How to record guitar to computer?

When beginner musicians are just mastering the guitar, many of them begin to invent their own compositions - to create new music. Then there is a need to record melodies, but the services of professional recording studios are very expensive - for young guitarists this often becomes an insurmountable obstacle.

But Thanks to modern technologies, it is quite easy to find a way out of this situation - you can record a composition at home using a program or a pickup. To get the quality of the recording close to the studio, you must follow several rules and nuances, which are described in this article.

There are quite a few ways to record guitar compositions on a computer: using a pickup, microphone, effects processor, or through a combo amplifier.

Besides, to get a good melody, in most cases you will need more than one recording instrument. And also different types of recording are used for different types of guitars.

Let's take a closer look at each type of instrument.

• Acoustic guitar sound can be recorded in two ways: picking up chords with a microphone or a special pickup. The track recorded through the microphone will reproduce the multifaceted and surround sound of the notes as effectively as possible. This technology is quite complex, creating favorable conditions for it at home is quite problematic, so beginners often use pickups.
• There are three ways to record guitar chords from an electric guitar: remove with a microphone from a combo amplifier, through a mixing console or through an effects processor.Each method has its own characteristics, which we will describe in more detail in this article.
• Melodies from a bass guitar are usually written by connecting it to a sound amplifier using a mixing console. - this method is often called direct or "in line". This method is used even in professional studios.

In addition to writing devices, you will need special programs for processing sound. To make it easier for you to prepare for setting up your home recording studio, we suggest taking a closer look at the different types of pickups and recording processing software.

A device that records compositions from acoustic six-strings is of 3 types: a magnetic pickup, a piezoelectric pickup or a special microphone.

Here's a list of the most comfortable, high-quality pickups for home use.

• EMG 81. The characteristics of this device allow you to record intense and filled with different keys of the composition. Most often, the pickup is installed next to the bridge - this allows the equipment to pick up all the notes of your guitar as accurately as possible.
• Soho ST-701. A passive recording instrument designed to fit into a circular six-string socket. The device works best in acoustics with metal strings.
• Shadow SH099. The company, called Shadow Electronics, manufactures various types of hardware for guitarists, including pickups. The Shadow SH099 is a piezoelectric pickup that fits under the saddle of a guitar. Quite a convenient and compact device that will accurately record all the subtleties of the sound of the strings.
• Fishman Presys 301. An active piezoelectric pickup with an adjustable microphone in its housing. An optional feature is the built-in tuner that lets you tune your guitar before recording.

For high-quality recording of compositions at home, special programs are often used. Besides, you need to install additional drivers on your computer so that various effects do not delay the sound.

Let's consider some of the most popular programs created for recording compositions.

• Cockos Reaper 6.14. A universal application that allows the user to record, modify and create layered musical compositions. The program interface has a large number of different functions and effects, thanks to which you can improve your recording. However, the Reaper was created not so much for processing files as for creating them, because its options include tools such as a mixer, an arrangement compartment and a separate track for music files. The wide functionality of the program reveals great opportunities for creativity, while its weight is very small.
• Cubase 10.5.20. The program is a virtual recreation of a real professional recording studio - the number of different options allows the user to create the most interesting and vivid effects. Among the functions are frequency filters and virtual devices, which can be further processed. Cubase allows the user to develop real musical projects, because it contains a wide variety of instruments presented in the form of a synthesizer. The creators of the electronic studio worked especially hard on the creation of a virtual guitar. To fully unleash the potential of the program, you must have a musical education or be seriously interested in music and be ready to learn.
• Guitar Rig 5. A guitar processor with a very user-friendly interface and many functions. In the program, you can independently select the necessary amplifiers, microphones and a set of instruments - this will allow you to make the creative process of creating compositions comfortable and ergonomic.The application conveys the sound of acoustics, electric guitars and bass with the highest quality, volume and depth. In addition, the program is supplemented with virtual analogs of bass amplifiers, created using Dynamic Tube Response Technology. A separate cabinet has been created for each amplifier, in which you can create bass enhancement no worse than on the original equipment.
• Ableton Live 10. This version of the program is very young, so it contains the newest, most advanced methods of creating and processing music tracks. Traditionally, the manufacturer presents the program in three forms - Suite, Intro and Standard, the functionality in these programs is customized for the different needs of musicians. The peculiarity also lies in the fact that it works only in the 64-bit version - due to the expansion of the program's capabilities, the 32-bit version simply cannot cope with the load. If the user has add-ons or rare plugins, manufacturers suggest using the 32 Lives adapter.

The first step before recording is to connect your electric guitar to your computer using a built-in or dedicated external sound card.

The first option is budgetary, but it has a drawback in the form of a sound delay, it can be slightly smoothed out with a special device - a dibox, but even such a measure will not make the sound perfectly even.

Next, we will consider the recording method using the example of Cubase, but you can use any other instrument convenient for you.

Follow the instructions to create a virtual music track.

• Install Cubase on your computer, open the app and check the connection of the musical instrument. When the connection is established, the program should begin to respond to the brute-force of the strings.
• Then, in order for your computer to start playing music through headphones or speakers, you need to install the external sound card drivers - you can find the necessary additions on the equipment manufacturer's website. If you plan to use the built-in sound card, you need to install the ASIO4ALL driver to help you adapt the sound.
• After installing the drivers, open your audio recorder and sync it with your adapter. To do this, open the Devices menu and go to the Devices Setup. Select the required driver from the list that appears.
• With the driver selected, click OK and restart Cubase.
• Next, in the File menu, open a new project (New Project) and create an audio track in it. In the selection window, select "mono", since the electric guitar is a mono instrument.
• After all preparations, turn on monitoring by clicking on the loudspeaker on the track. Try playing a couple of chords - you can hear them through your speakers or headphones.

The whole process described is a "raw" signal that conveys the clean, unprocessed sound of an electric guitar. To add color, effects and distortion to your music, you need to install add-ons in the form of VST plugins.

Let's take a closer look at the technology for adding plug-ins to Cubase.

• To expand the capabilities of the program, it is necessary to add the plug-in program block to the corresponding folder on the PC. This folder is called VST2 - it is located in the folder of the installed application.
• Expansion software modules must be added in turn from top to bottom. A virtual studio should repeat the design of a real room - in the original, the cabinet is located behind the amplifier, which means that in the program it should be lower in the list.
• To finish adding the plugin, in the left window click on the Inserts tab.

Correct placement of add-ons in the program is the final step in setting up Cubase.Then you can start recording your creativity by pressing the REC button. This method of customizing a music program is basic for many programs, for example, FL Studio - the sequence of actions in it is the same, only the names of the components differ.

There are two ways to record acoustic guitar melodies: using a pickup or using microphones.

The first option does not require much effort - connect a piezoelectric or magnetic sensor, then use the 3.5 jack on the end of the cord to connect the instrument to your amplifier or directly to your PC. Further, the method completely repeats the sound recording of an electric guitar described above.

The second method is more complicated and more expensive, but if the microphones are installed correctly, the sound will be much brighter and more natural. Plus, if you use multiple microphones at once, you'll get rich, deep notes on your recording.

Consider several options for the location of the sound recording devices.

• By placing the equipment near the bridge, you get a bright mid-frequency range of tones.
• A microphone mounted on the back deck will record the lowest and deepest notes.
• Recording sound in the area of ​​the outlet will give the recording of enhanced bass - a deep resonating tone will be obtained.
• If you need to record clear string sounds, place the microphone near the first fret of the fretboard.
• The best place to place the microphone is considered to be the area near the 12th fret - this is where the neck connects to the body of the guitar, so the recording will turn out with the optimal key. Shooting sound in the "golden mean", you get a smooth, soft track with a wide frequency range.

Recording the sound of a bass guitar is identical to the method of recording an electric guitar. The only caveat is that it is necessary to write compositions in a "raw" form - without using plugins and add-ons. All the colors of effects and plug-ins are added at the stage of processing in the program, so while recording, you can play with the sound as you like.

The process of recording a guitar on a computer, see the video below.