***The Official Guitar Thread***

[Morve]

Well just bought the boy a BOSS Katana 100 MkII for Christmas, it's his first proper amp, and since he had his new Mustang he's found a love for playing electric.

Hope he'll enjoy it, and hope I can understand how to help him set it up.

It's an amazing amp he'll love it, the app won't work on the 100 it's only for the air (wireless)series, but you can plug it in via USB and use the tone studio software which gives thousands of presets etc and is an amazing tool for deep editing , also recommend picking up the GA-FC footswitch to be the perfect partner

 

[Journey]

It's an amazing amp he'll love it, the app won't work on the 100 it's only for the air (wireless)series, but you can plug it in via USB and use the tone studio software which gives thousands of presets etc and is an amazing tool for deep editing , also recommend picking up the GA-FC footswitch to be the perfect partner

Thank you, I'll have a look at that then. I assume it just uses a printer style USB peripheral cable then? Not to sound like a total noob (I am) but the footswitch allows quick changing of settings with your foot, correct?

 

[Morve]

Thank you, I'll have a look at that then. I assume it just uses a printer style USB peripheral cable then? Not to sound like a total noob (I am) but the footswitch allows quick changing of settings with your foot, correct?

Thats right, the old printer style USB A to B cable, i bought a really long one so i can have it always connected , the GA-FC allows the switching of channels, also fx on /off , tap tempo , fx loop on/off etc, plus it allows you to connect a further 2 expression pedals, for example a wah and a volume, you can get a cheap expression pedal from M-Audio that works great (£13) , its plastic so not road worthy as such, but great for the house!

https://www.boss.info/us/products/ga-fc/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/M-Audio-EX-P-Expression-Controller-Supported/dp/B000NLRWEI

 

[SexyGreyFox]

It could be the venue having a bad ring i suppose, but an isolated PSU SHOULD solve that issue, that's the point of being isolated.

Well we gigged last night, he used his Boss Noise Suppressor and he couldn't stop smiling.
It was also the pub we rehearse at and when he first had the problem.
He has now got it in his head he needs to update with isolated power supplies so in the future that will happen anyway.

 

[Cadder]

You'll want/need a proper audio interface as most acoustic systems will still be high impedance like electric guitars. Normal microphone inputs on computers typically won't work well.

The good news is that same interface should work with microphones and electric guitars!

There are a lot of older USB audio interfaces around that will still do fine for home stuff, would recommend looking for something from e.g. M-Audio if going old, or Focusrite if you want something pretty current. Check eBay!

Thanks for the reply - sorry it has took me so long to respond.

I had been pointed in the direction of a Line 6 Tone Port UX2. Are they any good? They're pretty cheap on FB marketplace and at the moment I'm just interested in trying to get music on to the PC and not majorly fussed on quality. I'd be working with it on REAPER. Tbf I don't know what I'm doing...


I've also has a quick look at used effects pedals and the Line 6 Floor Pod came up locally for £50. Would this be a good buy for my electric acoustic? I'm looking for clean sounds rather than distorted.

 

[LuckyBenski]

Certainly I'd say the UX2 should do you well enough. I bought the GX when it was current (2009 ish) - actually that's probably the newest interface I have! I've also picked up a few older interfaces on eBay as they looked handy. All have worked fine in terms of getting audio into the computer for further processing/recording.

Must admit I haven't done anything with a computer in a few years as I've not focused on playing very much! But I don't see why those interfaces would have stopped being useful. I recall that Line 6 series as being touted for low latency. The included license for amp modelling was pretty fun too. Again, I'm sure it's been superceded but the ones you get should be very usable.

I expect for acoustic it'll be just like with discrete pedals. Reverb or delay will be nice and don't expect much pleasantry from distortion

Edit: one potential issue I suppose could be driver compatibility. I used my GX on Windows XP and Linux. Happy to dig it out and test it on Win10 if it'd put your mind at ease?

 

[SexyGreyFox]

I had been pointed in the direction of a Line 6 Tone Port UX2

I've had several Line 6 devices and recently sold the KB37, they are OK.

I can recommend a Boss Me-70 for acoustic guitar.
I was playing in an acoustic band for 2 years and it worked a treat and you should be able to pick one up cheap (ish).
I was looking for a dedicated acoustic pedal to buy and found this in a cupboard, I was gobsmacked how good it was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ileb2PV_hvE

 

[Cadder]

one potential issue I suppose could be driver compatibility. I used my GX on Windows XP and Linux. Happy to dig it out and test it on Win10 if it'd put your mind at ease?

No don't worry about it. I'm still trying to work out what I'm going to get. I'm all over the place at the moment. Spotted a JamVOX for sale near me. With a USB interface I'm thinking I could get that on the PC and do the effects in the software. Providing the sound will come out of the PC speakers live I think it would be best. Don't really have room for an amp.

 

[Cadder]

@SexyGreyFox thanks for the recommendation, I'll keep an eye out for the Boss ME-70

 

[SexyGreyFox]

@SexyGreyFox thanks for the recommendation, I'll keep an eye out for the Boss ME-70

Apologies, I thought you were on about a live situation, the ME70 isn't an audio interface like the Line 6s

 

[Cadder]

Apologies, I thought you were on about a live situation, the ME70 isn't an audio interface like the Line 6s

Nobody is going to want to see me play live. I'm firmly in the "beginner" bracket.

 

[Cadder]

I ended up going for a JamVOX unit as there was one near me for £25 and on paper it does the job. The software has tonnes of virtual effects pedals too so that's pretty cool.

I can't seem to get the sound out of it without the software running, which is a little annoying. I'd like to use it just as an amp but that doesn't seem possible. Even with the software running the latency is unbearable so it really is only good for recording then listening after.

I'm now scanning the likes of Gumtree and FB marketplace for something like the Line 6 TonePort UX2 and a second hand amp.

 

[Dup]

You'd have to force your computers sound output to be the unit itself, be it the speaker or the headphones on the unit. If you output to your computers normal sound output you'll get massive delay. This will happen with any interface, it's a drawback of Windows/Mac basically.

I have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3, was ~£90 when they came out so you might find one used at a reasonable price (or the prior models). You have to use the line level out (monitors only) on the unit, or headphone socket on the unit but the latency is really good. Then you can use any effects software such as Positive Grid BIAS, AmpliTube etc (you just set them to use your interface).

I haven't used mine much to be honest, so can't speak from gospel it's the best way, but it works with low latency and sounds good. Works both Mac & PC.

There are apps and interface tools for phones & iPads to, if that may be easier.

 

[physichull]

Well just bought the boy a BOSS Katana 100 MkII for Christmas, it's his first proper amp, and since he had his new Mustang he's found a love for playing electric.

Hope he'll enjoy it, and hope I can understand how to help him set it up.

Nice, I bought the Boss Waza Air headphones and they are incredible - especially useful as I have a young son who goes to bed early and means I can't turn up my Marshall anymore!

 

[Journey]

Nice, I bought the Boss Waza Air headphones and they are incredible - especially useful as I have a young son who goes to bed early and means I can't turn up my Marshall anymore!

He's loving it! I just managed to get it all hooked up the the PC properly and have been walking him through settings I know nothing about, and have got some DAW software setup for him so he can record his sessions and listen back to see where he made mistakes. Next stop will be that foot board thingy.

 

[Dup]

After my last post I felt compelled to set up my MacBook and audio interface with my electric. I inherited my late fathers acoustic 6 years ago and vowed for it to not just be an ornament and had lessons etc however kid no1 came along and progress ended. Once life settled I bought a used Squier Standard and the interface so I can practice quietly in the evening but then life got in the way and now we're on kid no2 (technically kid no3 as she has one already).

I'd love to get to a stage I could play an open mic before I'm for (37 this year). Totally doable, but I'm going to get some lessons again and practice with some structure and more generic techniques to be more than competent. Looking forward to it and I've no excuse now it's all set up ready to use.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Nice, I bought the Boss Waza Air headphones and they are incredible - especially useful as I have a young son who goes to bed early and means I can't turn up my Marshall anymore!

I have run guitar and the track through the same audio source before and found it really difficult to play along. I guess I'm used to the bass hitting me in the back, so having one source of output sounded terrible to me. I couldn't really get the feel of the track when I was playing. Glad to hear this works for you though - I've heard these headphones are decent and certainily better than keeping your son up.

 

[uncle_rufus]

I'm still absolutely loving my setup now, after being quite nervous about selling my beloved Laney Lionheart head + cab. But the Soldano SLO-100 Neural DSP plugin is just so great sounding and pleasing to play through. I even have it routed now so that I can output the guitar signal through the same channel as my mic - so if I want to do a bit of busking over Discord/Zoom it works really nice and clearly

 

[builder22]

I ended up going for a JamVOX unit as there was one near me for £25 and on paper it does the job. The software has tonnes of virtual effects pedals too so that's pretty cool.

I can't seem to get the sound out of it without the software running, which is a little annoying. I'd like to use it just as an amp but that doesn't seem possible. Even with the software running the latency is unbearable so it really is only good for recording then listening after.

I'm now scanning the likes of Gumtree and FB marketplace for something like the Line 6 TonePort UX2 and a second hand amp.

I use this el cheapo interface with ASIO4ALL driver connected to whatever source for lag free jamming/recording https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-UCA202-U-Control-low-latency-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI, so if you can get lag free sound through your speakers using the VOX (unsure how it works, need to be connected to a PC?) then might be an option

others probabaly do it but Line 6 modellers/effects like PODXT/HD 500/Helix with inbuilt interfaces are great for recording/jamming, using the ASIO driver, I still have a PODXT and use it for recording, and my only am pis still at home

 

[Manners14]

I'm still absolutely loving my setup now, after being quite nervous about selling my beloved Laney Lionheart head + cab. But the Soldano SLO-100 Neural DSP plugin is just so great sounding and pleasing to play through. I even have it routed now so that I can output the guitar signal through the same channel as my mic - so if I want to do a bit of busking over Discord/Zoom it works really nice and clearly

Some of the Neural stuff is incredible, the Nolly archetype is a personal fave of mine, I have the diesel vh4 which is ok but the soldano blows that out the water.
I recently invested in a kemper stage so I've started using that instead now but to have those to fall back on is great if I can't take everything with me.