Saturday 26 March 2016

Electric Guitar Through Your Delta 1010LT PC Sound Card

Doing a quick search I noticed a lot of posts on the internet asking how to connect an electric guitar to a computer using the M-Audio Delta 1010LT PCI sound card.

Most responses misguidedly advising you need a pre-amp because electric guitars do not output a 'line level' output. In other words the signal is too weak for most sound card inputs and needs a bit of amplification first.  For general, run-of-the-mill sound cards, this is probably true.

Fortunately (or unfortunately for those who took that incorrect advice and went and purchased a pre-amp) the Delta 1010LT has two inputs that can be used for low level inputs such as microphones and electric guitars. The 1010LT will amplify the input up to line level which makes it loud enough to play guitar through your PC.

This is how I set mine up.

How I Built an Arcade Machine Cabinet in 65 Complicated Steps

Yes, way back in 2007 I managed to muddle my way through building an arcade machine cabinet completely from scratch. I had no idea what I was doing really. I am not a trades person or particularly handy with tools or building things. I work in IT! So this is not really a tutorial (there are plenty of those on the web already) and don't take it for best practices.

I've had my pics up on facebook for a while so thought I would post them here to show how I did it and some of the gotchas that caught me out. There's no right way or wrong way. I just did as much research as I could before I began and then figured out a lot of stuff as I went. I encourage anyone thinking about this to give it a go - it was a great experience and I learned a lot. Feel free to use my art assets and plans if it helps you with your own project.