Need help with recording a bass guitar

Special Interest Groups Recording Techniques
1

I’m using the microphone port and a 1/4" to 1"8 adapter (yes, I checked the manual about that) and pretty much none of my notes on the E string are being recorded, save for maybe the 15th fret and onward. Any note on the D and G strings come through loud and clearly. All notes are picked up equally whenever I try the “Start Monitoring” thing.

I do have an adapter, but Audacity is having issues trying to use it. Since it’s an electric bass, I’m not able to use the built-in mic.

My computer’s specs:
Acer Aspire Timeline 3830 (laptop)
2.1 GHz dual core Intel processor
Windows 7 32-bit
2.67 GB of useable RAM (not an issue)
3 USB ports as well as a mic port and audio out port

Does anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance.

2

Sounds like a consequence of impedances not matched … http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/imped.html
If you connect a low-impedance source like an electric guitar into a high-impedance input designed for a microphone the frequency-response will be poor : the sound will be predominantly high-frequency, and very quiet.

The solution is to avoid using the mic input. Find another way of getting the guitar signal into your computer,
e.g. via USB … http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCG102.aspx

[ If you’re going to persist with using the mic input for your guitar, switch off any “enhancements”… http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_recording_troubleshooting.html#[b]enhancements[/b] ]

3

Plugging a bass guitar into a microphone input is unlikely to work well. You would do better plugging into a proper “instrument” input, such as one of these: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCG102.aspx
Note - there are also some cheap Chinese copies of this device - don’t be tempted - they are rubbish and often don’t work.

Note also that if you are listening through little computer speakers, the low bass notes will probably be too low for the speakers to reproduce the sound.

4

The other thing you can do is get a microphone plugged into your PC and record the sound coming from your amp.

The behringer device looks good though. I would suggest trying that.

Damien

5

Personally I prefer to record guitars and bass guitars with a mic, but not plugged directly into a typical computer mic input (they are usually between mediocre and appalling quality), but that little Behringer unit is cheaper than buying a decent microphone, and it avoids annoying the neighbours :wink:

6

I apparently did get the Chinese version of it. I don’t have the $80 to buy the real thing and won’t anytime soon, so for now, the mic jack is pretty much my only option. Like I said, it was able to pick up everything a lot better during the “monitoring” process.