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1. Plug the guitar into whatever effects pedals you want to use. It's standard procedure to go from a distortion pedal into any modulation effects and then a delay. Don't go too wild with the delay - there are much more powerful software delays in your computer that sync delay repeats exactly to track tempo. Remember, you can't undo a recorded effect, but you can always add effects after recording.

2. Plug the guitar into the preamp. Set the preamp so that the meter doesn't go into the red when you play the guitar really loud, but make sure the level is high enough when playing softly as well. If you're using an amplifier, plug the guitar into the amp, and then the output from the amp into the preamp.

3. If you're using a hardware compressor, run the output of your preamp into it. Some preamps have an insert jack socket, which means you can insert the compressor using a special insert cable. If you're using a mixing desk, it'll also probably have an insert point.

4. Now plug the output from your preamp, mixer or compressor into your audio interface. If your card has a zero-latency direct monitoring option, then you'll be able to monitor without latency. If your card doesn't have this option, we recommend routing the signal via a Y-cable back to the mixer for monitoring in real time.

5. Set your software up to receive the guitar signal. If you want to use effects plug-ins, insert them into the input channel. Remember, your computer and audio interface have to be fast enough to handle input monitoring with effects at low latency, otherwise there's going to be a delay between when you play and when you hear the results, which can

make performance very difficult.

6. If you don't have a hardware compressor, you'll want to compress the signal on the input channel in your software. Recording guitars without at least a little compression will result in an uneven signal, meaning you'll have to do a lot more work at mixdown to fit it into the track.

7. Some engineers like to roll off some of the signal at around 80kHz to eliminate unwanted ambient noise. To do this, insert a high-pass filter or EQ into the input channel. Your preamp or mixing desk may well include just such a filter, designed for precisely this purpose.

8. Reverb and/or delay are very important for monitoring - especially when recording solos. If you're using a mixing desk, add the reverb there solely for monitoring but don't record it. If you're going directly into the computer without a mixer, set up a reverb/delay on a send/return bus in your recording software and make sure it's only set to be heard for monitoring purposes and not recorded.

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