Bass to Computer

[amatolihi]

Hi guys,

I'm completely new to bass, and I own a fender j-bass passive. I've also got a Hartke VXL Bass Attack Preamp pedal. I don't have a bass amp, but I was thinking of hooking my bass up to my home computer sound system to act as my bass amp. I've got an Altec Lansing vs4121, which is a decent pair of speakers with a sub-woofer.

I've bought myself one of those $3 1/4"-1/8" jacks and plugged my bass cable jack into the converter and then directly into the line-in/mic port at the back of my Creative X-Fi Titanium SB Card. I then went to the sound recorder software module and selected the line-in as the recording device. I played a bit of notes and saw the monitor show visual feedback.

Thinking that yea, I've got some signal, I hit the record button and played a few notes across all 4 strings. The result was really unimpressive. I'm not sure why, but it sounds extremely soft and muffled, and even worse, turning up the speaker volume knob reveals that it sounds like I've got a flanger on.

My sound recording software has a number of effects, but I disabled them all. I thought I was going to get a simple clean bass sound, but I got a flanging sound instead..

I've tried connecting my Bass to the preamp before lining-out from that to the computer line-in, but the result is even softer on the mids and highs, more muffled, and more clipping on the lows...

I'm completely lost. How can I get the clean sound as if it's coming out from a bass amp without any effects or preamp gain or whatnots? Any ideas?

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

1) Soundcard in computer not optimised for audio recording, the result usually wont be too good

2) For audio recording into computer, you will need audio interace(here) to connect between instrument and computer. The interface will do necessary conversion/processing to ensure proper instrument signal get to be recorded into the computer

3) Within the computer, you will need a software to be the host, for recording purpose. Usually its refer to as digital workstation(daw here)

4) The audio interface(hardware) will communicated with the daw(software) and make sure instrument signal get recorded in the right domain and output to the speaker .

anyway, the above just a simplified ways of doing home recording, theres couple more of these kinda threads in the computer gear forums round might wanna do a search here or some other recording forums to find out more.

 

[amatolihi]

Aye, Thanks for the information man, will go check around the computer related forum for more information about a good bang for buck audio interface module. If any recommendations, please highlight!

 

[exin]

bro .. i think you'd be better off getting a bass amp .. or ..

a portable headphone amp.

Check out either VOX's amPlug for bass or BOSS's TU-88.

cheers!

 

[lester_music]

why not trying going thru your preamp and then to the in of input of your mic.....it may work better...

cause the input of the computer is not meant for direct sound of instrument but more for already "processed" sound..

I get a better sound if I go thru my guitar amp to com..rather than direct...


however the best way is still an audio/USB or firewire interface...

actually if u use that you are still using the computer sound card unless you purposely upgrade the computer sound card...

the main thing is how well the audio signal is being converted to digital to be stored on the com..what is the conversion rate? things like that....

 

[shinobi]

a ghetto way of doing it would be

bass --> DI box --(balanced out)--> soundcard line-in

your bass signal is at instrument level. your soundcard line-in/mic input is at mic level. its the same principle as plugging your bass directly into the mixer. that won't do.

i believe the bass attack uses a XLR interface for the balanced out. then you would need a XLR to phone (or phone to XLR??) convertor.

alternatively just get a USB recording interface.

 

[amatolihi]

EXin: Vox Amplug seems to be the most cost effective solution for me. I'm not really concerned about proper recording at the moment, so if I plug in a Vox to my Bass and then pipe the output of that into my computer, I should be able to get a decent sound?

That would be perfect, as I actually just want to practice and be able to hear what I'm playing, but if can plug that out into the computer and have that sound decent, it's all the better.

 

[aloychow]

Are you looking into practicing along with mp3s? If so, I would like to inform you that Vox'x Bass Amplug does not allow you to hear stereo when you plug ur mp3 player into the AUX input of the Amplug, which is why I didnt get it in the end and got a USB recording device instead.. try getting one with hardware monitor like EMU 0404.. it also doubles as a good ADC/DAC soundcard and good headphone amp.

 

[exin]

hey bro

if you wanna hear stereo .. try the BOSS TU-88 .. you can get it from swee lee.

i still thinking getting a amp is the best. really. unless like what aloychow is saying, you want to practice along with mp3s.

even so the TU-88 allows you to do that .. in stereo .. =) ...

 

[lordie]

read the thread find it very helpful.

qns. for a travelling musician. let say a netbook/notebook. whats the cheapest,portable way to hook up to a bass/guitar to it. maybe to practice on mp3 and also to record down riffs and idea on both guitar/bass/acoustic.

ghetto works fine as well.

 

[vordak]

Hi all,

maybe I can share what I did to record my bass (amateur style for sure) for my song cover (Weird Fishes/Arpeggi by Radiohead) which I just posted on the open mic forum.

http://soft.com.sg/forum/open-mic/123820-cover-weird-fishes-arpeggi-radiohead.html

I used my Zoom H4 (portable recording device) to act as an audio interface, and I plug my bass via XLR cable into the Zoom H4 directly.

My Cubase software will then recognise the H4 and whatever input sounds that go into my H4. The results to me are really pretty decent. What I like is that it is relatively simple and minimal :mrgreen:

 

[lordie]

So the H4 acts as an audio interface and u can plug in an XLR into it? so meaning i can plug in pre/di kinda box into xlr and just play from there?

how much is the H4, any other device can do a similar. can it handle bass frequency?

 

[vordak]

Hey Lordie,

I am really not too sure about pre/di kinda boxes as this is my first foray into recording, and hence the H4 is my only recording equipment I own (due to budget constraints).

However, as suggested in an earlier post, I think the EMU 0404 by Creative should be a proper consideration for you instead, if you are considering a serious USB interface.

 

[lordie]

nothing serious but something portable for me to drag around together with my gear, i am currently community to and fro sg and kl. so need something portable

 

[exin]

a USB audio interface .. powered by USB ... e.g. UX1, UX2 from line6 .. Audiobox from Presonus .. M-Audio's USB audio interfaces ..

i think it's a good way to record .. practice etc ... get those low-function interfaces .. if you're just gonna use it to record ideas and stuff .. i think knowing what you NEED is a good thing .. it'll streamline your purchase and help you determine the best interface to get .. =) ...

 

[vordak]

Exactly! And that's why I got the H4. I needed something which is not only affordable, but also does everything but make you coffee :mrgreen:

 

[lordie]

decided to get the UX1 or GX. whats a good cheap monitoring speakers. i saw theres a edifier 1900t3 monitoring speakers that is tweak by Phil Jones. is that decent enuff?

 

[Resetti]

the VXL Bass Attack output is line-level output, so I would think the signal is hot enough for the line-in into your sound card.

perhaps you're hearing muffled is because of the shape... turn off the shape and turn the harmonics knob all the way down and tweak with the EQ on your bass attack first and see if it improves?

 

[anonpersona]

I use the Zoom B2.1u to connect my bass to the computer. It also allows me to practice quietly by acting as a preamp to my headphones.