Recording Electric Guitar with wavepad

[Tyso]

Hi, Is it possible to mic in and record my electric guitar directly into wavepad?

 

cheers

Tyso

[Kreelor]

Hi, Is it possible to mic in and record my electric guitar directly into wavepad?

 

cheers

Tyso

 

I hope you get answers to your question!

 

I am trying to help a musician friend of mine record his playing and singing. I'm especially interested in hearing from other users just exactly what kind of hardware they use to capture the analog sounds, and then convert them into digital sounds (so that I can use my WavePad and MixPad (multitrack editor) software to edit them).

 

For instance, portable recorders, microphones, etc.. Make and models would be helpful.

 

From my experience, most NCH customers write pleas for help here, but YEARS go by without anyone answering. It's extremely rare that an NCH employee answers.

 

Let's hope for the best.

[vapors]

WavePad is awesome! I have used WavePad for many years to edit audio files, and have recently begun to use it to record guitars and vocals. My setup is very basic, as I am a beginner and trying to learn more about recording audio (I recommend TweakHeadz guide) before spending more money.

 

Recording with WavePad is easily done. The quality of your recording will depend on many factors, but the basic things required are as follows:

 

Soundcard or audio interface...

This is where the conversion from analog to digital occurs.

I have a Lexicon Alpha, which is an inexpensive desktop audio interface that connects to the computer via USB. There are many alternatives which vary in quality, convenience and price – my initial primary concern was to have easy access to the controls and input/output jacks.

 

Preamp...

The signal from a guitar pickup (or microphone) needs to be boosted to line level. Although the Alpha does have an instrument input, the signal is very weak when I record directly to WavePad. You can amplify the file in WavePad, but I knew that I needed more. After much research and deliberation, I recently purchased a DMP3 microphone/instrument preamp from M-Audio. This unit has dramatically enhanced my recording experience. There are many pieces of gear, such as a mixer, that come with preamps, but I want to learn and plan some more before making the next step in my studio gear.

 

It took some trial and error recording into WavePad to understand how to set the levels on the preamp and the interface, but the results are fantastic. At present I use it basically to practice with, as I have yet to have figured out how to successfully utilize the MixPad program to add new tracks, but that is a subject for another time.

 

Best of luck and happy recording!