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Turning my PC into a practice amp/ bass trainer

#21
LooFunk said:
Hi,

I'm looking to plug my bass into my PC, is there any good software out there that is cheap and easy to use? I used to have the Tascam bass trainer years ago but no idea where it is.
I need something compact as I need something that will not take up much room and not wake the kids up with big fat bass lines and annoy the neighbours. I would love to play with an amp but can't at the moment. I've heard of people plugging their instruments into their PC's but have no idea where to start, is it even worth it? I don't rubbish sound quality or anything, I would like to be able to pick an amp or sound on there as well as slow down tracks etc like my tascam.

thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

I ended up buying a Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface (available for less than 100 on Ebay), which you can plug in to with a guitar/bass. Then I use Amplitube to get a good modeling amp sound.

Amplitube is cool because all the devices look like their real world analogs and you can chain effects pedals together and whatnot.

For laying down tracks I use Studio One, but it can be spendy. There are a lot of other options that cost less or are free. If you have a Mac just use Garage Band or Ardour. Otherwise Audacity isn't bad, and REAPER is a good program too.

I think REAPER is effectively free even if you can buy it. You can renew the demo or something a bunch. I use a Mac so I just stuck with Garage Band before I invested in Studio One.
 
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#22
joel406 said:
View attachment 1021837 The white cord comes from the computer. The top wire is to the headphones. And I got a female to female splice so I didn't need to plug it directly into my bass. Works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Nice. I use one of those headphone amps for practicing.

I just had a thought as well, and your idea there made me think of it. Why not get Rock Smith?

It needs a USB Audio interface to work, and you can practice bass on it to music realtime.

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The USB audio interface does work for recording as well if you get secondary software for it. Audacity, etc.

I actually used the Rock Smith cable to record an album one time. It's CD quality, so not "pro studio" quality, but it's good enough for home use.
 
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#23
LooFunk said:
Hi,

I'm looking to plug my bass into my PC, is there any good software out there that is cheap and easy to use? I used to have the Tascam bass trainer years ago but no idea where it is.
I need something compact as I need something that will not take up much room and not wake the kids up with big fat bass lines and annoy the neighbours. I would love to play with an amp but can't at the moment. I've heard of people plugging their instruments into their PC's but have no idea where to start, is it even worth it? I don't rubbish sound quality or anything, I would like to be able to pick an amp or sound on there as well as slow down tracks etc like my tascam.

thanks everyone!
Click to expand...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#24
Hi I use the Phil Jones PJB Bighead. Can plug your bass into the back, and plug your headphone out into it.. You can mix it control the volume.. Works great I bought it last year cause I needed something for travel. Doesn't come with headphones.

I would try Jason at bassstringsonline and see if he has any left!

Good luck
 
#25
One thing I wish Audacity handled better: you can create a click track for timing, but it doesn't really "remember" where those beats are, so it's difficult to find the exact spots for "cutting" to make a good loop. It'd be nice if it stayed aware of the beats it created and gave the user a way to synch to them better (maybe it does and I'm just not that sophisticated yet though).
 
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#26
Antisyzygy said:
joel406 said:
View attachment 1021837 The white cord comes from the computer. The top wire is to the headphones. And I got a female to female splice so I didn't need to plug it directly into my bass. Works like a charm.
Click to expand...

Nice. I use one of those headphone amps for practicing.

I just had a thought as well, and your idea there made me think of it. Why not get Rock Smith?

It needs a USB Audio interface to work, and you can practice bass on it to music realtime.

Invalid Link Removed



The USB audio interface does work for recording as well if you get secondary software for it. Audacity, etc.

I actually used the Rock Smith cable to record an album one time. It's CD quality, so not "pro studio" quality, but it's good enough for home use.
Click to expand...

That's fine if you need the recording feature. But to stay on the affordable (cheap) side the Vox only sets you back $40. USB interface devices and additional software can run much more$$$
 
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#28
On the vein of the Phil Jones mentioned above, the Hotone Thunderbass amp works great for silent practice. It doesn't need a speaker, so plug in your bass, mp3 player and headphones and rock out.
There's a couple nice features -- the Hotone does a decent Amp SVT emulation, it's really small, and has a great headphone pre-amp (meaning that it doesn't sound like a$$ like my irig always did).
And bonus: it works as an amp large enough to compete in an accoustic jam...
And more bonus: it doesn't require a hardware interface to a pc, doesn't require a pc, and everything just works without monkey-ing around in Windows trying to figure out why the driver for your interface hardware didn't load...
And even more bonus: the Hotone Thunderbass is pretty cheap...
 
#29
here is my setup I am using right now: Focusrite Scarlet Solo with usb into the pc. Has a nice 1/4" input with a volume and a direct monitor if I do not want to run it through a program. The focusrite becomes the soundcard for the PC so any youtube or music goes straight into the headphones in the Solo. All this with no latency and great quality. I usually put the bass through Amplitude on the PC which has all the amp models, tuner, effects and loopers built in.
IMG_0100.JPG
 
#30
My two cents...
Setup a small mixer and go thru headphones:
I use an Allan and Heath Zed 10FX which is lovely, but any inexpensive mixer can take a number of inputs:
1) bass - either thru an iRig, or a DI output from your amp into XLR , or line out from the amp ( I have a Markbass Littlemark Tube 800 )
2) vocal (or two!) - if needed, goes into mixer (onboard effects are nice if you have it)
3) PC into Mixer - Play along with music service or mp3
4) used loopers are cheap. Put one somewhere between bass and amp for doing your own backgrounds

As a learning aid, I use Transcribe!!!! - found on seventhstring.com (cheap!)
It runs on my PC, for transposition, speed change, and selecting loops for repeated practice
Best piece of software I ever got, and I'm proud to support Andy Robinson who puts it out.
Set up any or all of the above and listen thru headphones. The neighbors will never be the wiser
 
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#32
bholder said:
One thing I wish Audacity handled better: you can create a click track for timing, but it doesn't really "remember" where those beats are, so it's difficult to find the exact spots for "cutting" to make a good loop. It'd be nice if it stayed aware of the beats it created and gave the user a way to synch to them better (maybe it does and I'm just not that sophisticated yet though).
Click to expand...
Get Reaper.
 
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#34
joel406 said:
I've been using it for 3 years and it works like a charm. You can even use it with YouTube.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I use the VOX amPlug 2 Bass version with earbuds. Everything plugged into my passive bass all the time. Just grab the bass and play. Great when I have limited time and want to work on specific material for 15 minutes between family stuff or whatever. No fuss. When I want to get fancier, I mix in iRealPro on my iPhone with the aux jack. Again no fuss. (I'm intrigued by the idea of using my iPad or MacBook for Garageband, a looper or Transcribe, but haven't got around to it. I get distracted by the tech requirements and lose my practice time.)
 
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#35
hellZen said:
My two cents...
Setup a small mixer and go thru headphones:
I use an Allan and Heath Zed 10FX which is lovely, but any inexpensive mixer can take a number of inputs:
1) bass - either thru an iRig, or a DI output from your amp into XLR , or line out from the amp ( I have a Markbass Littlemark Tube 800 )
2) vocal (or two!) - if needed, goes into mixer (onboard effects are nice if you have it)
3) PC into Mixer - Play along with music service or mp3
4) used loopers are cheap. Put one somewhere between bass and amp for doing your own backgrounds

As a learning aid, I use Transcribe!!!! - found on seventhstring.com (cheap!)
It runs on my PC, for transposition, speed change, and selecting loops for repeated practice
Best piece of software I ever got, and I'm proud to support Andy Robinson who puts it out.
Set up any or all of the above and listen thru headphones. The neighbors will never be the wiser
Click to expand...
I might be similar to the OP. As I mentioned in my other post, I'm intrigued by some of the more sophisticated set ups some of you guys have, but I'm easily distracted by the techie requirements. I do have a small mixer, a DI and a new iPad. Sorry for my ignorance, but what do you mean by a looper in your point 4) above?
 
#37
Antisyzygy said:
I ended up buying a Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface (available for less than 100 on Ebay), which you can plug in to with a guitar/bass. Then I use Amplitube to get a good modeling amp sound.

Amplitube is cool because all the devices look like their real world analogs and you can chain effects pedals together and whatnot.

For laying down tracks I use Studio One, but it can be spendy. There are a lot of other options that cost less or are free. If you have a Mac just use Garage Band or Ardour. Otherwise Audacity isn't bad, and REAPER is a good program too.

I think REAPER is effectively free even if you can buy it. You can renew the demo or something a bunch. I use a Mac so I just stuck with Garage Band before I invested in Studio One.
Click to expand...

There is a free version of Studio One, but for all the bells & whistles you can drop a lot more $. No need for the OP to get the extras, tho.
 

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