Budget setup for home play along and recording

[thorstiborsti]

Hi. Apologies if this has already been asked but I'm looking for a reasonable priced setup to play along to songs and record my bass at the same time. I'm using a MacBook and have an iRig2 as well as an Ampeg Micro SV stack. I have played around with Gragae Band a bit but is there anything else out there?

 

[DirtDog]

Logic Pro would be your next step. Like GarageBand but on steroids. Lots of other similar options that would run on Mac but you won’t get much of a better deal than Logic.

 

[mambo4]

Logic Pro is overpriced IMHO
$60 bucks but competitive with Logic Pro($200): Reaper.
(Reaper is free to download and try)

Free but clunky: Audacity

 

[seamonkey]

Logic pro has a 90 free trial.

Reaper is very good. I'd recommend it to everyone. But the licensing terms often get misquoted.
Reaper is $225 for commercial use if you use it and make $20k per year. I'm just a regular player using it for live and recording and make enough I should buy the commercial version. It's still a bargain at $225. And it is an even better bargain if you qualify for the $65 price.

 

[Aloe]

GarageBand is a pretty capable free DAW, so invest into learning it, if your goal is "budget". unfortunately, every DAW has a learning curve. get a nice audio interface, a starter Focusrite or PreSonus, this will improve your studio more than spending on an alternative DAW.

if you just don't like GB and would like to try a different way, try Ableton Live. yeah, most DAWs have a trial, but they all have the learning curve.

 

[DirkP]

Logic Pro is overpriced IMHO
$60 bucks but competitive with Logic Pro($200): Reaper.
(Reaper is free to download and try)

Free but clunky: Audacity

It is somehow funny to read that Logic is overpriced. There was a time, when Logic and similar DAWs were over 1.000,-.
Logic isn't overpriced in any way for what it has to offer, not to mention all the free updates for years. The consumers profit from Apple being a hardware company. But for playing along and recording your bass Garageband is more than enough.

 

[G On Bass]

I use Garage Band for recording and playing back as I add bass lines to things. My interface came with PreSonus something-or-other but it is more complex than I need. I'm not mixing or engineering, just recording and listening with all the tone coming from bass/pedals.

 

[basyngwie]

I don't know what a Micro SV stack is, but if it's like a micro VR with an XLR out, my first step would be to get a proper audio interface (do some googling, don't spend to much, the usual ones are fine) to record you amp - if you like the tone of it. As for DAW, Garageband will be fine. I can't imagine why it wouldn't be sufficient for recording and editing bass for personal use. I use it all the time. If you haven't already, have a look around the third party plugins as well.

If you in fact just want an easier - not more professional - way to play along and record your bass, a Roland go mixer pro-X might be something for you. I haven't tried one but it looks hassle free. It will let you film as well. I think Scott Devine is using one of those for his instagram content.

 

[thorstiborsti]

I don't know what a Micro SV stack is, but if it's like a micro VR with an XLR out, my first step would be to get a proper audio interface (do some googling, don't spend to much, the usual ones are fine) to record you amp - if you like the tone of it. As for DAW, Garageband will be fine. I can't imagine why it wouldn't be sufficient for recording and editing bass for personal use. I use it all the time. If you haven't already, have a look around the third party plugins as well.

If you in fact just want an easier - not more professional - way to play along and record your bass, a Roland go mixer pro-X might be something for you. I haven't tried one but it looks hassle free. It will let you film as well. I think Scott Devine is using one of those for his instagram content.

Apologies I have a Micro CL which has a line out but no XLR.