Members Chrisjd Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 I use a macbook pro, along with a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB. It's a terrific interface, but it uses the computer's bus power, which restarts my computer every time i unplug it for whatever reason. that being said, i am looking for an interface that has it's own power supply. The second issue, there is no direct line in. I would like to AVOID having to buy a bass amp, and instead just plug an instrument cable directly into the interface and record using bass sims in my DAW. What interface would you recommend i purchase considering the two issues i am wanting to resolve? i am trying not to break the bank here, i spent a good amount on my focusrite, which i am not going to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Get a external powered USB hub for $20 and a DI box for the bass and solve that issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattACaster Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by guitarbilly74 Get a external powered USB hub for $20 and a DI box for the bass and solve that issue. Was going to say this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chrisjd Posted October 22, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 thanks, that sounds like a cool solution, but what about a good unit that would have an instrument line in(is this called DI?) so that i can plug a bass directly in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nerol1st Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Yeah I'll concur with both of the above, why spend more than you have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by Chrisjd thanks, that sounds like a cool solution, but what about a good unit that would have an instrument line in(is this called DI?) so that i can plug a bass directly in? this should do:http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-BEH-DI100-LISTOr just plug the bass directly in the interface, it should work fine if you are using sims Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HKSblade1 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Looks to me like it has direct line in from the spec. The jacks are combo XLR/1/4" for power get one of these:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=REG&A=details Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sbrett Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 If you absolutely have to buy another interface, I highly recommend the Presonus Firestudio Mobile (if it has enough ins/outs for ya). I've used one for a few years with my Macbook Pro with no problems for home recording. Recorded a few live shows with it direct from the mixer and it worked flawless there as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JerEvil Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Define "break the bank" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by HKSblade1 Looks to me like it has direct line in from the spec. The jacks are combo XLR/1/4"for power get one of these:http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...=REG&A=details no he needs a hub with USB in/out because the USB will still have to be connected to the computer for the audio. Something like this:http://www.buy.com/prod/belkin-7-por...ngId=230674603 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nerine Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 I don't see why there is a reason you wouldn't be able to input bass on your existing interface. Surely it can take a quarter inch? Failing that, just get a jack to XLR cable. That should work too. I've made guitar leads longer by finding two XLR to jack cables and putting a long XLR between them, effectively lengthening the cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by Nerine I don't see why there is a reason you wouldn't be able to input bass on your existing interface. Surely it can take a quarter inch? Failing that, just get a jack to XLR cable. That should work too. I've made guitar leads longer by finding two XLR to jack cables and putting a long XLR between them, effectively lengthening the cable. the only thing I can think of is maybe he's not getting a hot enough signal with the bass straight into the interface, which is why I recommended the DI box. Other than that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nerine Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by guitarbilly74 the only thing I can think of is maybe he's not getting a hot enough signal with the bass straight into the interface, which is why I recommended the DI box. Other than that Well if the unit has got even half decent mic amps, there shouldn't be an issue at all from what I can tell. I've recorded no end of bass just mucking about at home going straight into the jack or XLR input of my interface. I don't want to blame user error just yet, but if the unit is working correctly, as you said, there should be no reason the OP should be struggling to get a bass sound going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Originally Posted by Nerine Well if the unit has got even half decent mic amps, there shouldn't be an issue at all from what I can tell. I've recorded no end of bass just mucking about at home going straight into the jack or XLR input of my interface. I don't want to blame user error just yet, but if the unit is working correctly, as you said, there should be no reason the OP should be struggling to get a bass sound going. yeah I've done that too many times without any issues... I don't know his unit though, maybe his 1/4" input only works with line level signals? But yeah, probably user error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LoopQuantum Posted October 22, 2012 Members Share Posted October 22, 2012 Dude...don't buy anything. Just go do your audio midi setup in OSX and set the internal sound card as the default audio device for OSX. It's rebooting because it's losing the OSX primary audio device, which is set to the focusrite. You don't have to have that set as your primary to use it in the daw, you can just select the focusrite inside the daw prefs, reboot issue solved. 2nd, plug the bass directly into the mic/inst combo input (it will accept xlr or 1/4), and turn the input gain up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Er, manufacturers actively recommend against plugging your I/O into a USB hub of any kind, don't they? Also, just thinking from a technical perspective, wouldn't that increase the latency by a considerable factor? FWIW, the Roland Octa Capture is getting rave reviews. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nakedzen Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by satannica FWIW, the Roland Octa Capture is getting rave reviews. The Yamaha MR816X is the same price and it has adat i/o, 2x insert i/o, channel selectable phantom and pad, and 2 headphone outs. DSP reverb and zero latency monitoring as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 ^ Do you work for Steinberg or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nakedzen Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by satannica ^ Do you work for Steinberg or something? No, I just like what I have. I looked through the features and saw that they weren't as good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members newholland Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 WTF? just plug your bass directly into the interface and use a preamp sim. it's that big center hole in the front of each xlr jack that's about 1/4".. just stick the cable in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LoopQuantum Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 READ MY POST DAMMIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by nakedzen No, I just like what I have. I looked through the features and saw that they weren't as good. Fair enough! Can't say I have a lot of real-world experience with either, but to my ears the Roland pres seemed a little cleaner than what was on the MRS. Just my own limited experience in store.I think I'm just going for a MOTU PCI-Express jobby. My confidence in Firewire stuff is practically zero and I'm wary of USB stuff too. The PCI stuff I used to use was far more stable, lower latency and required less fecking around with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by LoopQuantum READ MY POST DAMMIT. I actually have some serious arguments with my Pod HD500. Whenever I have it plugged in via USB, whatever the default audio device is set to, the L6 driver comes along and says "No no no, {censored} off, I'M the default". Then, during a recording session, should I ever switch off the HD500 or unplug the USB cable, the whole thing falls deathly silent.It's rather infuriating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Strenge Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 I use a Mackie u420 interface/mixer that I got for a great deal. It's firewire, not sure if all macbooks have that. Anyway, one of the channels has a button for instrument-level. It's worked great for guitar. I get very little latency with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chrisjd Posted October 23, 2012 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Originally Posted by LoopQuantum Dude...don't buy anything. Just go do your audio midi setup in OSX and set the internal sound card as the default audio device for OSX. It's rebooting because it's losing the OSX primary audio device, which is set to the focusrite. You don't have to have that set as your primary to use it in the daw, you can just select the focusrite inside the daw prefs, reboot issue solved.2nd, plug the bass directly into the mic/inst combo input (it will accept xlr or 1/4), and turn the input gain up. Originally Posted by newholland WTF? just plug your bass directly into the interface and use a preamp sim. it's that big center hole in the front of each xlr jack that's about 1/4".. just stick the cable in it. thank you, both of you. Going to try these tonight, and will report back with results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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