How do I connect an electric guitar to my computer and play it?

More recently, young teenagers dreamed of having their own acoustics. They imagined pictures in their heads of how they would play different compositions in the company of relatives and friends. Some even dreamed of a stellar future, believing that the presence of acoustics would be enough to learn the skill of the game. Today, young people are striving to get their hands on an electric guitar. Yes, you won't be able to sit in nature with friends with such a tool.

There is no sense in this musical gadget without connecting to special equipment. But in a home room, the question of the lack of sound of an electric guitar disappears by itself. By connecting the instrument to the music center, the guitarist will be able to show his skills. But do not think that only this type of electronics is capable of transmitting the sound of an electric guitar. There are many techniques by which a musical instrument becomes active.

Every electric guitar owner knows that the best equipment for reproducing the sound of this instrument is an amplifier. The better its parameters and technical characteristics, the better the quality of the melody played. However, such a device costs a lot. Only a few of the newcomer musicians can afford to spend this early on in their studies.

By the way, musical equipment manufacturers are well aware of this approach of young musicians. That is why they got confused on the creation of special computer programs that can not only teach beginners, but also allow them to work as if in a professional recording studio.

As for the connection: the connection of an electric guitar and computer equipment is carried out through the built-in TRS connectors, suggesting the use of jack 6,5. On an electric guitar, it is located in the lower part, next to the timbre block. But in computers and laptops, the system for attaching the second end of the cord is somewhat different.

First of all, the guitarist will need to purchase adapter from TRS plug to minijack 3.5 plug. It is he who is suitable for any device capable of receiving and transmitting sound. As for the cord itself, if the room for playing the guitar is small, 5 m will be sufficient.

And now you need to deal with the issue of connecting an electric guitar to a laptop. Everyone knows that in many designs of laptops there is no microphone line-in. This means that guitarists have to look for an alternative connection between the instrument and the laptop. And here is the most relevant one:

• the TRS connector of the electric guitar connects one end of the cord;
• the wire straightens around the room so that there are no bends and kinks;
• an adapter from TRS to minijack is put on the other end of the guitar cable;
• a connection to a laptop is made;
• a window will appear on the laptop desktop with a choice of the type of the new device - you need to click on the "microphone" and click ok;
• the volume is adjusted, the equalizer is adjusted.

Connecting an electric guitar to a stationary computer, in principle, follows the same scheme. The only difference is if speakers are connected to the PC, you can make a connection between the musical instrument and the subwoofer. It is worth noting that modern models of speakers connected to a PC are equipped with multiple parameters and have an impressive list of features. Well, the most modified models have a built-in TRS connector, in which there is no need to purchase an adapter.

Do not forget that and modern system units are equipped with many connectors, where sometimes there are 2 or more TRS outputs. This means that several people can connect at once.

As it became clear, connecting an electric guitar to a computer is much easier than to a laptop, where additional manipulations with the installation of an adapter are required. And then the question arises regarding the connection of a musical instrument with the operating system of computer equipment.

According to musicians who have tried methods of connecting to different operating systems, the process is better and easier with Windows. This operating system does not require the installation of a new sound card - it is quite enough for it to carry out sound processing with a standard sound package. The only caveat is that you should not use adapters. It is best to purchase a suitable cord and solder the required plug at each end.

Someone thinks that it is unprofitable to bother with making the cable yourself. But this is not the case. The design of a plug with an adapter puts a serious load on the audio jack of the PC, due to which its service life is significantly reduced.

The connection process itself was presented earlier. However, after all the elements are connected, the brain of the operating system comes into play. It should be noted that each version of the operating system differs in the principle of information processing. Accordingly, the questions and suggestions that arise in the system differ from each other. To analyze in more detail how the equipment connected to the PC is activated is offered on the Windows 7 operating system:

• after a little "thought" a window with sound card drivers will appear on the monitor desktop;
• the guitarist should press ok, after which the system will play a test sound from the left speaker;
• then the right speaker is tested;
• if the guitarist is happy with everything, he should press "apply" or ok.

There are times when the operating system is unable to perform sound checks on one side of the speakers. At the same time, information about the need to update one or several drivers pops up on top of all windows. After updating them, the system will check, after which the guitarist can start working.

It's much more difficult for Mac owners. Yes, they will need to carry out a few manipulations that will eventually allow them to connect an electric guitar. But as they say, nothing is impossible.

Mac computers are connected in the same way as a Windows PC. The only difference is that to connect the cord of a musical instrument, you will have to purchase a USB adapter. Mac operating systems lack noise cancellation applications, which will cause the guitarist to be constantly haunted by the background rattle of speakers. Of course, if you don't listen, then, in principle, you may not recognize the background accompaniment. However, this nuance still spoils the pure sound of the strings.

So, the process of connecting to a Mac OS computer is similar to connecting an electric guitar and a laptop. The only difference is in the output connector of the adapter. After connecting, the speakers may hear radio sound, some conversations or other noise. Do not be afraid. In this case, the guitarist is asked to adjust the signal. Some argue that it is better to set the volume to maximum, others advise using an indicator in the range of 70-80%.

If it was not possible to get rid of extraneous noise or other sound defects, you will have to install software for the connected equipment, that is, for an electric guitar. This software contains important parameters for working with sound, including noise reduction and signal filter.

After connecting the electric guitar and the computer's perception of the new equipment, you should make a complete sound setup:

• the Realtek HD software window appears on the PC desktop;
• the program will prompt the user to select the equipment for connection - in this case, click on the line input;
• after that, you go to the Line in at rear panel tab, where the volume is set;
• As a test, you can play a few guitar chords to hear the unprocessed notes.

This completes the system setting, and specially designed programs come into play. According to most guitarists, Guitar Rig is considered the best utility. It contains many parameters and functions that allow you to make the sound as clear as possible, add effects to the melody and much more. In simple terms, this utility is a home recording studio.

Before you start playing, the guitar must not only be turned on, but also tuned... In this case, we are talking about tuning the strings to the corresponding notes. Every beginner can cope with this, since the programs installed on the PC for playing guitar sound have a section for adjusting the sound of each individual string, that is, a tuner.

The tool is now fully operational. The musician, in anticipation, takes the pick and strikes the strings. At first, students do not need to use the gadgets built into the guitar body. But more experienced guitarists can use the tone and volume control in order to drown out the composition at a certain moment, or, conversely, to make it brighter.

Sometimes, even after properly connecting the musical instrument to the computer, problems may arise.For example, instead of sounding strings, only noise is heard from the speakers. In this case, the reason lies not in the electronic elements or the devices themselves - it lies in the type of cable. In short, the signal from the guitar goes on the left channel, and the program works on the right. It may be exactly the opposite.

Surely many guitarists have noticed that the signal from the guitar to the computer is delayed. In fact, all devices work according to this principle. Only professional musical equipment does not allow a person to feel the interval of sound movement, and when working on a PC, this is clearly audible. The solution to the problem will be the ASIO protocol, which is available in all professional sound cards. With its help, it will be possible to minimize the signal delay. The ASIO4ALL driver has about the same function. It is available with standard PC sound cards. It is a kind of ASIO protocol emulator that needs to be downloaded, installed and updated regularly.

This video describes in detail all the important nuances of connecting a guitar to a computer and the subsequent steps.