Thinking about setting up a "studio-like" setup through my computer. Anyone have experiences or have advices?? Also anyone use Komplete 7 and/or Cakewalk V-studio 20? Thanks for any input.
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Playing bass guitar through computer
- Thread starter NaP.TuNE
- Start date
I use amplitube (either ampeg svx or amplitube 3) with my macbook pro. I use a 1/4 to 1/8 adaptor to connect my bass to the laptops input jack. I have a decent sounding (not studio quality by far) set of logitech speakers and subwoofer which work pretty well. Its good for jamming home and I have friends plug into guitar rigs through amplitube and it gets the job done. Sounds a whole lot better than some solid state guitar and bass amps. It can't match a real tube amp though...
I have tried to connect my active bass directly into the macbook's input jack and use Garageband without success. The signal seemed to be too low and cranking it all up just made it sound horrible. Do you need to have some sort of preamp so that you can send a stronger signal to the computer?
Just to play, with headphones on, I run my bass into my MOTU 828mkii, then into my compy, and I run Amplitube (I have the Ampeg plug-in too, but I find it lackluster).
For recording I run logic.
For recording I run logic.
I have a Line6 TonePort UX1 (1st gen), and two Alesis M1Active 520s for my monitors. I use Reaper and GearBox (came w/ the TonePort) to record. The new UX1 has PodFarm, which I hear is way better than GearBox. Anyway, for simple playing and recording it's awesome. I basically only use it to lay down ides for songs for my band, but have used it to record actual songs with decent results.
I bought an all-in-one package. Native Instrument`s Sessions I/O w/ Guitar Rig 3. Paid about $130 @ guitar Center. DI interface, Guitar Rig 3, Cubase 4 LE, Kore Player, and PopDrums. It was an outstanding buy, IMO. Everything is user-friendly, it all integrates well. Only two dedicated bass amp models, but they get the job done. Tons of effects. Got a cheap MIDI keyboard to do drum tracks with Kore. For the hobbyists like me, it`s perfect. You can also run a line out to your amp, if you like, letting you tap in to all the effects.
I use a cheap Behringer mixer connected to the line in of my PC, and use the DI from my amp to connect to the mixer. This also allows you to connect other stuff like a keyboard or drum machine or microphone at the same time. I use an old version of Sound Forge for recording. This is a very cheap method (mixer = $49, Sound Forge = $35) that works great for me. Here's a quick demo of the setup. Heck I recorded this one probably 5 years ago with my older Warwick Streamer Pro M.
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Nice
It's surprising how well this actually works in real life.
I picked up a PC for home theater and the motherboard audio I/O on it rivals many low to mid priced interfaces. Just a mixer is all that's needed.
Question about the connections for the Behringer mixer, do I plug my bass guitar into the
channel 1 LINE IN plug, then plug into LINE IN 3/4 on the mixer to what?? on my desktop
pc ? Right now I have it plug into the back of my pc going into the 1/8 size, light blue
socket. It's a one year old HP PC. When I touch the strings on my bass I can see the two
green lights on the mixer light up but no sound comes out of my speakers. Help plz!!
channel 1 LINE IN plug, then plug into LINE IN 3/4 on the mixer to what?? on my desktop
pc ? Right now I have it plug into the back of my pc going into the 1/8 size, light blue
socket. It's a one year old HP PC. When I touch the strings on my bass I can see the two
green lights on the mixer light up but no sound comes out of my speakers. Help plz!!
+1
For some reason, my active basses dont get along well with my mac. The signal for some reason seems thin and weak. This is especially true of my 4 and 5 string stingrays. As far as amplitube goes, ampeg SVX isn't my go to, but was the first one I tried. Amplitube Fender and Amplitube 3 have the best amps in my opinion. I use the fender tube bass preamp and 300s tube amp. I also use the GK and acoustic 360 inspired models in Amplitube 3. Those have yielded the best results for me. The twin reverb model also works good for bass sometimes.
My passive basses, jazz and precisions sound excellent, with this approach. I've got some rough soundclips if anyone is interested. My alembic spoiler that has a glockenlang pre (glockenlangs are supposed to be one of the most transparent pres out there) sounds decent through this setup which leads me to believe that preamps such as the stingray which are heavily colored might need some sort of interface to get best results.
