Bass is too quiet for recording through interface to pc, please help ;c

[DirtDog]

There I did what you said ;-;
Ignore me saying ''both of the bridges'' instead both of the pickups xDD

Well, you have me stumped. That's very weird. And sad and upsetting. I'm with you on that!

Yeah, as far as the volume jumps in the DAW with nothing going through and the gain way up like that, the interface is likely picking up all kinds of interference - from your computer screen and fan, from your house wiring and so on. Plus whatever the noise the interface generates itself. Not a super high performance unit, but you should be able to clearly hear your bass and record a relatively clean bass track under normal circumstances.

I think you're past the point of hoping to be able to flip a couple of switches to fix the problem. Its not the interface settings, it's not the battery, it's not the cable, its not the knobs on the bass. I'm beginning to think you have some sort of wiring problem in that bass. You'd need a tech to look at it to confirm.

 

[Densman61]

Using a TRS cable will not activate your bass.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Does this interface run off of USB power or an external power supply ie wall wart transformer?

Does the DAW have some default input monitoring option to protect for signals that are too bassy?

 

[Rocky049]

56db according to Focusrite, which is indeed quite low. That said, it should still be workable even if the gain needs to be up quite high.

@Rocky049 when you turn the gain all the way up and record something with your bass you mentioned seeing the bass recorded, if only faintly, in the waveform in your DAW. Try this: Record something with the gain on the Focusrite set as high as possible without picking up self-noise and then normalize the recorded waveform in your DAW. This isn't a great practice to get into, but it will tell you if things are recording sufficiently above the noise floor and will indicate if this unit's 56db of mic gain is or is not sufficient for recording bass effectively. Many entry level interfaces are pretty wimpy when it comes to direct input from a bass as well as many other sources.

There, I assume you mean increasing the volume? I cant find a way to normalize it in 'Abletone Live' so i just turned up the dB.

Sounds exactly as if I would record at max gain on the interface...which produces a ton of noise.

 

[crobasster]

Try the bass on amplifier !

 

[Rocky049]

Does this interface run off of USB power or an external power supply ie wall wart transformer?

Does the DAW have some default input monitoring option to protect for signals that are too bassy?

It's an USB powered interface.

It does have a direct Monitor option if thats what you meant. And its turned off. Turning it on doesnt help and picks up the sound way to quietly.

 

[And I]

Looking at this video, my control knob theory (aka "pilot error") seems to be supported.

You've got the balance knob turned to the bridge pickup (silences the neck pickup) and your 5-position switch is selected for the neck pickup (silences the bridge pickup).

according to yamaha it's an "EQ Preset" switch, not a pickup selector.

 

[LBS-bass]

Take a moment to double check what else is assigned to your channel, if anything. If you have another output running from, say, an effects patch, make sure that's not turned way down.

 

[Rocky049]

Take a moment to double check what else is assigned to your channel, if anything. If you have another output running from, say, an effects patch, make sure that's not turned way down.

Nope, its a complete raw input (no effects attached).

Also only the bass output is selected

 

[And I]

i just read this whole thing and watched your videos and i'm pretty sure your bass is broken...

 

[jbhaugh]

Do you have a friend with a bass or guitar amp you can borrow? Eliminating all the possible interface/DAW issues will at least let you know if the bass wiring is the problem. And put the pickup pan knob and bass/treble EQ knobs in the middle.

 

[DirtDog]

according to yamaha it's an "EQ Preset" switch, not a pickup selector.

Combination of pickup selector with baked-in EQ settings. But yes, not a pure pickup selector like on a Strat or Tele.

 

[silky smoove]

There, I assume you mean increasing the volume? I cant find a way to normalize it in 'Abletone Live' so i just turned up the dB.

Sounds exactly as if I would record at max gain on the interface...which produces a ton of noise.

What got recorded compared to the sound of the bass in the room with what are pretty fresh strings is quite different. The completely asymmetric waveform is also odd. Since your Les Paul records fine I’m in the camp of folks saying that something is wrong with your bass.

 

[sotua]

A picture of the control cavity, see if there's anything obviously loose/broken?

 

[Densman61]

Using a TRS cable will not activate your bass.

 

[Rocky049]

i just read this whole thing and watched your videos and i'm pretty sure your bass is broken...

I will be so fu***ng furious if that's the case. Because I literally just exchanged it.
If they gave me the exact same bass in new packaging...this wont end funny.

I think I'll have to go to a Music store tomorrow, ask them if the bass is ok. If its not ok and broken...oh boi I will f**in bring down there store where I got it from. xDD

 

[Densman61]

Try a mono cable.

 

[Rocky049]

What do you mean?! Its the only way I can connect it to my interface...or is there another way?

 

[And I]

Combination of pickup selector with baked-in EQ settings. But yes, not a pure pickup selector like on a Strat or Tele.

why... would they do that... regardless of the "why", they must have engineered the switch to override the balance knob, otherwise they would be inundated with tech support calls and people returning instruments that were working fine.

 

[MattZilla]

Perhaps you accidentally changed the input in the software to the computer’s integrated mic and need to switch it back to the Scarlet?