Can I use this Preamp?

[Ito]

Hey,

can I use this preamp to hook my bass guitar to the computer (standard windows laptop)
and not buy a fancy soundcard?

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=182482



thanks

[steve]

No, you will still need a decent sound card if you use that.

You could use a USB pre-amp such as this: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UCG102.aspx
Note that if you use this with Audacity, Audacity will only record the "clean" (unprocessed) sound and not the included guitar effects. However, you can record with the effects if you use the included software, and you can still use Audacity for editing/mixing your recordings.

There are other options from other manufacturers.

[Ito]

Thank you, Steve.

I did not know about this product.

Cool.

Appreciate it.

[steve]

I've not used one of those myself, so check it out to your own satisfaction before you buy.

[Ito]

something like this:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/17 ... v_XSG10001

will this work as well?

[steve]

It should work, but the reviews that I've seen for USB audio cables have not been particularly good.

The ART USB pre-amps are more expensive, but generally get good reviews
http://www.artproaudio.com/products.asp ... t=9&id=150
You can also use this one with high quality microphones.

When recording a bass directly plugged in, you need to be careful not to overload the input as bass guitars can have very high peak levels while still sounding quiet on the recording. If you have any bass guitar pedals you can use these before connecting to the USB pre-amp. It is common to use a lot of compression on DI'd bass recordings.

[Ito]

okay, thanks again