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[drahkon]

Kinda got it to work with the Asio4All Driver. It lets me use the input from M-Track and output via the PC speakers. Problem is: it sounds pretty bad and not all presets work. There's also lots of static which is quite annoying.

 

Edited August 28, 2022 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

46 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Yup.

This is what it shows. When I play, the input and output on the main screen show that sound goes through. It just seems to be outputted through the Main Outs (to which I've connected nothing).
I can hear the guitar just fine when I connect headphones.

I just thought that as soon as I connected the audio interface to my PC that the guitar sound is outputted through the speakers I've connected to it.

Ok, this is what I've done so far to try and figure out what's happening. I'll try and make this as clear as I can, but please ask if there's something you don't understand.

I've opened up Guitar Rig 5 (which is the version I've got) and have run through a few configurations to try and figure out exactly what you can/can't do with the outputs. I've tried several different methods, so here goes:

I've tried Method 1: Guitar into Interface, with Headphones as the output.

This ran absolutely fine, as normal. I double checked with Guitar Rig that it recognised my device, which it did. 

 

Method 2 - Guitar into Interface, and I've tried fiddling with my outputs on both Guitar Rig and Windows to set the laptop as the output.

I know that sound is still going through the laptop as I can hear my Windows icons and sounds working as normal, as if nothing else is connected. However, I can't get Guitar Rig to output via my laptop speakers. This looks like it doesn't really distinguish between where the sound is coming from and where it's going to, it looks like it has to be the same device. E.g. ALL sound has to come and go via the interface, or ALL sounds has to come and go via Windows. 

Although I haven't got a set of speakers at hand to properly test that out, I'm deducing that you're not going to be able to receive output with the speakers connected to the laptop. In reality, this is fine, as you should be able to plug the speakers into the interface to obtain the sound.

Which leads me to:

Method 3

As I mentioned earlier, I haven't got a set of speakers at hand. However, I thought of a very creative way of testing the following method:

Guitar into Interface. Then, outputting my interface back through my guitar amp to use that in the same way you'd use a speaker. 

I connected a guitar cable from the headphone output into the input of my amp. This worked instantly, with no additional fiddling with any settings in Guitar Rig. I also took out the cable from the headphone output and plugged it separately into the left and right audio outputs on the back of the device and both worked. E.g. I put the cable into the left one, played the guitar via Guitar Rig, got audio through the amp. I took out the cable from the left output and plugged it into the right one, repeated the process, and that worked, too.

From all of this, I'm thinking it's got to be something to do with the speakers. They should be able to go into the headphone socket and you should receive sound. 

[drahkon]

Thank you. I appreciate your effort  
As I mentioned above, I got it to work, but it's not really a good option as it sounds pretty bad.
I'm gonna try to connect the speakers to the headphone socket again tomorrow and see if it works. Wouldn't be an optimal solution as I usually just play along to songs  
If it works, I think I'm gonna buy an aux cable and hope that I can connect my bluetooth speaker (that also has an aux socket) with the audio interface.

Edited August 28, 2022 by drahkon

[drahkon]

10 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

They should be able to go into the headphone socket and you should receive sound. 

For whatever reason, it worked just now.
I guess it has something to do with the drivers I installed last night  

10 hours ago, drahkon said:

Asio4All Driver

This one seems to be the best solution, though. Without it, this is the problem:

10 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

This looks like it doesn't really distinguish between where the sound is coming from and where it's going to, it looks like it has to be the same device. E.g. ALL sound has to come and go via the interface, or ALL sounds has to come and go via Windows. 

With it, you can separate the output from the audio interface.
It works with the only caveat being that no other sound is outputted, so I gotta play the music I play along to via my bluetooth speaker  

Thanks again, Flinky.  

[drahkon]

Sooooo, I've been playing some guitar here and there since I got the audio interface running  

Trying to learn We Are Fucking Fucked by Muse and it's not too too bad. 

That section from 2:36 is giving me trouble, especially the lick (is it called a lick?) at 2:38.
As usual, I'm learning via a tab and it makes sense, but it's hard for me to nail the speed while also being precise.  Also have to switch up the last section of the solo, as my guitar only has 21 frets and the tab uses 22.  

It's a fun song to play along. One day I'll get it down.

Think I'll also try to learn more chords/chord progression and techniques. Not sure where to begin/contiue, though.

Edited September 3, 2022 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

21 hours ago, drahkon said:

Sooooo, I've been playing some guitar here and there since I got the audio interface running  

Trying to learn We Are Fucking Fucked by Muse and it's not too too bad. 

That section from 2:36 is giving me trouble, especially the lick (is it called a lick?) at 2:38.
As usual, I'm learning via a tab and it makes sense, but it's hard for me to nail the speed while also being precise.  Also have to switch up the last section of the solo, as my guitar only has 21 frets and the tab uses 22.  

It's a fun song to play along. One day I'll get it down.

Think I'll also try to learn more chords/chord progression and techniques. Not sure where to begin/contiue, though.

Glad you got it working! Should be a game changer for you.

Regarding that song, it sounds like it's using mainly hammer-ons with a few pull/flick-offs. They're essential techniques for rock music, and the pull/flick-offs can take a lot of work to sound good. A lot of people just release their finger from the string, which can make it sound incredibly weak. E.g. when pulling/flicking from the 7th fret to the 5th, they'll just let their finger go without really giving it a good flick, which is how you get the better quality sound. 

For the parts that use the 22nd fret, the best thing you can do is transpose it/rewrite it on the adjacent string if you don't have a guitar that includes that fret. E.g. if you want to hit the 22nd fret on the B string (which will be an A note), you'll find the same note on the high E string on the 17th fret. There's a few things you can do there. You could either shift the whole section of that song up and across to adjust for that A note on the E string, or just alter the way you play part of that section and keep the rest of it the same. Totally up to you what you to do with it, as it'll be fine musically and sound the same. 

I use a guitar scales app called Guitar Scales & Patterns. That's pretty good for working on those scales. Then, alongside that, I use The Chord Wheel app to help with progressions if I'm a bit stuck when writing new stuff. There's so many chord apps out there. AllChords is pretty great, and SmartChord is quite good for chords in alternate tunings, which can be very helpful.

[drahkon]

2 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Glad you got it working! Should be a game changer for you.

Regarding that song, it sounds like it's using mainly hammer-ons with a few pull/flick-offs. They're essential techniques for rock music, and the pull/flick-offs can take a lot of work to sound good. A lot of people just release their finger from the string, which can make it sound incredibly weak. E.g. when pulling/flicking from the 7th fret to the 5th, they'll just let their finger go without really giving it a good flick, which is how you get the better quality sound. 

For the parts that use the 22nd fret, the best thing you can do is transpose it/rewrite it on the adjacent string if you don't have a guitar that includes that fret. E.g. if you want to hit the 22nd fret on the B string (which will be an A note), you'll find the same note on the high E string on the 17th fret. There's a few things you can do there. You could either shift the whole section of that song up and across to adjust for that A note on the E string, or just alter the way you play part of that section and keep the rest of it the same. Totally up to you what you to do with it, as it'll be fine musically and sound the same. 

Thanks, but I know all this  

The hammer-ons and pull-offs aren't the problem in general. This part is, though:

Incorporates both of the techniques but I'm not fast enough to play it properly and switch back to the part that follows.  

2 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Guitar Scales & Patterns

Downloading now  

2 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

The Chord Wheel app

Which one?

Chord Wheel : Circle of 5ths or Chord Wheel?

Edited September 4, 2022 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

16 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Thanks, but I know all this  

The hammer-ons and pull-offs aren't the problem in general. This part is, though:

Incorporates both of the techniques but I'm not fast enough to play it properly and switch back to the part that follows.  

Downloading now  

Which one?

Chord Wheel : Circle of 5ths or Chord Wheel?

You'd be surprised at how many good players don't actually have great pull/flick-off technique. To get the right sound takes a ton of practice and repetition, especially when using all fingers. Even though I've been playing for a while, I prioritise a bit of my practice time just on hammer-ons and pulloffs. I heard somebody mention that it's more of a flick-off, which actually is spot on. 

For that section, I'd be tempted to bar/barre my index finger on the 9th fret. That way you're covering the D and G strings and it's much less fiddly switching between the two strings. It'll just take a ton of repetition to get the speed of it down right, maybe even practising that to a metronome if you want to get it super clean and up to the right bpm. From a quick browse of the tab, the part before and afterwards isn't too bad really, as it's a simple move back down to the 5th fret, so that final note of that section you posted where it ends on the 10th fret is quite nice for that, since it's on the same string. The only really tricky bit is the strumming pattern, which has a triplet feel (123 456). It's not too bad, tbh. A bit of practice and you'll be fine with that, if you do it slow and build the speed up. 

I'd go with that first app. Chord Wheel: Circle of Fifths.

 

[drahkon]

1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

bar/barre my index finger on the 9th fret

I should really work on my barree skills...they are not good  

Any tips for practicing these?

[Fierce_LiNk]

8 minutes ago, drahkon said:

I should really work on my barree skills...they are not good  

Any tips for practicing these?

That's another thing that just takes a lot of practice. Best advice I can give is 'roll' your index finger so that you're not keeping it 'flat' on the fretboard. You're going to get more strength and a better connection by using the boney side of your finger. If you haven't practised or played them for long enough, it can be a little uncomfortable at first and can even make the index finger feel a bit sore around those knuckle/bendy joint parts of the finger, whatever that's called. Usually it's the pressure that's applied which causes guitarists the biggest issue, especially moving between chords because they don't quite get their index finger in the ideal position (e.g. they'd slid it too high up the fretboard or too slow, causing certain strings to buzz, usually the g and b strings). Just lots and lots of repetition practising major and minor chords in various areas of the fretboard. Not sure how common it is, but my barre chords get a little shit when I get to the higher end of the fretboard, e.g. around the 12th fret due to the frets becoming smaller. I mean, it's not that often that you'll be barring down on that end anyway, but still.

When I'm practising, I like to arpeggiate my chords/play the notes individually, just to make sure that they're sounding out right. Even moving between chords and picking the notes, rather than strumming. You can often be surprised which strings ring out better than others. 

[drahkon]

1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

Best advice I can give is 'roll' your index finger so that you're not keeping it 'flat' on the fretboard

Yeah, I got that advice from a friend quite some time ago. It definitely works better than the "flat" approach.

1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

it can be a little uncomfortable at first and can even make the index finger feel a bit sore around those knuckle/bendy joint parts of the finger

It actually really hurts my wrist after a couple of minutes. I think I need to adjust my grip, but whenever I switch it up, the barree gets even worse. 

Edited September 4, 2022 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

33 minutes ago, drahkon said:

Yeah, I got that advice from a friend quite some time ago. It definitely works better than the "flat" approach.

It actually really hurts my wrist after a couple of minutes. I think I need to adjust my grip, but whenever I switch it up, the barree gets even worse. 

There's a few things to think about here. Are you playing standing or sitting? If you're standing, then maybe think about your strap height and altering that slightly. Another thing to think about is your thumb positioning and where that is. E.g. is your thumb 'pressed' behind the neck sorta between where the index/middle fingers are on the other side, is it coming over the top of the board, or is it a bit 'flatter' with the thumb pointing towards the end of the neck. A lot of player tends to grip too hard with their thumb when playing barre chords, thinking that this will making the strings ring out better. I always like to think of it the other way around, with the index finger pushing towards the thumb through the neck, rather than the thumb pushing through the neck. The trouble is if you grip too hard, it's going to make it uncomfortable to play for too long and it also makes you slower when moving between chords or when playing individual notes. It's probably worth checking out a few videos on ideal thumb positioning or through experimentation. 

Another thing worth doing is playing some songs with big stretches. A great one for this is Every Breathe You Take by The Police. There's a lot of 5-7-9 style stretches in that, which I like to use as a warm up to really loosen the fingers. I find I can play for much, much longer after giving the fingers a really good stretch. It'll sound ropey at first and may even be surprisingly frustrating to keep up with the tempo for a long period of time, but it will make a huge, huge difference.

[EEVILMURRAY]

I was toying with the idea of getting a new mouthpiece for my sax, the good pieces going into triple figures. My Sensei recommended him testing my unit out before making any decisions. In last lesson he tried Benny with his own mouthpiece, remarked on how heavy mine was by comparison, how some of the keys are not realistically placed and how much more effort he had to give to make a sound. I know my sax wasn't top quality, but at least I got him to be more impressed than before now he knows what I have been working with. So it's a case of finding a whole new saxophone. I've found one which has been recommended by my teacher second hand, so I've dropped £600 for a Yamaha. Sadly not a black one like mine, but I'm having to forego aesthetics for quality. Should be coming next week and my sound can improve.

 

All the innuendo yes.

[EEVILMURRAY]

On 8/5/2023 at 10:55 PM, EEVILMURRAY said:

I was toying with the idea of getting a new mouthpiece for my sax, the good pieces going into triple figures. My Sensei recommended him testing my unit out before making any decisions. In last lesson he tried Benny with his own mouthpiece, remarked on how heavy mine was by comparison, how some of the keys are not realistically placed and how much more effort he had to give to make a sound. I know my sax wasn't top quality, but at least I got him to be more impressed than before now he knows what I have been working with. So it's a case of finding a whole new saxophone. I've found one which has been recommended by my teacher second hand, so I've dropped £600 for a Yamaha. Sadly not a black one like mine, but I'm having to forego aesthetics for quality. Should be coming next week and my sound can improve.

 

All the innuendo yes.

Following on from this, those on Facebook may have seen my eulogy to my previous saxophone Benny, but the replacement finally arrived and the play feel is much more smoother and I think sounds better. I feel I'm getting a better response from the keys. Below be a representation of his replacement, Richter.