Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 so i tried to post this over in the recording section, i got 17 views and no responses. i would like to start messing around with recording my bass and guitar on my PC (winXP, 1 gig of ram, 2.1ghz AMD processor). im not looking to spend a ton of cash on hardware and software, just something so i can plug the bass into the PC and mess around with some simple (hopefully free) programs. i would like to have the ability to try my hand at some of those MP3s that you guys do. i have no problem installing a card or other hardware as im pretty good with that but i am not familiar with PC recording at all. thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rikshaw Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 you can just plug your bass into the mic jack on the soundcard. audacity and kristal are both free and easy to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 you can just plug your bass into the mic jack on the soundcard. audacity and kristal are both free and easy to use. i have a soundblaster soundcard from a few years ago. i know its got a mic input. all i would need then is an adapter to go from the 1/4 inch cable to a 1/8th inch jack size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rikshaw Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 i have a soundblaster soundcard from a few years ago. i know its got a mic input. all i would need then is an adapter to go from the 1/4 inch cable to a 1/8th inch jack size? yup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lokidecat Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 since your bass and the mic jack are both mono, make sure your plugs are mono (ie: have only one stripe on the jack not two) Otherwise ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 What rikshaw said. I finally got my new PC set up for recording over the last few days. For some reason, I could not get my last (used) PC to record. I run from the DI on my Line6 combo to a small mixer and then into the Line In on my soundcard. I'm using an old copy of Cool Edit Pro, but Audacity will certainly work as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WillPlay4food Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 since your bass and the mic jack are both mono, make sure your plugs are mono (ie: have only one stripe on the jack not two)Otherwise ya. To start with, just grab a 1/8" to 1/4" mono female to male converter from Radio Shack for about 5 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 since your bass and the mic jack are both mono, make sure your plugs are mono (ie: have only one stripe on the jack not two)Otherwise ya. sweet thanks guys, i wonder why this was so hard for the recording peeps, asshats. (them, not you) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaulyWally Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 since your bass and the mic jack are both mono, make sure your plugs are mono (ie: have only one stripe on the jack not two) Actually... you can use a stereo adapter on mono cables and it will work just fine. Personally, I prefer to use them so I'm not keeping track of two different types of adapters. And then I have only one adapter for two different uses. With the mono adapters, you will never be able to use them for stereo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 can i go bass>cable>converter>soundcard or do i need some device like a multi-effects pedal or bass DI in the chain as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted January 2, 2008 Moderators Share Posted January 2, 2008 If you want to go with stuff that isn't free, but is easy to use and comes with a buttload of free plug-ins, try Mackie Tracktion. Also, what kind of soundblaster card do you have? As is you can use the line in as mentioned. It may also have an ADAT, which could be useful in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 Also, what kind of soundblaster card do you have? im sure its not as new as this card but the input/output section looks like this minus the white plug. im not home now to see exactly which model. id say its around 6 years old now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 so last question, i dont need any kind of DI or preamp between the bass and pc? it will work with just bass>cable>1/4 to 1/8th>pc soundcard mic in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lug Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 so last question, i dont need any kind of DI or preamp between the bass and pc? it will work with just bass>cable>1/4 to 1/8th>pc soundcard mic in? It will work fine straight in. You just have to adjust you line-in or mic levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dDigitalPimp Posted January 2, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 It will work fine straight in. You just have to adjust you line-in or mic levels. thank you sir, maybe someday i will be able to create an MP3 that will be as talked about as your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lug Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 thank you sir, maybe someday i will be able to create an MP3 that will be as talked about as your own. Try having a dog walk on your bass whilst plugged in and recording. Make sure the dog walks on it with feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WillPlay4food Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 Try having a dog walk on your bass whilst plugged in and recording. Make sure the dog walks on it with feeling. Or even better, have the dog poop on it, then smoosh it around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lokidecat Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 Actually... you can use a stereo adapter on mono cables and it will work just fine.Personally, I prefer to use them so I'm not keeping track of two different types of adapters. And then I have only one adapter for two different uses.With the mono adapters, you will never be able to use them for stereo. Actually I like to use the appropriate cables for when I wire anything up, especially my bass. Regardless of whether or not it's relatively harmless because it's not shorting out a lead when used that way, I tend to prefer having the right tools for the right job. You can do whatever you like, but I prefer if I'm going to give advice for it to be accurate and not "red-neck good enough." No offense intended. I just like doing it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted January 2, 2008 Moderators Share Posted January 2, 2008 You can do whatever you like, but I prefer if I'm going to give advice for it to be accurate and not "red-neck good enough." No offense intended. I just like doing it right.PW's advice was accurate. In a mono setup, the "ring" on the TRS isn't making contact, thus it's acting like a TS connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaulyWally Posted January 2, 2008 Members Share Posted January 2, 2008 No offense intended. I just like doing it right. None taken. I'm quite anal about things too. And I'm also not trying to say it SHOULD be done this way. I'm just offering a perspective from MPOV. And I don't think there is anything "red-neck" about it. It doesn't degrade sound quality, and unless the adapter was made outside of industry specs... nothing is going to short out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turcmic Posted January 3, 2008 Members Share Posted January 3, 2008 sweet thanks guys, i wonder why this was so hard for the recording peeps, asshats. (them, not you) because the same question is being posted at least twice a day... the search function would have help you a lot:cool: the main problem with regular computer soundcard is that they are pretty useless when it comes to record multiple tracks. All because of latency. I used the EMU0404 (the PCI version, around 75$) for a couple of years and it went great. I just upgraded to a better card and more inputs. Plus it came with Cubase LE, perfect for recording almost anything. You will find a lot of free VSTs on the net for effects, instruments, mastering tools, etc. Good luck:wave: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members karlos Posted January 3, 2008 Members Share Posted January 3, 2008 I'm one of the "asshats", I guess; I hang out in the recording forum. I didn't see your post until I logged in in the afternoon yesterday. I replied then, but it doesn't look like you've been back, so I came over here to see what answers you've found. +1 on stereo plugs working just fine in mono jacks. The jack on your bass and the mic-in jack are mono; the line-in jack is stereo, but if you put a mono plug into it, that'll be fine, too (you'll just get input on one channel; set your recording program to record in mono from the left channel). Certainly won't hurt anything to try plugging the bass directly into the mic-in jack. That jack takes a high-impedance, relatively low level signal, so it should work; I just didn't think of it. If you find yourself unhappy with the tone, though, you'd probably get a pretty significant step up in sound quality just by picking up the little $30 preamp I mentioned in the other thread and plugging that into the line-in. The mic-in on a stock soundcard like that soundblaster tends to be noisy (I started out with a soundblaster live) - the preamp would provide cleaner gain. You mentioned a bass DI - essentially, that does the same thing (in terms of raising the level of the signal) as the preamp I'm talking about (a preamp like the ART Tube MP would act as your bass DI). So, yup, that's what I'm recommending. Oh, and lug's "hunt for low rider" has been in my winamp playlist for a couple years now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lug Posted January 3, 2008 Members Share Posted January 3, 2008 I'm one of the "asshats", I guess; lug's "hunt for low rider" has been in my winamp playlist for a couple years now That makes you a freak, not an asshat. (huntforlowrider made with bass -> pandora w/drums -> record with PC....resulting wav back -> pandora's Aux In and record piccolo part on top -> record with PC. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members karlos Posted January 3, 2008 Members Share Posted January 3, 2008 the main problem with regular computer soundcard is that they are pretty useless when it comes to record multiple tracks. All because of latency. Haven't tried it personally, but I've heard installing the ASIO4ALL driver helps with that latency (that is, if the OP finds the latency to be a problem in the first place...). From my understanding, the latency issue in stock soundcards isn't really a hardware problem as much as a driver problem. To use the ASIO4ALL driver, you'd need to have recording software that supports ASIO drivers. The free software I recommended (Audacity) isn't distributed with ASIO support because of licensing issues, but if you're software-savvy, you can download the source code and perform a build with ASIO support. Otherwise, there's Reaper, which comes with ASIO support, and again, is free to try, and will work for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members karlos Posted January 3, 2008 Members Share Posted January 3, 2008 That makes you a freak, not an asshat. Thanks, lug ...I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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