects is what really sets the J-Station head and hands above the rest. Of course, this is just my humble opinion. :D
J-Station @music123
PS thanks for the compliment! (Mark, your check's in the mail)
I had to scramble to find some. Two of my friends want them now before you can't get them anymore.
So, you can look at it like getting in on a good thing before it's gone, or I can't buy this because it's discontinued.
I look at it the first way.
And OMG! don't ever look at the Digitech Genesis units....I'll cut you out of my will......:D
The Genesis 3 is supposed to replace the J-Station.... Yea, right....Not even close. I know this firsthand....
Do I get a raise yet?:DQuote:
PS thanks for the compliment! (Mark, your check's in the mail)
As far as I can tell, the Guitar Port's primary intended function is selling an online service.Quote:
Originally posted by Wisertime
What really is the difference between the J-Station and the GuitarPort?
That may be true, but supposedly it also has great sounding amp and effect simulations and a USB port for the computer, and is compatible with Cakewalk, Sound Forge, and other recording software.Quote:
Originally posted by Bongolation
As far as I can tell, the Guitar Port's primary intended function is selling an online service.
My impression of the Guitar Port is that it's a poor man's POD. The basic POD is itself objectively inferior to the J-Station for the sort of digital recording I do, plus it's over three times as expensive. I don't see how the Guitar Port, with less features than the basic POD, will then be better for recording than the J-Station.Quote:
Originally posted by Wisertime
supposedly it also has great sounding amp and effect simulations and a USB port for the computer, and is compatible with Cakewalk, Sound Forge, and other recording software.
Beyond that, I don't see how any one modeler will be any more compatible with digital recording software than another unit if they are being recorded in analog mode. They're simply audio sources.
If the Guitar Port has digital out at 24/44.1 or better and a word clock, it might be better than the J-Station for what I do, but as far as I know it doesn't have all those features. It also appears to have less amps, less effects and no cab models or bass features.
I'm not sure what the USB connect does for you, unless it's a more convenient MIDI and S/PDIF interface or something.
I looked at their site and couldn't see any real technical data that would answer these questions. They did repeatedly assure me, however, that it was "awesome." Perhaps that's the most meaningful explanation they feel their intended market can understand.
On the other hand, the J-Station is a badly-supported piece of legacy hardware. I don't know that this is a particularly important point, as Digi still does warrantly coverage and very marginal e-mail support. This is about as much as I can ever expect to get from a current product anyway.
The J-Station has no cachet, no hype and no glamour. It's not even especially pretty.
If you want to use the J-Station for anything serious, you'll need to hook up to your computer via a MIDI I/O to run J-Edit, the excellent editing software that comes with the unit. If your soundcard doesn't have a MIDI I/O, you can get an adapter for about $15-$25 or so that will do a MIDI interface through the gameport.
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I don't see how the Guitar Port, with less features than the basic POD, will then be better for recording than the J-Station.
I looked at their site and couldn't see any real technical data that would answer these questions. They did repeatedly assure me, however, that it was "awesome." Perhaps that's the most meaningful explanation they feel their intended market can understand.
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You may be right, though the technical data I've found appears to be all I really need. I've also read that the amp simulations in the GuitarPort are much better sounding than the J-Station. I couldn't care less about their online tutorial service, though. All that is just secondary to me. The fact that the J-Station has been discontinued just turns me off. You know the support must be poor if any. Plus, just having a USB port to hook up and unhook quickly to the front of my Dell Pavillion is in itself a real plus. I'd probably go the J way, though, if it was still being produced. Something must be wrong there, as it appears they've decided the demand isn't high enough. The GuitarPort and other more expenisve POD's are selling like hotcakes.
To answer my own question concerning why Johnson isn't producing the J-Station anymore, I've read that their parent company, Digitech, is more interested in selling their own more expensve models on the same idea.
Bingo. It's not clear to me exactly how much of Johnson/J-Station technology goes into the current DigiTech product, but at least superficially it looks like a lot to me. Digi dumped the Johnson amps immediately, but kept the J-Station in production until recently.Quote:
Originally posted by Wisertime
To answer my own question concerning why Johnson isn't producing the J-Station anymore, I've read that their parent company, Digitech, is more interested in selling their own more expensve models on the same idea.
Legacy hardware can be a drag, but I don't see it being a huge drawback for the price one pays for a J-Station. At $300, I'd hesitate. For $89, I wouldn't sweat it.
Ease of interface is a definite plus, though I've never been a fan of USB. USB v.2 may be less trouble-prone.
Wiser, I only fool around with it, but I use a POD or a microphone into a preamp into the soundcard. I use N-Track to do the recording and mixing.
There's a forum at www.ntrack.com where you can find some info and have questions answered about N-Track and PC recording in general.
I'm an N-Track user myself.
I'm a J-station user.
Ok, here is my take on it.
Digitech simply bought Johnson to get rid of the competition.
Happens every day.
Smart to discontinue the J-Station? Nope. The smart thing would have been to simply slap the Digitech name on the J-station, keep all of their engineers and fired all of their Genesis engineers.
Why, because it's a better product.
And just because the Genesis 3 looks like the J-Station, so it must be just as good... That does not hold any water because the sound quality just does not match up, and I do know this first hand. The Genesis 3 sounds like an RP100 in a fancy case.
Once the J-Station is gone, there will be a void left from it. I'll then be taking my queue from Fezz and others as to what might work later on.
You know, there is one way to answer this question, buy a unit and send it to Fezz to test. If he can produce the next Highlander, or Outer Limits track with it, then I'd be sold.
It's kind of funny that no GuitarPort uses have commented in this thread. In other threads you see that there are a bunch of uses out there, both in TFF and the LPF.
I'm almost considering getting one to try out, but I just have a hard time spending so much money on something I might not like.
I can't turn it around for nearly as much as they cost new.
As far as not having more guitar port users here, most of the users here are little more seasoned. Not all of them, but a lot of them. They tend to be less swayed by product hype.
I even get sucked in once in a while. That’s why I have an Arion Hot Watt II headphone amp in the shelf....
What I'm saying is that I've read some other threads here and there are a few GuitarPort uses. As far as being swayed by 'product hype', I myself would be willing to hear info about any inexpensive recording device that incorporates a USB port. It seems that GuitarPort may be the only one. Nevermind hype; that leaves little to choose from.Quote:
Originally posted by photoweborama
I'm almost considering getting one to try out, but I just have a hard time spending so much money on something I might not like.
I can't turn it around for nearly as much as they cost new.
As far as not having more guitar port users here, most of the users here are little more seasoned. Not all of them, but a lot of them. They tend to be less swayed by product hype.
I even get sucked in once in a while. That’s why I have an Arion Hot Watt II headphone amp in the shelf....
I'll chime in on the GuitarPort. I stayed away initially because I can't compare it to the J-Station, as I haven't used the J-Station.
I'm a GuitarPort user, and have been for almost 2 years. It's a great tool, period. It will not replace any of your real amps - it's not intended to.
There are 3 real advantages of the GuitarPort.
1. It connects via USB. The modeling is all done "inside" your computer. Your signal gets "processed" inside your computer, which is where it's recorded. The signal path is all contained inside your computer.
2. There are a plethora of learning/jamming opportunities. There are tons of backing tracks/lessons/songs that you can jam with. It's a great learning tool.
3. Tone. Tonewise, it's really pretty good. It has a bunch of Line 6's latest PODxt models, as well as many very usable effects. There are a few different places that host tone patches that you can download in many different styles. If you decide to get one, get in touch with me, and I'll get you some links.
More information HERE
It's really a steal for the money ($170.00). Here's a link to a package that's really hard to pass up - a GuitarPort, and guitar for $200.00 - GuitarPort Package
I've been toying with the idea of the guitar port and that OLP, but I just can't get myself to do it.
I'm more intrigued by the Epi SG G-400 for 389.00
USB does sound appealing, but as far as all processing being done in my computer, I don't view that as a plus.
Every high demand device on computers usually benefit from on board processors that run on the card itself. My RAID array controllers have onboard processors and dedicated RAM.
When you record, throw in a few plug-ins and your CPU utilization goes way up. Add guitar modeling in there is going to use that much more.
My machine is slow, so the guitar port for recording would not be a good thing. For jamming and playing along might be fun though.
I was running it on a 1.5Ghz Pentium 4 with 512M RAM with no issues. I now have an Athlon 64 3200+ with 1G RAM, so I don't think I'll be having any issues. Ever......Quote:
My machine is slow, so the guitar port for recording would not be a good thing. For jamming and playing along might be fun though.
Through MF it's pretty much a no brainer - if you don't like it, send it back.
Yeah; I have a Dell Dimension 8200 of my own, 512 and Pent4, and also have use of my daughter's new Dell and my son's HP Pavilion. Memory and speed is no issue with me either. I have the recording software as well, just haven't used it much yet.Quote:
Originally posted by Motojunkie
I was running it on a 1.5Ghz Pentium 4 with 512M RAM with no issues. I now have an Athlon 64 3200+ with 1G RAM, so I don't think I'll be having any issues. Ever......
Through MF it's pretty much a no brainer - if you don't like it, send it back.
Any opinions on this? It doesn't have as much to offer as a headphone amp type, but a pretty decent line in to computer.
Tascam US 122
That Tascam unit looks interesting.......
Here's a LINK to a recording we (a Line 6 forum) did a while back. All tracks were recorded with Line 6 gear. All guitars exept for one of my tracks were done using the Line 6 Variax. My 2 segments (third and seventh) were done through a GuitarPort, all others through PODs, and PODxts. It took about 30 seconds to dial in the tones for each track. Then I just improvised a bit for each track.
The cool thing is that this project originated in England, and the participants were scattered all over the world.
Quote:
Originally posted by Wisertime
Any opinions on this? It doesn't have as much to offer as a headphone amp type, but a pretty decent line in to computer.
Tascam US 122
It's a very good little unit.
You'll still want a modeler though. I wouldn't sweat support on the J-Station. Mine's been running everyday for years, and not one glitch. Like I said before, I paid 350 for mine and would do it again in a heartbeat. The fact that they can be had for 99 bucks is just plain stealing it.
IMO, the guitar port is a student level device. Great learning tool, but not a serious recording tool.
The J-Station gives you almost unlimited control of your tones. Wanna hear what an AC30 sounds like through 4 celestion greenbacks or a 4 x 10 bassman? Or a JCM800 thru a tweed deluxe cab? It's in there.
The POD Pro is good. AmpFarm plugins are good. The only new modeler out there that I'd take a look at is the VOX. It's what I would be interested in if I was looking for a modeler and the J-Station was no longer available.
ToneLab
I love my little Vox amp. I if they do just as good on the modeler, I'd be in heaven.
Hey, will they send you one to test?
By the way, I have my money tied up in guitar stuff. PII 333 with 128mb RAM.. That's it.
Quote:
Originally posted by photoweborama
Hey, will they send you one to test?
I dunno...maybe I'll ring 'em up and ask. But I dig my J-Station so much and have so many custom patches (Patches for the tele, Les Paul, Strat etc) for it, it would be like starting from scratch. I'm gonna buy a couple more J-Stations, one for a mobile rig and one for a backup. The one big plus I forgot to mention is the bass amp sims and cabs in the J... I love the SVT sim!
I have a digitech rack effects unit. Is it possible to just go:
guitar ----> effects pre-amp ----> sound card, using a cable that has the proper small connector (or stereo headphone adapter size) on the sound card end?
That should work fine. :yay
Photo,Quote:
Originally posted by photoweborama
I'm more intrigued by the Epi SG G-400 for 389.00
Sorry this is OT, but we're on the same wave-length. I decided I couldn't live by Strats alone and just pulled the MF trigger on the vintage Epi G400.
I'll let you know how it plays when UPS (brown) arrives.
Well, it's funny, until I switched to Fender, I did not really realize where HB guitars fit in. I always played jazz and blues, but not in a real high gain situations. My Gibson’s just did not sound good in what I call the "Jazz zone". Single coil Strats and Tele's fit in there just right.
It was on the Fender forums I found that they sound best with the gain cranked up.
I had to find out how to use a Gibson on a Fender forum...
On my last PC (no USB ports, 300mhz Cyrix chip, 32mb RAM, basic recording software), I just put my guitar through the amp then plugged the amp's headphone socket into the PC's microphone socket. It sounded surprisingly good.
My new PC has MAGIX Audio Studio 2003 Deluxe, a big step up from my last recording program (Internet Tapedeck...it used to be free). Due to some complications, I've never recorded via the amp like before. I've sorted the complications out now, and will try it again sometime. The effects in Audio Studio are fine, but the distortion gets too thick sometimes
Now this one I like:
Event EZBUS Audio Recording Interface With Digital Mixer
Okay, I just bought one of these on Ebay since they are no longer available commercially - so, what do I need to know? How do they work in general??
First off, clean all the user persets. There is only one I like and that is for the Bass...
I setup a preset with no amp model and all the tone knobs straight up, gain included. I turned everthing down as far as reverb, delay and effects.
I then cloned it to all presets.
I then just picked a spot and started turning knobs. Start with an amp can cab simulation. It automatically selects the cab for you, but you can change it. The start playing with the gain and tone knobs, and the delay and reverb. When you get it the way you like, save it.
The Tweed and blackface are really good, and the Johnson amps scream. Hot rod is also cool and JCM800 with bassman cab is great. From fezz...
I use the AC30 - sounds like the Blackface Twin only better - for most of my stuff, but the Marshall w/Bassman cab (I believe it is) sounds good for a clean, warm sort of "club jazz" sound with the gain down, if I remember correctly.Quote:
Originally posted by photoweborama
The Tweed and blackface are really good, and the Johnson amps scream. Hot rod is also cool and JCM800 with bassman cab is great. From fezz...
I've never quite gotten any other guitar amp model set up the way I really like it. I doink around in J-Edit for a while then my ears give out.
I'm looking for good presets for 1) single-coil rhythm with mild distort & good clarity and 2) humbucker nu-metal emulation with decent definition - that's not a contradiction, BTW.
The biggest problem I've had with the J-Station programming is losing the definition in chording one has with a real amp with distortion sounds, but I will admit to not having the patience and savvy needed to work this out. It doesn't seem to be an obviously easy thing to do. It seems hard to keep the distortion out of the mud.
Just checked and the J-Stations are gone at Music123. The average eBay price now seems to be around $110+shipping.
Yikes! I think these things are slowly appreciating!