Of course now I'm sort of second guessing everything and wondering if I should just forget it all and just get some software for my PC like Bias FX 2 and run everything through my PC. The small room I would be mainly playing in already has my PC in it so it seems like that might be the best option. I don't have to buy any new hardware, I'm not introducing any more power requirements, no additional cables other than guitar to PC and it would be the cheapest option to get something I could play through and added different effects.
If nothing else that's a good starter option and then you can see if you'd prefer to have an actual amp in the room if it turns out there's something missing from just using the PC.
I use a Rocksmith cable and Bias FX2, or Neural Amp Modeler and a bunch of nembrini audio pedal plug-ins in Reaper
If I didn't have the cable already I'd get a cheap interface with a decent instrument input like a focusrite or an Arturia Minifuse. The Arturia should come with Guitar Rig 6 LE too.
I'd like an amp but I'd almost never use it.
The only thing really keeping me from going all in on modeling software instead of real stuff is I need an excuse to not be at my desk all of the time
I use a Rocksmith cable and Bias FX2, or Neural Amp Modeler and a bunch of nembrini audio pedal plug-ins in Reaper
If I didn't have the cable already I'd get a cheap interface with a decent instrument input like a focusrite or an Arturia Minifuse. The Arturia should come with Guitar Rig 6 LE too.
I'd like an amp but I'd almost never use it.
Good call. I have a realtone cable already so I think for now I'm going to purchase the Bias FX2 software and just run everything through my PC. If I decide that I do what an amp to play through I might get something like the Spark Mini that not only is portable but instead of batteries has a rechargable battery built into it. If I end up liking this setup I still might end up buying an audio interface for the PC as I'm guessing the audio quality/latency would be better than the cheap real tone cable.
Can I chime in and say bias is, to my ears, the weakest if the bunch. If you are looking for clean / slight overdriven look to TH-U overloud. If you are looking for heavy, look to Neural dsp. I think especially overloud is vastly overlooked for how good their stuff is.
From what I can tell it seems like bias fx and neural dsp are sort of different. With bias I pay $112 and get a bunch of different effects,amps, etc that I can mix and match how I want. With neural I pay anywhere from $100 to $200 for specific setups? Do I have that right? I gather that bias is more versatile but neural has higher quality or more accurate sound?
Unfortunately now that I've got home and started looking, I found my real tone cable but the breakaway portion that has the USB connector got smashed and it won't connect anymore. Now I need to decide if I want to order another dongle, order a different guitar -> USB cable that might be better than the realtone or spend a little more and get an actual audio interface instead. I'm sort of leaning towards just getting an audio interface like this Behringer U-Phoria on Amazon.
I've looked up the Behringer interfaces before and from what people say the instrument input isn't great for high impedance signals.
Of the cheaper interfaces for guitarists on a budget I lean towards the Arturia Minifuse, not least because it comes with Guitar Rig LE. comparison A very light version of Guitar Rig, but it does give you 4 amp models and probably a discount to upgrade to Pro.
Your analysis of things like Bias FX2 vs Neural DSP is accurate. Although most of the Neural DSP archetypes are fairly flexible with different amp models and they have demos. Bias compares more directly to Amplitube and Guitar Rig.
If I was you, and you may disagree, if I was budgeting $60 for an interface and $112 for Biax FX 2, then I'd get an Arturia Minifuse at $100 for the 1 or $150 for the 2.
Then start playing with free tools and demos. 
Well for now I ended up ordering a few USB dongles off Amazon. I figured we'd need one if the kids wanted to use the Xbox 360 dance dance revolution mat again anyway and they were cheap.
Once that arrives and I'm able to get my guitar connected to my PC again, I'm going to download the free trials or demos for Bias FX2, Amphub and the Petrucci Neural DSP archtype and see which one I end up liking more.
Still a pretty good chance once I get everything up and running and prove that I like the setup that I end up buying an audio interface for my PC just to up the quality a bit from the realtone cable setup.
Thanks for the advice everyone. Keep on rocking!
Amazon is just killing me right now. The new guitar stand set and wireless system I ordered was supposed to be here Monday and hasn't even shipped yet. Then I ordered a couple USB dongles for my Realtone cable that were supposed to be here today and I just got a notice saying they are delayed with date on when they will be here now.
So... I bought an HD28, new.
It's amazing.
Damn I to come over to your house sometime! Maybe in the middle of the night with a ski mask on...
(This is a joke I will not break into your house. Not without leaving some beer behind as thanks at least)
Jokes aside I'm not sure I've ever actually encountered a Martin in the wild before. People seem to really hold on to those so I don't doubt it's great.
I have a couple road series, but this was my first foray into the expensive American-made land. If you ever find yourself with the cash, wow - it's art.
Yeah I should work on my fundamentals so I can get a better feel for the differences sometime. Or not I've already spent far too much on guitars this year.
New guitar stand is put together and installed. First time I've had all of them out in a long time. I typically just have one acoustic sitting out and the rest in cases in the closet due to lack of space.
I was going to post a pic but I can't figure out how to do that. Is there no way to directly post a pic? Do I have to upload to another site first and then paste a link to that site?
Unfortunately yes:(
Bummer, than you'll just have to imagine how clean it looks.
Next issue, I'm getting a lot of hum when connecting to my effects board. I'm guessing it's picking it up from my computer? I had the noise gate turned on the board but it didn't seem to make a difference. Any good way to reduce that other than get farther away from electronics?
On top of that, I went to plug in my wireless Sennheiser headphones and they don't seem to be powering up anymore. They lit up when I first plugged them in but I wasn't getting any sound. Tried a different socket and now the power light won't even come on so I guess I'm going to need to get a new set of headphones too.
I usually post the image in Discord somewhere and then share the Discord image link.
Good idea!
Ignore the weird wall, my "office" is in what I think was just a room the previous owners were using for storage. Walls and flooring are unfinished. Finishing out the room is on the list of things to do that probably will never get done until we are ready to move.
Thats a super nice stand. But that Gibson with the p90’s. Rawr!
Yeah, it's just one of the reissues they did back in 2015 I think it was so not that cool but I like the look of it
That's really nice! Efficient use of floor space.
Yeah, Les Paul with P90s is <3
Next issue, I'm getting a lot of hum when connecting to my effects board. I'm guessing it's picking it up from my computer? I had the noise gate turned on the board but it didn't seem to make a difference. Any good way to reduce that other than get farther away from electronics?
More seriously if a noise gate isn't effecting it, quite possibly a ground loop.
Morley makes a few devices that fix this, but they're not cheap. Try plugging in to different plug circuits if possible.
ddddddouble!!!
So I ended up cancelling my realtone cable order because it never showed up. I instead ordered a 1/4 to USB adapter thinking I could just use that to hook up my guitar to the PC. Got the adapter, installed the free version of Amplitube and couldn't get it to work. All I get is hissing noise. I downloaded AISO4all and that didn't seem to help either. While messing with that trying to get it to work, my son is going through his PC cables and finds our other realtone dongle that I couldn't find. Plugged that into my PC and everything seems to work fine! I'm not sure why that would work when the adaptor doesn't. There must be some tech or something in that cable to make it work?
Anyway, after playing for a bit I decided to go ahead and just order a focusrite audio interface. There was a decent amount of lag when using the cable, I can't use my wireless system with the cable, and I'm hoping using an audio interface might reduce some of the noise I'm getting.
You should be able to adjust your buffer in the ASIO drivers to cut down latency. Just make sure you hit 'Advanced Options' so you can see all the controls.
Not any 1/4 inch to USB adapter would work. One designed for guitar is essentially a mini interface, guitar signals are very weak, high impedance and unbalanced. Something designed for a higher voltage low-impedance signal won't work.
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And on a related note, I downloaded the demo for Archetype Rabea from Neural DSP. What a crazy amount of fun, I think I need to buy it when I can afford it.
It has a synth engine which is awesome.
And on a related note, I downloaded the demo for Archetype Rabea from Neural DSP. What a crazy amount of fun, I think I need to buy it when I can afford it.
It has a synth engine which is awesome.
Rabea's Archetype is my favorite of the ones I have. It's super fun and you can get some amazing tones from it. They usually have at least 2 sales / year where they cut the price in half.
Does anyone here have experience with learning and playing a harmonica? Boy is thinking of getting one for fun and if it's relatively easy I'm inclined to get one for myself to join him.
His musical commitments are growing again. Obligatory annual examination has to be recorded in the next 3 weeks. School band director "asked" conscripted him back into the senior band that he dropped earlier in the year; he's got back to back live performances for the three school bands he's in plus a concert his contemporary drumming tutor. Daughter happens to be performing at the same festival but yeah that weekend will be hectic. I kind of enjoy the intensity as I have a feeling we'll get less opportunities to see him play live as he approaches his senior year and unless he applies for and gets accepted at a music conservatorium.
Honestly I don't know how he keeps up with all the music. I'm just grateful he's invested because my wife and I finally bought him an Adams 4.3 Oct rosewood marimba for the next stage in his journey. It was incredibly expensive but is such a beautiful instrument and the sound is so much more vibrant and rich than the xylophone he's been using for the past 5-6 years.
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