On the basis that I have the following (I donât have 3 and 4 yet but thinking about it) can someone confirm how they are all connected together. What connects to what?
Guitar - zoom - amp - AI - pc.
However you have an option to plug in your Zoom via usb to pc separately to control it as well from what I gathered
Adrian, just to check my own understanding âŚ
The amp will connect to the AI provided it has a suitable output? Some amps may plug directly into the PC. And perhaps the better bet is Amp - Mic - AI - PC?
Iâm a complete novice when it comes to recording, but fwiw my recording chain is guitar â audio interface â mac (Garageband)
Any amp models/effects I want, I get from Garageband. I assume other DAWs have similar capability.
I found that doing aux in from amp into scarlett tends to get better output to DAW comparing to my usb connection. Of course your way is also correct however since OP asked about scarlett I thought perhaps this could be a way to do it as well which again - is my prefered one 
If the level is the problem, it might be worth checking the amp settings. A lot of amps and multifx systems have a configurable USB output level.
ISTR you have a Katana. You should be able to boost the USB output level in the system settings in BTS if the level is too low. You can also tweak the EQ and cabinet settings.
Cheers
Keith
With the Zoom G1X Four (I had one for a brief period) it is possible to plug this into the PC directly with USB, and I would start there if you arenât interested in singing. Itâs a simple and effective setup in my experience.
You can also then plug the Zoom into the amp so you can hear it, or plug headphones into the Zoom for quiet practice/recording.
If you do want to sing then youâll need an audio interface with two inputs, and then you can either connect the output from the Zoom into one input, and a mic into their other, or use something like ASIO4ALL to record from both the AI and the Zoom at the same time.
Cheers,
Keith
That is the more traditional route but IMO that is fiddly, more expensive, and, for home use, may not get better results than just plugging the multifx unit into the PC with USB and recording it directly.
Just because itâs the traditional method used, that doesnât automatically make it âbetterâ.
In fact, for many home environments, you will get a better result via USB as that will eliminate background noise and room acoustic issues.
Also, with USB recording, you donât need to mess around so much with gain staging and mic positioning.
So, personally, I wouldnât recommend this to a beginner if they have a system that can record direct to USB (effectively, the multifx unit has a built in audio interface).
If they already have a suitable AI, then line out to the AI is fine too, although thereâs a bit more work involved as there are more gain stages to deal with and to balance.
If they want to record voice and guitar at the same time, plugging either the amp line out or Multifx line out into an AI is probably the best way. Which is best? It depends. The thing is to try both ways.
Once they are up and running, and familiar with how it all works, and what they want to achieve, that would, IMO be the time to experiment with amp micing, assuming they felt the need.
Cheers,
Keith
Thanks to all for your responses. Given me something to think about!
I have a couple of more questions which came out of reading this thread To pedal or not to pedal
If you have a Roland Cube 20GX then you effectively have 5 pedals to play with already.
You have a clean channel. (no pedal)
You have a crunch channel. This will effectively be acting as a distortion/overdive pedal. Play around with the gain knob to control the level of overdrive/distortion.
You have a Lead channel. This will be acting as a more aggressive distortion pedal. Again, adjust the amount of distortion with the gain knob.
As well you have a chorus, delay and 2 reverb options (plate and spring).
This is the 10GX which Iâm assuming is the same but with smaller speakers.
Yes it looks similar and yes does have clean and lead channels. The problem is I donât really know what each of the settings do. Will have to test them out.
You have three channels
Clean : Gives you a clean tone with minimal distortion.
Crunch: Gives you a channel with increased distortion.
Lead: Gives you a channel with the most distortion.
The Volume knob controls volume. (I donât think this will increase the amount of distortion)
The Gain knob does two things. It increases the volume and it increases the amount of distortion.
So the cleanest tone would be the Clean channel with the minimum amount of gain.
The most distorted tone would be the Lead channel with the maximum amount of gain.
You will have to adjust the volume accordingly.
That gives you a large range of tones to experiment with.
@Matt125 Thanks for that. I have clean channel and a lead channel but not crunch. I have a button called memory (Solo).
Well two years on Iâm coming back to this one as still thinking this through. I never did get the AI but did get a Boss DS-1, but thatâs not the question!
Because of my hearing issues I use headphones for 99% of the time when practicing, although in some cases (depending on the exercise) I donât bother with headphones or amp. The headphones are wired and connected to the amp.
For work when using Teams, etc I use a set of SHOKZ OpenRun Bone Conduction headphones which allow me to keep my hearing aids in as well. This works well.
I seem to recall that someone said (I think it was @stitch) that the soundcard in the AI takes over the card in the pc. On this basis if I was to connect up things up (guitar - DS-1 - amp - AI - PC) would I be bale to hear a backing track played on the pc as well as what Iâm playing on my guitar through the amp?
The reason for asking is because of this discussion Major Scale Improvisation - #110 by TheMadman_tobyjenner At the moment I canât hear a backing track being played because of using my wired headphones connected to the amp.
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Does your amp have an âaux inâ port (or bluetooth)? If it does you can play the backing track on some device (phone, laptop) and then send it to the amp via âaux inâ. You will then hear the backing track (as well as your guitar) through your headphones that are connected to the amp.
Itâs a Roland Cube and has a âaux inâ port as shown below on the left. So I could connect my pc via a cable to the amp. Thanks. Never tough of that!
In general, most DAW applications will only use one audio interface at a time.
So if you connect an external AI, and select it for recording input, the audio output will also go via the AI. You will need either speakers connected to the AI, or headphones (which could be your Shokz) plugged into the AI to hear it.
The audio out of the AI can be a mix of both the backing track played on your PC, and the guitar input. That will need a little experimenting with configuration of your PC and the audio interface, but it shouldnât be too difficult.
Cheers,
Keith
As an aside, I find it amusing that this old-school terminology still prevails, a bit like the floppy-disk icon which is still in common -place use for the âsaveâ function, even though floppy disks havenât been in common use for over a decade.
For those that donât know, on the original PCs, to add an audio interface, you had to open up the case and physically install a circuit board, or âcardâ. Such devices were known as âsound cardsâ.
These days, audio interfaces are almost always an external device in an enclosed box, connected with USB or Thunderbolt, but the name âsound cardâ is still often used.
Cheers,
Keith
Well I tried that and yes I could hear the BT and the guitar but now that I have disconnected things again the amp is not working in that no sound is coming from the amp - from the speaker or from headphones. Not sure what to do now. The manual for the amp doesnât help as far as I can se.
