Pros: Very simply device; inexpensive; works like a charm
Cons: Sound only outputs through headphone jack on unit; terrible bundled software
The Bottom Line: You'll have to hunt around a bit to find alternatives to the terrible software that comes bundled with the Guitar Link, but the device is solid.
HawgWyld's Full Review: Behringer Guitar Link Ucg102 Guitar / USB Interfac...
Ever since I got married over a decade ago (has it been that long?), I've had trouble just practicing my guitar as my wife gets downright hostile when the amp is turned on and cranked up while she's watching TV or doing her typical wifey things.
When I read about the Behringer Guitar Link, I got pretty excited. That is a dandy little device that hooks up to a free USB port on your computer so that you can plug a guitar, bass or whatever else can be run to it through a standard 1/4" instrument plug. I picked one up for about $40 on eBay (it was new) a few weeks ago and absolutely love the thing.
Well, there are some problems with the software that came with the Guitar Link, but I'll get to those in a minute. The device is very simple -- it simply plugs into a free USB port (as I've said) and has two 1/4" ports (one for the aforementioned guitar cord and one for a 1/4" headphone jack). One problem I learned that comes with running an analog guitar signal through a computer has to do with latency -- if you've got a slow CPU and a junk sound card, then there might be a delay between hitting a note and hearing it because the computer has to struggle to process it.
However, if you've got a sound card that's compatible with the audio stream input/output (ASIO) driver protocol and even a fair-to-middling CPU, you'll be fine. My computer is four years old (I'm too cheap to get a new one) with a sound card that isn't great and this Guitar Link works very well. If you don't have an ASIO-compatible sound card, there's a "fix" out there called ASIO4ALL that might help you get around that problem. Since ASIO isn't exactly new, however, most people will have no problems with an incompatible sound card.
I should point out that my guitar sounds a bit "thin" on this device and I've really got to tinker to get my bass to rumble, but I'm sure that has more to do with my cheap sound card than the Guitar Link. Some devices out there might sound a lot more "pure," but I'm really not in a position to judge -- I'll get a better sound card before long and I'll know more then.
There aren't just a whole lot of controls to speak of on the Guitar Link. In addition to the aforementioned ports, you've got a blue LED that tells you the unit is getting power and a "HI-LO" level switch that regulates the strength of the signal running from your instrument into the USB port. Also, there's a headphone level jack.
That jack is a bit of a problem. For some reason, I figured the sound generated by the unit would run through my computer speakers. That's not the case at all -- the sound runs back to the unit and through the headphone jack. So, you can run your computer speakers from the unit or -- better yet -- grab a good set of monitors. The monitor option is the way I'll go when I get around to it as I simply can't get by without having the option of letting my guitar feed back through the speakers and generating some obnoxious distortion. For editing sound, however, headphones are fantastic.
Ah, and that brings us to the major problem with this unit (and, fortunately, it's one that can be overcome). The software that comes with the Guitar Link is garbage. The driver works well but that's about the only thing for which I didn't have to find an alternative. You get a stripped-down version of Guitar Rig 3 by Native Sounds called Guitar Combos. The thing about playing a guitar through a computer is that you really do need to get some software that simulates actual amplifers if you don't want to hear your guitar's raw, unprocessed sound all the time. Guitar Rig 3 contains a ton of amp models and effects, but Guitar Combos contains only three (a British Vox-like model, one obviously based on the Fender Twin Reverb and one based on a Marshall Stack (I think)) and no effects. The models are very good, but you can only keep one of them unless you want to pay some money.
That stinks. I bought this piece of hardware and the software that came with it is limited unless I shell out some cash? What the hell is that? That's not a huge problem, however, as there are a ton of free amp models out there that are legitimately free and perfectly legal to download and own (I'll talk about that in a bit).
Another problem with this unit is the recording/mixing software that came with the package -- a "light" version of energyXT2 -- is terrible. For one thing, it's a chore to use. Hell, running a mic to my amplifier and recording through a four track recorder (ah, those were the days) was easier than trying to record with energyXT2 and that just makes no sense. Recording tracks on a computer is supposed to be easy, right? It sure as hell isn't with that terrible piece of software. To make matters worse, the software is crippled and you've got to shell out more money to get a full version of it. I declined that option because the demo is so bad that I can't imagine paying more money and getting something that might not be better in return.
Thanks to the wonderful world of open source software and freeware, I was able to set things up well enough. KRISTAL 2 is a commercial product but KRISTAL 1 is free to anyone wanting to use it for non commercial purposes. I can record and mix tracks all day long in Kristal and it is more than good enough for an amateur like me. It's easy to use, too.
And, better yet, it accepts VST plug-ins. What is a VST plug-in? VST is short for "virtual studio technology" and is a widely recognized standard through which all sorts of gimmicks are released. I was primarily interested in amp models and there are plenty of those available for free as VST plug-ins (FreeAmp 2.5, FreeAmp 3 and a slew of amps from AcmeBarGig are outstanding). I'm happy as a clam using FreeAmp 2.5 and AcmeBarGig's Dig 2.0 amp (unbelievable distortion on that one) for my guitar and my bass sounds great through FreeAmp 3. There are a lot of effects available in VST format, too, in case the amp models don't get you the exact sound you want.
So, I can record a track through KRISTAL, slap whatever effects and amp models I want on them, then mix them down and import them to Ogg Vorbis or .WAV formats. I generally pull the mix from KRISTAL into Audacity (another free program and the only one that came with the Guitar Link that isn't rotten) and convert it to an MP3 so that I can torment people with it.
Well, I've just spent a lot of words saying the Behringer Guitar Link is a dandy device for amateurs even through the software that comes with it is terrible. I only went through all that trouble because I wish someone had told me what I had to learn on my own to get the most out of the Guitar Link. The only reason this unit didn't get a four star rating from me is because of the pathetic software that came with it. I know we should all expect to get what we pay for, but this is ridiculous.
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