Is it possible?

[maggot_me]

Is it possible to record directly from your amp to your PC without the sound changing? cause thats what it does. AND if you can't then HOW DO YOU RECORD?????

 

[Charling]

Is it possible to record directly from your amp to your PC without the sound changing? cause thats what it does. AND if you can't then HOW DO YOU RECORD?????

hehe, you seem to have stumbled upon the reason me and all the other thousands of sound engineers out there have a job!

No, its not possible for it to sound exactly the same. just as when you plug a bass into an amp it changes the sound of your bass, when you plug a pre amp into a different power amp it changes the sound, when you put mic in front of a cab your choice of mic will have a big effect on the sound.

every piece of gear you use, from the choice of bass and amp to choice of recording medium or pre amp will change the sound of your bass. It is all electronic circuits, digital or analog, and will all do there best to copy the sound exactly but will not do that well!

recording is the process of compromising, finding the best way to capture the sound that is in the room.

The thing is, your ears are the most highly accurate audio sensors known to man by a LONG way, asking a microphone or di to hear the same as what they hear when your bass goes through an amp is unrealistic.

you have to start off with a great sound in the room and then work through the process of getting that to tape/disk whatever, every step in the chain will change the sund for better or for worse.

a good player, with a good amp, good di, good mics, good pre amps and good A/D converters will sound great when recorded, as long as everything is set up correctly! (and that, the setting up, is an art in itself!). it will sound great but still different to the 'real' sound in the room, that is the recording process, trying to make a copy of something so complex and pure that being able to reproduce it time and time again through speakers is a lost cause.

With skill, knowledge, gear and time you can record a great sound, but don't expect it to come overnight and don't fret when a consumer interface with built in pre and plug in compressor doesn't sound like your favourit cd. there is no magic to how professional engineers get up a great sound, it is just the above, skill, knowledge, gear and time!

EDIT - creativity is a big factor, you say 'cause that's what it does' as though its a simple as someone saying 'we want to make a box that does this..' and you can do it perfectly! aside from the art of recording there are many other people who's decisions make there way into the recording chain, all the people who design the gear to do 'what it does' for a start. As I learn more about electronics and circuit design (something i have been meaning to do for a while!) the more I realise how creative the field is, a different creativity to being a musician but comparable in the amount of time and effort they spend trying to get things sounding better! that's why a soundblaster soundcard doesn't sound like a prism, and still neither of them sound like real life! its such a huge and interesting subject, just like playig an instrument.

you see it all the time on electronics website with people posting things like 'ways to improve the blah blah di box' or similar (bad example ), people take apart respected gear and improve it like any craftsmen, and that should show you how much of an open book designing audio gear is, just like the music we record on it, always imperfect, sometimes amazing!

your original question is like saying 'is it possible to put my bass through an amp without changing the sound?'

 

[maggot_me]

hehe, you seem to have stumbled upon the reason me and all the other thousands of sound engineers out there have a job!

No, its not possible for it to sound exactly the same. just as when you plug a bass into an amp it changes the sound of your bass, when you plug a pre amp into a different power amp it changes the sound, when you put mic in front of a cab your choice of mic will have a big effect on the sound.

every piece of gear you use, from the choice of bass and amp to choice of recording medium or pre amp will change the sound of your bass. It is all electronic circuits, digital or analog, and will all do there best to copy the sound exactly but will not do that well!

recording is the process of compromising, finding the best way to capture the sound that is in the room.

The thing is, your ears are the most highly accurate audio sensors known to man by a LONG way, asking a microphone or di to hear the same as what they hear when your bass goes through an amp is unrealistic.

you have to start off with a great sound in the room and then work through the process of getting that to tape/disk whatever, every step in the chain will change the sund for better or for worse.

a good player, with a good amp, good di, good mics, good pre amps and good A/D converters will sound great when recorded, as long as everything is set up correctly! (and that, the setting up, is an art in itself!). it will sound great but still different to the 'real' sound in the room, that is the recording process, trying to make a copy of something so complex and pure that being able to reproduce it time and time again through speakers is a lost cause.

With skill, knowledge, gear and time you can record a great sound, but don't expect it to come overnight and don't fret when a consumer interface with built in pre and plug in compressor doesn't sound like your favourit cd. there is no magic to how professional engineers get up a great sound, it is just the above, skill, knowledge, gear and time!

EDIT - creativity is a big factor, you say 'cause that's what it does' as though its a simple as someone saying 'we want to make a box that does this..' and you can do it perfectly! aside from the art of recording there are many other people who's decisions make there way into the recording chain, all the people who design the gear to do 'what it does' for a start. As I learn more about electronics and circuit design (something i have been meaning to do for a while!) the more I realise how creative the field is, a different creativity to being a musician but comparable in the amount of time and effort they spend trying to get things sounding better! that's why a soundblaster soundcard doesn't sound like a prism, and still neither of them sound like real life! its such a huge and interesting subject, just like playig an instrument.

you see it all the time on electronics website with people posting things like 'ways to improve the blah blah di box' or similar (bad example ), people take apart respected gear and improve it like any craftsmen, and that should show you how much of an open book designing audio gear is, just like the music we record on it, always imperfect, sometimes amazing!

your original question is like saying 'is it possible to put my bass through an amp without changing the sound?'

Oh