Guide
How to connect an electric guitar to a computer
To play an electric guitar through a computer or laptop, you need one box in between: an audio interface. It turns the signal from your guitar cable into audio the computer can work with. Below are the gear, five setup steps, and fixes for the usual problems.
What you need
Electric guitar and a 1/4-inch guitar cable
A standard instrument cable with a 1/4-inch (6.35 mm) plug on each end. The one you'd use with an amp is fine.
Audio interface with an instrument (Hi-Z) input
Look for an input or a button labeled INST or Hi-Z. For guitar alone, one input is enough. Two inputs help if you also want to record a microphone.
Wired headphones
They plug into the interface, not the computer; a 3.5 mm plug needs a 1/4-inch adapter. Skip wireless headphones, which add a delay you can feel when you pick.
A computer (macOS or Windows)
A laptop is fine. Most interfaces connect over USB, so check that the cable fits your computer's port (USB-A or USB-C).
Amp software
A standalone amp app, or an amp plugin inside a DAW (recording software). It turns the plain guitar signal into an amp sound.
Why not the headphone jack or a USB mic?
Your laptop's headphone/mic jack
That small 3.5 mm jack is made for a headset microphone. A guitar pickup needs a high-impedance (Hi-Z) input to sound right, so through an adapter it usually comes out thin and quiet, with extra hiss and hum.
A USB microphone
A USB mic records sound in the air and has no jack for a cable. An unplugged electric guitar only makes a quiet, thin string sound, and that's all the mic hears. Amp software needs the pickup signal from the cable.
How to connect your guitar to a computer, step by step
- 1
Plug into the INST or Hi-Z input
Turn the interface's input gain all the way down first. Plug the guitar into input 1, and if that input has an INST or Hi-Z button, switch it on. Connect the interface to the computer by USB. If the maker offers a driver or control app, install it now.
- 2
Set the input gain
Strum all six strings as hard as you ever play and raise the gain slowly. Stop when your loudest strum stays out of the red. If the app shows a meter in dB, peaks around -12 to -6 dB leave enough room. A clipped signal sounds harsh, and no software can undo it later.
- 3
Pick the interface as input and output
In the audio settings of your amp app or DAW, set both the input and the output device to the audio interface, and make sure input 1 is on. On Windows, install the interface maker's own driver and pick it in the driver list instead of the generic Windows one. A sample rate of 44.1 or 48 kHz is fine.
- 4
Start the buffer size at 128
The buffer size is how many samples the computer processes at once. Smaller means less delay but more work for the computer. Start at 128 samples and play for a minute. If you hear crackles or dropouts, move up to 256.
- 5
Listen through the interface's headphone jack
Plug wired headphones into the interface and start with the volume low. Turn on the amp sound in your app, or input monitoring on the DAW's guitar track. If the interface has direct monitoring, turn it off (or turn its mix knob toward playback). Otherwise you'll hear your dry guitar under the amp sound.
Troubleshooting
- Why is there no sound from my guitar?
- Watch the interface's input meter while you play. If it doesn't move, check the guitar's volume knob, the cable, the INST or Hi-Z button, and the input gain. If it moves but you hear nothing, check the app's output device, the input channel, and the interface's headphone volume. On macOS, also allow your amp app under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
- Why do I hear a delay after I pick a note?
- That delay is called latency. Lower the buffer size one step (256 to 128, or 128 to 64) and listen for crackles. Use wired headphones on the interface, and on Windows use the interface's own driver. Closing browser tabs and heavy apps helps the computer keep up at a smaller buffer.
- Why does the sound crackle or pop?
- Usually the buffer is too small for what the computer is doing. Raise it one step (128 to 256, or 256 to 512). Plug the interface straight into the computer, not a USB hub, and keep a laptop on its charger. If it only crackles on your hardest strums, that's clipping, not the buffer: lower the input gain.
- Why do I only hear my guitar in one ear?
- A guitar is a mono signal on input 1, and some setups send it only to the left. In a DAW, set the track's input to mono input 1 rather than a stereo pair (1-2). If only the direct monitor sound is one-sided, look for a MONO button on the interface. Also push the headphone plug and any adapter all the way in.
Where EG Tone fits
The setup above is the same whichever amp software you use. EG Tone is one option: an electric guitar amp and effects plugin made for beginners.
- Every knob has help text. Hover over a knob to see what happens when you turn it down or up.
- A guided tour walks you through the real screen, one part at a time.
- A tuner, a metronome, and backing tracks are built into the same program.
- It runs as a VST3 plugin and a standalone app on macOS and Windows, and as an AU plugin on macOS.
Once you're connected, set up headphone practice and your amp tone, and tune up before you play. The tuner on this site is free, with no signup.