MikeViper Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Well, I'm kind of a newbie to the whole recording thing, and I want to know, how do you record bass guitar directly to computer? Better yet, is it even possible? I've tried using a microphone, but even when I put the mic close to the amp, the recording quality is still bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixto Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 First you need a decent sound card with 1/4" inputs. Then you can just plug right in. Alot of recording bassists bypass amps and just record direct for later processing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeViper Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Ah, I see, so all I need to do is simply plug my amp cord into the line-in thing, and I can record? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koelsch1 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 You may need a 1/4 to 1/8 adaptor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeViper Posted June 18, 2006 Author Share Posted June 18, 2006 Hmm, that's strange, I was able to plug the cord into the computer, but when I tried to record with Sound Recorder it didn't get any feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekm Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Go into the Volume Control panel (assuming you're on Windows), click Options, Properties, and change the "Adjust Volume For" setting to "Recording" if it isn't there already. Then back out to the volume sliders and make sure your input isn't muted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesXIIC Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Hey man, just to let you know you'll either need a DI box (direct injection) or a high Z (impedence) to low Z converter if you want that bass sounding any good. You see guitars are naturally high impedence and your soundcard accepts low impedence signals like most microphones and synthesisers etc. You need to covert this signal otherwise you will lose a lot of the high end and crispness of the bass' sound. Don't worry though, I'm sure you can get a "high Z -> low Z" for little cash and it also doesn't require power to do the conversion. Also guitars - basses included of course - are more suited to mic or instrument levels so I'd plug it into the mic input instead. Having said that be careful not to overload the signal so use the guitar's volume knob to avoid clipping, by turning it down of course. Feel free to not bother with any impedence conversion if you don't want to - it won't damage your soundcard after all - but your bass will sound like it has rusty old strings and the signal is being fed to an amp with a mile long cable. Not good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salluz Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Well, I'm kind of a newbie to the whole recording thing, and I want to know, how do you record bass guitar directly to computer? Better yet, is it even possible? I've tried using a microphone, but even when I put the mic close to the amp, the recording quality is still bad. For equalization, keep the low tomes at a normal pitch, while turning the treble and midtone up slightly, and any ambient-rleated switches should be turned down a little. Aw, I'm no expert; I'll repost be more specific. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgxdx Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 is it better to buy a tiny mixer between guitar and computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nivi Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 is it better to buy a tiny mixer between guitar and computer?No. For one channel, what's the point? Really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgfoo Posted June 20, 2006 Share Posted June 20, 2006 is it better to buy a tiny mixer between guitar and computer?No. For one channel, what's the point? Really... Besides that, most small cheap mixers will actually add more noise into your recording that a DI box of equal cost would. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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