Guitar to USB problem!!

[karansawan]

Hi there everyone!!

I am new here and this happens to be my first post here!!

A few days ago I bought a guitar - a Fender Squier Bullet Strat!!

Wanted to connect it to my PC and use with guitar rig 4, since I can't get the amp I need in my city!!

So, I went and bought a guitar to usb converter cable (not of any particular brand)!! Didn't come with any cd or such stuff and so I haven't got any sort of drivers for it!!

I connected the guitar through that connector + a 3.5 mm to usb converter + a usb extension to my PC's usb port and Windows won't recognize it!!

As a result, I can't use it as an input in any recording software including Audacity!!

What do I do now? By the way, I am a newbie to all this stuff, so I might not be familiar with all the recording lingo you guys use - some explanation would be appreciated!!

If it doesn't work, then I think of getting a 1/4" to 1/8" cable and plug it into my PC's mic line-in!! But I have read that it usually offers some noise - so I went for USB option first but it doesn't seem to work!!

Please help!!

Karan

[Trebor]

So, I went and bought a guitar to usb converter cable (not of any particular brand)!! Didn't come with any cd or such stuff and so I haven't got any sort of drivers for it!!

I connected the guitar through that connector + a 3.5 mm to usb converter + a usb extension to my PC's usb port and Windows won't recognize it!!

As a result, I can't use it as an input in any recording software including Audacity!!

What do I do now?

Try Googling the name of the manufacturer of your USB-to-guitar interface ( add ".com") to find driver software.

NB: Only download from its manufacturer's official site though.

e.g. ...

Download for Behringer driver software for guitar interface.png (39.4 KiB) Viewed 6341 times

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[karansawan]

Yes, that is the first thing that I would have done!!

But there is nothing written on the interface switch!! Thats why I had said that its not branded!!

Should I try the behringer driver only? I mean - I am sure that its not a Behringer interface, but their driver seems to be the only option for me!!

Thanks for the reply though!!

[steve]

I connected the guitar through that connector + a 3.5 mm to usb converter + a usb extension to my PC's usb port and Windows won't recognize it!!

Could you say that again using different words.
Guitars usually have 1/4" (6.35mm) mono jack sockets.
I'm not sure what you have between the guitars' 1/4" jack socket and the computers' USB socket.

I'm not sure that you will be able to use Audacity with Guitar Rig 4. Are there some instructions saying that it is possible to do so?

[karansawan]

Yeah, I connected a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter to the guitar, and then a 3.5 mm to USB converter cable, plus one USB extension cable!!

I HAVE read at some places about people using guitar rig 4 inside audacity!! Its a VST!A Audacity hosts VST!! What could be the complications?

Anyways, I got the 3.5mm to USB converter cable exchanged for a normal 3.5 mm cable (3.5 mm sockets on both sides) to plug it into my PC's mic line-in!!

Tried guitar rig (standalone as well as VST) - lots of noise!! I know that its going off topic now!! So, I gotta figure that out myself!!

Thanks for the replies guys!!

Karan!!

[steve]

Yeah, I connected a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter to the guitar, and then a 3.5 mm to USB converter cable, plus one USB extension cable!!

If you want to try and get this working, start with as simple a set-up as possible.
Connect the guitar to the USB converter cable and the converter cable to computer (without the extension cable).
Allow Windows a few moments to find the USB cable before you open Audacity.
Use Audacity 1.3.12 (not the old 1.2.6 version)
In Audacity 1.3.12 go to "Edit menu> Preferences>Devices" and select the USB option as the Recording Device.
Select your normal sound card as the playback device.
Try and record something.
Does that work?

Its a VST!A Audacity hosts VST!! What could be the complications?

Audacity does not support real-time processing, so assuming that the VST does work in Audacity you will need to apply the effect to a "clean" recording after you have recorded it.
Audacity does not support ASIO so it may not work with the stand-alone version of Guitar Rig.

Tried guitar rig (standalone as well as VST) - lots of noise!!

Is that using the "normal 3.5 mm cable.... to plug it into my PC's mic line-in" ?
On-board sound cards (particularly laptop PCs) are notorious for poor recording quality. The point about using an external USB audio device is that it bypasses the on-board sound card. USB audio cables are close to the bottom of the pile for external USB audio devices (which is why they are so cheap). The Cakewalk UA-1G is based on the well respected Edirol UA1-EX and has a dedicated guitar input. Unfortunately it is about 3 times more expensive than a USB audio cable, but I would expect it to be a lot better. It also allows zero latency monitoring, which is not available with a USB audio cable.

[Trebor]

Connect the guitar to the USB converter cable and the converter cable to computer (without the extension cable).
Allow Windows a few moments to find the USB cable before you open Audacity.

Windows may try to download a driver automatically from the net so you should be connected to internet on when you do this (the first time).

But there is nothing written on the interface switch!! Thats why I had said that its not branded!!

Should I try the behringer driver only? I mean - I am sure that its not a Behringer interface, but their driver seems to be the only option for me!!

Have a look on Amazon etc to see if you can find an interface one which looks exactly the same as your interface, its driver may be worth a go, (if your no-name device has a model number try Googling that). If you are using Windows set a restore point before before installing a speculative driver so you can return you system to the previous state if the driver doesn't work or causes problems (or both).

So, I went and bought a guitar to usb converter cable

the guitar-usb interface is more than a just a "cable" it will have an enclosure ( a box or big lump in the cable) where the A/D converter electronics are, e.g. ...

[karansawan]

@Steve :- I think that all of it ends at the point that Windows won't just recognise it!! Hence, no USB option in Audacity preferences!! Also, I did try it without the extension cable, but there was no notification at all!! Not even the not recognized message!!

If I ever get a better USB interface which is in my budget, I would try that so that I can escape the poor sound quality of my PC's soundcard!!

@Trebor :- Thanks for the tip but nothing was written on the cable!! The cable didn't even have an enclosure for the A/D converter electronics!! Even I wonder as to if that cable was supposed to work with a guitar or not!! Got that exchanged for the 3.5mm cable anyways!!

[Trebor]

The cable didn't even have an enclosure for the A/D converter electronics!! Even I wonder as to if that cable was supposed to work with a guitar or not!! Got that exchanged for the 3.5mm cable anyways!!

I believe a USB socket only accepts digital data … http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usb

The ¼” jack socket from a standard electric guitar is an analog signal, not digital.

quarter inch jack socket.jpg (25.33 KiB) Viewed 6293 times

There is no way of connecting your Fender to your computer's USB socket without a electronic circuit to convert the analog guitar signal into a digital signal the USB can accept.

A simple cable, without a box/lump with A/D electronics inside, won’t allow you to get the guitar signal into the computer via the USB.

[karansawan]

Hmm....thats why it didn't work!!

I am using a 3.5 mm cable now anyways!!

Would it be better to connect it to my PC's mic jack or the back panel line-in of the sound card?