Ronnie Van Zant was known for never writing down any of his lyrics. His logic was, if it’s good, it’s worth remembering. Who am I to argue with the original lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd?
In a time when we can squint through a full movie on a cell phone or store an entire discography of a band we’ve never even listened to on our hard drive, why not record more stuff?
The Guitar2USB cable has a ¼-inch plug on one end that fits into your guitar, bass, keyboard or amplifier’s line out. At the other end of the 10-foot cable is a USB connector that works with any Windows- or Mac-based computer.
Once plugged in, the Guitar2USB cable will automatically install its driver. The process takes less than a minute, and there is no installation CD to lose or online verification code to enter. If you have a favorite recording software, you can select the Guitar2USB as your input; if not, the package suggests Audacity, which is available free for download.
Audacity is a no-nonsense multi-track software. It’s roughly a 20mb download and offers basic EQ and effects, cut-and-paste functions and click tracks — and when you’re done, you can export it all into a nice stereo WAV or MP3 file.
The signal I got straight out of my guitar was extremely hot. Even dialing back the input level in Audacity, I ended up rolling back the volume on my guitar to about 8 or 9 to avoid clipping.
Clip 1 below is a Tele clean and straight in. For Clip 2, I put an overdrive pedal in front of everything and double-tracked a guitar lead with the built-in phaser effect on Audacity. After a few minor tweaks, I was ready to export my files. It turns out I did have to get online to download the MP3 encoder, but that was no problem.
There you have it — an easy-to-use recording system for guitar. I’d have liked to see more guitar-friendly effects in Audacity, perhaps even an amp simulator. I was unable to dial in a light reverb that didn’t scream “1980s,” but that's not the cable's fault.
No bulky hardware, no having to watch a 20-minute tutorial on YouTube starring someone half your age; just a simple, effective way to record guitar with one cable and a computer. If you aren’t completely satisfied, the company offers a 60-day, money-back guarantee.
Web: guitar2usb.com
Price: $29.95
You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
