Questions about 2i2 capabilities and line levels

[labeledbass]

Recently bought a 2i2 3rd gen, mainly personal use. I've got it talking to Ableton, and Reaper (loving Reaper) with no problem. I never had too much experience with balanced lines and DIs, aside from what studios provided, no computers involved back then. My question(s) are, I have a few effects pedals, my bass is passive, is it safe to run my line like this -
BASS>PEDAL>2i2(instrument pad)? (pedals are GR2 & SA C4). I also read about how you can send a dedicated channel out to an effect pedal and return back to apply said effect on any track you choose, will the 2i2 do this?? The way I see it MONITOR OUT>PEDAL>INPUT 1 or 2, or both if stereo.

I don't seem to have any problems with level when directly plugged in to the 2i2 from my bass, I just don't want to damage anything with too high of a level, if that's a thing.

Thanks in advance! ~ E

 

[stuntbass77]

Well I too have a 2i2 and I have run “hot” signal active basses through it and not damaged it. I do get the red light and the sound is not good ( so I turn down at that point ). You “should” be able to run your pedals into the input jack and have no issues as far as your other question I’ll let someone else who run a rig like you asked answer. You were right in buying a 2i2. I love mine ( not as much as my old Presonus Firepod but that baby could record 10 tracks at once and I was running “FireWire” which was much faster at the time then usb 2 , unfortunately it crapped out on me and FireWire is not supported anymore by Mac ). I think the Focusrite stuff is better made so I will probably stick with them if this one goes out.

 

[EastCoastThump]

... and FireWire is not supported anymore by Mac

Maybe not officially supported, but it still works fine. A few hours ago, I used an old Firepod with a 2017 MacBook Pro. Connecting via cascaded Firewire-->Thunderbolt adapter into a Thunderbolt-->USB-C adapter.

I'm not recommending anyone run out to buy a Firepod; but if you have it sitting around and you've collected the adapters over the years, it's a case of "I'm not dead yet!"

 

[labeledbass]

Thanks for the replies - I don't mind running the pedal(s) in chain with my instrument line, and assuming the "instrument" function is just pad for the input. I get good levels with both my passive bass and then pedal around 35% gain on my input.

So has no one routed a output from the 2i2 back into a different input to insert an effect (stompbox ect.) into the DAW for use on other tracks besides just the bass? I read a lot about that is the best way to implement analog or "outside effects" when using a interface. I would assume you dedicated an output on the interface to send signal and then return back into an input, obviously have a effect in between those two points. Theoretically you could apply that "effects send/loop" to which ever track you want, with much more control.

This was easier to explain back in the day when a board and sends were all you needed, the complexity of routing the interface seems to be where I'm wondering about if it has the capabilities to do this.

Again thanks!

 

[silky smoove]

So has no one routed a output from the 2i2 back into a different input to insert an effect (stompbox ect.) into the DAW for use on other tracks besides just the bass? I read a lot about that is the best way to implement analog or "outside effects" when using a interface. I would assume you dedicated an output on the interface to send signal and then return back into an input, obviously have a effect in between those two points. Theoretically you could apply that "effects send/loop" to which ever track you want, with much more control.

This process is called reamping and you would need another device known as a reamp box to do it. Radial makes a few good ones, my favorite being the Radial X-Amp.

 

[labeledbass]

Thank you for your reply, so let me get this correct -

Signal starts at the DAW>2i2>Monitor L or R output>ReAmp balanced input>ReAmp unbalanced output>pedal input(processed)pedal output>2i2 1/4" instrument input>DAW as wet signal.

Correct? I saw a few "ok" instructions on YouTube but they mostly worked it with mic'd cabinets, and some with DI box before the return back into the 2i2, I'm guess the DI box is only if your level is too low

 

[silky smoove]

Thank you for your reply, so let me get this correct -

Signal starts at the DAW>2i2>Monitor L or R output>ReAmp balanced input>ReAmp unbalanced output>pedal input(processed)pedal output>2i2 1/4" instrument input>DAW as wet signal.

Correct? I saw a few "ok" instructions on YouTube but they mostly worked it with mic'd cabinets, and some with DI box before the return back into the 2i2, I'm guess the DI box is only if your level is too low

I wouldn't use the monitor outs to feed into a reamp box, but if that's all you've got it could work as long as the levels were kept low enough to not overload the front end of the reamp box.

Mic'd cabinet or another DI won't matter. It's just getting a signal out of the box as-recorded and then through external signal processing before piping it back into the box however you see fit.

 

[labeledbass]

I wouldn't use the monitor outs to feed into a reamp box, but if that's all you've got it could work as long as the levels were kept low enough to not overload the front end of the reamp box.

Mic'd cabinet or another DI won't matter. It's just getting a signal out of the box as-recorded and then through external signal processing before piping it back into the box however you see fit.

Yeah, going through the scenarios with monitor out there isnt many ways to correctly control the output, you cant just tell the channels what to do. It also hard to solo when that channel also has to go to the master to run the effects loop. Regret not getting the 2i4 now, or higher. The control panel doesnt even have options supported for output routing.

 

[BrianVengeance]

You should be able to get some decent sounds recorded with the 2i2, which really the main gig here.

Routing isn’t ideal, but you’ve actually got 2 in and 4 out (don’t forget the headphone outs). From here it depends on which problem you want to solve to use your pedals as auxiliary effects: line to instrument or headphone to instrument level. There are a zillion little utility gizmos to solve these sorts of level/impedance problems, so don’t fret too much. The aforementioned reamp box (line to instrument) is just about the most common.

It’s also reasonable to weigh the effort vs results - for most things you’d want to do, there are plugins available that will do the same trick without the routing headache.

You’re also at the point now where your next Interface purchase will be informed with real life experience - aim for a 2x6 (monitor, headphones, 2xline) and go from there!