the interface isn't the real problem...just get a mic

the room you record in and the mic you record with are the biggest killers of tone. try to not use a small small room, and try not to use a cement room. sm57 would be a good dynamic to pick up for electric guitar cabs.

obviously you could go all out...but this is the simplest/cheapest solution.

"I've been trying to find a decent interface to use"

"anyone have any better suggestions, be cause the tone I receive is terrible."

it seemed you were looking for a new interface, which is not your problem.

a better suggestion using the interface you have?

do you have any parametric eq's with garageband?

take a small bandwidth on the eq...sweep through the entire range slowly. when you find something you sorta dislike, cut that frequency slightly, if you really hate it, cut it more. if you find a range that sounds good, boost it, but only slightly.

keep in mind this will only work well with a decent pair of speakers/monitors. not saying yours are bad sounding, but if you cut something that's being hyped by your speakers, it will sound dead to other people, and if you boost something your speakers don't recreate well (bass usually), other listeners will have too much of it.

if you can hear your guitar live, test out different tones with it. you may want to double track the guitar and pan them to each side. if you do, make sure you put the gain down a little, as it tends to crapify as you layer.

even with bad tone, doubling the track can help it out.

try a Sennheiser e609 Silver mic. Mine runs right into the line in on my cpu with no preamp or anything except for a mic cable-to-stereo jack converter and it works really well.

how much money do you have to spend? i recently got the presonus firepod studio bundle from guitar center/musiciansfriend, and it works wonders. you get the firepod interface, 4 xlrs 2 1/4", 2 condenser mics, 2 boom stands, 2 studio monitors, and the firepod comes with a recording software, however, i use logic pro 7. this was the best deal i found anywhere, and it is amazing. its $700 when i got it 3 weeks ago, and worth every penny. i strongly recommend this to anybody who wants to do recording. if you can't afford it, and you're only recording a guitar, go with the firebox for much cheaper.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-Firepod-Studio-Package?sku=247107
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/PreSonus-Firebox-Studio-Package?sku=247106

do you have any sort of amp?

granted the interface doesn't have the greatest preamps, it's still giving you 16 bit at 48khz. which is just fine.

a new interface will not be worth it. the one you have is what...150 bucks? so obviously an "upgrade" will be way more than the cost of a 57.

another option is a beheringer v-amp, or the line6 pod, or a boss gt-3 (pricey).

if you have an amp, i still say the best investment is a 57. you'll learn about mic technique, and can record more than just electric guitar, and it will sound waaaaaay better than direct.

thanks for the -1 by the way. your lack of using a mic and a guitar cab IS the issue. why you would buy a decent interface and then plug in direct is beyond me.

Let me first say, sorry about the negative, didn't know what the arrows meant.
Also let me state that everyone here seems to be a bit absorbed in the whole idea of micing the cabs, when i've continuously stated how im looking to do a direct guitar to computer approach. Yes I have some sort of amp. I run a 6505 & orange cab full stack for live applications.
I've run the POD, didn't like the tone and the use-ability the software gave.

I tour 4 months out of the year, when I get home from it, I like to have material ready to record as a band, so while im on the road I like to write. So i sit with my drum machine on my computer and use a real time approach with only needing a guitar, laptop, and headphones. But the tone bugs me, even when I pull out my speakers to use.

Im obviously not going to get my answer here so thanks anyways,

john,.. ill bump you up to make up for your negative.
Thanks

ah...then record direct and clean how you do now. get the parts down and get them perfect.

when you get back home, play the tracks and run them out to your amp. shouldn't take very long since you'll only have one take for each part.

if you have the money, get a 57 and an e609 so you can mess with the tones. each are less than 100 bucks.

you can get a condenser for a room sound, but you'll have to get a phantom power unit to power it. it's not really necessary depending on the kind of music you're recording and whether you have access to a usable reverb unit/plugin

man you obviously are missing the whole concept of my question. So just nevermind, thanks anyways.

"how can i record on the road and get a good sound" is the question i answered.

your problem is you're asking "how can i get a good sound playing direct and listening on my laptop?" which i giggle at. i've heard meh results using an avalon tube preamp.

you can try to use a tube power amp. no guarantees on your contentment.

you should have probably told us the most important part of all of this such as...what's between the guitar and the preamp, what sort of music are you recording, and what sort of budget you're looking at. i put you in the 60-100 dollar range with great tone at first, but now i'm shooting you into the 1500-2000 range with mediocre tone.

i find it humorous that the first post was "i need a new interface for simple home recording" and now it's "i don't need an interface for recording not at home"

your tone sounds fine on the 'as eden burns' myspace.


what bands/recordings have you heard with direct electric guitar?

does your current interface include an instrument input? It sounds like an impedance mismatch [weak, thin, small]. A 1/4 input does not mean an instrument input. It is generally a line input. Insert a [acitve is best] direct box between your guitar and interface, and plug into the XLR jack. I use a $100 Yorkville active direct box between my bass and pre and it sounds way fuller than plugging into either the line or instrument inputs.

Direct boxes are not created equal - the behringers, even though they are $40, are not great. Some ones to check out are made by Avalon [high price] radial [mid] and Yorkville [low-mid] and then there are bottom of the barrel. Depending on the features you need you can usually get away with buying one with higher quality but less features - no eq's, volume controls, or phase switches can lower the price dramatically. Mine has a single ground lift switch and has served me well over the years, finding it's way into other things like being run before my acoustic/electric and built into the stages I make for local shows.