Bass line recording

[filosofem]

Hi, I'm a bit of a novice and was wondering if anyone knew the best way to record bass lines on my pc. I have recently joined a band and the guitarist has sent me his bit for me to work a bass line over that, I have downloaded Audacity although I do not know yet how to use it. I guess I will need a mic but will I need anything else? Any advice would be most welcomed or any links to sites you have found easy to understand. Cheers

[MythSte]

For a simple but very capable system I recomend purchasing a simple USB DI, or even something as simple as [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_usb1g.htm"]this[/url] USB/Jack lead to your PC and then downloading [url="http://www.reaper.fm/"]reaper[/url]. You dont really need a mic unless you're desperate to get "your sound" down. You could shoot for a [url="http://line6.com/podstudiogx/"]Line 6 toneport[/url] if your after some nice tones too.

These two should last you much longer and give you less lag than with audacity, which i found good for editing but not so great for recording.

[filosofem]

[quote name='MythSte' post='652109' date='Nov 11 2009, 11:20 PM']For a simple but very capable system I recomend purchasing a simple USB DI, or even something as simple as [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_usb1g.htm"]this[/url] USB/Jack lead to your PC and then downloading [url="http://www.reaper.fm/"]reaper[/url]. You dont really need a mic unless you're desperate to get "your sound" down. You could shoot for a [url="http://line6.com/podstudiogx/"]Line 6 toneport[/url] if your after some nice tones too.

These two should last you much longer and give you less lag than with audacity, which i found good for editing but not so great for recording.[/quote]

Thanks for that, the USB/jack lead option seems a lot cheaper but would this compromise the sound in any way compare to the mic? I will try this reaper thing to and keep you posted. Thanks a lot

[MythSte]

[quote name='filosofem' post='652142' date='Nov 12 2009, 12:04 AM']Thanks for that, the USB/jack lead option seems a lot cheaper but would this compromise the sound in any way compare to the mic? I will try this reaper thing to and keep you posted. Thanks a lot [/quote]

Well, realistically, i'd say a healthy three quarters of the bass tones you hear are DI'd and not mic'd anyway. The trouble is to get a good sound on bass through a mic you've got to have
A ) a good sized room with good acoustics
B ) a decent mic (which can cost upwards of £200)
C ) a quality audio interface which will convert mic level lines. (again, upwards of £200)

With something like the line six toneport you could just plug straight in and have some virtual amps at your fingertips.

If however, you really do want a nice mic and some nice interfaces, I think there are people on here who know a LOT more than me about it that might want to chime in!

[filosofem]

[quote name='MythSte' post='652333' date='Nov 12 2009, 09:54 AM']Well, realistically, i'd say a healthy three quarters of the bass tones you hear are DI'd and not mic'd anyway. The trouble is to get a good sound on bass through a mic you've got to have
A ) a good sized room with good acoustics
B ) a decent mic (which can cost upwards of £200)
C ) a quality audio interface which will convert mic level lines. (again, upwards of £200)

With something like the line six toneport you could just plug straight in and have some virtual amps at your fingertips.

If however, you really do want a nice mic and some nice interfaces, I think there are people on here who know a LOT more than me about it that might want to chime in![/quote]


Maybe that set up is a bit much for what I need it for. I basically just want something that will allow me to lay bass lines on the guitar tracks for writing purposes so that I may send this back to the guitarist and the drummer will do his bit I guess.