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Recording straight from bass to laptop

B

Bizor

Aug 2, 2011
9
0
#1
I have just been using a cord that runs straight from my bass to my laptop and recording using audacity with no effects.

Is there any way I can use this type of setup, without buying any hardware, but add in some effects to make it sound more like it is coming from an amp?

any software I can use that will work with this setup?
 
#2
Wow, does that work?? When I learn some new riffs on guitar, I sometimes record them through my Roland Cube, but I didn't know you could go straight from bass to laptop.

To the point: I don't know of any software for adding effects.
 
#3
Your sound will probably be better if you use a preamp to raise your signal from instrument to line level before recording. If you listen back to your current recording on good speakers or studio cans, you'll likely hear a good bit of noise that you can eliminate or greatly reduce with a preamp. Even a cheap multi effects unit can suffice.
 
#4
Yeah, there is. The best way to get effects for your bass would be to add an amp simulation VST plugin. There are a lot of them, some free, some not. To name a few there's Amplitube, used for simulating bass/guitar cabs and heads, but it's a costly program, then there's TSE Bass OverDrive, and then there's FreeAmp. Those latter two are free, IIRC.

Basically those VST plugins go into Audacity's VST files, and can be accessed from the Effects drop down menu.
 
#5
I've done a few recordings through a Korg Pandora Mini. There's tons of effects and amps models on there, as well as rhythm tracks. You just go from bass to Pandora to laptop and plug headphones into the Pandora as well (I don't know if you can get sound from you laptop). It cost me €50 so it's not a major investment.
 
#7
Bizor said:
I have just been using a cord that runs straight from my bass to my laptop and recording using audacity with no effects.

Is there any way I can use this type of setup, without buying any hardware, but add in some effects to make it sound more like it is coming from an amp?

any software I can use that will work with this setup?
Click to expand...

Yeah, but you really need a good audio interface and a bass preamp/DI to start with.
 

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