Can I record Tomehammer 500 to an interface?

[adamcz]

I want to buy an interface for my MacBook Pro. I saw a lot of recommendations for FocusRite on this board, so I'll probably start with something inexpensive like that. I only own one microphone but I want to buy an interface that could support two mics for future proofing - I think if I recorded my piano I would want two mics for that. Seems like the 4i4 would be plenty.

Will it be ok to go bass -> pedalboard -> Tonehammer 500 balanced out -> FocusRite interface -> MacBook? I'm asking the obvious "will it work" question, but also, is there any risk of something getting damaged?

Could I blend the balanced out with also mic'ing the cabinet?

 

[Timmah]

Yes! It’s great for that, the DI is super nice. Iirc it’s fine to run the TH500 without a speaker load, so you can record silently with no problem.

 

[Michael4bass]

Yes, just keep the Master volume off if you're only using the DI. Yes, many recording have been done with a mic and a DI.

Bassically, Michael

 

[adamcz]

Thanks for the replies. I guess now I just need to wait for Sweetwater to get the interface back in stock.

 

[silky smoove]

Could I blend the balanced out with also mic'ing the cabinet?

This is a common approach. You'll get far better results from it if you understand how phase works and what you can do to somewhat mitigate for the phase difference between two signals of the same source.

 

[adamcz]

Well that’s bad news because I know nothing about those things!

 

[And I]

Well that’s bad news because I know nothing about those things!

dummy version = look at the waveforms coming from the DI and mic and make sure in the places where one waveform is above the center line, the other waveform isn't below it. if it is, nudge one of the tracks so they more or less line up.

 

[silky smoove]

dummy version = look at the waveforms coming from the DI and mic and make sure in the places where one waveform is above the center line, the other waveform isn't below it. if it is, nudge one of the tracks so they more or less line up.

That’s usually enough to get it done, but I always point out that phase is both time AND frequency dependent. Time aligning will improve phase coherency in some spots and may worsen it in others. In the last year I’ve become a big fan of keeping captures per sound source to as low of a count as possible and I find my mixes greatly improving as a result.

 

[wishforbass]

Give a look to audient ID4 too .Fantastic interface and easy use and a little better sound.
Yeah its possible fully to record by amp DI/balance out to audio interface.
But There is one challenge here that there are some great vsts that sound amazing like helix or ... and they are even more portable but not as high quality as amp for sure .still something I think can think about because there are a lot of growing in this industries and every day we see new products come out .
Well at end you can have amp and app and see which one works best for you .

 

[DigitalMan]

It will work fine. You can mic and go direct simultaneously , with the phase caveats above. You can always just switch off one track or the other later on if you find that it’s too much hassle to deal with phase, or if you just like the sound of one over the other.

More commonly I think people would choose just the DI signal and then add a software plugin to simulate a speaker cabinet later on if they really find it necessary. The nice thing about software plugins is they’re super easy to add afterward in a non-permanent way. You can kick the tires on hundreds of possibilities without altering the recorded sound. That’s a pro and a con.