Do I Need An Amp?

[hussey]

I just got an electric guitar and some pedals. I was hoping to give my tracks some nice drone textures. I was hoping to connect this via my soundcard and then my Rokits (which have a built in amps). Will this blow my speakers? Or do I need to invest in an amp?

[Tone Deft]

after it goes into your sound card it's just an audio signal like any other audio signal.

tip - start recording then play with ALL the combinations of settings on your guitar, tone, volume, pickup selection etc. then go back and listen for what sounds the best. bonus points if you speak into a microphone while you describe what you're doing. this helped me a TON.

[hussey]

So an amp is not necessary? That's a great tip. I have a field recorder, so I could record what i'm saying whilst doing shit. Thanks.

[kristoffer1989]

if you want the guitar to sound like your playing guitar in a traditional way, a miced amp or an ampsimulation is best. if you(like me) want your guitar to sound like something else(you're mentioning drones) then you don't need an amp.

if it sounds good then your all good =)
and no you will not have any problems with your speakers.

[Tone Deft]

not needed. that's what I do TBH. guitar/bass - Line 6 Pod XT - Edirol UA101 - Live - Adam A7 monitors. I also run my acoustic and the piezo straight into the sound card's Hi-Z input, sounds great.

[hussey]

Thanks man. I'm not going to be playing it in the traditional sense. Maybe some chords, but it will be heavily manipulated with guitar pedals, so I think i'm covered. Thanks dude.

[LoopStationZebra]

I'd recommend a pre-amp of some sort. You can go with a Line6 pod type device like Tone's got (I've got the X3 Live), or just a simple preamp pedal, or a little tube pre-amp.

The idea is that you should really boost that signal or you're going to suffer the consequences, lol.

[Tone Deft]

^absolutely.

google around for "Hi Z" and "bridging" to understand why.

albeit for your experimental purposes you might not care.

[hacktheplanet]

Amp/speaker selection is a pretty damn important aspect of playing guitar. As others have said, if you're running it through a bunch of effects, it might not make a difference. However, if you are lucky enough to have access to a few different amps to try out (ask your friends!), you might find that it would be worth it to buy an amp. Even buying a few shitty Crate or Peavey practice amps and experimenting may add a lot more flavor to the guitar than just going direct. Plus, having an amp around invites you to flick it on and mess around without booting up your computer.

For instance, when I record bass, I rarely record DI (unless I'm mixing it with a mic'ed signal), I most always mic my cab with a SM57. I think it sounds more "real" for lack of a better term.

[hussey]

If I was to invest in an amp, could I connect the direct out of the amp to the soundcard?

[Tone Deft]

you'd want an amp with a pre-amp output. the guys at the guitar shop will know what you need.

or mic it to capture the full effect of the guitar/amp combo. for that matter record the pre-amp output AND the mic at the same time.

[hussey]

I was actually looking at this, as well:


http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_pod_2_2006.htm

[shuutobi]

Did someone say drones?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a0Z2yndlOs

[LoopStationZebra]

I was actually looking at this, as well:


http://www.thomann.de/ie/line6_pod_2_2006.htm

Yeah, nice little unit. That will work well. Cool thing is that it's got MIDI I/O and a footpedal port (pretty soon you'll want to start changing patches on the fly, lol).