I hooked up my guitar amp to my computer

[kh_s]

And I want to use it as a normal computer speaker. The thing is if no sound is being played, i.e. music, video game effects, w/e... I get this annoying feed back noise.

How do I get rid of it?

[Rocketmech]

Just tried a Line6 SpiderII 75w and getting no feedback from a NF2 Soundstorm card setup for 2 desktop speakers . Suggest you set the amp to the cleanest mode possible and turn down the drive / distortion knob completely . Turn off any other effects . Bass and mids were set high , treble is adjusted to get the best sound . Since its only 1 speaker its sounds like 1 speaker . A cheap set of desktop computer speakers sound better . The amp is better suited for the guitar . Was interesting to checkout , but its a waste of time . Maybe if you have a dual speaker amp perhaps it would sound better but I doubt it .

[Kandar]

The range of human hearing is theoretically 20Hz – 20 KHz (most people can’t actually hear up to 20 KHz) Guitar amps a specifically optimised to reproduce the mid range frequency range generated by a guitar. 6-string guitar notes don't go below 80Hz, and a typical guitar speaker will cut frequencies at around the 5 KHz mark so this is not a good choice for full range audio reproduction.
As Rocketmech said, a cheap set of full range speakers will give you a better sound.

Your feedback issue actually sounds more like “System noise” (hiss) to me.

[RamonGTP]

Yep.... You get rid of it by using computer speakers

[daverme]

Is there a microphone plugged in here anywhere? If there is remove it. If there is no microphone then the feedback is electronic, meaning you have somehow created a continuous loop; the PC feeds the amp which feeds the PC and on and on it goes. Do you have the amp plugged into the PC for recording? You can't do both at the same time.

BTW, this is not a big deal - it should work. How did you deal with the fact that the line out jack of the sound card is stereo while the amp input jacks are mono?

[Kandar]

Its not feedback. He only gets the annoying sound when no sound is being played so it can't be feedback. Its running noise and cant be avoided.
The speaker is totally unsuitable for this kind of audio application.

[RockNRoll]

The noise he describes is probably the Gain turned up too high.

You could use the amp in conjunction with speakers as a subwoofer.

[Kandar]

Actually thats a good point. if the gain is set high and the volume is controlled with the master, its posible that your amplifying the system noise and drowning it out when its in use. If so, turn the gain down and the master up.

Using it as a subwoofer wouldn't work.

Subwoofers are loudspeakers dedicated to the reproduction of just bass frequencies from approx 20 Hz to 200 Hz.
It is unlikely that this guitar amp is capable of reproducing frequencies much below 80 Hz and as such would not be good enough to provide the desired punchy sub bass sound. Furthermore without a low pass filter to roll off the unwanted frequencies above 200 hz the speaker would also be reproducing these higher frequency harmonics too which would be used by the brains auditory system to calculate directional information which has the undesired effect of allowing the listener to pinpoint the sound source.

[RockNRoll]

Aw poo. I thought it sounded like a good idea lol. Man kandar... You sure know alot about the techie stuff with sound frequencies n' stuff. Most of that went whoosh over my head.

[kh_s]

Yes, Kandar sure knows his stuff!

I changed my mind about using this amp as an actual speaker. Too much hassle for me to get it to work the way I want it to. I just liked how the sound was more "thick" and hand more of a punch to it rather than my 2 tiny stereo mounted speakers on my monitor... lol not sure if that makes any sense by "thick sound".

BTW plugging in into the speaker instead of the line in jack, I got the sound to come from both my amp and the two computer speakers, is that what you ment by subwoofer?

[RockNRoll]

Yeah that's what I was thinking when Kandar busted my bubble with all the technicals of why it couldn't be a TRUE subwoofer... Thanks Kandar. . lol. What I meant was it could be LIKE a subwoofer if you set it up such as you have.

And I know exactly what you mean by "thick" sound. My sound gots ta have some punch to it to make me happy . What was amazing was when I hooked up a computer to a 1600 watt PA system and played it through them speakers. Talk about punchy.

[shred_thrash]

Hey man, if you're interested in using your amp as a speaker, I have a lot of experience with that kind of stuff and I could probably help you out. I could even let you in on the exact wiring if you want.

used to use two amplifiers for my stereo computer speakers man, the sound is brilliant! In comparison to computer speakers, the amps sound a lot better and the equalizer on the amp lets you nail the sound that you wait without any software configuration. As for the hiss, that's common if the wiring isn't the greatest. Are you splicing headphones to do it? - That's what I did and I just solders the left and right to two patch cords, insulated it all, and then taped it up and it worked godlike.

Anyways, let me know.

Cheers!

[GrefMofovich]

This computer sound stuff's not totally simple. I have these cheapo HK "champagne" speakers that I might have ruined by playing too loudly or something. =( But anyway I get scratchy noises when playing music with my setting on normal... unless I lower my master sound level in control panel (or taskbar) and then turn up the volume on the speakers themselves to get the same loudness. The result is the scratchiness is much reduced!

-GM

PS. Hey shred_thrash, does this work the other way around? I mean can you hook up an electric guitar and then wail on it and record it for your boys and stuff? That would be sweet!