Brand new to recording, what am I doing wrong

[scoopscallahan]

I use Garageband. I have some drum tracks to songs I've pulled off youtube and some I've hired a drummer to lay down. Songs like Outshined by Soundgarden and Far Behind by Candlebox. I've put those into Garageband and was recording myself playing along with the drum tracks. I was using a cable I got with Rocksmith (only usable part of that package) and using a Bose Soundlink wireless speaker as a monitor. I recorded and it sounds about like what you would expect.

So, I bought a Focusrite Scarlett Solo to use as a USB audio interface and some RCA cables to connect a Denon Home Theater system to a couple of Polk tower speakers. I plugged everything in last night and........ nothing. So I messed around and messed around and turned up the direct monitor volume on the audio interface to 8-9 out of 10 and turned the Denon up to 75 and voila I could hear it. But it didn't sound that great, better but not great.

I have 2 questions: (1) why do I have to turn the volume so high on the interface and the receiver to hear anything? I'm thinking it might sound better if fixed whatever was wrong that was requiring me to turn everything up so loud. I'm missing something. Any suggestions? (2) Obviously spending $100 on an interface isn't going to give me studio quality sound but is trying to run it through my home theater receiver and to a set of home theater speakers deteriorating the sound even more. It's nice receiver and good speakers but obviously they are not designed for listening to my novice bass recordings. Should I invest in a set of studio monitors and if so do they make any that are geared for listening to the bass more than other instruments?

 

[EastCoastThump]

W/o more details, we'll just be guessing.

Here's a start: Isolate elements of the recording and playback chain to figure out where your problem is. For example, if you play other sources (CD, mp3 player, etc) through the Denon system, does it still sound anemic? If not, you can focus your troubleshooting upstream. Alternatively, if you listen to your Garageband tracks on headphones connected directly to the computer headphone jack, is the audio still low volume and weak? If so, is other audio (such as iTunes) played back through the computer low and weak? Depending on your answers, you should be able to narrow your troubleshooting to Garageband settings, your recording chain, computer audio settings, your audio interface, your monitoring system, or cabling.(Possible, of course, that you might have multiple problems, but isolating elements will still let you identify which parts of your recording/monitoring paths are snakebit.)

• What is the quality and volume like of the source Youtube audio? If that's low resolution or at low volume, your interface won't magically make it sound better. If you're not sure, test your setup with either test tones or audio from a familiar and well mastered commercial release.

• What's the signal path when you are recording your bass? DI from your amp head? mic on cabinet? instrument cable directly into interface? pedals in the chain? etc?

• Are you getting good recording levels into Garageband? (Are you able to clip the signal? Are you able to then back the signal down to avoid clipping?)

• When you say "I recorded and it sounds about like what you'd expect," what does it sound like, exactly? Problems with levels? problems with distortion, crackles, or dropouts? problems with tone?

 

[scoopscallahan]

W/o more details, we'll just be guessing.

Here's a start: Isolate elements of the recording and playback chain to figure out where your problem is. For example, if you play other sources (CD, mp3 player, etc) through the Denon system, does it still sound anemic? If not, you can focus your troubleshooting upstream. Alternatively, if you listen to your Garageband tracks on headphones connected directly to the computer headphone jack, is the audio still low volume and weak? If so, is other audio (such as iTunes) played back through the computer low and weak? Depending on your answers, you should be able to narrow your troubleshooting to Garageband settings, your recording chain, computer audio settings, your audio interface, your monitoring system, or cabling.(Possible, of course, that you might have multiple problems, but isolating elements will still let you identify which parts of your recording/monitoring paths are snakebit.)

• What is the quality and volume like of the source Youtube audio? If that's low resolution or at low volume, your interface won't magically make it sound better. If you're not sure, test your setup with either test tones or audio from a familiar and well mastered commercial release.

• What's the signal path when you are recording your bass? DI from your amp head? mic on cabinet? instrument cable directly into interface? pedals in the chain? etc?

• Are you getting good recording levels into Garageband? (Are you able to clip the signal? Are you able to then back the signal down to avoid clipping?)

• When you say "I recorded and it sounds about like what you'd expect," what does it sound like, exactly? Problems with levels? problems with distortion, crackles, or dropouts? problems with tone?

I listened to the drum tracks on a different receiver and speakers. You have to crank it to hear them. So that's a problem and one that may not be fixable. However, if I'm just playing bass through it is still almost perceptible at a reasonable volume 4-5/10 on the interface, 40-45 on the receiver (what I normally watch TV at). I'm going straight into the interface from my bass. I get good levels in Garageband (still low but way better than through the interface). What I recorded initially sounded fine. It was clean with no distortion but not a good warm tone. It was also really low in volume as well. It sounded like what The Joshua Tree sounded like when I borrowed my friend's tape and recorded it on my dual cassette jambox in 1986.

 

[silky smoove]

Turn the interface volume down to zero, and the receiver volume to a normal listening level position. Load a GB track with one of their pre-recorded loops, or build one using MIDI and a GB VST. Play the loop/MIDI in GB, and slowly bring the interface volume up. Does the pre-recorded material play at a reasonable volume through the stereo?

I'm trying to determine whether the problem is with the hardware, or with the recorded signal from your bass.

 

[DirtDog]

Lots of moving parts in that setup as you've described. As already mentioned, isolate various parts of your signal chain to see where things are getting hung up.

I'd start by eliminating the wireless speaker and/or home theatre setup and instead plug some headphones into the Scarlett and tell us what you hear.

If you're not hearing anything there, it's something in the software <-> interface chain and you'll likely have to troubleshoot your audio settings/assignments within GB.

 

[P-oddz]

Did you go through system settings on your computer and/or also take a look at any of the FocusRite settings?
Step one would be to make sure your USB is selected as the proper sound output.
Assuming you are on a Mac using Garageband, look at SYSTEM PREFERENCES/SOUND/OUTPUT and make sure the USB is selected. You can adjust volume from there as well.

 

[scoopscallahan]

Did you go through system settings on your computer and/or also take a look at any of the FocusRite settings?
Step one would be to make sure your USB is selected as the proper sound output.
Assuming you are on a Mac using Garageband, look at SYSTEM PREFERENCES/SOUND/OUTPUT and make sure the USB is selected. You can adjust volume from there as well.

I hope someone is still out there looking at this thread. I have finally had a chance to sit back down and go through this again. I changed from a youtube video to a regular mp3 and the sound is much better. However, I can barely hear my bass both while playing and using a Bose speaker (hard wired) as a monitor. The bass volume is really low when I listen back to recorded piece. It's like there's a volume button or dial somewhere in the mix that is turned down and I can't find it. Any ideas?

 

[P-oddz]

I hope someone is still out there looking at this thread. I have finally had a chance to sit back down and go through this again. I changed from a youtube video to a regular mp3 and the sound is much better. However, I can barely hear my bass both while playing and using a Bose speaker (hard wired) as a monitor. The bass volume is really low when I listen back to recorded piece. It's like there's a volume button or dial somewhere in the mix that is turned down and I can't find it. Any ideas?

I guess I don't get it.
What exactly are you trying to do...

1. Record into Garageband, and run that audio out into your receiver?
if this is the case, you are probably still missing output settings from your Garageband track or your computer in general)

OR

2. Trying to plug your USB interface directly into your receiver (essentially trying to use your USB audio as a preamp)?
(I would think this would most likely not work as your USB audio is not designed to boost a signal in that manner - someone correct me if I'm wrong)

How familiar are you with Garageband? Are you brand new to it? If you are recording into Garageband and outputting through the receiver, are you creating a brand new track and adjusting the volume of the track, or are you just launching Garageband and trying to through the system) Did you adjust any system preferences like we (and I) mentioned above?

You never mentioned that you looked through any of the previous suggestions.

 

[scoopscallahan]

I guess I don't get it.
What exactly are you trying to do...

1. Record into Garageband, and run that audio out into your receiver?
if this is the case, you are probably still missing output settings from your Garageband track or your computer in general)

OR

2. Trying to plug your USB interface directly into your receiver (essentially trying to use your USB audio as a preamp)?
(I would think this would most likely not work as your USB audio is not designed to boost a signal in that manner - someone correct me if I'm wrong)

How familiar are you with Garageband? Are you brand new to it? If you are recording into Garageband and outputting through the receiver, are you creating a brand new track and adjusting the volume of the track, or are you just launching Garageband and trying to through the system) Did you adjust any system preferences like we (and I) mentioned above?

You never mentioned that you looked through any of the previous suggestions.

What am I trying to do:

(1) Load a song into Garageband from iTunes. This is usually a drum track, a play along song (minus the bass) or the original.
(2) Connect and record my bass playing along to this track
(3) Export a new track of me playing along to the song back in iTunes.
(4) Use this song as an example of me playing to join a band or entice others to start a band with me.

To accomplish this I want to hear the originally loaded track (either the drum track or MP3) playing while I'm playing my bass. I want to hear my bass at the same time playing out of monitor speakers and I'd like to use my stereo speakers as monitor speakers. I'd like to be able to reduce the volume of the play along track and increase the volume of my bass so I can hear my bass playing better. I'd also like my bass playing to be louder than the play along track on the recording so it can be heard clearly by those I am auditioning or bands I'm auditioning for.

What I have done so far:

(1) Instead of the drum track (usually pulled from youtube) I loaded a "play along song" into garageband. For example I had the original drum track to Monkey Wrench from Foo Fighters in there first. After loading a MP3 of the play along track (minus the bass) I could tell a big difference in the volume and quality of how the play along MP3 sounded.

(2) I've muted the play along tack while recording my bass and the bass is very low but audible when I turn the volume all the way up. The problem is when I turn the play along back on and I can no longer hear the bass because it is overpowered by the play along track. I've muted the play along while listening to the recorded play back and again you can hear the bass but barely and only at a high volume but not at all while the play along track is playing.

(3) I've turned the gain knob up all the way on the Focusrite and it does clip. It does increase the volume but not enough.

(4) Songs loaded into Garageband sound great. It only the track that's being recorded that sounds low.

(5) Songs I have recorded are free of clicks, pops, and hisses. You just have to crank it and it doesn't sound great. That's why I've gone from a USB cable plugged directly into my bass to the Focusrite. I'm trying to get a warmer not so naked sound.

(6) Same sound through headphones as through the Bose speaker and the Polk speakers attached to the Denon.

My setup:

(1) Bass directly into the line in on the Focusrite.
(2) Focusrite connected into my Macbook Pro via USB
(3) Garageband as my DAW with Focusrite selected as both audio input and audio output in the audio/midi section of my preferences
(4) Focusrite connected via a a RCA cable from the audio outputs into my Denon Receiver.

Any thoughts? Also, I'm going to try the XLR mic input on the Focusrite and mic my practice amp with a Shure SM58 mic and see if that makes a difference.

 

[DirtDog]

That's really weird.

The way you describe it, this setup should work as you expect it to.

Assuming your bass and cable are supplying a good instrument level signal into the Scarlett, the only thing I can think of is something is f***ed with the interface (hardware) on the input side of things. Do you get the same result using input 2 on the Scarlett?

Let us know how it goes with the mic'd amp->XLR input experiment.

 

[dannylectro]

Check the Inst/Line switch on Ch. 2. If you're plugging in your bass to Ch. 2, it needs to be set on "Inst". "Line" will result in very low volume.

There are also some tricky settings within Garageband that need to be carefully navigated - I figured it out once and just never change them any more.

Good luck.