CliveT Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 With enforced free time I'm looking for a free or inexpensive practice / recording solution to work with Windows or android. What interface would be best for the bass too? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrixn1 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 3 hours ago, CliveT said: free Plug your bass into to the "line in" socket of your PC. Better if you go through a pre-amp pedal first. The signal will be a bit noisy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigguy2017 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) For simple musical idea jottings I've found Audacity (Free) to be ideal. Best to get a simple USB I/O module Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 £83.00 delivered Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Audio-Interface/dp/B07QR6Z1JB/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Focusrite+Scarlett+Solo+Gen+3&qid=1585659442&sr=8-2 Gives one balanced mic i/p with phantom power and one line/instrument input with headphones/line outs with vol knob. I've got the line outs from my tc bass amp and Friedman combo on XLR to TRS jack cables. Plug in and play. If you're feeling a bit more ambitious and want to multitrack stuff then get Cubase Elements 10.5 for approx £85 If using Cubase and anticipating wanting MIDI keyboards etc. get the larger Scarlett 4i4 interface... Alternative cheaper 2 in 2 out with MIDI Steinberg UR22 MKII USB £101.00 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steinberg-UR22-Audio-Interface-Support/dp/B017LVWBKW/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=steinberg+usb&qid=1585662318&sr=8-2 Edited March 31, 2020 by Bigguy2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliveT Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 On 31/03/2020 at 14:06, Bigguy2017 said: For simple musical idea jottings I've found Audacity (Free) to be ideal. Best to get a simple USB I/O module Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 £83.00 delivered Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Audio-Interface/dp/B07QR6Z1JB/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=Focusrite+Scarlett+Solo+Gen+3&qid=1585659442&sr=8-2 Gives one balanced mic i/p with phantom power and one line/instrument input with headphones/line outs with vol knob. I've got the line outs from my tc bass amp and Friedman combo on XLR to TRS jack cables. Plug in and play. If you're feeling a bit more ambitious and want to multitrack stuff then get Cubase Elements 10.5 for approx £85 If using Cubase and anticipating wanting MIDI keyboards etc. get the larger Scarlett 4i4 interface... Alternative cheaper 2 in 2 out with MIDI Steinberg UR22 MKII USB £101.00 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Steinberg-UR22-Audio-Interface-Support/dp/B017LVWBKW/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=steinberg+usb&qid=1585662318&sr=8-2 Thanks. I was looking at Audacity and good to hear what you say. I'll have a look at interfaces Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 I've been pleasantly surprised by the Behringer Xenyx 302 USB mixer. For £40-45 you get one mic/line it with 2-band EQ and a stereo line in with 2-band EQ. The audio levels are right for my MP3 player and my laptop, so I can choose my line input with one button press, and drop off as much bass as I want so I can play along. It will record from mixer to Audacity, but I have not yet found a way of playing back an Audacity track and recording a new Audacity track at the same time - it's not something I need to do. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 I use one of these, currently £66 here for some reason (they're usually £90): https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/Soundcraft-Notepad-5/art-PAH0019334-000?campaign=PSM_UK/billiger&ProgramUUID=glvAqJar8tEAAAFoxv.P7Dz2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) I use audacity, plug my bass into the mic socket with a 6.3mm socket to mini jack lead, I also use a Behringer BDI 21 to improve the sound but it's not essential, cost is next to nothing Edited April 2, 2020 by PaulWarning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted April 2, 2020 Share Posted April 2, 2020 On 01/04/2020 at 17:07, Mottlefeeder said: I've been pleasantly surprised by the Behringer Xenyx 302 USB mixer. For £40-45 you get one mic/line it with 2-band EQ and a stereo line in with 2-band EQ. The audio levels are right for my MP3 player and my laptop, so I can choose my line input with one button press, and drop off as much bass as I want so I can play along. It will record from mixer to Audacity, but I have not yet found a way of playing back an Audacity track and recording a new Audacity track at the same time - it's not something I need to do. David I used one of these quite happily until my cat knocked a glass of cider over it! Still works (just not 100%) and while the mic preamps weren't particularly good with very little clean headroom it was entirely powered off a 5v USB cable which also served as a data source so it was very handy as a portable practice tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.