computer in effects loop?

[mkrtu9]

I'm by no means an effects guru but I'm wanting to try a few things. I'm wanting to use a few amplitube effects in practice tonight and I don't really know how to hook it up. I will be using a macbook pro with ampitube 2 and thought I could simply hook up the effects loop to my line in and headphone out. My amp is a shuttle 6.0 if that matters.

Have any suggestions?

thanks in advance.

[Intenzity]

You could do that..but I think you are going to be confronted with a couple of issues:
1) Latency - depending on what you are going to be using amplitude form you may notice the delay in the processing.
2) sound quality.

If you are a nerd and can afford it. I would get a A/D converter and go USB/firewire out of your Macbook into that converter and then loop through that converter and get better sound in an outboard box, connect via 1/4 or XLR to the converter, instead of those mini-plugs into your Mac.

But you certainly can do it how you describe. Depending on what kind of processing you are doing you may notice latency on your mac though.

[mkrtu9]

A/D converter? I have a Presonus Firepod, would that work? So I would hook Firepod up like normal with Macbook put loop in and out through amp and firepod. I've had no Latency problems for the year or so I've had this set up, well, recording wise. I just don't wanna blow anything up!

[Fishyfan]

You wont blow anything up, but as was said, you will have to worry about latency.

are you using just effects or effects and amps?

[mkrtu9]

effects and amp, I didn't know I could turn off the amp. I'll try it and report back.

thanks

[Fishyfan]

Originally Posted by mkrtu9

effects and amp, I didn't know I could turn off the amp. I'll try it and report back.

thanks

before you do that, just go straight into the computer and then into the Power amp in or Effects Return and see if you dig the sound.

[mkrtu9]

alright this is what I did. bass > firepod hooked to mac w/ amplitube 2 > shuttle 6.0 via effects return.

the result was alright. It didn't sound quite the same through headphones, but I did get the sense of what several effects would sound like. Several of them sounded pretty good like the "Octav" and the "crusher". If I would have been able to sit down and tweak I'm sure I could have made those two gigable.

thanks for the advice.

[gastric]

As a newer bass player needing effects a laptop loaded with VST and controlled via MIDI footboard was one of the many options I have written down on paper. It would certainly be portable and theoretically easy to use since you'd be programming everything on a computer with GUI. And sky would probably the limit on sound options since just about everything is available in VST these days.

My main concern live would be the reliability of the computer and related software. Then the sound quality and latency. But a good CPU and interface should negate latency issues.

[mkrtu9]

Every concert I go to anymore there is a computer up there. I'm not worried about the reliability at all.... I would if I were using any of my past PC's though. Not knocking anything, I've just had zero good luck with mine. When I was using a very beefed up dell laptop I didn't have many problems with latency while recording. If I was running a lot of recorded tracks it would suffer a bit. The mac has been able to eat anything I've thrown at it so far. Reliability and latency do not worry me on this.

Sound quality would be my only issue and I think with some sit down time for tweaking it would be ok.

[groooooove]

if you get all the physical connections going, i think it would be insane. and probably work better than expected.

let us know if you get it going.