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Best way to plug into guitar rig?

Discussion in 'Tone Workshop' started by wac4073, 30/9/10.

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  1. wac4073

    wac4073 New Member

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    Hi everyone, I recently purchased Guitar Rig 4 Pro, and I am currently using a stealthplug. I'm not dissatisfied with the quality, but I feel like there are better ways of plugging into gr to produce a higher quality sound. Should I consider getting rig control or a DI box, or will it not make a big difference? Thanks for any input!
     
  2. mdf25

    mdf25 Forum Member

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    The most difference comes from the source, so try different guitars/strings/pickups first. If you have poor cables, get good ones right now. :p Planet Waves are my favourite cables and they are very durable. I've had the same cables for years with no problems.

    A good tube preamp is the next thing to consider, I think you can get a lot more tone-wise out of GR with a good tube DI. There are lots out there and if there is a store that will let you try them out with GR, have a go with a few and see what you like best. But remember the biggest difference comes from the source, so always look at your guitar first.

    AD/DA conversion is also important to your sound, the better your AD/DA the more 'analogue' your sound will be, thats how I view it anyway. A good audio interface like Apogee Duet or RME FireFace has good AD/DA built in and will last you a long time.

    If you let me know what your current setup is, I will try and recommend you some stuff to help you get your recording tone. Do you have an audio interface already?
     
  3. RenderRob

    RenderRob New Member

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    I fail to see the point of adding a preamp to your chain of gear. Any of the NI hardware will amplify your signal, so why add more clutter, use more cables, create more room for failure, and waste batteries?

    I use the NI I/O Session device, and I'm very happy with it. I have both my guitar and mic connected. The mic is a sure sm57, and ni session supports condenser mics too, by providing phantom power.

    In guitar rig, I can record my tracks separately and put them together with free software like audacity, or using the "split" component in GR, I can record both signals at the same time, into one track. I don't think I would ever do it that way for a recording, but for a small live performance it could be useful.

    Before I bought the session, I did some price comparisons and I really couldn't see any reason to buy anything else. Especially considering that this hardware is designed specifically for this software and this use, so it has all the features I was looking for.

    Make sure you have USB 2.0 though.
     
  4. Eltonee

    Eltonee New Member

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    Guitar string use every one don't know its really hard to use the 4 string and played correctly.and to now how to use the tone we will go to the tone work shop and what is the best way to plug into guitar rig ?
     
  5. DevonPete

    DevonPete Forum Member

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    FWIW -- I bought a small Mackie 402-VLZ3 4 channel mixer that allows 2 Hi-Z guitar inputs (or 2 phantom power condensers, or 1 of both). The output goes straight into my line input on my Audiophile 192 internal card. I can take the line out feeds from the soundcard back into mixer and headphone for tracking either voice and/or guitar. A really solid and useful bit of kit for around £90. Decent premium mic pre-amps, basic EQ, nice and clean with plenty of headroom (about 60db I think)

    I think there are quite a few options available. Check around. Hope that helps any.
     
  6. chaleses

    chaleses New Member

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    I Connect my guitar to guitar rig like these
    guitar - Mixer - Computer
    And its sounds great but of course i have a nice guitar and sounds better than my 100 bucks guitar
     
  7. kabir

    kabir NI Product Owner

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    hi,

    i haven't used stealthplug, but after reading on it, i think it's like Guitar Rig Mobile. i have the GR mobile, and it's pretty small and cool. it has a preamp for guitar/bass in it, so i don't think you'll need any more preamp, i second renderrob there. however, i second mdf25 on the point that one should begin at the source. good AD/DA conversion is important, so an apogee duet, or even an apogee one will do well, but there are tons of options out there if you want to check them out. if you're serious, go for the apogee duet, that little box does a lot of cool stuff. i don't know if it has an instrument preamp though.. check on that if you wish..!

    anyway, good luck.
     
  8. Tebi08

    Tebi08 New Member

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    I when I record for guitar rig, among the guitar for a console, more girl to be, to use the pre amp. and so I have a better quality recording.
     
  9. kabir

    kabir NI Product Owner

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    guitar for a console? more girl to be? what on earth are you talking about luv..?
     
  10. Tebi08

    Tebi08 New Member

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    What I said was that to enter the guitar signal to the computer, I use a console to take advantage of the preamplifier, and once I have the signal on the pc, put the guitar rig as a plugin
     
  11. monkey_hat_stand

    monkey_hat_stand Forum Member

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    I'm having to go the long way atm - the instrument inputs on my FW410 are absolute crap. Any high gain patch is noisy and hissy, and even though the input level meter is high, the sound is weak and under-driver. I'm using my new POD HD500 as a DI box over SPDIF (what a waste haha) until I can get a decent dedicated DI box *or* a new soundcard.
     
  12. jimfist

    jimfist Forum Member

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    first, you need to establish what your PRIMARY purpose for using Guitar Rig is going to be. If you are an acknowledged newbie, then you must know that using any version of Guitar Rig software via your computer's built-in audio inputs is most likely going to SUCK.

    Some stern advice: do your homework and expect to have problems with Guitar Rig, simply because it comes with the territory. If you're on a shoestring budget, you are more likely to have problems that may not resolve easily. If you have the $$$ to get good quality audio I/O and computer, you increase your chances of success, but this will not solely exempt you from spending endless frustrated hours with Guitar Rig. It is what it is. With luck and perseverance, you may find what you're looking for. But if you aren't up for the commitment, well...what can be said?
     
  13. RenderRob

    RenderRob New Member

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    Just buy one of the native instruments USB devices and you won't have any problems. Trying to plug into the sound card is pointless because you won't save any money since you'll almost certainly have to get a different card than what you have now, and you'll waste tons of time trying to make it work. The quickest option is to save up some cash (rake some lawns for a couple weekends if you have to) and get one of the devices, like the GR Sessions box. It plugs into your USB port. Just make sure you have USB 2.0.
     
  14. jimfist

    jimfist Forum Member

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    RenderRob, while in theory this sounds all well and good, and I'm sure there are users who have had a "plug and play" experience with the NI audio I/O interfaces, but as a Rig Kontrol 3 owner, I cannot honestly say that I was one of them. Not all computers are set up to achieve low latency from the get-go, and it took me many months of online discovery, tweaking, and experimenting before I was actually able to use Guitar Rig with Kontrol on my laptop in what I would consider an acceptable fashion.

    I do agree that using NI hardware with NI software will lessen the liklihood of performance issues, but to say that, by itself, just using NI interfaces means you "won't have any problems" would be viewing things with rose colored glasses. Anyone who does have "plug and play" success can consider himself quite lucky indeed.
     
  15. dimerah

    dimerah Forum Member

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    Try getting a native instrument hardware device? lol (sorry if previously stated, just putting that out there.)
     
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