Home › Forums › Discuss Your Gear › Need help w/amp/recording please
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August 27, 2016 at 12:48 pm #49399
Hi everyone,
I have a pretty low tech setup and trying to move into the 21st Century! Ok, so I normally record a video by playing a CD of the backing track and putting that in my tape player because the audio volume is louder than playing thru my laptop speakers. I then play my guitar which is connected to my amp and use my Logitech C920 webcam to record the video.My wife recently bought me a Fender Mustang 1 V.2 which has an Aux input and I would like to use it but not sure how I do so? I think I can connect a mini stereo cable to either my laptop or my tape player and then connect that cable to my Fender Mustang Aux input. If I do so I believe that I will be able to play the backing track thru the amplifier and play the guitar thru the amp at the same time. Is that correct? If I do so will the volume be the same for both the backing track and the guitar audio coming thru the amp as I only have a Master volume control and then a separate volume for the gain & other controls on the amp. Also, where would I get a mini stereo cable? From Guitar Center and is that what I ask for? In future I would like to use Brian’s MP3 Track and have that go directly to the amp thru the aux connection as that would mean I would no longer have to make CD copies of his MP3 track. Again, I think I use this mini stereo cable to connect to the headphone input on the laptop and then connect the other end to the aux input on the amp.
Can y’all let me know what you think? Is this the direction I should be heading in?
Thanks,
Tim -
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August 27, 2016 at 1:02 pm #49401
@bluesguitarlvr, this sounds like a huge improvement over your current set up. I don’t have a Fender Mustang but I think what you need is an “accessory cable”. They should be available at any electronics store, That will fit your laptop, I don’t know if you need an adapter for the amp. Many of these amps have a separate auxillary volume to adjust the backing track to your guitar volume, perhaps a Mustang owner can answer this one.
John -
August 27, 2016 at 1:39 pm #49403
I am working on playing the backing tracks through my Kindle fire, it connects to the amp at this jack
a double ended 3.5mm cable and an adapter jack so that it fits the amp
backing tracks are downloaded to the kindle
and vol level is controlled on the kindle as amp vol is only for your guitar
of course you dont even need to go to all this bother, just buy the cable and adapter and link your smart phone or mp3 player to your amp and control the vol on either of those..
Hope this helps
Billy
..Billy..
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August 27, 2016 at 1:47 pm #49408
Sorry I forgot to add, I bought the cable and adaptor from Maplin. Maplin are similar type store to your radio shack, the cable and adaptor cost about £3gbp=$5usd…
Billy
..Billy..
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August 27, 2016 at 2:26 pm #49409
John,
Many thanks for replying. Yes, it would be great if someone else on the Forum has a Fender Mustang to see how they work with the aux. input.
Billy,
Thanks so much for all the pics of how to set this all up. I don’t have a Kindle or an IPhone ( pitiful I know..) so trying to use the mini stereo cable if at all possible. I have since looked online and they do sell a 12′ mini stereo audio cable which has the 3.5 mm jack on each end so I think this may work so I can plug into the headphone jack on the laptop and the aux input on the amp. As you say, I could then perhaps control the backing track volume thru the laptop volume control and the guitar thru the master control volume on the amp. I may have to just try this route and see what happens.
Again, thanks so much for replying.
Tim -
August 27, 2016 at 2:39 pm #49410
Hi Tim, congrats on the mustang, great amp series from Fender. I have owned the MUstang iii v2 for almost 3 years now and can’t say enough about it.
So if you have a mustang you also have a USB line out to your PC and Fuse software. Frankly, I think you are making it more complicated with the method you described.
Since you can play directly to garageband (or other DAW using USB), the simplest way to record your playing with a backing track, method I use, is to load the backing track in garageband (drag and drop the file), create a track for your guitar…and you can even use all the amps and effects in garageband or the ones in the mustang….play the backing track and hit the record button and play….you can set the volumes independently for the backing track and the guitar, etc….nothing to buy, no new cables needed…and then you can edit to your hearts desire….and save the whole thing as an MP3 or other format….no disks, no cables…if you dont have a mac, you can use your ipad to do this…that will require an adapter to the ipad. It’s very straight forward and its capturing the direct digital signal.
Here as an example of what can be done….the first recording I ever did that way, and posted here long ago:
Let me know if you’d like I can guide you through the process.
RobertoRoberto
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August 27, 2016 at 3:27 pm #49414
Roberto,
Yes, love the Fender Mustang and the ability to download different amp tones to the amp directly. So, I have the USB and have been playing around with that capability but hadn’t thought about using a DAW.I understand what your saying about loading to Garageband because I have an old version of Protools which is similar in that I can create tracks as you have described. I havn’t used Protools though in quite awhile….( it was given to me )
Here’s the thing, I really want to have a better method of putting out videos so if I go the Garageband/DAW route then I’ll be restricted to the volume put out by my laptop speakers which is 2.6 watts versus the max 20 watts thru the amp. Now, if I get a mini stereo cable and connect the headphone jack to the aux jack with the mini stereo cable I’m not sure how the volumes will be in terms of guitar volume & backing track volume. Am I making this more complicated than it is? If I go your route then I would set up my webcam and have the backing track playing thru the laptop speakers ( will it be loud enough? ) and then play the guitar thru the amp and both tracks will show up on the Daw. Is that right? Sorry to take up your time on this. I’m new to all of this.
Tim-
August 27, 2016 at 5:03 pm #49424
HI Tim, not a bother at all….we all had to start somewhere…
OK, so you want to record video of you playing as well…you essentially have a couple of choices:
easy: use your ipad and the garageband mic recorder or the simple video sound recorder. I am usually shocked at how well these come out. Put the backing track through the AUX of the Mustang, and play against it. Adjust the volume with the device that has the backing track and the master volume of the Mustang. You’ll need to coordinate volume with the amp model and guitar. This example isn’t like this, but straight video sound off the ipad…its excellent…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKNoToEbPFo you will obviously place the ipad in a better position to capture you and the mustang output. My volume on the mustang was at 2.5 playing the lead guitar and the ipad was maybe 10-12 feet away…more than good for our purposes here.
harder: you record to a DAW as discussed before, you record video as well at same time. Then using video editing software, Imovie etc, you replace the sound on the video with the track from the DAW, sync it and save as one file. Bryce did a great video to demo how to do this, it’s actually pretty simple…we’ll need to find that video from Bryce @bryce-akguitar, its self explanatory.
I have to be honest, I rarely use that AUX input on the mustang, not happy with how it sounds and I have all my music stuff on a home network drive so its easier to play through my stereo and sounds much better….anyway. Sincerely, give the straight ipad method a try before you go to more trouble…there are ipad stands you can use so its positoned for video and capturing the mustang.
I did not understand why the DAW method restricts your volume, you actually will have more options to optimize the sound and tone…..the sound is not captured from the speaker output, but directly from the digital sound on the mustang motherboard….no connection to your pc speakers at all. The recording I sent you in the last post was all digital and can be played on a high end stereo or car and sounds great….
Let me know..or see your tests…
be well,
Roberto
Roberto
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August 27, 2016 at 5:34 pm #49439
Hi Tim,
By the sound of it, you don’t have a Mac (Macbook Pro or whatever), so you can’t use Garageband. So my discussion below is for PCs.
You definitely need to upgrade your recording process. There are actually 3 things to consider: how do you want to get the guitar audio into your laptop, how do you want to be able to listen to the jamtrack, and how do you want to record the video?
1) Getting the audio into your laptop: A direct feed is the best way, since the mic on your Logitech webcam is optimized for the human voice, and will give a tinny sound for music. For this method, you need an “audio interface” device. Bryce recommended to me a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. I bought one, and I love it. You plug your guitar into the interface, and it plugs into your laptop’s USB port. The good news is, it comes with a free copy of Ableton Live recording software (kind of like Garageband). Amazon.com sells them for $125. Another way (less desirable) is to buy a mic that will plug into your laptop’s mic input. The mic will need to have a 3.5mm stereo jack. Then you put the mic smack up against your amplifier speaker. Again, you need some kind of DAW software (Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Cubase, whatever) to do the actual recording.
2) Listening to the jamtrack: Buy a 3.5mm stereo cable (Best Buy, Radio Shack, Walmart) long enough to reach your amp. Plug one end into the headphone socket of your laptop, and the other end into the Aux input of your Fender amp. Control the volume with your laptop’s volume control (start of with it turned down so it won’t blow you away). You can leave this plugged in permanently, but you will get no sound unless your amp is turned on. I assume your jamtracks are stored somewhere on your laptop. Maybe you have installed iTunes on your laptop? If not, you should. Then put all your jamtracks into a separate playlist on iTunes. When you want to play along with a jamtrack, just plug your guitar into the Fender amp, start playing the jamtrack through iTunes, and the jamtrack plus guitar will both be heard on the amp. Voila, you’re in guitar heaven!
3) Recording your video: If you go the Focusrite route, just unplug your guitar from the amp, plug it into the Focusrite, and plug the Focusrite into the USB port of your laptop. You can use Ableton to record the guitar directly that way. But what about video recording? I don’t know what software you might be using now, but if you are recording using your Logitech webcam into some movie-making software, you can either bring the Ableton Live track into that software (which some of us do), or just plug a mic into your computer’s mic input.
Of course, by far the easiest way of all is to just ignore steps 1 and 3 above, and buy an iPhone. Get a Shure MV88 mic which plugs straight into the iPhone, get a tripod with an iPhone holder adapter ($15), and start recording while you play the jamtrack plus guitar on your Fender amp. When finished, email the video to yourself and upload it to Youtube.
Sunjamr Steve
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August 27, 2016 at 5:44 pm #49443
Roberto,
Many thanks for this detailed explanation. I don’t have an IPhone or Ipad ( as I said earlier it’s pitiful but havn’t really seen a need to have one up to now….) so I’ll need to go the harder route & check out Bryce’s video or just keep using the low tech route that I used for my earlier video postings.
I’ll figure something out which hopefully will be an improvement on how I have been doing things.
I really appreciate all the time you took explaining how I can do this. Maybe it’s time for me to buy an Ipad or a Kindle or even an MP3 player…..
Tim-
August 27, 2016 at 6:39 pm #49453
Hi Tim, apologies, I guess I missed the part about the Ipad…I thought I read you had one or the iphone….anyway sorry.
The good news is you have a MUstang with USB that can capture direct to a DAW. The mustang should have come with a free version of Ableton (Fender Mustang I-V (V.2): Ableton Live Lite 9 & Amplitube – Amplitube Free + Custom Shop) the Fender site says the Mustang I has free licenses to the SW in parentheses. So you have a modern DAW free, works on PC, amplitube gives you amps and effects, also free…..review Bryce’s video, if you can pull that off you are golden!
Happy to help!
Roberto
Roberto
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August 27, 2016 at 6:27 pm #49451
Here is the video Roberto (@maradonagol) was speaking about:
How To Record Yourself with Better Audio and with a Jam Track
-Bryce
Anchorage, Alaska-
August 27, 2016 at 6:40 pm #49454
Thanks Bryce!!
Roberto
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August 27, 2016 at 6:56 pm #49460
Roberto,
Thanks so much! I just checked my amp and I still have the tag on it and I see the Ableton info so I’m going to give that a shot.
Bryce,
Thanks for the link to your video. I’m going to study it and try it out!Tim
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August 27, 2016 at 7:37 pm #49465
Sunjamr Steve,
Man, I’m overwhelmed by the detail you have included here! Fantastic.
When I combine all this info with Roberto’s posting, Billy & Bryce then I have plenty I think to really come up with an alternative to my current setup.
Steve, you’re right I have a PC and I definitely need to upgrade my process.
Ref item. 1) I’m not using any DAW right now. I just download the MP3 backing track to a CD and then put in my CD player. I’m going to try Ableton that I have access to thru my purchase of the Fender Mustang amp. ( thanks Roberto for bringing to my attention )I could also try my old copy of Protools that I was given since it has an interface which plugs into my laptop’s USB port. So, I know that I can plug my guitar into that. I was not originally going to try using a DAW but just play the jamtrack and plug in the guitar and play thru the amplifier and record video with my Logitech C920HD webcam.
2) You have described exactly what I was originally trying to do. I just wasn’t sure what cable I needed but I do now. I also was not sure if the jamtrack would be heard on the amp with the guitar lead I’m playing but you have answered that question! Guitar heaven for sure!
3) Ok, I have been using Logitech C920HD webcam so if I follow your instructions from item 2 I should be able to hear the jamtrack & play my guitar and then record video with Logitech webcam.
Finally, I can use the outdated Windows Movie Maker which is not available in Windows 10 version but still works at the lower level version. I havn’t been able to find anything better that’s free movie making software.
I hope to post a video in the next few weeks so perhaps I can try using the items you have suggested.
Steve, I really appreciate the time you have spent in trying to help me out here.
Tim -
August 28, 2016 at 5:37 am #49489
Sorry Tim, I only found your PM about an hour or so back( the forum doesn’t give message pop ups), I did a little tutorial type thing and typical of trying to show someone something it hit a few problems.. anyway, I used an old laptop of mine to see if I could link it to my amp and play backing tracks with it..its an old laptop which I haven’t used in a few years, so it took me a couple of mins to figure it out..
I tried to polish off my best Scottish accent without sounding too much like Connery or Connolly.. hahaha
..Billy..
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August 28, 2016 at 9:18 am #49494
Hi Billy,
Perfect. This really helps. I think your accent may be more Connolly than Connery but regardless it sounds just great!
Really appreciate the time you took to put this together.
I hope to post a beginner video in the next couple of weeks. Have been working on EP142 which will be my 4th posting. My wife is so sick of hearing it that I have to finish it soon…..
Tim -
August 28, 2016 at 9:26 am #49495
Hi Billy,
Perfect. This really helps. I think your accent may be more Connolly than Connery but regardless it sounds just great!
Really appreciate the time you took to put this together.
I hope to post a beginner video in the next couple of weeks. Have been working on EP142 which will be my 4th posting. My wife is so sick of hearing it that I have to finish it soon…..
TimYou are more than welcome Tim, It is good to be able to put something back in to the forum. I know what you mean about constant practise, I was like that with Gypsy waltz.. good luck with the recording and video..
Billy..Billy..
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