I have a Spark 40 amp with an electric guitar connected, and want to be able to record the guitar to BIAB audio track. I've connected the amp's USB connection via cable to the computer, and Spark 40 shows up in BIAB as input device labeled "Microphone" and "Spark 40", so it would seem the connection is proper. I can't see any indication on the VU meters when I strike the guitar, but when I record a few seconds to the Audio track and play it back, I can hear the guitar; however it is extremely low volume, is muffled like it's underwater, and accompanied by what sounds like an echoing out-of-time click track, even though I had all other tracks muted. (I have a WAV file of it, but it doesn't look like WAV's can be uploaded to the forum). What am I doing wrong? I haven't yet tried connecting the Spark 40 a different way, i.e. its microphone output to input on a USB digital interface mixer on the computer, but it seems like the direct USB connection should work. Any ideas? Thanks.
I think I've seen other folks complain about using the USB connection to record. Mostly I've seen this in online groups on FaceBook. I'm not sure how many here actually use the Spark besides me. I'm sure there's probably a few.
So... to let us hear that wave... you have to upload it to a music hosting site such as DropBox, SoundCloud or something else similar. You then copy the active link to the song and post that in your thread post here. Second thing.... tell us about the computer and sound card as well as the driver you are using to record this audio. Yes, this can be the source of the trouble and in many cases is.
Personally, I don't use the USB connection to record..... I prefer to use either a microphone on the amp, or use a connector that plugs into the headphone out and run that into the input of your interface. I use the direct headphone out into my Scarlett 99% of the time. That gives me a solid sounding copy of what the amp is doing.
The spark is one amazing little amp.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
I haven't listened to the wav yet but that REALTEC sound card is certainly a huge potential problem with recording good audio in our recording hobby. The drivers all appear to be general windows generic drivers.
ADVICE: You should look into getting a dedicated musical interface such as something by Focusrite or Presonus. Something that is compatible with ASIO. Since the interface is the heart of your studio, get a good one and don't cut corners and go cheap. Getting a good USB interface that uses ASIO will change your recording experiance for the better. Everything tends to work like it's supposed to work. Most of the folks here will verify what I have just written.
I have a Focusrite Scarlett that runs ASIO. I've been using Focusrite since 2005 or so.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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