So many players want to record guitar playing on their computer.Digital recording is more popular than ever for pros andamateurs alike. But there are some things to be considered whenyou connect a guitar to a computer; mostly how you want toconnect the instrument, and the quality of the recording youhope to capture. The type of guitar computer interface youchoose will greatly affect the sound of the electric guitarthrough the computer and the overall recording you can expect.

While it is possible to play guitar through a PC just byplugging it in, this basic approach is likely to be fine formost though many players don't like sacrificing a good sound forthe ease of quick setup. Electric players need a 'highimpedance' input to get their electric guitar to connect to acomputer, and though most computer soundcards come with highimpedance inputs, these inputs are usually not strong enough toget a good guitar signal or in the long run, for recordingguitar effects for PC. This lower 'impedance' can cause noiseproblems too. A player can avoid all this of course by pluggingthe guitar into a 'line-in' jack, instead of the 'mic-in', butthen the all-important preamp is needed.

Almost any one attempting to connect a guitar through theircomputer or familiar with recording a guitar into a mixingconsol should be familiar with a preamp. The preamp does exactlywhat its name implies, it "amps" the signal before it goes intothe plug-in. Therefore your guitar's signal will get that extraboost it needs when you record guitar on a pc...or into anyother device that is not an amp. There are plenty of externalinterfaces that combine computer soundcards with a preamp. Or ifyou like more components to you set-up you can always buy apreamp separate from your sound card. There are a lot

ofstand-alone vintage preamps out there that will not only boostyour signal, but warm your sound before it goes into the'cooler' digital domain of your pc.

It's not only the pristine quality of digital that makesrecording guitar on a pc so much fun, it is also portability.With very little equipment you can put down a riff (or an entiresong actually) into a laptop! And added to all this wonderfultechnology is the fact that there are so many recording guitareffects for pc now on the market, a player can access differentamp sounds and settings, effects. Well after you have wrestledwith how to connect a guitar to your pc and have recorded astrong signal, you can call record guitar effects with pc duringrecording or in post-production.

Of course information about how to connect your guitar to a pcand the wonderful wide world of effects is available through anon-line pc guitar tutor and websites devoted to digitalrecording. You can even purchase a computer guitar tuner (someprograms include a free computer guitar tuner) so everything youwill ever need is self-contained in your rockin' pc! Someplayers are even recording parts, then downloading and sendingthese pieces of tunes to musician's half-way across the world.

The possibilities really are unlimited for the guitar playerwho says: "I want to connect a guitar to my pc"; he or she willbe amazed at the varied and easy results they can achieve whenthey simply start recording guitar on a pc.

About the author:

Brad Finley is senior editor of MyGuitarWorkshop - Free Guitar Lessons .Website provides guitar lessons and instructions for all levelguitar players. Also click for Free Music TheoryLessons