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it won't explode my bass head if i?

J

jollygiantchris

Apr 18, 2006
893
394
Chicago, IL
#1
Hello I've been running my bass directly into my PCs soundcard to record with an instrument cable and a 1/8th adapter on it and I would very much like to use my bass amp head DI into my soundcard so I can actually EQ the signal and use its onboard tube preamp which actually sounds quite nice.

However, the only problem is my computer is currently in my basement and my speaker cab is currently upstairs and I am currently nursing a neck injury and the speaker cab is far above my allowed weight limit for what I am allowed to carry therefore I was wondering if I can power up my bass head in my basement and only run an instrument cable from the line out to the soundcard mic slot then throw a 1/8th adapter on it without burning out my amp head (because I am not sure if powering up an amp head without having a cab plugged in is a good idea or not) which I really like and because I currently cannot work cannot afford a new one for the forseeable future =x

http://www.traynoramps.com/products.asp?id=365&cat=40&type=5
^^^ the yorkville XS 400H head if the link doesn't work (amazing head btw built like a ****ing tank and sounds fantastic)

And I did run through the forum and checked to see if anyone else had a similar problem and there was another guy that sounded like he was almost asking the same question and it seemed like people were telling him he should boot his amp head up normally but instead of having the speaker cable plugged into his speakers have a 1/8th adapter on it and run the speaker cable into the soundcard.

Oh and when plugging into the computer should I run through the microphone slot or the line in jack?

Sorry if this is a newbish question but I finally wrote a damn song and even though its rather guitar heavy I'll be damned if I have ****** bass tone ruining the recording of the first song I've ever finished :D

Thanks!
 
#2
I don't think you want the speaker cable plugged into your computer. I'm pretty sure that's a bad thing.

You're probably going to want a "line level" signal to go into your sound card. The tuner out sends a line level signal.

I'm not 100% positive on this information. I wouldn't want to be the one that makes your computer go up in smoke.

Can anyone validate/verify my suggestion?

Joe
 
#3
You will want to be using the line in on your sound card.

If your bass amp has a DI out or a line out, that is what you want to use.

Otherwise, you can get a cheap DI (check with your local music store, they can get pretty cheap) and just plug your bass into that.

OR, for better quality recordings, something like this [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] is really worth the extra cash.
 
#6
grommit said:
You will want to be using the line in on your sound card.

If your bass amp has a DI out or a line out, that is what you want to use.

Otherwise, you can get a cheap DI (check with your local music store, they can get pretty cheap) and just plug your bass into that.

OR, for better quality recordings, something like this [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] is really worth the extra cash.
Click to expand...
so youre saying i can run an instrument cable from the line out on my head into the line in on my soundcard WITHOUT having my speaker cab plugged into the head and it will work just fine? AND not damage my amp?

my speaker cab has no headphone jack and my speaker cab is unmovable and upstairs away from my pc (the muscles in my neck are shredded can't lift something that heavy its a schroeder 4x10 its like 95 lbs) i absolutely cannot bring it downstairs by my PC the max im allowed to lift is 40 lbs and my amp head is like 35ish

oh and i havent worked since july of last year so i have no money to buy a cheap di box :o
 
#8
LUMPYKILLS said:
It won't hurt the computer or the speaker, we do this everyday at school to record podcasts from our mixer
Click to expand...

But you do it from a line level signal, except if your mixer is also some sort of an amp.

My vote goes for using the tuner out, which is line-level. Even better is the DI, if you happen to have one.

Bear in mind that small headphone cables and the like will greatly degrade your signal.
 
#11
LUMPYKILLS said:
Well, if the sound is only running to your computer, nothing could happen, in theory.

And on a side note, how did you hurt your neck?
Click to expand...
that is a very long story but ill summarize

basically i work at the airport and do a lot of lifting of luggage id assume thats how i hurt my neck but no one is entirely sure in what order it happened but i had 3 things happened to me all at the same time

-i had a viral infection of some sort in lining of my spine/brain (the theory is west nile or viral meningitis or both)
-i have too much CSF (cerebro spinal fluid your spinal cord and brain float in it as a shock absorber) they still haven't figured out why this is but the pressure is supposed to be 15 mine is 27
-i have cervical facet syndrome (all this means it that the ligaments/tendons/muscles that hold the joints of your spine are shredded basically) and an abnormality at C3 on the left side of my neck

the current theory is that i had the viral infection went back to work too early and while i had residual inflammation of the tissue lining the nerves in my neck the muscles got all ****ed up. they still have no clue as to why my CSF pressure was/is so high and they are still trying to figure that out

basically i was unable to sit or stand up without incredible head pain from july 06' to mid-august 07' i think the longest i stood up was about 3.5 hours when i attempted to go to a tool/isis concert at the allstate arena sometime last sept/oct i walked to a corner and lay down/collapsed until i was physically able to leave. i was completely bedridden for 2 days after that show but i swear to god it was ****ing worth it i ****ing love isis and tool and i had never seen isis before :)

but yeah i got 2 have in the end something like 8 MRIs, 4 CT scans, 7 spinal taps, 2 epidural blood patches, 2 ER visits, 2 weeks in the hospital, and one aborted surgery.

the best part is once they finally figured out what it was the cure was a measly huge dose of migraine medication/pills to keep CSF lvl down/physical therapy/and cortisone shots in my neck no big deal

so yeah i can't pick up my bass cab because its 2 heavy for my neck muscles to support and i have no money to buy a cheap di box because i finally got approved to go back to work and they wait 2 weeks to get the paperwork made up for my docs to sign classic federal government

PS - this is quite long but this actually is the summarized version i skipped a lot :P
 

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