Play Guitar through my PC - Does anyone know any decent software ? ? ?

I would like to play my guitar through my computer and would like to find out if there is any decent software that is available online that can enable me to do this?.

Any help would be warmly welcomed - thx

Hey Barclay,

A computer can be a very powerful tool for musicians.
Being able to plug a guitar into your computer depends mostly on your hardware, or the parts that are used to build your computer. Software is a program that will usually allow you to manipulate the sound of your guitar, or record it.

Have you already gotten your guitar to play through your computer's hardware? What kinds of things would you like the software to be able to do?


GT Admin

Originally Posted by: nbarclay I would like to play my guitar through my computer and would like to find out if there is any decent software that is available online that can enable me to do this?.

Any help would be warmly welcomed - thx

If this will help, I wrote this review of the IK/Stealth stuff a while back:

http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31112

Originally Posted by: nbarclay I would like to play my guitar through my computer and would like to find out if there is any decent software that is available online that can enable me to do this?.

Any help would be warmly welcomed - thx

I have worked with both Amplitube (IK) and GuitarRig (Native Instruments) and I like them both - you can get VERY good sounds from those programs if you spend some time with the settings. They each have their pros and cons, but both programs are good.

In fact, I don't bother recording with a mic on a real amp anymore, because I can get the same (and better) sounds with software - and it is much easier to change and work with the sound after I record.

I tried it with my Boss ME-25 and I had timing issues. What I played was delayed by the time it played back on my computer, even with the sampling rate as low as it could possibly go on my sound card and within the software of the foot pedal.

To fix this I bought an amp with a headphone input and I just plug my computer speakers into that port. You may not have the same issue, but if you are looking for software you may run into sampling issues like I did and from what I understand you would have to shell out big bucks to get a sound card good enough to pull this off correctly.

On a side note, I work professionally in the IT field so I know what I am doing when it comes to my PC.

Well, while a good soundcard will have lower latency, just getting different drivers for your existing soundcard can help a lot. There are many 3rd party drivers that work much better than the original drivers when it comes to latency.

I tried this a while back when I was using Windows and it helped a lot. But of course it's easy to mess things up too :)

On Mac, the standard Core Audio drivers have basically no latency at all with the built-in soundcards. Depending of course also on how many tracks you're playing simultaneously in your sequencer.

What about a POD (line 6)? Heard those were pretty good. Anyone have one or can comment on it?

Hi Barclay,

If you are just interested in playing your guitar without an amp or practice without disturbing your neighbors I would suggest using a Digi Tech
pedal. I use an RP90 for effects through my amps as well as to practice without the amp when I have to travel. Use the right headphones and you can hear your backing track and play along. Ha, and no one knows if you screw up. That's a plus.

There are a multitude of effects for many different sounds. The RP90 cost about 99 bucks but Digitech offers models starting around 50 bucks.

You can try them out at Guitar Center if you have one in your area. I tried Boss and I like the versatility and ease of using the Digitech. Buy one with a pedal if it's within your budget.

A few years ago I decided to buy a Brian Moore iGuitar with a USB plug built in as a novelty. It sat on my wall for a few years until I discovered its value for a direct plug in to the computer. This guitar was not all that expensive, plays extremely well and tracks spot on. I also tried to to a Roland GR-33....amazing ! FWIW I record using Cubase 6 with a MOTU firewire interface although that is not a requirement