recording bass guitar

[GhostMice]

how do i DI my bass guitar? I own a motu ultralight and a mac

[Moseph]

It looks like the primary input is a mic/instrument input, meaning you just need to plug in the bass guitar directly, set the levels on your hardware/software and you're done.

[GhostMice]

does that mean i need a trs to xlr cable. sorry but im a noob at this

[Ethan.]

To plug it into the soundcard (the back of the computer) you need a cable that has one side 1/4" and the other side 1/8" or a cable with two sides 1/8" and put a 1/4" adapter in on one side.

[Moseph]

Based on the picture of the actual hardware the thread starter mentioned, you're both wrong.

The input on the front of the device is a Neutrik "Combo" connector, which accepts both XLR and 1/4" cables. Because it is labeled "Mic/Instr." it is probably a "Switching Combo", which most likely feeds a mic level input when XLR is provided and an instrument or line level input when 1/4" is provided.

Check your manual, but I'm betting that the 1/4" connection feeds an internal DI circuit before passing 1/4" cable signals through the mic preamp.

[Ethan.]

I'm pretty sure most soundcards have 1/8" input jacks. And most bass guitars have 1/4" output jacks. So in order to plug it straight into a soundcard you need a cable with those sized-ends.

I don't know what a motu ultralight is, and I'm not sure if Macs have the same sized jacks and PCs, but I'm pretty sure what I said wasn't wrong.

[Moseph]

A MOTU Ultralight is an external soundcard. It connects to the back of the computer through a data port (specifically, a firewire port).

Since it's providing digital data signals, and not analog audio signals, there's no need to mess around with the native soundcard at all. You can use the professional-grade inputs on the Ultralight for your analog signal connection.

[Ethan.]

Oh I see. My bad.

We all gotta learn sometime haha