Guitar cable splitter???

K

KrispyDK

New member
Hello,

I want to record my active bass into Cubase on my PC using the technique of DI'ing the bass on one track and having the amp mic'ed into another track and then blending the 2.

Someone on here has suggested using a 2 channel preamp and a Y guitar cable splitter with one jack on one end and two at the other. Then one cable goes from bass into the amp and the other goes bass into the preamp (DI). The mic on the amp will then go into the other channel on the preamp. Then the preamp can send the 2 channels into my PC.

Sounds reasonable to me. I'm not sure about the Y guitar cable splitter though. The only ones I've found have been one stereo jack at one end and 2 mono at the other. Is this the right one to use for this purpose or should it be mono jacks at both ends?

Also, do you think this is the right route to take? Will i lose much signal quality by using a split cable? Should I use a DI box between my bass and the amp/preamp or will I lose more signal quality by adding the DI box? Then, should I use an active or passive DI box with my active bass?!?!?!

Please help!!
 
Don't know how an active p/u will behave when splitting to two inputs. Does your amp have a line out?? If so, use that. If not, another technique would be to record your bass DI, then re-amp it. Solo the bass track in Cubase with the output of your interface going to your bass amp and record the amp with a mic.

What kind of interface do you have?? You should be able to DI right to the interface no problem without getting a pre-amp, unless you're using your computer's soundcard. :eek:
 
Hi Chili,

Thanks for that.

I'm using an Ashdown perfect 10 amp which doesn't have a live out unfortunately.

I'm using an audiophile 2496 sound card which on has stereo RCA's in.

I'm using an old Yamaha MD4S minidisc multitrack recorder as a mixer right now. Seem to get ok results plugging the bass straight into that but wanted to try a blend of DI and mic'ed amp. Someone suggest replacing the yamaha with something like the m-audio audio buddy and the Y split guitar cable.

Would using a DI box be a better approach?
 
you make it sound so simple!!

I am tempted to go that way. I need to replace my Yamaha MD4S minidisc recorder which I am using as a mixer at the moment though. Someone suggested using a 2 channel preamp instead of a mixer.

Any suggestions on a good DI for an active bass? should I go active or passive DI or does that not really matter?
 
KrispyDK said:
you make it sound so simple!!

I am tempted to go that way. I need to replace my Yamaha MD4S minidisc recorder which I am using as a mixer at the moment though. Someone suggested using a 2 channel preamp instead of a mixer.

Any suggestions on a good DI for an active bass? should I go active or passive DI or does that not really matter?
Click to expand...

I dont realy have any prefrences over brand names of DI boxes, one brand is just as good as another IMO
I would however suggest a passive for recording unless you are recording bass then I would use an active for bass because low frequencies need a little more boost than mid and high frequencies.
 
KrispyDK said:
Thanks Raw,

I'll take a look into that. I hope they're available in the UK, I was dreading have to by anything with Behringer on it!

If anyone can help out with my initial post that this stemmed from that would be great!!

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=296341
Click to expand...

Despite popular belief Behringer is not as bad as what people let on Lots of folks just jump on the Behringer hate bandwagon without knowing anything except for what they have heard from others. nothing at all wrong with Behringer Di Boxes and their graphic equalizers are very good too, we have four that we run everything through and they work just as good as anything on the market. and I have a couple of behri DI here at the house along with several other pieces of behri equipment that has not given me one moments trouble. Stay away from their mixing consoles for those are without a doubt garbage.
 
Honestly, I think you should change your approach just a little. If you were contemplating replacing your yamaha MD with a pre-amp, maybe you should consider replacing your 2496 instead. Plenty of interfaces that provide XLR/LineLevel/Hi-Z inputs. If you're doing everything yourself, you probably only need 2 channels.

I always put this link up just to get people to recognize their options. Just something else fo ryou to consider.

http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces/low2high
 
Thanks all.

I am recording guitar and bass and yes, doing it all myself so I doubt I am ever going to need more than 2 channels in to my PC.

My bass is active and I am on the cusp of going to buy the beri active DI box, I've actually read good things about it. I was going for the active DI over the passive as I've read that with an active bass it doesnt really matter which one you use. But an active DI may also come in useful for any non active instruments.

On the preamp/interface front - I'm open to suggestions. I've been very happy with the 2496 but it's the only card I have any experience with. Gives good quality and the latency is very low. Is there a comparable or better interface on these grounds that incorporates 2 channels in and phantom power with a high input for plugging an electric guitar in?

Thanks all for the advice so far...
 
KrispyDK said:
Thanks all.

I am recording guitar and bass and yes, doing it all myself so I doubt I am ever going to need more than 2 channels in to my PC.

My bass is active and I am on the cusp of going to buy the beri active DI box, I've actually read good things about it. I was going for the active DI over the passive as I've read that with an active bass it doesnt really matter which one you use. But an active DI may also come in useful for any non active instruments.

On the preamp/interface front - I'm open to suggestions. I've been very happy with the 2496 but it's the only card I have any experience with. Gives good quality and the latency is very low. Is there a comparable or better interface on these grounds that incorporates 2 channels in and phantom power with a high input for plugging an electric guitar in?

Thanks all for the advice so far...
Click to expand...
The active DI will have more uses for you down the line if you have, say, non-active acoustic guitar that you want to record. For an active bass, it really doesn't matter.
 
Krispy - it might be an idea to consider not so much a splitter cable but a "Y" box. I use one for both guitar and bass. I have a Palmers "Y" box. Basically, you plug the bass/guitar into the guitar input and there are two "outs" that you can send to an amp or go direct or wherever you like. I use it quite frequently and sometimes I'll go through two amps. With the bass, I sometimes do a three way thingy, that is, I'll mic my bass amp {a Fender bassman}, use the line out {one out of the "Y"} and go direct {the other "Y" out - but without a DI box}. I love what you can get with that. I know that there are those, who, justifiably, will say "it's only the bass, man !". But I happen to be a bass tone connossieur and it's actually great fun. Besides which, having some more scope won't harm you. The option is always there to use or not to use.
I notice you're in London. I don't know if you know Denmark Street in the West end {just off Charing cross Road}. It's the road that is nothing but music shops. Well, I got mine there {I think from the pro audio centre or whatever it's called}.
 
Hi Grim,

If anyone said to me 'it's only a bass, man' I'd spit in their eye!!

Great idea re the 3 way thing, I'm going to take a look into that.

Funny you should mention Denmark Street - I went up there yesterday to the very store you're speaking about! The pro PA place, in the basement??

I was originally just going to get a cheap beri DI but was swiftly talked out of it. Got an LD Systems active DI instead - never heard of them before but looks like they're out of the same stable as the Palmer stuff you've got.

Got home and excitedly set everything up - DI, mic'd amp, mixer - only to discover a nasty buzz coming out of my bass! Suitably pissed off now! Was silent - changed the battery in the bass - now getting a buzz. Reaching for the screwdriver now...
 
You can use a stereo pedal with buffered bypass for that purpose.

The effect doesn't have to be activated for the buffered split to work.
 
KrispyDK said:
Hi Grim,

If anyone said to me 'it's only a bass, man' I'd spit in their eye!!

Great idea re the 3 way thing, I'm going to take a look into that.

Funny you should mention Denmark Street - I went up there yesterday to the very store you're speaking about! The pro PA place, in the basement??

I was originally just going to get a cheap beri DI but was swiftly talked out of it. Got an LD Systems active DI instead - never heard of them before but looks like they're out of the same stable as the Palmer stuff you've got.

Got home and excitedly set everything up - DI, mic'd amp, mixer - only to discover a nasty buzz coming out of my bass! Suitably pissed off now! Was silent - changed the battery in the bass - now getting a buzz. Reaching for the screwdriver now...
Click to expand...

if you are plugging an active bass into an active DI that could be where the buzzing is coming from otherwise it could be something as simple as a bad guitar cord to something as complex as shielding issues. if you are on the same circuit as a fluorescent light they can cause some really nasty buzzing as well as refrigerators and or other appliances can cause RF interference.
 
The stereo in/mono out splitter won't work.

25 years ago, in 25 seconds, I made this outstanding example of uglyness:
SPLITTER.jpg

It's just four 1/4" jacks, and all the contacts are connected to each other. It works. Why they don't sell these no one knows. Radio Shack used to sell a mono splitter.

Splitting is no problem, it's like when you are taking a shower and somebody (some asshole!!!) starts the dishwasher. If there's enough water pressure, you just turn up the water pressure at the tap. If there's not enough water pressure, it gets wimpy.
 
Here's the Radio Shack part I bought 20 years ago:
SPLITTER-1.jpg


It's sold for summing, but you can run it backwards and use it as a splitter. You might want to put a 1/4" mono coupler on it to reverse the gender so that you can plug a regular ol' guitar cable into it.

Radio Shack, at that time, sold stereo and mono versions of that part that looked identical. I would imagine someone still sells them.
 
Hi Roguetitan,

I was getting the buzz even when plugging direct into the amp. I did notice a hum when using the DI but flicked the ground/lift switch and that went (I still have to find out what ground/lift means!).

Great tip re the refrigerator (or simply fridge as they're known in this part of the world!) The buzz did increase when I moved nearer to my fridge so am going to investigate more this evening before I get irate with the guitar shop! I've bought some new shielded leads too to remove that from the equation.

Dinty - love the splitter box. Make me one and I'll buy it from you! Radio Shack used to be known over here as Tandy but they died off a good few years ago. Plenty of other places to try though. I did wonder whether you could use things like that in reverse...only one way to find out though! Can't hurt anything...can i?!
 
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