signal chain ??

[parttime]

hey all, finally got an acct and decided to ask some questions. background: guitar player with old 8 track recording experience (almost 20 years ago, with cassettes!!) switched to bass about 3 years ago, finally getting my own equipment. have several informal groups who are now sending digital files around and want some bass added.

i have an ltd 4 string which i've been running into a zoom b3n and then listening through headphones (apartment dweller). i have no speaker set-up yet. i guess i have an amp (preamp?) in the b3n. also have a laptop with no daw as of yet.

so to my questions. i'm really wanting the ability to make sound through a speaker and also record over these tracks. these may be 2 separate things, not sure. in your opinion, should i try to get an amplifier, mic it, and run through a signal processor and into the computer? (i know i need one of these processors to convert the signal). or should i just get the processor and then run straight into the computer with no amplification? the b3n as you probably know as stereo or mono output, so i assume i can get an l/r cable and run that straight into a processor? is this the same way i would run it into an amplifier? i'm quite confused on this point. (what to do with the signal when it leaves the b3n)

also, can i just use a speaker and power it with the amplifier in the b3n? sorry if this is really low level stuff, but i've never used on of these multi-fx things before and i get really lost when reading the technical stuff for this, so please ELI5!!

thank you for any guidance folks....

 

[AGCurry]

have several informal groups who are now sending digital files around and want some bass added.... i have an ltd 4 string which i've been running into a zoom b3n and then listening through headphones (apartment dweller). i have no speaker set-up yet. i guess i have an amp (preamp?) in the b3n. also have a laptop with no daw as of yet.

In order to add a bass track (or any other track) to other tracks, the best choice is to install DAW (digital audio workstation) software on your computer. You create a new project in the DAW program and import the existing tracks into the project. The DAW plays back the existing tracks while you record your track.

i'm really wanting the ability to make sound through a speaker and also record over these tracks. these may be 2 separate things, not sure.

Yes, they are two separate things.

... should i try to get an amplifier, mic it, and run through a signal processor and into the computer? (i know i need one of these processors to convert the signal). or should i just get the processor and then run straight into the computer with no amplification? the b3n as you probably know as stereo or mono output, so i assume i can get an l/r cable and run that straight into a processor? is this the same way i would run it into an amplifier? i'm quite confused on this point. (what to do with the signal when it leaves the b3n)

The hardware that you need is a USB audio interface. I won't go into which one is best; there are several available at all kinds of price points, and they all work well enough. It connects to a USB port on your computer, and you plug your sound source (microphone or instrument) into it. There will be a software driver involved that the computer's operating system will use, as your DAW software needs to recognize the device.
The interface will have a headphone jack, and you will listen through the headphones.

also, can i just use a speaker and power it with the amplifier in the b3n? sorry if this is really low level stuff, but i've never used on of these multi-fx things before and i get really lost when reading the technical stuff for this, so please ELI5!!

Your Zoom device will not power a speaker. You really don't need that Zoom thingy for what you want to do.
Warning: If you get "really lost when reading the technical stuff," you are in for a challenge, because there's a great deal of that "technical stuff" involved in recording on the computer. Good luck!

 

[parttime]

thanks for the reply!

i've been researching both daw's as well as the interface and so i'm getting my head around that piece of it all and, to me, that usb connection between that and the computer is the easiest part! ha!

at this point, i have come to rely on the b3n as it has become integral to my songs, style, and contributions to my friends recordings. so unfortunately i can't leave that out of the equation cause i don't have the stuff to reproduce all of the things it can do. and this is where i get lost, really. so i guess my real question is, is it a simple 1/4" stereo LR cable that can connect from the b3n to the usb interface? I could do a mono cable i suppose if i wanted to instead?

so i guess i am trying to do 2 things really, amp up, and also record. it would be nice to have an amped sound going into the computer, but then i gotta get an amp, microphone, and xlr on top of that. so in a way i was sort of hoping for now to get by with a direct signal from the b3n to the interface and computer. i could wait and shop and get an amp in the future. or would it be better to just bite the bullet and go the mic'd amp route now??

i hope this is making sense, it's a lot of words....

 

[AGCurry]

My advice is to start simple.

First, get a track recorded with bass directly into the USB interface.
Second, try it with your B3n, mono ... and then if you have two inputs on the interface, stereo.
Only after you've succeeded with (1) and (2), then you can think about an amplifier and microphone. If you're happy with the "direct" approach, don't spend the money right away.

 

[parttime]

thanks mr. curry...keeping it simple is great advice! my neighbors will appreciate me not getting an amp right away anyways and so will my wallet