Guitar help.

[Twimfy]

I've picked up an Electro-acoustic guitar as I used to play classical years ago. I want to diversify a little and start playing some more modern songs.

Rather than buy an electric I figured I could just mute the acoustic and use an amp, effects peddle etc. Not perfect but it works ok from what I've seen other people do.

I've gotten a trial copy of Amplitude for my Mac and I currently have it set up so my guitar goes into line-in and then the headphone socket goes to a speaker.

I've been messing around with some of the preset effects and it's all very exciting but the sound quality is terrible. There's a lot of buzz from the input and naturally it sounds awful on the output. I've been reading and apparently I need a preamp.

I have no clue how all of this works, I'm used to just picking up a guitar and playing it. Do I have to do guitar>preamp>mac>speaker or am I missing something. I've looked at a few preamps on ebay, some are a pedal (which I'm not too bothered about at the moment) some are not.

If someone could please help me and tell me what the ideal layout is for the least expense I would greatly appreciate it.

[mooseblaster]

Your thought is correct: you'll need to preamp your guitar before it goes into the Mac.

Alternatively, you could use something like this: http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=222445

[Twimfy]

So what does the little electronic device do in my guitar? Is that just to power the pick ups? It has treble, base sliders on it too.

That thing looks pretty cool.

So what would I do about a pedal? where would that go in the loop and how do they work?

I wanna start doing a few gigs in my brothers pub so a cheap and easy set up would be cool if I could do it all through my mac....just incase I get booed off stage!

[BM-Viper]

It amplifies the signal coming out of your guitar to a line-level signal.. which is what your line in jack expects.. Should greatly improve your sound quality

[Twimfy]

I'm gonna go and buy one from Maplins tomorrow after work. Can't wait.

Hopefully it will work with Amplitube or some other software. Can't wait to hear some of the presets I've made without buzz and distortion.

[la-li-lu-le-lo]

If you have a Mac, GarageBand has some pretty decent amp simulation and effects stuff, and it should work with virtually any audio device you plug into your computer.

[mooseblaster]

So what would I do about a pedal? where would that go in the loop and how do they work?

Guitar goes into pedal input. Pedal output goes to pre-amp. Pre-amp goes to Mac.

A pedal takes whatever sound you put in and puts an effect on it (for example, an overdrive pedal will fuzz up your guitar's sound).

I probably wouldn't recommend buying a pedal if you're trying to go cheap until you know what sound you're going for - and even then I'd certainly wouldn't recommend just picking one off the shelf. Try some out at your local guitar shop first. You might also consider a MIDI controller for your Mac instead, so you can set activate effects you've created. It, in theory, is the cheaper option, but the best effects cost money.

[Twimfy]

Well I bought one of those USB guitat dongles. Very impressed. Using it with Guitar Rig 4, so many things you can play with. Have to get an Electric Guitar now, any recommendations for the £100 mark?

[Alchy]

Yamaha Pacifica is the usual suggestion for that range, it seems. You'll be able to find Fender Squires for less second hand, but don't expect them to last.

EDIT: what semi-acoustic did you get, out of interest? My last one had the worst piezo pickup ever. Waste of fucking space. Hope you have better luck with yours.

[Twimfy]

http://swiftmusiclondon.weebly.com/a...c-guitars.html

The black electro-acoustic cutaway. Really cheap but it's not bad at all, I was on a tight budget when I came back to the UK so just picked up whatever I could afford.

Pickups seem pretty good.

[Alchy]

£30 new? Don't drop it :p

If it does the trick, though, that's all that matters. Post up the piece you're working on when you're done, eh?

[Twimfy]

£43 new (half way down the page), might just bounce!

I'm not really working on anything new at the moment, I've just had an offer to join a cover band as lead singer (which is something I've always wanted to do) and it would help a lot if I could provide some instrumental too. They're giving me some free reign with song choices to match my voice.

Really trying to nail down some John Mayer at the moment and my acoustic just doesn't cut it for most of his stuff.

Just been shopping around and reading a few guides. I'm beginning to think that a Squier Strat might be my best option to start with, see what my budget is next week.

[Alchy]

I'd recommend you try the second-hand market as long as you get a chance to play the guitar beforehand, you can find some amazing deals if you hunt around. But yeah, can't go far wrong with a Squire Strat.

[Taucias]

I would go a little higher and get an Epiphone Les Paul based guitar.

[Twimfy]

I would go a little higher and get an Epiphone Les Paul based guitar.

I'm liking the look of this http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and...rans-Black/D63

[Taucias]

I have a Les Paul Studio and trust me, they are incredible guitars. The tone is unbelievable. It will make for a great beginner guitar that will last you a decent amount of time.

[Twimfy]

Just bought an Epiphone Les Paul Special II GT.

Basically the special II with a tremolo bar and kill switch hidden in the tone pot.

Can't wait for it to arrive.