Hi, I’m very new to home recording. I have attached my computer specs, in-case, these are needed. I’m using a Focusrite Scarlett Solo(3rd Gen) audio interface. I will have to admit, at this time, I have a Vintage Guitar, which is cheap & I’m planning to get a good guitar, in the future.
I’m looking to spend around £500 & wondered if anyone had any recommendations, for a decent heavy sound? I have also looked into stuff, like BISA FX2, though use Guitar Rig 5 at moment. When I see the advert for BIAS FX 2, it shows him playing on a Focusrite, though think it is Scralett 2i2 & the sound is amazing.
I have downloaded the trial & it sounds nothing like the advert. When I record anything, with distortion, it just doesn’t sound professional or clear. Would this be down to my computer as it, isn’t really modern, in tech. Would this be the fact, I have a cheap guitar, or the Audio Interface as it’s not in the £600-£800 mark? I understand that mastering is really important & this is something I will need to learn over time.
I just don’t get why the sound of my guitar isn’t good & I have even added E.Q’s built into Cubase to try and make things sound better. Any help & advice would be appreciated & any info on tech would be great. I have tried researching online & it’s just difficult to know what I really need. Many thanks.
Hi you,
your question is quite complex and not easy to answer - since we do not hear any of your recordings.
But what I can say is: The computer is for sure not the reason for bad sound (if anything, you might come to its limits when adding too many tracks or vsti-instruments or vst-effects, but this will not result in sound quality losses). The Scarlet Audio Interface is also ok - it for sure allows you to record in decent quality. Your guitar (e-guitar I assume?) must be connected to the jack input.
For further advice there is a lot to ask like: when you compare sounds (downloaded vs. self recorded), do you use the same monitoring system? What is your audio routing (starting from the guitar and running throug cubase)? And most important: Do you have any sound examples of your recordings that you could share?
Welcome to the forum.
Depending on what you are hearing versus what you want to hear, there could be many points of failure.
<< When I record anything, with distortion, it just doesn’t sound professional or clear >>
Does it sound clean when you don’t use the distortion plugin? If yes, then try different presets on the plugin. If no, then you will need to examine the Gain Structure. Be sure you are not overloading any parts of the signal path. i.e. check the following: a)The Focusrite input; b) the Cubase input channel; c) The guitar track itself ; d)the input to the plugin. (Gain structure is an art in itself).
The advert is trying to sell a product. You will not ever sound like the advert.
I use the Focusrite Scarlett Solo(2nd Gen) audio interface. And it is fine for me.
Thank guys for the help. I will try & get some recordings on here soon. I was thinking why does it sound so amazing in an advert, when I trial it myself, it doesn’t. I totally agree with the point of an advert trying to sell your a product & thought surely it can’t be my computer & interface. In clean tone it sounds good, so I might have play around, with plugins & E.Q’s. I’m very new to all this & using Cubase, I’m really enjoying learning new stuff & making some music. I’m sure, I will figure out more, as I go along.
Regarding plugins… I tried the Guitar Rig and many others over the years. I settled on a couple of these from Neural. Some of the best I’ve used. They are decently priced & the interface is a joy to use. Neural
I also use Focusrite interface (18i8). I use input 1 or 2 when recording, with gain set about 1 or 2 o’clock. Your interface should be fine to start with.
