I have some $$, and want to get my guitar onto my pc. How?

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Vinster Member Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 25 Location: Central Arkansas I have some $$, and want to get my guitar onto my pc. How?     Hi all. Can somebody help me? I've been playing for too many years to count , but a total newbie at this pc modelling and recording stuff. I saw Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 3 on the web - i thought it was what i was looking for , then found out it came out some time ago! Is there anything thats newer that's great too? I'd like a package with some type of recorder , virtual amp models , effects , etc - some type of pattern backgrounds maybe. Also , i was at my local GC the other day , and (of course..) they didn't even know what i was talking about when i said the cakewalk GTP 3, they had "Sonar" , not what i want. I may have to order GTP 3 online if need be, So THAT'S a good package for me? For those who know, do i have to buy a separate interface for that? I'm so confused - so many questions. LOL! thanks Sun Jan 13, 2008 1:10 am

Lee Gattenby New Member Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 3 Your answer depends on a number of things. 1 - How much money are you willing to invest (recording you music is an investment and NOT an expense)? 2 - Do you just want to record guitar or do you want to record full length songs with guitar, bass, drums, keys? 3 - If the answer to your last question was yes, are you willing to invest in a Mac (the standard for recording)? If you say you have been playing as many years as you say, don't take a short cut and just get by. Get professional. And, no, I am not trying to sell you anything or gain any profit. I had played for nearly 25 years before I got off my ass and did something about it. Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:32 am

Vinster Member Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 25 Location: Central Arkansas Wow, it's been a while since i asked - ok though. My budget to work with here is a few grand - and i'm still doing some research on what to get. Yes i heard Mac was the standard to work with, and i'm open to that...even if i have to finance THAT part of it. How serious am i? well, i've been playing about 25+ years as well - many bands , gigs, studio stuff . etc. Lots of Hard Rock / Classic Rock cover bands. I dropped out of the club scene some years ago due mainly to the burnout of it all, smae old club thing , terrible bar owners , yada yada. With all the new stuff like guitar modeling, computer recording, etc. i wanted to "get in". My brother (lives in Cali) has all the full blown Mac with the recording stuff and and interface , sequencers, outboard gear , synths , drum stuff, etc. He doesn't do the virtual modeling amp thing and effects though , since he has like 20 guitars and 20 amps, Soldano this and Marshall that (LOL!). I guess i'm not serious enough to go the whole full on Pro-Tools thing though. I want a quick fun , easy , "Inspired creative" sound thing that i can access, and a simple recording system with some sample drum stuff and some various processing stuff , so i can get my creative ideas down. In the meantime , while i research and decide - and because i'm a digital "newbie" at the PC guitar thing, i made ONE decision so far. To get aquainted to the whole deal...at a low cost , I ordered the IKmultimedia "Stealthplug" package. The interface is a cable with a 1/4 inch plug at one end , and a USB connect at the other. The interface is a wedge shaped deal grafted mid-cable - i just plug in. The software includes the "Amplitube" modeller with 3 amp models , some effects - basic bare bones stuff. Also included is a recorder of sorts , Mackie's "Traktion 2.1" , Soundtank LE , drum loops , samples , blah blah. (LOL!). NOTE: i'm aware that this is on level of a "Toy" , but i ordered it from MF for $99 , and i'm sure my Dell can handle all the load.....just to get me stoked on the whole idea of computer based guitar and recording. The whole idea is just to give me a feel for the whole process, and i'll "move ip" from there when i'm armed with all the info i need. Thanks for the input. Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:45 am

Andrew Producer Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 336 Location: Texas Vinster, I got started in PC multitracking with Cakewalk's Guitar Tracks Pro. It's not quite the Pro Tools level, but it's pretty simple to me to use. It's got a mixing board style interface for tweaking up your levels, pans and such which is easy to understand. It can do up to 24 tracks I think. Of course you want a good soundcard, and a pretty fast PC or else you are gonna have some minor clicks in your recordings. But, I love it. Before I was using tape, and the digital world is so much nicer. I like being able to copy and paste measures, and drop in and tweak the digital effects. I think it even has some kind of flying fader support, but I've never used that. Fri Feb 15, 2008 6:27 am

Vinster Member Joined: 12 Jan 2008 Posts: 25 Location: Central Arkansas Yes Andrew. I was originally looking at Cakewalks Guitar tracks pro 3, i even went to my local Guitar Center 3 weeks ago and was just going to pick it up - website said they had it, no such luck , they even looked at me like they didn't know what i was talking about! LOL! But it's a good thing though i guess , since more research has me questioning my current PC, and terms i've learned like "Eating a lot of CPU" and having to "Freeze tracks" in order to get stuff to work. in the meantime , for some quick fun , i ordered the IK multimedia Stealthplug , and should see it arrive next week, as i wait for more info on some other stuff. thanks Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:00 am

Andrew Producer Joined: 05 Jun 2005 Posts: 336 Location: Texas Yes, it's takes a lot of CPU and disk throughput to get the job done, and on slower computers you can start to see issues when the number of tracks grows, or especially from adding lots of digital effects. You can "commit" effects which applies them permanently to the track, and then that effect no longer takes any extra CPU, but it's nice to be able to keep your options open. Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:39 pm

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