Originally Posted by: light487That "interface" you are talking about is simply wires running from the front panel to your soundcard, or your motherboard's sound input/output circuits. It can still cause damage as most guitars (and even more so basses) output hi-gain signals. To hear it properly through that socket, you need to have a pre-amp that outputs a low-gain signal. I used that setup years ago before USB devices were available for guitars, and when proper audio interfaces (at least for PCs) were prohibitively expensive.

Well, the soundcard is about 3 yrs old right now, and I discovered linking my microcube's output to the pc gives me some effects and ambience. If I toast the soundcard...well, it's time for an upgrade anyway. My local Guitar Center has the StealthPlug for $99 US, but the one with a full suite of software for $149 looked lots more versatile, but they're out of stock on that right now. There's other usb links-ups, but I have so much junk hanging out, I'm not sure I need more. I think I'll go with what I have, then I'll have to try to figure out how to properly record. But then again, I can be an impulse buyer, so who knows what I may come back with. Thanks for the info. Hopefully I can get something going.