Newbie Electric Questions

[it99]

I am a newbie and have a few questions. I want to get an electric quitar and mostly(at least at first) experiment making some real cool loud noises like Smashing Pumpkins,Rage Against/grungy,punkish awesome noises. Here are my questions:

 

1) For effects, I thought I heard someone say something like there is a peice of hardware where you can download the guitar sounds for a particular band(U2 or Pumkins,etc) or select it somehow. Is this true, where is it. Other suggestions for loud effects.

2)I really don't want to have to buy an amp and would much rather buy some kind of converter to plug into my stereo. Could you point me to something I can plug into my old RCA input stereo.

 

Thanks

 

Thanks

 

[Winston Psmith]

Welcome it99 - couple of ideas. It's hard to go wrong w/a Big Muff fuzz, for Pumpkins sounds. The Nano Muff is small, affordable and LOUD! For RATM sounds, you're going to want a Whammy pedal, or something a lot like it. The Whammy isn't cheap, around $200, but it's an essential part of Tom Morello's sound.

 

There are a bunch of guitar software packages that let you emulate classic sounds, but you're playing through a computer, for the most part. There are also a number of Multi-Effects Pedalboards that have sounds from famous bands or songs. Boss, Digitech, Korg, Vox & Zoom all make FX units you should check into.

 

As far as running you guitar into your stereo, eh, it's not a great idea, for a lot of reasons, even though nearly everyone has tried it at some point. There are some recording engineers who post regularly, and they might have some suggestions, but I expect a lot of them would say "Don't!" Any particular reason why you don't want an amp?

[dvuksanovich]

I use a Digitech GNX3000 which is a great value for the money. There are lots of people who say that all-in-one processors such as the GNX3000 sound "overly processed," but I do most of my playing at home and am not willing to spend tons more money for that extra little bit of sound quality that a tube rig might get me. The only advice I have is that if you go with an all-in-one device (amp/cabinet modeling + effects modeling) get an active PA speaker instead of an amp and just let the device do what it's supposed to do, which is model everything.

 

Not sure how much success you'll have finding an all-in-one device with RCA outs. Most have 1/4 inch, mic/PA and USB outs. Some have headphone outs as well (which might be better than your stereo for sound quality if you have some nice headphones). I use my headphones all the time because I like playing late at night after the wife is asleep.

 

Some popular all-in-ones are:

-Line6 X3 series

-Digitech RP series (the RP 500 and 1000 replace the discontinued GNX series)

-Boss ME and GT series

-Zoom G series

 

More expensive (and supposedly higher quality depending on who you talk to would be):

-Fractal AxeFX

-Digidesign Eleven Rack

 

As I mentioned before I don't use a traditional "amp+pedals" rig so I'll let other folks comment in that area.

[dvuksanovich]

Oh, and Line6 has without a doubt the biggest sound community offering downloadable song and artists patches, so if you're looking to grab some patches and go (as opposed to doing a lot of tweaking to find your own sound), you'll probably want to check out Line6 first.

[Larryz]

Welcome aboard it99...+1 on not going direct through a big muff or anyother pedal to your stereo (unless you don't like the speakers, tweeters and horns)as you'll probably smash the pumkins right out of them...a small practice amp won't cost that much and many of them come with effects that will get your sound and then you can record it and play it back through your stereo (while it's still working)...

[Rampdog]

I know you don't want to buy an amp but check out the Fender G-Dec... Lots o' cool sounds and presets in there... Just a suggestion.... Check em' out on YouTube...

[d halfnote]

...I want to get an electric quitar and mostly(at least at first) experiment making some real cool loud noises like Smashing Pumpkins,Rage Against/grungy,punkish awesome noises...

As proven by Peter Townshend & Mr. James Marshall Hendrix years ago, one of the best ways to find cool noise is to smash yer guitar, in this case perhaps into a pumpkin.

 

...Could you point me to something I can plug into my old RCA input stereo...

 

In what is increasingly referred to as "the old days", we'd sometimes use home stereos or reel-to-reel tape decks as amps.

More modern players might opt for a laptop & some amp/pedal simulator software.

While that may incur the sort of expense you might be trying to avoid, it will allow you to have a highly portable, light-weight set-up that can give you a lot of sonic options & be updated as times progress....& at a fraction of the cost of comparable hardware.

[Dannyalcatraz]

I owned a pair of electrics for 4 years before I owned an amp or stompbox.

 

Instead, I experimented with a Korg PX-4 Pandora's box. You plug in your guitar, you plug in some headphones, and rock out...with a host of digital modeling effects that mimic various amps & pedals.

 

My years with it provided me with a feel for the kinds of effects I'd like to buy- which I'm doing nowadays- and an effective way to practice virtually anywhere without disturbing anyone. It also includes a tuner, a metronome, and a variety of drum tracks (rock, bossa nova, speed metal, etc.) to practice to.

 

There are other, similar devices out there from makers like Line6.

 

More recent models do things like provide a way to input into your computer directly, or, like my recently purchased Tascam GT-R1, actually record yourself and store things on removable data chips...as well as being able to connect to your computer.

 

Also, ALL of them can be incorporated into your signal chain as if they were stompboxes themselves- handy if you like a certain sound and can't get your hands on the pedals to achieve it.

 

Best of all? Typically, such devices are $150-250, and are built to take a beating.

[hue]

One KEY question. What's your budget? Going direct to your stereo isn't necessarily bad. It's not good but you have to make sure you are using the headphone output of the effects box. If you're stereo has an auxiliary input for an iPod or the like, it's not so bad at all since that's what these are made for. If you have an iPod Touch, there's something called an iRig which runs around $40 and there is Amplitube mobile which will cost you another $20 max or they have an LE version for $3 and a free version for........free.

 

Other than that, budget really is a key. If you can afford to spend a hundred bucks or so the Pocket Pod is a decent unit. Line 6 emulations have been widely used in many more pro situations than people would like to admit. The key is not to rely on presets. Tweak until you get a feel for the sounds. Line 6 has configuration software which allows you to edit patches via usb.

 

From the Pocket Pod there are other options.

 

-Pod XT Live

-GNX as has been mentioned

-Roland VG99

 

These get considerably more expensive, the more complex they get. Of course the sounds get better too as well as control over the sounds.

 

I currently own a Vox Tonelab which I run through a Fender Princeton 112 but I also use Guitar Rig 4 and Eleven LE with ProTools. The digitech units can get a bit clunky when you deal with the ultra cheap models($100 or less). They work but can have some noticeable artifacting.

 

The G-Dec amps are decent considering how small they are. You will never get a Marshall sound out of an 8" speaker no matter how hard you try. Still, they sound good. Lot's of options. The G-Decs are good for the price.

[p90jr]

it99, do you have an iPhone or iPad?

 

$39 for the iRig interface, there's different levels of the Amplitube app you can pick depending on what you want to do with it but they're relatively cheap, just plug it into your computer speakers or stereo, and... well, let Richard Fortus from Guns N' Roses demostrate...

 

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/irig/features/

 

[video:youtube]

 

[hue]

If you have an iPod Touch, there's something called an iRig which runs around $40 and there is Amplitube mobile which will cost you another $20 max or they have an LE version for $3 and a free version for........free.

 

Sounds familiar. Repetition for emphasis.

 

[p90jr]

ooops.

[dvuksanovich]

If you don't have an iPhone, or if you want something self contained that's inexpensive, Vox makes headphone amps:

 

http://www.voxamps.com/us/amplug/

 

And on another subject... has anyone ever seen Richard Fortus and Sean Penn in the same place at the same time?