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Playing a CD through an AMP

J

Jamie Followill

Oct 4, 2007
13
0
#1
I'm looking for a cable that goes into the optical out (i think it's called that, where you put headphones and speakers and stuff) in my macbook pro computer and goes into the red and white input things that you find on the back of TV's and stuff.

It's so i can can connect my macbook pro to my bass amp to play songs through it?

Any suggestions?
 
#4
The amp side usually uses RCA audio cables that you can get at Radio Shack.

My brother's friend rigged my 8-track player (ancient pre-CD thing) so I could play 8-tracks through the instrument input of my Fender Bassman 50 Tube 1/2-stack. Sounded like a concert in my yard! ;)
 
#6
You wouldn't (can't) use an optical output to an RCA input. One uses light over optic fibre, one uses electricity over copper. Two different mediums.

You can just go from the stereo 3.5mm (headphone out) to two RCA inputs for the auxilary RCA inputs of your amp if it has them.

...or you can even go from the 3.5mm stereo out to the 1/4" mono input on your amp.

You can get either type of cable from your local Radio Shack.

Either way will work fine.

:)

Actually, I'm playing some music as we speak using a 3.5mm stereo to 1/4" mono cable (actually just a regular instrument cable with a 1/4" -> 3.5mm adaptor) from my Mac Mini into my new NC210 combo to break the speakers in a little before our first rehearsal ;)

Sounds Great!

If you're going into your amp's input, just be careful to set the gain correctly - if the volume on your laptop is turned up, the output could be quite hot.

:D
 
#7
It's not an optical out on the MBP - just a regular headphone out. Keep in mind that this is an amplified signal so it's a little hotter than line level. Start by turning the bass amp's input all the way down, then bringing it up slowly.

I'm not sure how you're routing everything - as I read it, from MBP to CD player but that doesn't make sense to me. I use my MBP and Cafe Walter headphone amp for practicing all the time. I use iTunes on the computer, and run from the headphone out on the left side of it to the aux input on the Cafe Walter. Bass goes in the other channel, and both come out thru the headphones. It only has two knobs, to adjust the volume of both inputs. Works great!
 
#8
All you need to do is pickup a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter at radio shack or something like that. Just take a normal instrument cable, pop on the adapter, plug the adapter into the output port of your soundcard and then, with the other end, just plug into your amp like normal - you will be able to use your amps EQ and everything! You can plug straight into the cab too, but you probably won't hear much of anything due to the low amount of power being pushed out.
 
#9
Hey guys, lots of bass and guitar combo amps have direct RCA/Phono plug inputs in the front so that you can play along with CDs, iPods or music from your laptop. I do this with my MacBook all the time.

This is what you need man: Invalid Link Removed

pRS1C-2266520w345.jpg
 
#10
I have the same question I had a year ago. Fender Rumble 75 amp, regular old cd player. When I run the cd player from headphone output to the AUX IN ports (via an adapter) and plug in my headphones to the amp, I can hear the CD player but not my bass. Unplug the AUX IN stuff and I can hear the bass through the headphones just fine. Someone PLEASE tell an electronics doofus what she is doing wrong. I miss playing. Thanks.
 

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