An audio interface for guitar is simply a device that helps you connect your guitar to your computer through a USB cable. My first USB guitar audio interface was Line 6 UX2 Audio Interface. Although I primarily bought it to record my guitar but after exploring it for months, I realized that it’s definitely a tool that is much more than just a recording device. Beginner or intermediate guitarists often ask me if they need an audio interface for guitar and here’s my answer to them:
An Audio interface for guitar allows you to connect your guitar to your computer so that you can record your guitar using a digital audio workstation (DAW) and also use Virtual Studio Technology (VST) plugins for various guitar amp and effect simulators directly from your computer without the need to buy any additional amp, pedals or multi effects guitar processors.
Guitar Audio interfaces have been around for several years now but they have recently become a popular device among guitarists as they have become cheaper and better allowing guitarists to record and play guitars at a professional lever. Moreover, with recent advancements in music technology, especially VSTs and virtual effects, guitarists can now use their computers not only as recording devices but complete units with virtual amps and effects that too with minimum latency and high quality by using an audio interface for guitars.
Let’s dive deeper into the discussion of Guitar Audio Interface and whether you need one.
What does audio interface do for guitar?
The primary purpose of an audio interface for guitar is to connect your guitar to your computer. The Guitar Audio Interface usually has a guitar input for you to connect your guitar cable and a USB (and Audio) output to connect to a computer. In this way, the guitar audio interface acts as a bridge between your guitar and your computer.
An Audio Interface usually comes with the necessary drivers and tools that install on your computer. The Line 6 UX 2 audio interface that I had, came with a cd to install the Pod Farm software on my computer. It had lots of built-in amps and guitar effects that worked with my guitar. Similarly, almost all guitar audio interfaces either have proprietary software or third party applications called VSTs that work as multi effects pedals or virtual amps for your guitar. This allows you to play and record your guitar with any amp or effects you like and for the output, you can either use your headphones or your computer speakers (you will also find tons of speakers made specifically for guitars).
Can I just plug my guitar into my computer?
You may also be able to connect your guitar to your computer using the regular mic input of your computer, however, most of the times the built-in sound cards are not capable of handling guitar signals very well and often result in very high latency (delay in signals) or a lot of noise. It’s better to invest in a decent Guitar Audio Interface to get a good quality of guitar tone.
Do I really need an audio interface for guitar?
There are a lot of advantages of having an audio interface for guitar that really makes it a useful tool as part of your guitar gear. In fact, if you’re like me who doesn’t have a lot of space to keep large amps, mics and recording equipment and who likes to record guitar, then an audio interface is definitely worth it. Let’s discuss the advantages of having an audio interface for guitar:
- Convenience: Yup, i consider it as the biggest advantage of having an audio interface for guitar. I’ve got a small house with kids at home, so I do not have a permanent place to sit and play my guitar. An audio interface for guitar comes in handy as I can just take my laptop at any corner of the house, connect the guitar audio interface and start playing my guitar. It really saves from all the hassle of moving amps, finding electrical sockets and then finding a quiet place.
- Cost Effective: A decent budget audio interface for guitar doesn’t cost more than $200. And you’ll easily find tons of Guitar VSTs and plugins online for free or at a very nominal cost for the guitar tone and effects you want. And if you like playing your guitar with headphones on, then that’s probably all you need to play, record and enjoy your guitar. You can simply use your work or home laptop as your guitar rig.
- User Friendly: For beginners, an audio interface for guitar is perhaps the easiest way to learn and play your guitar. All you need to do is connect your audio interface to your computer, install the required drivers and plugins and you’re good to go. You’ll also find lots of tutorials or backing tracks to play along directly from your computer.
- Great tool to improve your guitar playing: The best way to improve your guitar playing is to record your playing and listen to it so that you can find the mistakes that you’ve made and work on them. An Audio Interface for Guitar really helps in this regard as you can directly record your guitar on your computer using applications like Reaper or Audacity and listen back to further hone your skills. This is how I myself started enjoying recording and improve my playing.
- Access to Guitar Plugins and VSTs: There are a ton of Guitar VST plugins available online that are specifically built to run as computer applications. These plugins imitate the guitar tones and effects that you get from popular guitar amps and pedals. With the help of Audio Interface for Guitars, you’re able to use those VSTs on your computer and wont need to buy the amps and effects separately anymore.
How much should I pay for an audio interface?
An Audio Interface for guitar is just like any other guitar or guitar accessory. You’ll find it in a lot of budget ranges that can go as low as $50 for a very basic interface and more than $1000 for a high quality audio interface.
If you’re a beginner guitarist just starting out or an intermediate guitarist who also likes to setup a small home recording studio, then you can easily get a decent, high quality audio interface for guitar within $200.
Here are some of my favorite USB audio interfaces that you can get under $200 and that’ll work great for playing and recording guitar at home:
Focusrite Scarlett Solo
When searching for guitar audio interfaces, you’ll hear the name of Focusrite a lot. This is because they’re the pioneers of creating awesome audio interfaces for home and professional recordings and are very popular among podcasters and youtubers. At the same time, Focusrite Scarlett Solo is an excellent audio interface for guitar that works seamlessly with all operating systems (Windows, Mac and Linux) and all VSTs.
Focusrite Scarlett Solo is their beginner audio interface for guitar that allows you to connect a single guitar or mic to your computer, and it will cost you $110 on Amazon. But there are other variants also available that will allow you to connect more than one guitar and mic to your computer.
Focusrite Audio Interface is also very user friendly to use. You can install the drivers and application on your computer and that’s probably it to get you started to using the Focusrite Audio Interface for Guitar.
Universal Audio Volt 2
Universal Audio is famous in developing guitar VST plugins mimicking the analog guitar tones that are still considered to be the most authentic guitar tones produced by vintage tube amps and analog pedals.
The Universal Audio Volt 2 is a replica of The Focusrite 2i2 Audio Interface for Guitar and costs around $189. If you love the vintage guitar amp sounds and are looking to replicate those in your computer without buying the expensive tube amps, then the Univeral Audio Volt 2 audio interface for Guitar is a great option for you.
M-Audio AIR 192|6
M-Audio is one of the most revered names in music computer interface and studio integration solutions. They have produces some solid preamps and a very user friendly interface.
In this price range of $200, M- Audio Audio Interface is the only guitar interface that also has the MIDI Input, that is really helpful for recording music.
So guys, that’s it regarding the audio interface for guitars. If you are a beginner guitar and are looking to invest in some good guitar gear, I would suggest that the audio interface for guitar should be your next investment after purchasing your guitar. I am pretty sure you must already be having a good laptop at home so let’s make that laptop useful and convert it to a multi effects pedal, recording and playing device for you and help you achieve the next level on guitar playing!