Emulated out / DI to Laptop and Audacity - Advice Please

Adey

I'm new to trying to record myself, but thought it about time that I got familiar with the process...

I have a Laney IRT30 with DI and Emulated Outputs on the back.

Can I just plug into one of these outputs with a suitable cable, and then stick the other end into the USB input on my laptop? I have seen various cables available on Amazon and Ebay that have the 6.35mm jack on one end and a USB on the other....

I was going to record via Audacity software (I've looked at the vids and it looks fairly simple to use to begin with..... and it's free!).

I want to be able to set up a click track and then add in other tracks, whilst listening to the whole mix via headphones. My laptop doesn't have a separate mic and headphone jack though - they are combined, so can't easily use that to record and listen at the same time.

Any advice is very welcome....

:-)

simonhpieman

You'll need an audio interface of some kind, regardless of cable, as you'll need to control the amount of signal going to audacity.

This will be a square box with jack/xlr/combi ports on the front. It should also have a gain control for each input, usually 2 on cheaper models.

The box then connects to your computer via usb.

I really like the Line6 UX2 as it comes with loads of fun guitar effects, amp sims and amazing sounding microphone pres if you decide later that you'd like to record vocals or mic up your amp, acoustic guitar etc. Bought my first one in 2005 and sold it for a reason I've long since forgotten. Picked a used one up last year for £30.

People also seem to like the focusrite saffires (I think that's the name?) as they apparently sound award-winning or sutin or nutin or idk.

Reaper is a good software option for recording and used to work on a "permanent" free trial basis...

markv

I'm pretty certain the DI out on the back of the Laney is an analogue output. To get the sound into a computer it has to be converted to a digital signal. The jack to USB cables won't do that (actually, some might have in-line A/D converters but they won't be very good). That's the reason you need an audio interface, it converts from analogue to digital, and back again when you want to record along with existing tracks. I have a Focusrite Scarlett Solo that has served me very well, but there are loads in this price range.

I started out a few years ago, using Audacity, and while it's good for working with existing audio files, I don't think it's very good at being a DAW (digital audio workstation). I found it fiddly to work with and the recorded sound was often slightly out of sync with the tracks I was trying to record against. It's not really meant for this kind of job, I don't think.

As above, download a proper DAW - I love Reaper, as many people do, but others are available - and invest a couple of hours in learning how to use it. It's pretty straightforward for simple recording. There are lots of videos.

Might be worth a read of our Studio & Recording section - there's plenty of advice there!

ecc83

Yes, check out that section and also have a look at homerecording.com and soundonsound. Both forums welcome noobs.

Read up and think well before commiting to an AI. The basic, one microphone input types LOOK attractive for price but if you get at all serious, the lack of mic inputs becomes a drag when for a few pounds more you could have got a much more versatile device.

Focusrite have a firm grip on the AI market (not sure why!) but do look at products by Tascam and dare I say it? Behringer!

As stated Audacity is a great free editor but not so hot for building tracks but so not rush. You can download the 30 day trials of almost all the DAWs out there. We like Samplitude but there is Cubase, Traktion and many others. N very B! They all need a bit of time and persperation to get to grips with.

Dave.

victorludorum

If you buy an interface, they usually come with a basic version of one of the sequencers (Cubase, Ableton etc). Audacity is just not good enough sadly. I use it for mp3 conversions, but that's all. If you want things to sound good you will need something better..

normula1

If you're going Focusrite, the version 2 and version 3 have a much lower than the version 1

fastonebaz

Buy positive grid bias2 this black Friday for your guitar sim tones so you can play and record without yr actual amp. Brilliant. 

Adey

Thanks for the help. Looks like I need to do a fair bit of research and reading before I commit.

USB - I know what that is.

Inline A/D converters - less so...