Monitoring/Recording bass w/DAW

[mutant]

Hello everyone I'm new here and was hoping someone could possibly answer a basic question for me.

I'm thinking about purchasing a beginner electric bass with passive pickups that I wish to be able to hear in real-time while I record into Reaper or Cubase. I have an RME HDSPe AIO audio card along with two different breakout cables, the primary one that I use has 2 XLR balanced line inputs, but I also have another one with 2 unbalanced RCA line inputs.

My Question: Could I plug the bass guitar directly into a Behringer BDI21 V-Tone Bass Driver Bass Amp Modeler/Direct Recording Preamp/DI Box Pedal and then simply run either the balanced XLR or unbalanced 1/4" output from the BDI21 directly into one of the breakout cable inputs in order to accomplish this? Or would I perhaps additionally need some type of audio interface box etc?

Thank you in advance for any tips.

 

[filmtex]

Why not just try it? You’re on the unamplified end of the chain so there’s really no way to hurt anything. Go for it and see what you get.

 

[mutant]

Why not just try it? You’re on the unamplified end of the chain so there’s really no way to hurt anything. Go for it and see what you get.

I haven't actually went forward with the purchase of the bass yet and this in fact is why I am asking. I am trying to estimate in advance whether it would ultimately be cost prohibitive for my budget if I may perhaps need to also purchase an audio interface box in addition to the bass and BDI21. I am essentially looking for the cheapest way to adequately monitor/record etc. The RME is a great audio card and although I would generally assume that the breakout cables negate the need for dedicated interface box, up until this time I have primarily only worked with VST plugins and not analog instruments. I am just hoping to get a decent bass to learn on and record without breaking the bank.

 

[BigBasserino]

I haven't actually went forward with the purchase of the bass yet and this in fact is why I am asking. I am trying to estimate in advance whether it would ultimately be cost prohibitive for my budget if I may perhaps need to also purchase an audio interface box in addition to the bass and BDI21. I am essentially looking for the cheapest way to adequately monitor/record etc. The RME is a great audio card and although I would generally assume that the breakout cables negate the need for dedicated interface box, up until this time I have primarily only worked with VST plugins and not analog instruments. I am just hoping to get a decent bass to learn on and record without breaking the bank.

My recommendation? Don't skimp on the pickups (Probably what's in this "beginner" bass); if passive pickups put out noise when directly plugged in, you'll have two things to worry about, a beginner tone and potentially more noise to worry about gating out in the recording process. As for the Behringer, yea, you could get that box, but take a look at Amp sims at Vst4free; what constitutes as a "bass amp" in a DAW is an amp simulation and a cab simulation (Impulse Responses and an impulse loader to push them). So unless you're really set on a certain preamp, you'll basically be set with an audio interface, a DAW (A bunch of audio interfaces prettymuch come packaged with something like Ableton or Cubase or ProTools, not a full version but a version that accommodates the features you purchased so that's just how much of a non-issue that is), and an actual bass.

 

[mutant]

My recommendation? Don't skimp on the pickups (Probably what's in this "beginner" bass); if passive pickups put out noise when directly plugged in, you'll have two things to worry about, a beginner tone and potentially more noise to worry about gating out in the recording process. As for the Behringer, yea, you could get that box, but take a look at Amp sims at Vst4free; what constitutes as a "bass amp" in a DAW is an amp simulation and a cab simulation (Impulse Responses and an impulse loader to push them). So unless you're really set on a certain preamp, you'll basically be set with an audio interface, a DAW (A bunch of audio interfaces prettymuch come packaged with something like Ableton or Cubase or ProTools, not a full version but a version that accommodates the features you purchased so that's just how much of a non-issue that is), and an actual bass.

Thank you for the tips, again I was just essentially trying to assess what might be the the least expensive way to monitor/record given my existing setup using the breakout cable inputs, without necessarily having to purchase a digital audio interface. So I therefore was basically wondering whether anyone here may have been however much familiar with either using the Behringer BDI21, from what I gather as a type of direct input box or perhaps even any other type of inexpensive DI box to monitor/record etc.

 

[Supadope]

That’s quite a sound card for just using the analog io. Do you have the adat io going to a mixer? If not, that would be a good route in the future.

That aside, the bdi21 should work fine. I’m fairly certain the rme is full duplex.

 

[BigBasserino]

Kind of missed the ADAT portion. ...is ADAT like an analogue connection? Or another form of USB? I see my Scarlett has expandability. ...now if I actually used it often enough I could reason using it lol.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

The BDI21 has two outputs: 1 "Amp" output, and one balanced microphone level. Does your card/breakout cable accept mic level, or is meant for balanced line level. The RCA line inputs are probably -10dBV, which should work with the amp level output.

Kind of missed the ADAT portion. ...is ADAT like an analogue connection? Or another form of USB? I see my Scarlett has expandability. ...now if I actually used it often enough I could reason using it lol.

It had ADAT Lightpipe I/O. This allows you to use a fiber optic cable to connect to other gear, typically an 8 channel mic preamp.

 

[mutant]

The BDI21 has two outputs: 1 "Amp" output, and one balanced microphone level. Does your card/breakout cable accept mic level, or is meant for balanced line level. The RCA line inputs are probably -10dBV, which should work with the amp level output.

Thank you for replying, both cables have line level inputs, XLR balanced and RCA unbalanced. So I am therefore hoping that BDI21 would prove sufficient for use as a preamp/direct box perhaps with the RCA inputs. Again my inquiry was just related to the fact that I don't wish to necessarily purchase an additional audio interface box, since I already have both of these cables.

 

[INSUB]

Hi, you may want to consider a tube preamp such as the Behringer MIC100 or Art Tube MP instead. Both of these units are capable of outputting a Line-level signal rather than a high-impedance instrument-level signal such as the DBI21, if I'm understanding the BDI21 manual correctly.

The BDI21 outputs are intended for a mic-preamp (XLR) or Hi-Z guitar preamp (1/4" TS). The preamps I'm recommending will output a mic-level signal (XLR) or Line-level (1/4" TRS). I've recorded bass through an Art Tube MP before and it sounded drastically better than recording directly via my interface's (MOTU 828 mkII) instrument input! I'm currently using a Studio Projects VTB-1 tube preamp to record bass through.

I think these preamps are a better match to your existing setup as you've described it.

 

[Badwater]

That sound card you have is a nice high quality audio card designed for multimedia hi fidelity 5.1 playback. But it has a simple recording input for a mic. You could experiment and find a way to use it with a bass plugged in. And you will be able to monitor or playback your bass tracks.

However the easiest most efficient way to record and monitor bass on your computer is using a interface. And you'll get the best playback sound this way too. Most if not all interfaces allow you to plug in instruments and MIDI direct, and have outputs from the interface for studio headphone monitoring or balanced 1/4 inch monitoring for powered studio monitors. And the only connection from the interface to your computer is via one single USB or firewire cable.

Having a interface allows you to record the best possible tracks, and edit them. And once you mix and edit your tracks/recordings you can play them back on your computer using your computer's soundcard and multimedia speakers.

Also, some interfaces like the AudioBox USB from Presonus comes with a full version DAW called Studio One 3 which is a powerful, easy to use software to record, mix, and edit your recordings. Check it out on the YouTube to see how it works. There are tons of video tutorials on how to use a interface, and record and mix on a DAW. Not so much for the soundcard.

 

[Frank Tuesday]

That sound card you have is a nice high quality audio card designed for multimedia hi fidelity 5.1 playback. But it has a simple recording input for a mic. You could experiment and find a way to use it with a bass plugged in. And you will be able to monitor or playback your bass tracks.

However the easiest most efficient way to record and monitor bass on your computer is using a interface. And you'll get the best playback sound this way too. Most if not all interfaces allow you to plug in instruments and MIDI direct, and have outputs from the interface for studio headphone monitoring or balanced 1/4 inch monitoring for powered studio monitors. And the only connection from the interface to your computer is via one single USB or firewire cable.

Having a interface allows you to record the best possible tracks, and edit them. And once you mix and edit your tracks/recordings you can play them back on your computer using your computer's soundcard and multimedia speakers.

Also, some interfaces like the AudioBox USB from Presonus comes with a full version DAW called Studio One 3 which is a powerful, easy to use software to record, mix, and edit your recordings. Check it out on the YouTube to see how it works. There are tons of video tutorials on how to use a interface, and record and mix on a DAW. Not so much for the soundcard.

The RME HDSPe AIO interface is miles better than the Audiobox. Lower latency, better A/D converters, lower S/N, and way more flexibility. It is a true professional level interface that would be at home at the best studios in the world. That it is not in a stand alone box may be a limitation for some people, but it is so much more than a "soundcard". Why recommend a bicycle when he already has a Ferrari?

 

[Badwater]

The RME HDSPe AIO interface is miles better than the Audiobox. Lower latency, better A/D converters, lower S/N, and way more flexibility. It is a true professional level interface that would be at home at the best studios in the world. That it is not in a stand alone box may be a limitation for some people, but it is so much more than a "soundcard". Why recommend a bicycle when he already has a Ferrari?

I did not know that was a dedicated audio recording card. Thanks for the correction and tip. Perhaps if your having difficulty monitoring and can't seem to tune the Ferrari the way you want, you could use the bicycle for your daily driver until the Ferrari is in top working order.

 

[old spice]

My recommendation? Don't skimp on the pickups (Probably what's in this "beginner" bass); if passive pickups put out noise when directly plugged in, you'll have two things to worry about, a beginner tone and potentially more noise to worry about gating out in the recording process.

Just want to emphasize this.

 

[mutant]

Thank you for all the help and information everyone. I went ahead and purchased the bass and was able to successfully get a good sound using the BDI21 RCA unbalanced output w/ a 1/4" to RCA adapter going into the RME breakout cable. However I'm not sure if the adapter is perhaps somewhat less than ideal, so I may even additionally purchase a 1/4" to RCA cable.