Well.. I dont know Reaper at all, so on the EQ side I cant help. But it should have EQ plugins, otherwise there are a bunch of FREE VST plugins on the net (I just dont know if Reaper uses VST's). And by free I mean, free, not ripped stuff.

If you are using the line out from your amp into the soundcard your tone will change..! What you hear through the amp is what the speaker does to your sound from the preamp onwards. Line outs bypass the speaker, and eventhough some amp makers say they have a speaker emulator on the output, it never realy sounds the same.


On the soundcard.. well, the Creative stuff isnt actualy a proper recording interface! But to do quick demos it should work, but if you aim to do higher end stuff, a proper interface will be in your future. But budgets are always the issue.

I'm not too sure about the bathroom effect. That can be a number of reasons.. If you use a mic on the cab whilst playing, that can be due to poor mic placement, or a mic thats not tailored to recording guits. It can also be a phasing problem which could be a cable soldiered wrong.
The soundcard also can play a role here for quite a number of reasons. The input of the line in on the soundcard isnt rated for high SPL (sound pressure level) signals, or the resolution it records at is quite low. Some entry level soudcards can record @ 32kHz.

As you've discovered, the Creative cards are not much of an upgrade over the internal soundcards - even their more expensive models don't really compare to entry level offerings from brands like Edirol, M-Audio, ESI, etc. Having said that, you should be able to get a respectable recording with it.

EQ - Rene and others will be able to answer the more Reaper specific queries (I'm downloading a copy of Reaper now so I can speak knowledgeably about it in future), but you should find EQ wherever the effects plugins are kept.

Hollow sound - this could be a software delay. I know some soundcards have a monitoring feature that causes this, but am unsure of the details - maybe someone else can help fix or rule this out.

Also, if you are using a mic to capture the amp sound, it can be a bit of a microscope, making things like the "room sound" a lot more obvious. Position the mic right up against the grille of the speaker to minimise this. Piling stuff like thick blankets behind and to the side of the mic can also help cut down on any room sound you don't want to capture. What mic are you using, btw?

To DI the amp using the line out on it, you need either a built in speaker simulator on the line out or a DI box with a speaker simulator as the speaker is very much part of the electric guitar sound. It's also entirely possible that the soundcard's line in cannot handle the output level of your line out - there is a big level difference between consumer (hifi) level and pro level. You might have to use a mixer to bring down the level before going in to the line in.

I have never had the issues you mentioned with Reaper, so I am guessing it's more of a hardware issue. Have you ever tried recording with the same gear but different software?

ummm.. Wanted to see if I can download Reaper, and it seems it only works on PC (windows) and not Mac. So Alan it's up to you to save the day ?, I cant even remember when last I owned a PC ???

I have been using Reaper exclusively for about 9 months and now prefer it over Sonar, Cubase, Reason + Protools and Adobe audition. Reaper ships with a number of free plugins. The equalizer is called ReaEQ. Reaper also supports DX and VST plugins so there is no problem on that side.

I have also had a lot of experience with Creative sound cards from the first PCI to the Live and the Audigy range. The best thing I can say about Creative products is they shatter pretty easily when tpped with a blunt instrument. Their input port is more geared for the cheap condenser mic that ships with the card, When you you try to record a guitar you get this whiny hissy sound mainly because the signal has been boosted by their cheap on board amp circuit you can switch that option off on the card but then you need to use a mixer to boost your signal a bit. Long story short, throw the Creative labs in the bin - do it now.

Guys, thank you very much for the replies.

I'm learning very slowly and very painfully, so just bear with me ?

First off, I don't mic the amp. So the effects (gain, bass, trebble, etc) I setup on the amp is not sent to the pc? I have it like this Guitar ---> Amp ----> Line-In

Also, the default volume of the guitar recording is insanly low. I usually boost it with the eventhorizon plug-in.

Stupid question, but the EQ plugin... I should use this to handle the guitar's bass, treble, etc to get a better tone, like you would on an amp?

While guitar playing is a super passionate hobby, I don't see myself forking out tons of cash for recording equipment. What suggestions do you guys have to improve the quality of my recordings? Should I maybe look into getting a mixer second hand or something like that?

What I mean with the bathroom effect is not like it is echoing, but it feels like I'm recording in a garage or something. The sound isn't crisp, you can instantly hear the difference in the backtrack compared to the guitar. It feels like a layer of space between the sound of the guitar.

Hmmmm, I have that recording of the cover I did in another thread... that should give you an idea what I mean.

Maybe I'm just expecting to much from my equipment?