Playing guitar thru Computer(Vista)

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Hi,i hope this is the correct place for this,so i'll ask my question here.
I want to play an Amplified Guitar signal along with you tube videos(so i can hear myself),i suspect i need some sort of Basic Guitar software package & a device that gets the Guitar signal into it?
If i get this together can i hear the guitar signal & YT playback @ the same time.
I have no idea how to achieve this(i'm old & not tech savvy),so i'm asking for help &/or advice.
Thanks,Graham.
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Comments

  • StrangefanStrangefan Frets: 5845
    You ideally need an audio interface, get a decent 2nd hand  one, I believe @digitalscream has one for sale at a good price, then you will need something like guitar rig etc, hover you're using Visa so you're already on a losing streak if you can upgrade to 7 at the least. 
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26450
    <space for hire>
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    Seem to recall Vista having some strange problems with latency/ driver compatability, because I think they changed the way the OS deals with audio streams and it was early days with 3rd party companies trying to find their feet. Agree with @Strangefan , Windows 7 was a big step in the right direction!
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  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2176
    edited July 2017
    Vista was OK for me on my previous computer. If you want some sounds and to avoid latency issues, a Line 6 GX might be a good option.

    I still use a GX as a part of my portable setup with my travel guitar and a laptop for holidays. You'd need to plug headphones (or powered speakers) into the GX.
    It's not a competition.
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  • GrahamGGrahamG Frets: 87
    With the GX,Can the You/T vids play back at the same time?,sorry if this is dumb,i have no idea what i'm talking about,just what i'm trying to do.
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  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2176
    edited July 2017
    GrahamG said:
    With the GX,Can the You/T vids play back at the same time?,sorry if this is dumb,i have no idea what i'm talking about,just what i'm trying to do.
    Yes. You just need to set it as the playback device on your computer. I've just been using it for that very purpose out in Zakynthos to jam along to a Dann Huff Youtube clip on another thread.

    Btw there are other options. Many practice amps and multifx units also offer USB interfaces where you can use the built in sounds to avoid latency by, in effect, providing direct monitoring. Alternatively, you could take an audio (head phone) out from your computer and plug it into a 'Line/Aux-in' in a practice amp or multifx unit if it has one.

    I've never managed to get low enough latency with USB 2.0 for monitoring using ampsims hosted on computer. USB 3.0 is OK if your audio interface supports it, but I suspect you won't have USB 3.0 on an older Vista computer.

    I used to use an old M-audio 2496 PCI card on my Vista 32 bit computer which gave just about low enough latency for computer hosted ampsims.
    It's not a competition.
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  • revsorgrevsorg Frets: 874
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  • GrahamGGrahamG Frets: 87
    edited July 2017
    You ideally need an audio interface, get a decent 2nd hand  one, I believe @digitalscream has one for sale at a good price, then you will need something like guitar rig etc, hover you're using Visa so you're already on a losing streak if you can upgrade to 7 at the least. 
    So with the box that digitalscreams selling,that gets my guitar into the Computer & playback through Headphones?,then i need software programme to get my guitar sounds?
    I've been reading a few threads & S Gear are selling there software for $99,does the Presonus interface with that?

    Then the L6 GX,looks like a ready to go package for about £80,inc.interface & software & a recording software,which i'm not really bothered about.

    I'll have a little think,before asking more daft questions,just realised i've used a Presonus digital desk in the past,very good quality,but a bit glitchy,i think.
    Thanks for the help.
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  • GrahamGGrahamG Frets: 87
    revsorg said:
    Thanks,very helpful =)
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26450
    GrahamG said:
    You ideally need an audio interface, get a decent 2nd hand  one, I believe @digitalscream has one for sale at a good price, then you will need something like guitar rig etc, hover you're using Visa so you're already on a losing streak if you can upgrade to 7 at the least. 
    So with the box that digitalscreams selling,that gets my guitar into the Computer & playback through Headphones?,then i need software programme to get my guitar sounds?
    I've been reading a few threads & S Gear are selling there software for $99,does the Presonus interface with that?

    Then the L6 GX,looks like a ready to go package for about £80,inc.interface & software & a recording software,which i'm not really bothered about.

    I'll have a little think,before asking more daft questions,just realised i've used a Presonus digital desk in the past,very good quality,but a bit glitchy,i think.
    Thanks for the help.
    It's easiest with a DAW of some sort - I think I can probably find the Studio One software that came with the Presonus. You don't have to use it to record stuff, just for monitoring (which is pretty trivial). There are loads of awesome free guitar amp sims out there, too.

    Personally, I've never had any glitches of any sort with the Presonus stuff, but I had a cheap Line 6 interface for a bit and found the latency quite high - bringing the latency down just resulted in dropouts all over the place.
    <space for hire>
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  • stratman3142stratman3142 Frets: 2176
    edited July 2017
    Do you only want to play along and not actually record? In which case an audio out from your computer into a Line/Aux In to a multifx or practice amp with headphones out might be a better way to go.

    There's one possible pitfall with an audio interface/DAW approach. Sometimes audio glitches can be caused by things on your computer such as wireless, which might need to be disabled. And if you're using wireless for your internet connection to watch Youtube that's going to be a problem. Having said that, I've only had that type of issue on an old XP laptop. My old Vista computer was fine. You could download the dpc latency checker to identify potential issues in advance.

    The Line 6 GX has been fine for me, provided I used the built in sounds and ToneDirect monitoring. But the sounds are at best only passable by modern standards and not in the same league as S-Gear. The inherent latency of the GX is too high to be useable for through DAW/computer monitoring using something like S Gear.

    I look forward to a Helix version of the Line 6 GX.

    Btw. If you're thinking about using S Gear check the system requirements. I think it might now need Windows 7 and above. That might be the case for other recent versions of software you're thinking of using with Vista. 
    It's not a competition.
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  • GrahamGGrahamG Frets: 87
    digitalscream,The glitches with the desk mainly surrounded,the power supply(or something overheating on the PCB),i think it was a known problem,that they designed out in a newer version,no big deal.
    I'm sorry if these questions are dim,but is Vista ok with this?
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26450
    GrahamG said:
    digitalscream,The glitches with the desk mainly surrounded,the power supply(or something overheating on the PCB),i think it was a known problem,that they designed out in a newer version,no big deal.
    I'm sorry if these questions are dim,but is Vista ok with this?
    Yup, Vista's fine with it - you might have to use an older version of the drivers (1.2.2, after a bit of investigation), but it'll work just fine as long as you have Vista Service Pack 2 installed.
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