Bass guitar distortion

RussG

Hi all
Im kinda new to all this studio stuff.....when i say new i mean I bought some second hand gear a while ago and not really played around with it much and really dont know that much about it.
Anyway, I wanted to record my bass guitar and found I was getting huge ammounts of distortion - especially on an open E string.
I am running a preSonous Audiobox USB and PreSonous Studio One Prime, on both my lap top and desk top PC.
Bass is plugged directly in to my Audiobox via cable.
I have sound comming through earphones plugged in to audiobox and Studio One will record the track, but everything is really really distorted.
I think its probably me not knowing what all the dials and settings are.
Can anyone please give me any guidance as to how to set this up and what settings I should be using on the audiobox/track
Thanks in advance
Russ

Funkfingers

If your bass guitar is plugged in to the preSonus devices using a quarter inch jack socket, unwanted clipping distortion suggests one of the following:
1) the input gain trim control needs turning down.
2) if your bass guitar has any active circuitry, the battery could be going flat.

Keefy

Are you trying to get the recorded level up to the 0dB mark? If so, don't! Aim to be peaking at -18dB.

RussG

Funkfingers said:

If your bass guitar is plugged in to the preSonus devices using a quarter inch jack socket, unwanted clipping distortion suggests one of the following:
1) the input gain trim control needs turning down.
2) if your bass guitar has any active circuitry, the battery could be going flat.

Keefy said:

Are you trying to get the recorded level up to the 0dB mark? If so, don't! Aim to be peaking at -18dB.

Sorry guys, not been on here for a while, new job and such like.
Would it be better if I posted a pic or vids of the PreSonus and the DAW as I have it set?

Keefy

RussG said:

Funkfingers said:

If your bass guitar is plugged in to the preSonus devices using a quarter inch jack socket, unwanted clipping distortion suggests one of the following:
1) the input gain trim control needs turning down.
2) if your bass guitar has any active circuitry, the battery could be going flat.

Keefy said:

Are you trying to get the recorded level up to the 0dB mark? If so, don't! Aim to be peaking at -18dB.

Sorry guys, not been on here for a while, new job and such like.
Would it be better if I posted a pic or vids of the PreSonus and the DAW as I have it set?

Maybe a video showing what the levels are doing when you're recording bass.

Funkfingers

At the Audiobox, if the bass guitar signal consistently illuminates the Clip LED, turn down the Trim pot.

If you use amplifier and/or effects modelling in Studio One Prime, check the input and output settings to prevent unintentional signal clipping.

If Studio One Prime includes a CPU Load meter, use it to check that complex recording projects are not overloading the processor. (The telltale sign of this will be random signal interruptions and nasty digital noises.)