Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

[fingerace]

So,
what's the best way to connect the guitar? I know you have to "fix up" the impedance. I am looking for a pedal or box of some sort that will be able to do that. I know that the POD is capable of that.

I am not looking for anything special, like effects or distortion along with the convertin. I want the pedal to KEEP the NATURAL sound of my guitar. That's the most important to me. What do you think?

Also, would I be able to use my guitar efects before the pedal??

Thanks
Andreas

 

[RW James]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

My home stereo has a 1/4" jack labelled for mic. I bet I could plug guitar into that without any problem.

Other than that, I would think a simple 1/4" to RCA adapter should to the trick.

 

[fingerace]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

My home stereo has a 1/4" jack labelled for mic. I bet I could plug guitar into that without any problem.

Other than that, I would think a simple 1/4" to RCA adapter should to the trick.

The mic method would work, but i don't have a mic input in the amp, it has only RCAs.

As for the adaptor, I think the impedance needs to be fixed to the amp's input impedance before the signal goes into the home stereo amp. I think a guitar's impedance is too high, but I am not at all sure about that.

Thanks anyway James...

 

[Imp]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

best bet is a V1 POD i reckon fella

they'll be cheap now, and they can be quite neutral and will hook up to a stereo just fine.. don't they already have RCA outs?

tom

 

[fingerace]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

best bet is a V1 POD i reckon fella

they'll be cheap now, and they can be quite neutral and will hook up to a stereo just fine.. don't they already have RCA outs?

tom

They don't have RCA out I think, but that's ok. It can be fixed with two male jack to male RCA wires...

You know, I hear that these PODs mess with your natural tone and sound... that's why I am not going for a POD untill I ask you people.

 

[shaka]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

When I was twelve I learned to play guitar through a Pioneer home stereo by plugging into the 1/4 mic port. I also played a lot through a Pioneer ghetto blaster tape player thing that actually had a cool recording section on it. You can see the same ghetto blaster in the movie Footloose. You should have heard it when I hooked up a DOD American Metal pedal through it. It was so bad it's no wonder I'm a tube amp snob.

I had to learn through something! lol

Eric

 

[beggar_guitar]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

I used to hook my old Digitech up to our surround sound and set it to the Rotary FX setting. It was so cool to play and hear the sound swirling around me.


That didn't help you at all though.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

You know, I hear that these PODs mess with your natural tone and sound... that's why I am not going for a POD untill I ask you people.

Yet you want to run your guitar through a home stereo system? :smack:

Sorry, but to get any decent sound at all, you need a guitar amp. The frequency range of the home stereo system is so much different than a guitar amp.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

I could see a POD working thru a stereo system... Mostly because the best sound you can get out of a POD is running into full range equipment, PA, Keyboard amp or Monitors..... A POD thru powered studio monitors sound great... A POD is meant for direct recording so why not try it thru a stereo... A stereo may not be my first choice of amping the POD but it may work to a point.... just watch you are not over loading the stereo's imputs with too much POD volume, it is meant for a cd player remember..

PODs sound awful to me thru real guitar amps..... so i am not fighting it anymore.... anytime i use a modeler it will be thru some clean full range amp and speakers only....

 

[fingerace]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Yet you want to run your guitar through a home stereo system? :smack:

Sorry, but to get any decent sound at all, you need a guitar amp. The frequency range of the home stereo system is so much different than a guitar amp.

Hey Erik, I have a guitar amp, and I want to try the home stereo system also. I already have everythying except the POD, so why not go for it? I think that I will be able to get a "decent sound" out of that kind of system.

It's not your average home stereo system.
It's a 50 watt per side old AMATI amp, with two speaker cabinets, each with a celestion 15", a 4" mid range and a tweeter. The amp's signal is also EQed using an 8 band (per side) EQ system.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Line Out from whatever effects pedal -> Line In jack (such as the various RCA jacks in back: i have a stereo 1/4" -> dual RCA out adapter).

 

[ElUnoAstuto]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Sometimes I run my GNX1 in stereo to my bedroom stereo, and the sound is godly, that's the best I've heard a modeller. I just run it to the auxillary input.

 

[Marcel]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Amp sim like POD, V-AMP etc

 

[fingerace]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Line Out from whatever effects pedal -> Line In jack (such as the various RCA jacks in back: i have a stereo 1/4" -> dual RCA out adapter).

Whatever pedal? If you don't do that, it doesn't work? Or, If you do ONLY that, it works???

Have you tried it??

 

[Marinblues]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

When I record with the PODxt Live, my setup is:

Pod > Soundcard >> RCA cable >> my old Sony Stereo (into the MD/DAT input)

Does is sound good? Dunno, I haven't heard anything better at home. Maybe a set of proper Studio Monitors might be better, but I haven't had a chance to try.

M.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Hey Erik, I have a guitar amp, and I want to try the home stereo system also. I already have everythying except the POD, so why not go for it? I think that I will be able to get a "decent sound" out of that kind of system.

It's not your average home stereo system.
It's a 50 watt per side old AMATI amp, with two speaker cabinets, each with a celestion 15", a 4" mid range and a tweeter. The amp's signal is also EQed using an 8 band (per side) EQ system.

Doesn't matter if it's your average home stereo or not. A guitar will not sound natural through it without any preshaping done to the sound. How many guitar cabinets do you know of that have 3-way splitting in them and that wide of a frequency response?

Now, a POD or any other modeller would be OK because there are amp and cab sims in those so your power amp would be just amplifying that already shaped for guitar sound.

Running the guitar through a couple of pedals and in to the stereo will sound horrid. Trust me, I did it too when I was starting out.

 

[noth]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Regardless of the resulting sound, which others have commented on here, there is not an impedance matching problem - it will work. Hi-fi receivers and amps have high impedance inputs, which will not load down the guitar pickups (a good thing). All the hi-fi inputs (other than a turntable) are "line-level", high impedance inputs. A receiver that has a mic input on the front, is only a convenience; it's input circuitry is no different than the other inputs.

Noth

 

[fingerace]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

thanks, noth, so I can actually try this with no extra cost (but I won't be able to shape my sond). Thanks

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Connecting guitar to a (home) stereo system

Back in the 70's when i was first trying to learn guitar my dad hooked me up to an old home stereo thru the mic imput.... It was messed up sounding and it would sound extremely clean, but also very weak.... oneday i cranked the stereo and had my guitar hooked up to it and start making all sorts of noise, then something blew and the stereo died....

At that point my dad took me to a guitar shop just north of Toronto... it was a famous music shop called The Music Shoppee.. he bought me a little wee practice amp thing... it plugged right into the jack of my 1959/60 Goya....

I could see a POD being used carefully thru a stereo system for quiet practice, but anything else just makes my skin crawl as i remember what my 70's beginners rig sounded like.... yuk....