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JPM42

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 21, 2007
275
7
Hi,

I'm currently using Logic 9, along with a MOTU 828mkii interface. I'm in the middle of trying to write a song that, unfortunately, happens to require rhythm guitar. I say unfortunately because, despite having a guitar around, I'm not really a guitar player, and I can't really find any samples in my Logic/Kontakt libraries that suffice (not enough attack). Therefore, I'm left to figure it out on the guitar and just go at it, which is fine.

The problem is that, when I plug in, despite adjusting the levels on my interface, the sound is barely audible. What is clearly audible, though, is the amount of hiss and fuzz that renders any recording useless. The other concern I have is a safety one, as I almost shocked myself when I plugged the cable into the guitar. Which means my set up is clearly not right. What I did was purchase this cable:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UCC742/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Then I connected it from my guitar straight into my MOTU 828 mkii. But this is clearly not working, so I'd be curious to know what steps I've missed and what I need to finally get going properly. This isn't really my area, so any insight is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,635
4,528
New Jersey Pine Barrens
Hmm, I have a cable just like the one in the OP's link (XLR on one end and 1/4 phone plug on the other) and it works great with electric guitars. No problem with levels, I can't turn the gain on the interface any higher than about 75% without overloading. However my interface has a switch to select between mic/guitar. Does yours?

Something is definitely wrong if you are getting a shock though. So maybe your cable is wired differently, or maybe there's a problem with your interface? I assume you don't get a shock when you plug the guitar into a regular amp?

Are you sure it wasn't just a static electricity shock when you first touch the cable or guitar? That is pretty common inside during the winter.
 

bennibeef

macrumors 6502
May 22, 2013
340
161
you should use a 1/4 cable into your interface with a preamp labeled instrument or guitar to get the right levels.

with your motu, you should be able to just plug in the 1/4 cable into channel 1 for example not using the xlr but the 1/4 jack and you should be good to go.
The guitar might not sound good, because its the raw guitar and almost no where you will here a guitar sound like that, you need some sort of simulation like guitar rig or the guitar presets or pedalboard and amp simulators of logic.
 

JPM42

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 21, 2007
275
7
Thanks, guys, for all your help. I ended up buying the Fender guitar cable tonight, and right now, I'm trying to figure out how to actually generate sound from my guitar in Logic.

Here is a picture of my MOTU interface:

motu-828-mk2-738870.jpg


I have one end of the cable plugged into my guitar and the other end plugged into the back of the MOTU under the channel 1 input. In Logic, when I create a new track, I set the input to "Input 1" and the output to "Stereo Out", but when I do this, then it defaults to my microphone (which is plugged into the Mic/Guitar 1 input on the front). If I change the output to a mono output (Output 1), I still get the microphone.

I admit, I'm fairly clueless about this, so any help on what I'm doing wrong and how to get this going would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
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