To connect your guitar to the audio interface, your guitar must have a signal output port. All electric guitars have signal outputs. In addition, some acoustic guitars have a signal output port so they can be connected to audio interfaces. You should input the input port of your audio interface with the TRS jack cable from the output port on your guitar.
In this way, the signal will leave your guitar and reach your audio interface. You can hear the sound from your interface by activating the channel you entered the guitar signal from the panel screen of your audio interface.
In addition, you can record your guitar signal by activating the “record” button on the channel you are using to record the signal coming from the music program you are using.
Can You Play the Guitar Through An Audio Interface?
You will need an audio interface to play and record your guitar. To hear the sound of your guitar from the speakers, you need to connect your guitar to the audio interface.
Instead of connecting your guitar directly to the audio interface, you can also record the sound of your guitar through a microphone.
To do this, you need to connect the microphone to the audio interface instead of the guitar. Many of the inputs on the audio interfaces can be used as both microphone inputs and guitar inputs.
In some acoustic guitar recordings, the guitar is recorded with microphones in order to get the ambient acoustics. This adds more ambiance to the recording and makes the sound clearer.
What Is Daw?
DAW stands for the Digital Audio Workstation. DAW is an interface program that allows you to save the sound you recorded from your instrument or microphone to your computer.
In this program, you can record as you wish and edit the recordings you have made. DAWs generally have volume adjustments, different effects, and mastering plugins.
These programs not only record sound but also allow you to mix the sounds you recorded as you wish.
Expertly used by musicians and producers, DAWs are used to create music productions. The main DAWs known today are Logic, Ableton, Pro Tools, and Reason.
How Do You Play With A Daw?
After connecting your guitar to the input of your audio interface, you should open the DAW you are using and go to the settings section.
First of all, you must go to the “Audio” tab in the settings section and map the input of your DAW to the output of your audio interface.
Then you should open an empty audio channel in your DAW and try to hear your guitar signal on this channel.
Make sure that the “r”, that is, record key, is active in the sound channel you are playing, otherwise you may not be able to receive sound from your channel.
After receiving the signal to the channel inside your DAW, make sure that the channel volume is turned up.
Finally, make sure that the volume of the master output in the DAW is turned up. After doing all this, you can easily play the guitar with a DAW.
How Do Audio Interfaces Work?
The audio interface receives the signal from the input port and amplifies the signal to line level.
This level is a digitally augmented and amplified version of the sound. If you are recording an acoustic guitar, your audio interface will take this analog signal and convert it to a digital audio signal.
Here, the depth of the signal and the sampling rate are the factors that determine the quality of the signal.
For this reason, audio interfaces are also segmented. Today, while audio interfaces can be purchased at very cheap prices, it is possible to find audio interfaces at very high prices.
Logically, audio interfaces are tools that convert analog signal to digital signal and transfer it to your computer as a digital audio recording.
Can I Connect Two Guitars At The Same Time To An Audio Interface?
Yes, you can. This depends on how many inputs you have on your interface. While some audio interfaces have only two inputs, some offer up to 16 or even 32 inputs.
This depends on the quality of the project you are doing and the audio interface you are using.
Today, many professional studios use audio interfaces that offer multi-track recording. Especially for recording instruments that require multiple channels such as drums, such audio interfaces are needed.
Some audio interfaces have only one or two inputs. Such audio interfaces usually appeal to home users.
You can buy these interfaces at affordable prices, which appeal to people who want to record themselves at home.
How Do I Connect To An Audio Interface?
To connect your guitar to an audio interface, if your guitar is an electric guitar, you need to input from the signal output to the instrument input of your audio interface via the TRS cable.
If you have an acoustic guitar, you can transfer the sound to the computer with a microphone.
Electronics in some acoustic guitars allow you to deliver acoustic guitar signals to the audio interface.
Can You Plug An Acoustic Into An Audio Interface?
Acoustic guitars are generally types of guitars that do not have an electronic processor in them.
For this reason, they are separated from electric guitars under the name of acoustic guitar. But nowadays, with the advancement of audio technology, acoustic guitars can now be fitted with signal processors, so you can connect your acoustic guitar to audio interfaces.
In order to connect your acoustic guitar to the audio interface, you must input from the output of your guitar to the input of your audio interface with the help of a TRS cable.
In this way, your guitar is connected to the audio interface. Also, another frequently used alternative is to properly microphone your guitar. This technique is frequently used in many studio applications.
What Cable Is Used?
The cable type you usually need to use to connect your guitar to the audio interface is TRS 1/4 inch cable.
This cable is very popular as it will not cause any signal loss or pollution in short and medium distances.
In addition, the inputs of most audio interfaces are designed to be suitable for TRS cables. This standard cable is the same almost everywhere in the world.
