If you use the direct in guitar jack on your USB interface, does Audacity have any effects for the guitar??
Audacity does not apply effects in real-time, Audacity effects only in post-production.
If you get VST host software that can apply real-time effects, which you can record/edit in Audacity.
do you think its better to apply in real time or does it matter??
do you think its better to apply in real time or does it matter??
It only matters if it helps you “perform”. Otherwise it’s better to record “clean” because you can adjust/change the effects later. If you apply the effects in real-time while recording you’re stuck with what you’ve got. (Although with the right software/hardware you can record one clean track and one with effects.)
There is always some latency (delay) through the computer. Sometimes you can get the latency down to an acceptable amount (hopefully to the point where it’s unnoticeable) but sometimes that’s a pain and things are a lot easier if you can just monitor yourself through your guitar amp as you would normally when you play. Some interfaces have zero-latency monitoring but you won’t get any effects.
Professional studios typically stick a microphone in front of the guitar amp and the guitar player would use his regular effect pedals. (They might split the signal and record direct on a separate track.)
Audacity doesn’t come with “guitar effects”. It comes with compression/limiting, reverb, EQ, and other “general purpose” effects. But you can get 3rd-party VST effects (including amp/cabinet sims).