How to hook up your guitar to your computer

Guitar amps are so(oooo) 10 years ago. Instead of plugging into an amp to jam out, guitar owners have a variety of options for connecting their electric instruments to a computer to either rock for fun or record tracks for playing back later. Join us as we break down some of the best ways for connecting a guitar to a computer.

The cheapest option would be to plug into most computers' line-in or mic-in port (pictured above). These ports are standard minijack ports, which means all you need to buy is an 1/8" mini-jack cable to a standard 1/4" cable (pictured below) and you're set (you can also use a standard mini-jack to mini-jack cable and buy a small adapter tip that will convert a 1/8-inch plug into a 1/4-inch tip). Don't expect to pay too much for these cables, as we've found the cables for as cheap as $2. Once you have your cable, simply plug the cable into the guitar and the computer's mic-in spot and you're set. The biggest downside from a hardware perspective is that these line-in spots are notorious for having a poor signal-to-noise ratio, meaning they sometimes have a buzz, hiss, or other type of audio defect. However, at the bargain basement price of $2, it's worth a shot to test it out and see if it fits your needs.

With the advent of USB, people looking to connect all sorts of devices have a pretty simple time plugging it in and setting it up. Luckily for guitar players, there are a variety of USB options that don't require any additional hardware. Also, unlike the line-in and mic-in ports on most computers, these USB devices will have an extremely high signal to noise ratio, since the signals turn digital before entering the interference-prone computer innards. Believe it or not, these solutions are also available at most brick-and-mortar retailers.

For starters, lets talk the basic USB solution of a guitar cable. People seeking simplicity will have a tough time finding something more simple than a simple USB to 1/4-inch cable. Simply plug one end into a guitar, and the other end into a USB port. Chips have become so small on these devices that the manufacturers have hidden the electronics necessary to create a sound card in the USB plug itself. We've seen manufacturers SoundTech and First Act pop up most frequently offering the USB guitar cables. Both companies are selling their solutions for $40, and that's the only part — other than the guitar — that's necessary for hooking your axe up to a computer.

Other similarly priced solutions offer a bit more flexibility, like Behringer's Guitar Link UCG102. The basic premise is the same, though the unit requires an extra 1/4-inch to 1/8-inch cable to connect the unit to a guitar, but also offers the option of connecting headphones through another 1/4-inch cable jack. Another device highlight is a volume selector for controlling levels into the computer, which is especially useful if you're planning to use guitar pedals with your setup. Users who are without pedals in the signal path will also appreciate the bundled software, which includes Native Instruments' Guitar Box, a program for modeling different guitar pedals. The list price is $60 for the unit, though we've seen it at most places for $40.

Lastly, users who want to connect more than a simple guitar should look toward a mixer option. Like the name implies, an audio mixer takes all the audio signals plugged into it and mixes them together to send to a single or multiple outputs. Bands can use mixers to record music from multiple instruments, and isolate each track's volume level. I've been using Alesis's MultiMix12 USB for the better part of two years now, and I've been extremely pleased. The only downside of the cheapie USB version is that each track isn't individually isolated for the computer. Instead, the computer receives a 2 channel mix. Bands and other people expecting high performance applications will need to step up to the FireWire version, which sends each individual track as its own channel, allowing users to record each track separately from the others and remix levels as necessary after the recording session. The USB 12-channel version costs about $200, with the FireWire version costing from $300-$350, depending where you look.

One last thing we should mention is software considerations. On the Windows side, listening to what's coming out of the line/mic-in spot is as simple as double clicking the volume control in the corner, then unchecking the "mute" box. On the Mac, it's a bit more difficult and requires some third party software. Grab "Line-in" from this download link. Set up the "input" to route to the "Output" and press the "Pass Thru" button. It works rather easily. For track recording and more sophisticated processing of your sessions, you'll need to look into more full featured multi-track recording software, often referred to as a digital audio workstation (DAW). The big daddy used by many pros is Digitdesign's Pro Tools, but there are far more affordable options out there for the amateur enthusiast. Some options to look into include Apple's GarageBand (part of the iLife suite available for only $79), Steinberg Cubase, Apple Logic Studio, MOTU Digital Performer and a low-cost favorite of ours, Mackie's Tracktion.

Now you're up on the options for connecting a musical instrument to your computer. Each of these options has its own ups and downs, though they all accomplish the same basic task. Have a question we didn't answer? Be sure to sound off in the comments and we'll try to get your question answered.

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