Clarky Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 When selling a bass, people are often asked to post sound files. I have just been asked this and I don't have a clue how to do it. So is there a simple piece of free (or cheap) downloadable software that can be used for this? Please note that it would have to be Mac-compatible as our main PC at home is an iMac. It may even be that an iMac has such software but I am a total techno-dweeb! Many thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Do you not already have GarageBand installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judo Chop Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 (edited) Audacity is free and stupidly simple to use, and you can convert your recordings into nearly any format you'd like. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/mac Edited May 8, 2012 by Jack Cahalane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Thanks chaps. There is a Garageband icon on our Mac although I had no idea what it did! Reading the Apple page it says "just plug your guitar in". Erm, with what type of cable and where (some kind of USB convertingf cable?) and does it need a DI box or similar in between? Sorry to be a total numpty BTW, can't watch demo video on work PC (where I am now) due to firewall blockade - does that make my questions sound slightly less dumb? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 TBH Clarky I've never had to use GarageBand because I have the "Pro" version Logic. However you will need some sort of audio interface to record your bass(es). The simplest of these are the 'Jack to USB' cables, which let you plug your bass directly into the computer and record. Alternatively you could go for something a bit more versatile with line/instrument level jack connections and also balanced line XLR inputs for connecting a DI box or microphone. And here's where it gets complicated IMO. What are you actually trying to capture? If it's just the sound of the bass then your simple jack to USB will do fine, but the raw sound of the bass can be pretty uninspiring. For most players the bass sound they are used to is that of the bass through the amp and speaker cab or in the studio through several thousand pounds worth of hardware channel strips and software plug-ins. And then there's probably the most variable part of the tonal equation - the player themselves. So, what to do. Record the bass directly with no other hardware in the signal chain and no software processing? Use some software plug-ins on the basic recorded sound (you'll need to buy some or find some free ones you like)? Or record the sound of the bass through your amp and speaker in which case you'll need a decent microphone and an audio interface that accepts mic-level inputs. If you've added extra processing either in software or by recording the amp do you tell people when presenting your sound clips? And then tone is such a subjective thing. One person's deep and dubby bass is another person's wooly and undefined and so on. And that's before you've applied any more audio mangling such as MP3 compression to it. This is why I find sound clips of basses for the most part worthless. IMO all they tell you is what a bass sounds like when played by a particular person going through their favourite audio chain. It has little in common with what it's going to sound like in your hands going through your amp or recording set up. The thing that brought this home most forcefully was seeing Ed Friedland's YouTube review of the Lightwave bass. I have exactly the same model bass, but when I play it sounds nothing like the tones that Ed was getting out of his. This why the player, the other equipment in the audio chain and what the player thinks is a good bass tone are all completely personal. Sorry if sounds so negative and I'm going off on a personal rant when all you want to know is how to best record your bass so you can sell it, but in the light of the fact that you are going to have learn some new software and probably invest in some extra hardware, I wanted to point out what I believe are some of the pitfalls of sound clips. The most transparent thing to do would be to record the sound of the bass direct with no audio processing, but unless the bass is quite spectacular this sound is going to be rather bland and because we rarely hear basses this way not really representative. If you record any other way - using an amp or processing via a DI box or software - then you should list all the other items in the signal path and probably give at least a rough idea of EQ and compression settings that you've used. It's a tough call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Many thanks Mike, a more expansionary reply than I had expected or deserve!!!! I hear exactly what you say about the bass sound being largely down to the player. Will think on. However, famous last words, but I hope this will be my last bass sale (yeah I know, but I am down to my last 2 electric basses and my year-of-birth Precision stays!) so I am not keen on investing in hardware for one sale only. I certainly wouldn't be using this for recording music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Clarky, the last time I was asked what one of my basses sounded like, I pointed the person in the direction of a track I had recorded using it, saying that this IMO was the best representation of the bass - how it could sound when recorded in a band context. Do you have any band recordings made with the bass in question? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bassman Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 You can just use the built in microphone or use the built in mini jack input with a 1/4 " adaptor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1336465493' post='1645840'] Do you have any band recordings made with the bass in question? [/quote] Nope, its the R*ckenfaker I bought only last month (bought in fit of nostalgia as a 4001 was my first gigging bass when I re-started my live playing 7 or 8 years ago; unfortunately hindsight rose-coloured and it doesn't feel right ergonomically to me now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 [quote name='Mr Bassman' timestamp='1336465558' post='1645846'] You can just use the built in microphone or use the built in mini jack input with a 1/4 " adaptor [/quote] Built-in mic sounds best free option for me. Thanks Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Garageband is a doddle to use & I've found the best results are from taking a cable with a 1/4 jack on one end (plugged into bass) & a 3.5mm jack on the other (plugged into the socket on the back of the iMac). Open up GB & create new song (giving it the title you want), then on the top bar click Track > New Track > Real Instrument Track & click Create. On the new track that 's been created, it will have 5 icons (at the far left under the track name, which is probably "No Effects"). The first is a • , Click it so it goes red. At the Right of the screen there is a panel called "Track Info". At the bottom of the screen it says "Details", Click the arrow. Now choose your input source (if it just comes up "Mic" then you need to go to the top bar, click Garageband > Preferences > Audio/Midi & choose from the dropdown). Back to the "Track Info" pane, make sure your volume isn't turned full whack & click the Monitor dropdown & select On. If you have any trouble with the rest, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bassman Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 You could use photo booth for a video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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