The Big Kahuna
Well-known member
What this post will cover:
I'll attempt to explain, in simple terms, what is required to connect your uke/guitarlele/guitar to your PC or MAC, for practicing, recording or gigging; what hardware/software you'll need; the limitations you might encounter and a few dont's.
I'm not going to try and cover multitracking; there are other UU members who are far more knowledgeable on this subject than I, so I'll leave it up to them, rather than embarrass myself with my ineptitude.
Why do I need this in the first place?
The uke is a great sounding instrument when played without effects, but add a bit of reverb, a touch of delay or chorus, and you have instantly increased the tonal range of the instrument. You may want to brighten or darken the sound of your uke without having to change strings. You may even want to change pitch, or harmonize with yourself.
Tradition is all well and good, but experimentation is better; and those of you with Eaststart semis will kick yourselves if you don't at least try a bit of BB King or Eddie Van Halen (you'd be surprised what my Guitarlele sounds like cranked up to 11!)
The first don't - "why can't I just use my soundcard?"
The DSP in the soundcard of all computers, onboard or otherwise, isn't designed for the kind of heavy-duty sound processing that we need. The issue that will always rear its head is "latency", and will manifest itself as a delay between striking the string and hearing the note through the speaker/headphones. This delay can be as much as half a second or more, and renders playing impossible.
This is where the first piece of hardware comes in. You will need an interface between the instrument and the PC which will, through hardware and drivers, remove virtually all the latency, to the point where it is unnoticeable.
I know nothing about Apple gear, so I'll get this out of the way quickly...you'll need either a cheap interface such as the iRig, which gets mixed reviews, or the Apogee Jam, which is more expensive but higher quality. They cost roughly $30 and $99 respectively. Either will let you connect your instrument to an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
The PC requires an "ASIO" (Audio Stream Input/Output) capable device, which uses a dedicated ASIO driver for the hardware, although a universal ASIO driver called Asio4All is available.
I use the Behringer UGC102, which features an input, output and connects (as do all these devices for PC) to a USB port, and costs about $40
If you want both an extra input for a microphone etc, a headphone output for monitoring, and line outs to go to a desk, speakers or maybe the audio in on your camera for recording video clips, you'll have to spend about $99 on a Line 6 or Presonus unit (something I'm about to buy soon). Line 6 also make a Mac interface called the Sonic Port.
What else do I need?
The next thing you'll need is some form of amp modelling software. I use Guitar Rig 5, Overloud TH2, Amplitube 3 and Peavey Revalver. Amplitube has a free version with 4 amps, 5 cabs, 3 microphones, 2 rack effects and 9 floor pedals (you starting to get an idea of what these things are yet?). The others offer demo versions.
When using the standalone versions of these to practice, you'll configure them to use your ASIO device as input and output devices. Just plug your uke and headphones in, select your amp and effects and you're good to go (I should mention at this point that a pickup with preamp, or an external preamp will be required. My Kala is inaudible, but my Islander with a MiSi trio sounds great). In fact, now would be a good time to share a sound sample; this is my GL6, running into the PC through the Behringer, and recording with Reaper, using the Amplitube 3 "VST" plugin (sounds complicated, but it isn't) and a jazzy preset. It isn't meant to be a demonstration of my prowess (of which I have virtually none), just an example of sound quality.
Islander GL6
Apple fans will be happy to hear that there's a version of Amplitube 3 for iPhone and iPad, which I believe also have multitrack recording built in. The details are on the product website I linked to.
How do I record?
Briefly (because it's late and I have a streaming head cold), you'll be wanting a "DAW" or Digital Audio Workstation. Again, this is software, and there are great examples ranging from Moore Bettah type prices, down to freeware (Audacity is the best free DAW). Reaper is considered by many to be the best "inexpensive" DAW, and I wouldn't disagree.
To record using the amp & effects from your simulator software, you'll need to use the "VST" plugin which comes with each simulator. All this does is open the simulator from within the recording software, and allow the two to operate together.
Anyway, I'm going to copy this out of Word and attempt to paste it into UU, and add a few links for you. I'll add to it as I go along if anyone has any questions, is unclear on anything or if I remember any of the things I'm sure I've forgotten.
Niq
I'll attempt to explain, in simple terms, what is required to connect your uke/guitarlele/guitar to your PC or MAC, for practicing, recording or gigging; what hardware/software you'll need; the limitations you might encounter and a few dont's.
I'm not going to try and cover multitracking; there are other UU members who are far more knowledgeable on this subject than I, so I'll leave it up to them, rather than embarrass myself with my ineptitude.
Why do I need this in the first place?
The uke is a great sounding instrument when played without effects, but add a bit of reverb, a touch of delay or chorus, and you have instantly increased the tonal range of the instrument. You may want to brighten or darken the sound of your uke without having to change strings. You may even want to change pitch, or harmonize with yourself.
Tradition is all well and good, but experimentation is better; and those of you with Eaststart semis will kick yourselves if you don't at least try a bit of BB King or Eddie Van Halen (you'd be surprised what my Guitarlele sounds like cranked up to 11!)
The first don't - "why can't I just use my soundcard?"
The DSP in the soundcard of all computers, onboard or otherwise, isn't designed for the kind of heavy-duty sound processing that we need. The issue that will always rear its head is "latency", and will manifest itself as a delay between striking the string and hearing the note through the speaker/headphones. This delay can be as much as half a second or more, and renders playing impossible.
This is where the first piece of hardware comes in. You will need an interface between the instrument and the PC which will, through hardware and drivers, remove virtually all the latency, to the point where it is unnoticeable.
I know nothing about Apple gear, so I'll get this out of the way quickly...you'll need either a cheap interface such as the iRig, which gets mixed reviews, or the Apogee Jam, which is more expensive but higher quality. They cost roughly $30 and $99 respectively. Either will let you connect your instrument to an iPhone, iPad or Mac.
The PC requires an "ASIO" (Audio Stream Input/Output) capable device, which uses a dedicated ASIO driver for the hardware, although a universal ASIO driver called Asio4All is available.
I use the Behringer UGC102, which features an input, output and connects (as do all these devices for PC) to a USB port, and costs about $40
If you want both an extra input for a microphone etc, a headphone output for monitoring, and line outs to go to a desk, speakers or maybe the audio in on your camera for recording video clips, you'll have to spend about $99 on a Line 6 or Presonus unit (something I'm about to buy soon). Line 6 also make a Mac interface called the Sonic Port.
What else do I need?
The next thing you'll need is some form of amp modelling software. I use Guitar Rig 5, Overloud TH2, Amplitube 3 and Peavey Revalver. Amplitube has a free version with 4 amps, 5 cabs, 3 microphones, 2 rack effects and 9 floor pedals (you starting to get an idea of what these things are yet?). The others offer demo versions.
When using the standalone versions of these to practice, you'll configure them to use your ASIO device as input and output devices. Just plug your uke and headphones in, select your amp and effects and you're good to go (I should mention at this point that a pickup with preamp, or an external preamp will be required. My Kala is inaudible, but my Islander with a MiSi trio sounds great). In fact, now would be a good time to share a sound sample; this is my GL6, running into the PC through the Behringer, and recording with Reaper, using the Amplitube 3 "VST" plugin (sounds complicated, but it isn't) and a jazzy preset. It isn't meant to be a demonstration of my prowess (of which I have virtually none), just an example of sound quality.
Islander GL6
Apple fans will be happy to hear that there's a version of Amplitube 3 for iPhone and iPad, which I believe also have multitrack recording built in. The details are on the product website I linked to.
How do I record?
Briefly (because it's late and I have a streaming head cold), you'll be wanting a "DAW" or Digital Audio Workstation. Again, this is software, and there are great examples ranging from Moore Bettah type prices, down to freeware (Audacity is the best free DAW). Reaper is considered by many to be the best "inexpensive" DAW, and I wouldn't disagree.
To record using the amp & effects from your simulator software, you'll need to use the "VST" plugin which comes with each simulator. All this does is open the simulator from within the recording software, and allow the two to operate together.
Anyway, I'm going to copy this out of Word and attempt to paste it into UU, and add a few links for you. I'll add to it as I go along if anyone has any questions, is unclear on anything or if I remember any of the things I'm sure I've forgotten.
Niq
