I’m thinking about recording a rhythm track, either me playing acoustic guitar or using a backing soundtrack. Then I want to record a lead guitar part over that. What equipment should I use and what are the steps I should use when making this recording? I have a Fender GTX100 amp which has a direct out. If it works out, I have several songs I want to try. I also have a song which I played lead guitar on that I’d like to overdub a harmony lead.
I use windows 10 and want to do this recording in Audacity.
You’ll generally be making a new separate track that you can mix later.
I have a Fender GTX100 amp which has a direct out.
You can plug that into line-in on a regular soundcard (usually color-coded blue). If you have a laptop you’ll need a USB audio interface with line-in.
There are also interfaces with guitar/instrument inputs, but It’s probably easier to plug the guitar into the amp so you can easily hear it directly without the latency (delay) that you get through the computer.
Note that mixing is done by summation (analog mixers are built-around summing amplifiers) so you usually have to reduce the volumes before mixing to prevent clipping (distortion). More advanced software (and analog mixers) have a master level control but with Audacity you can only adjust the individual tracks.