skibum5545 Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 Well, here's my dilemma: I don't want to play through my amp, because my amp is -very- large and heavy, and it's a pain to lug it up and down the stairs every time I take it to a jam. I've tried to talk the parents into installing a freight elevator, but they said it would cost too much. I do, however, have a nice sound system for my computer, which would be more than suitable for practicing. I have a Windows 2000 Pentium III with an SoundBlaster Live card, running into the Auxiliary port on a Marantz 1550 Stereo receiver, playing through two JBL 4311 Monitors and two Boston Acoustic A40 monitors-- surely enough for the occasional bass playing. So, how do I go about doing this? Should I run it through the sound card, or just straight into the Marantz through one of the Tape or Phonograph settings? Is the bass' signal close enough to line level that the signal would work as is, or would I need a transformer/converter mechanism? Would this be a black box or a program on my computer? And, on a side note, if I went through my computer, could I use the bass for MIDI editing using Finale or Anvil Studio? Any and all responses are helpful, and if I'm gonna need to spend mucho dinero to get this working right, I'd love to know. At the very least I'm going to need a 1/4" to RCA or 1/8" converter cable, but besides that, anything I'd need to buy I'll need to know about, i.e. best brands, stores etc. Thanks for the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feylya Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 You'll need a preamp anyway. Why not get a bass v-amp and a pair of headphones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duo2 Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 Most music stores carry around 10-15 watt practice amps for both bass and guitar. They are not expensive at all, especially if you get a used one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted June 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 Well, I -could- buy a separate amp and headphones, but the whole point of this line of inquiry was to -avoid- buying a separate amp, and run my bass through what equipment I already own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnH Posted June 12, 2005 Report Share Posted June 12, 2005 I sometimes play the guitar through the line input on the computer sound card, which is also a Soundblaster live. You have to fiddle with the computer sound settings to make sure the lin-in volume is enabled. I do this via an old tape deck as a preamp, but Id think there would be enough signal available to direct inject. Once the sound is in the computer you would be able to do any amount of cool 21st century stuff. You would need to be cautious not to overload your sound system however. A bass or guitar signal can have some large transients and Ive heard of people who blow their hi-fi sytems with them. Real guitar/bass amps are designed to be as tough as a brick in this respect. The point is that recorded music is carefully balanced for level, while what you strum with your fingers is not. So just start at low volume and be a bit careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 heres the thing... you could use the microphone port on your sound card, wich is amplified. BUT it would sound crap! STILL, there is the line-in port... Wich is unamplified what I do is run my guitar/bass in the amp then take the line out of the amp into the card's line in... but to get any somewhat audible volume, you really need the amp....... that does the job with a good sound...... BUT have a low volume on your stuff, like johnH said, because it overloads a lot (i get distortion on my acoustic ) just try it in the MIC port, and maybe, MAYBE the sound will be ok... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skibum5545 Posted June 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 Hmmm.... lots of food for thought. Thanks! What about going straight into the Marantz receiver? How do the levels grok if I were to do that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 Get one of them cheap M-Audio USB interfaces with a hi-Z input. You will never believe what you can do with one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 I agree. If it's just for dicking around and practicing, though, there are free solutions to be had that will give you bass satisfaction. Instead of going directly into the receiver, plug into the 'mic' port of the soundcard. You could always try the line input if you want, but it's hard to say if you have a line-level signal. Never know until you try! On your computer, you'll need to run a "host" program. I have several recommendations, but I dunno what kind of guy you are and how easily you latch on to software and technology. Tobybear's MiniHost is fabulous and butt-simple for virtual instruments-- to be honest, though, I can't recall how easy it is to host amp simulators for a realtime audio signal. energyXT is easily the best recommendation I can come up with, but its interface is obscure for computer-recording newbies. Still, if you decide to go with XT, I can give you a quick visual tutorial for getting set up. It's a commercial product, but the demo limitation is simply that you can't load any presets. Since you're just going to run a bass sim, that shouldn't be too much of an obstacle for you. Did you grab the free version of Tracktion I posted about a while ago? If so, that's gotta be the way to go. If not, sucks to be you. Once you have your host, you will want (though not necessarily "need" since you can hear your bass without it anyhow) some sort of amp sim. There are free ones that are designed primarily for guitar, but work well for bass, too: - MDA makes a plug-in called "combo" (you have to download them all in one pack, but you don't have to USE them all!) which does a fabulous job. Better for bass than for guitar, IMO. - Simulanalog makes Guitar Suite, a collection of guitar plug-ins. Both amps (the Rednef Twin and the JCM900) can be used for bass duty - Fretted Synth makes FreeAmp which is quite good. The link is at the bottom of the page. Guitarists should take note, too. Let me know if I can help more. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenderSurrender Posted June 13, 2005 Report Share Posted June 13, 2005 If you ever consider recording with your bass through your pc and want to spend money.. id recommend Sonar 4 Producers edition... Meanwhile whilst your just experimenting and need "free" software i recommend Audacity... its relased under the Open source license meaning its COMPLETLY free... it supports VST plugins and is great for simple jam session recordings! ~~ Slain Angel ~~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 If you run through the computer, no matter the "host" program software, you'll probably have to deal with latency (the delay between when you play the note and when you hear it out the monitors). It can be rather annoying if it is large. I'd try to find a way to send your signal directly into the receiver. You might be able to get a cheap mic pre at Radio Shack or something. Or you can get a Behringer direct box for like $25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moreau Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 why dont u just run it right into your reciever. use the bass' volume control, as a preamp to control the output volume of the bass. run it into whichever input. if its passive, then it should be fine. it would be the same level as a CD player no? dunno wat an active bass would do. im not willing to try my bass thru my stereo. let me know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedoctor Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 I play through the Sony home theatre thingie at home all the time. I have a $29.00 Beringer mixer plugged into it and play my stereo 7-string and my bass through it. Ain't no thang. Just the Hi-Z conversion on the guitar. It's passive. The bass is active and could be plugged straight in. Turn on the small-hall or virtual surround and have at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 Of course you'll have to deal with latency, but that's the price you pay for being able to use the effects on the computer. If he just wanted to plug it in directly with no effects at all, I would have simply recommended plugging into the receiver. If you have an onboard soundcard, you can probably use ASIO4ALL, a free driver that will give you low-latency performance. No guarantees, but it works for most people and most soundcards. FWIW, 4ms latency (pretty standard, though you can get less) is no greater delay than simply standing a few metres away from your amp. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughes Posted June 15, 2005 Report Share Posted June 15, 2005 id use the guitar rig by native instruments...i dont have a preamp so i cant use it but it looks way awesome...mind you, you "do" have to buy it if your that kind of person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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