The Best Way To Connect Your instruments

[tackle]

Hi! This is my first post and thought this might help many of us down the line, if we'd get some discussions and answers flying around under this question:

 

At first, I'm using PC with cubase as recording software. Windows 7 is in use, don't know does it matter to anything, but still.

 

I have an audio interface Line6 UX2 TonePort in use, AND, also Line6 pod300 hd multieffect for guitar and bass.

 

And my guestion is: What would be the absolutely best way, to use this equipment together? The best way to connect these, so I can get as much out of them as possible. Because there are too many choices for example at the back of this pod300 hd multieffect, like regular guitar plug from several places, all kind of switch to turn to make the sound louder, pad or without pad, studio,,.. You know what I'm talking about who got these instruments.

 

At the moment, I'm simply connected this pod300hd with guitar in, regular guitar plug goes there, and then normal guitar plug comes out from L/Mono, the switch is set to studio. And the plug continues its journey to UX TonePort instrument input, which says PAD. Volume in pod300 hd is set to maximum.

 

Then of course I need to open pod farm 2 software, to open up this instrument channel. I don't use any effects in pod farm 2, as the effects are set at pod300 hd already, but there are many choices also to increase let's say volume some more and so on, which I haven't touched yet.

 

I just wonder, would it be better to connect this all in some other way? Like to use microphone output to microphone input, or what do I do to make the most out of everything? Clearest purest and the best signal all the way to the Cubase, and in what position should I turn all the knobs in everything?

 

I'm just recording songs in this home studio using one instrument at the time. But somehow I feel like when playing guitar through this all live, it sounds much better, sound wise of course, than then the result of the recording and its sounds. Of course it comes stereo to my headphones and all that, but still it feels like I'm not getting even a half of all the benefits from this lot, when I hear the recording.

 

I really appreciate if you can in someway enlighten me, or give me some pointers which way to go.

 

Thank you!