Newbie guitar recording in pro tools

[BONGSMOKE84]

I got a couple of doubts id like someone with more experience to clear me in.

-im not sure if it's normal that i can only hear or see the guitar signal when i hit the record enable button on the track.if record isnt enabled i cant hear the guitar or see the levels.
-also when i insert eleven amp simulator i get some really bad ground noise.could this be the guitar line im using?what does anyone recomend?
-finally how can i use amplitube or any other guitar emulator with pro tools instead of eleven?im not quite sure how to make em show on the inserts list

[psycho_monkey]

1) - yes that's normal. otherwise how would you hear back the recorded tracks?

Look up "auto-input" in the PT manual - this will tell you about how you can switch betweeen input only (so when your track is in record, and you're playing the track back, you hear your guitar live and not what's recorded) and auto-input (you hear your guitar live when the track is stopped, but what's been recorded when the track is playing - which allows you to do punch ins tape style).

2) how have you currently got your guitar connected? the amp sim will amplify and make any inherent noise more obvious. Single coil pickups? try moving away from the monitors...a better quality guitar cable, or try another guitar to see if the problem remains. Problem solving is all about eliminating variables.

3) err...you buy the plugin, you install it, and it comes up on the plugins inserts. Make sure you're looking under the right category (usually "harmonic" for amp sims).