It's been already explained in previous articles how to connect microphone and other devices to a computer and record the sound. In this article we will give an improved alternative explanation on how to record electric guitar and voice.
The mixer interface
Since the default microphone input on computer sound card is not very good, it is much better alternative to connect microphone through an amplifier. In our case this is Yamaha mixer with two inputs (guitar and microphone) whose signals are amplified and two outputs (phones and USB connection to a computer). The machine is called mixer because it mixes the loudness of the guitar and microphone into one stereo channel. The phones are optional, they have nothing to do with recording, they're just so you can hear how the sound is mixed altogether.
When you connect Yamaha mixer to a computer with USB connection, this connection gives it power supply and Windows Control Panel recognizes it as a new device. In Control Panel we have named this device Yamaha mixer and set it's recording volume levels to 100 %.
By the way, if you just want to listen to guitar and voice mix through computer speakers and not record it, this USB connection can provide that as well. That's why the connection is called universal (Universal serial bus), it serves all purposes. If this is the case, you can tell Windows to listen to Yamaha device and play the mixed sound.
How to record electric guitar and voice
So now that we connected and configured Yamaha mixer, we can plug in the instruments.
There are about five input connectors that offer various combinations, two of them being ideal for connecting a piano keyboard later on.
In this example microphone is connected through mono jack that feeds both left and right channel, while guitar is connected through right channel.
After you've plugged in the instruments, you slowly increase their volume to find the right balance. You can tell with Audacity recording whether it is too loud or not.
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