recording software

Audacity works quite well and it's free.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/

There is also Kristal. I find it not is intuitive as Audacity. Steeper learning curve.

I found the Reverb function in Kristal didn't work and crashed the program when I downloaded it.

A :-(

I like Kristal Audio Engine http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/ better than Audacity for Multi track recording.
But I use Audacity for final "master mixing" and converting Kristal exported .wav files to .mp3 file format.

And Kristal is supporting ASIO 2 drivers (Audacity is not) for low latency recording !
I am using the http://www.asio4all.com/ asio driver with very good results.

The KRISTAL Effects Plug-Ins (including reverb) works good for me.

But I have also imported and used several other good free VST effect plug-ins from
http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php

i already tried audacity, and it didnt work so i figured you need a mic?

i'll give kristal audio engine a shot though

ok, kristal works, but you can barely hear the guitar and theres this really bad "hiss" over everything. is there any way i can fix this?

To get any decent sound you'll need a preamp or mixer (has preamp built in). Another option is a DI effects unit like the Behringer GDI21. Check it out. Your soundcard will make a big difference too. I went from the built in RealTek Audio 97 to SoundBlaster Live (had one kicking around) and that was a very noticeable difference for background noise. I will be getting the M-Audio 2496 (a great budget soundcard) which will be good for my application.

Hi Echoes.
What type of soundcard do you have and what type of guitar .
If its a normal electric guitar, it will have a signal level that is high enough for the Mic input of an ordinary soundcard. But you must activate ( in Record Control panel) the soundcard input as an Mic input and not a Line input
Before you start to use Kristal or Audacity you should check that the guitar gives the signal to the soundcard. Use Windows control panels sound, voice and soundunits
Perform the microphone test in voice recording/ check sound HW.

im using a gibson SG, but i dont know what kind of sound card i have. i know the soundcard recieves the signal from the guitar, because i can record. but when i tried the microphone test, it said it wasnt recieving any signal.