Problems with connecting guitar amp to pc - no sound

Cold Hearted Man · 24th March 2011

Hello all,

Today I tried to connect my amp to my pc. I plugged one side of a cable into the RECORDING OUT/phones plug of my amp (I'm using a roland cube 20-X) and the other side into the recording plug of my laptop (using a Dell Latitude D600 Drivers & Downloads ). I put the amp on and there isn't any sound coming through. When I opened audacity and tried to record something (even though there was no sound), I got a very quiet, really bad quality sound. Please help?
Thanks in advance

Chrisc_o · 24th March 2011

I'd start by testing the output of the amp with a pair of headphones.

If that works then you'll need to look into the configuration of the audio input of your computer. Either communicate with Dell with regards to their hardware or search the net for tips on using the built-in sound card.

If you need to get more specific then you'll either need to have a look at the Microsoft website (if you're running Windows) for tips on how to configure their audio controls, or the developer of the drivers you're using in case they have their own custom control panel.

John Suitcase · 24th March 2011

You might try putting it in half way, if you're using a regular (non-TRS) 1/4" or 1/8" cable.

I don't have that amp, so can't offer too much advice. Another tact might be to get a splitter cable (that splits the headphone output into two 1/4" connectors, one for left, one for right. Of course, if your sound car has 1`/8" or RCA inputs, you'll need adapters, etc.

Bill@WelcomeHome · 24th March 2011

First, when you plug into a headphone out, it turns off the speaker in the amp. (99% of the time, anyway.)

Second, most laptops have mono inputs.

So you've taken a stereo output and plugged it into a mono input and shorted half the signal to ground.

That is a start.

24th March 2011	#1
Cold Hearted Man Gear interested Joined: Mar 2011 Posts: 1 Thread Starter	Problems with connecting guitar amp to pc - no sound Hello all, Today I tried to connect my amp to my pc. I plugged one side of a cable into the RECORDING OUT/phones plug of my amp (I'm using a roland cube 20-X) and the other side into the recording plug of my laptop (using a Dell Latitude D600 Drivers & Downloads ). I put the amp on and there isn't any sound coming through. When I opened audacity and tried to record something (even though there was no sound), I got a very quiet, really bad quality sound. Please help? Thanks in advance

24th March 2011	#3
John Suitcase Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 2,169	You might try putting it in half way, if you're using a regular (non-TRS) 1/4" or 1/8" cable. I don't have that amp, so can't offer too much advice. Another tact might be to get a splitter cable (that splits the headphone output into two 1/4" connectors, one for left, one for right. Of course, if your sound car has 1`/8" or RCA inputs, you'll need adapters, etc. __________________ Come Mix With Us! Mixoff.org -All Mix Offs, All the Time!

24th March 2011	#4
Bill@WelcomeHome Lives for gear Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 4,188	First, when you plug into a headphone out, it turns off the speaker in the amp. (99% of the time, anyway.) Second, most laptops have mono inputs. So you've taken a stereo output and plugged it into a mono input and shorted half the signal to ground. That is a start. __________________ "We have a situation where somebody has learned that 'tape' sounds good. Tape doesn't sound good. Tape sounds like crap. But sometimes good stuff gets put on tape." "Putting crap to tape...sounds like crap." Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Resistance is not futile. It is voltage divided by current. "I do not think that the wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application,..." Heinrich Rudolf Hertz

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24th March 2011	#2
Chrisc_o Lives for gear Joined: Nov 2006 Posts: 2,853	I'd start by testing the output of the amp with a pair of headphones. If that works then you'll need to look into the configuration of the audio input of your computer. Either communicate with Dell with regards to their hardware or search the net for tips on using the built-in sound card. If you need to get more specific then you'll either need to have a look at the Microsoft website (if you're running Windows) for tips on how to configure their audio controls, or the developer of the drivers you're using in case they have their own custom control panel.