I am just trying to get a clean sound from my guitar - I have a cable into my SB Live card and it sounds good until I arm a track and it sounds like every effect in my system is playing - Not sure how to control them to turn them off so I just hear my guitar - Any advice would be deeply thanked -

If you have not loaded any FX in the track FX-bin, then the FX you hear must be in the SB, not MC.
There must be some kind of a control panel for the SB?
Or could it be the track is clipping so badly that it sounds like distortion and such? What do the level meters show?
In that case you must set the recording level in SB lower. Note, that MC can not in any way control the recording level.

Most Creative Soundblaster sound cards have a mic input and a line input.  What model sound card are you using and which input have you plugged your guitar cord into?
 
You may find the following link useful.  The link details connecting a guitar to a sound card. http://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=Music%20Creator%207&language=3&help=HardwareSetup.3.html