Pulling off a Signal Path-like setup for a heretofore gear moron

[thiocyclist]

Title might be a bit extreme but wanted to illustrate the situation as best I could: I want to do a setup similar to (not the same as) Signal Path, using similar techniques, possibly with a bit more looping emphasis for lack of manpower, and maybe some pre-recorded elements that get triggered rather than performed and live recorded.

Decent video example of what I mean:


Now... I can clearly see some of the equipment that goes into it (yes I know about that Apogee device and the Mac, lol) but what kind of software and specific interfaces are being used are unclear to me. I am not a tech geek at all (probably a weakness here) but I want to recreate a similar setup for myself as a bass player with a new project. Maybe not quite as ambitious but something like it.

Basically if there is some way those of you who already do this could help me get primed to research it better that would be great. As it stands right now I have struggled to find very much info after weeks of Googling, searching fora, etc. Most threads are very product specific and assume a lot of prior knowledge I don't have. And while there may be something out there I really haven't found any books about this either. Maybe something for DJs?

 

[gdavis]

I was hoping someone with more experience would chime in since I was interested in seeing some ideas too. I haven't actually done this, but I can give you a little info that might help get you started.

According to the description in the video, they're using Ableton Live, which is basically recording software. I haven't used it but have done some reading up on it and had it recommended by someone who does something similar to what you want to do. It seems to be a very nice and flexible application for doing loops and triggering tracks etc., but it's not cheap. A more affordable alternative that might work for you is Reaper. I've used reaper for a little bit of recording, midi routing and virtual instruments, but haven't really explored the kind of thing you want to do, so I'm not sure how well suited it would be compared to Ableton Live, but I think it's workable. There will be a learning curve with this stuff, be prepared to do a lot of reading/watching of instructions and tutorials.

In order to make controlling it easier, you hook up a midi controller which is a device that has knobs and buttons that can be configured to control just about anything in the recording software (or anything else that can receive midi messages). There is a very wide variety of controllers out there and I can't really recommend anything specific, but in general they all basically do the same thing, it's mostly just a matter of finding a configuration that works well and is comfortable for you. Lot's of personal preference involved here.

Finally, you need a way to get your instrument sound into the computer to record the loops. Again, there are a myriad of audio interfaces that will work for this. Apogee Jam is one I've heard of that looks very easy to use and would be sufficient for getting a single instrument hooked up to the computer.

So those are the basic pieces you need to get started, hope that at least helps you get going in the right direction.

Oh ya, I just remembered you need to get the audio OUT of the computer also. In that case, instead of the Apogee Jam you might want to step up to an audio interface with inputs and outputs. There are plenty of 2/2 interfaces out there which means that you have two mono inputs and two mono outputs (which can be combined to one stereo). If you really want to go budget you could use the headphone output of the computer with a converter to go from the 1/8" stereo jack to whatever you need for amp/pa.