A buddy of mine is looking for a sound card that will let him plug his guitar in and record. Anyone have any sugestions? Is the plug on a guitar a different size from a normal mic plug?

You won't be able to plug the guitar cable directly into your computer. Typical guitar cables are 1/4 inch plugs, and most (if not all) sound cards only use 1/8 inch plugs.

Not sure if you could use an adapter to change the plug size, but it might work.

EDIT: I meant that you can't plug your 1/4 inch cable directly into the 1/8 inch plug on the sound card. Forgot to mention getting an adapter. Sorry for the confusion.

I just connect the headphone jack on my effects rack to the aux. in on my mobo. Works fine like that.

You'll need a male to male 3.5m jack connector and a 3.5m to 5m adapter (come free with most expensive headphones, I got mine free with my latest pair of Sennhiesers)

All you need is 1/4 x 1/8 adt.and plug into line in...

Quote: Originally Posted by lobey You won't be able to plug the guitar cable directly into your computer. Typical guitar cables are 1/4 inch plugs, and most (if not all) sound cards only use 1/8 inch plugs. Not sure if you could use an adapter to change the plug size, but it might work.

Yes you can. As long as the channels are matched up (ground included) he can. They do sell adapters though.

The problem is that a guitar's signal is way below line level, so if you plug it into your computer directly you'll get a very faint and noisy sound that will only go so high.

There are two real options for studio quality guitar sound
a) record the amp. Some amps have a certain sound and if you friend likes the sound of his amp a lot, he should stick with it. Unfortunately this will mean getting a (good) microphone and a preamp for it. The Shure SM57 is the industry favorite for all-around use. You can find one for $100 or so on eBay. Expensive (not in the audio engineering world, but expensive for me), but the SM57 is a good mic for just about anything, and if your friend is serious about recording that mic will become one of his best friends.

b) a Direct Box. Direct Boxes will give you a crystal clear sound and bring your guitar up to line level. There are many programs in which he can add effects from there. It won't have the "warmth" of an amp, but it has the cleanest, noise-free sound.

And, of course, the sound card. Sound Blasters are NOT for recording. Oh, the breakout for the audigy will record, but you won't get professional quality by any means, no overhead for overloading at all. I'd suggest hitting ebay and preparing to shell out some cash for a firewire recording interface. If it's firewire and audio recording related, you're probably OK.

EDIT: Crap, you were really only asking about the sound card. Try M-Audio products past the revolution I guess

get a nice condensor mic, about 150, and mic up the amp record. Dont use a cheap mic.