Regarding a Focusrite Saffire 6 USB

[Jellyfish]

I'm completely new to recording and in my attempts to start recording, i've had my eye on the Focusrite Saffire USB 6. It looks like a tidy piece of kit but I have a few queries that i'm hoping someone will be able to answer!

Firstly, the only inputs on the thing are XLR's. Previously, i've just had to use a jack to jack between my bass and an interface so I was wondering if the signal somehow needs converting.

And lastly (or secondly ) my Ashdown Mag 300 Evo ll has a DI socket on the front. I am new to the whole DI thing (I know they are used, but no idea what for) so I was wondering if an XLR from that into the interface would work.

And as a bonus, what is a DI? And are there any good online resources for recording noobs?

[Ruiner]

The Saffire 6 USB has Hi-Z instrument inputs as well (the inputs on the box are multi purpose suitable for both 1/4 inch jacks and XLR).

So you can plug your bass straight in if you so desire.

But in answer to one of your questions, you should be able to go straight from DI output on your MAG 300 into the XLR input no problem also.

This site often gets recommended on here, and I've found it really useful as a beginner to home recording

[url="http://www.recordingbass.co.uk/"]http://www.recordingbass.co.uk/[/url]

Edited February 18, 2012 by Ruiner

[Jellyfish]

Ohhh.. So that's why the sockets on the front look so weird, huh?

Thank you for the site as well, looks awesome and exactly what I needed.

[EdwardHimself]

[quote name='ChristopherGilbert' timestamp='1329502934' post='1543575']
And as a bonus, what is a DI? And are there any good online resources for recording noobs?
[/quote]

A DI amplifies the signal of your bass and lowers the impedance of it so that it is loud enough to be heard on a recording or through a PA or whatever you want to do with it. You don't really need to use the DI on your bass amp if you're using an audio interface that has one on already.

[spiderjazz]

I have the Focusrite Saffire 6, and it's a great unit, the preamp is very clean and doesn't colour whatever your recording through it, but there's a widely known issue with recording DI's with it. Basically, the input gain's lowest level is still quite high, so you can end up clipping the signal a bit, especially with a bass DI which has volume peaks all over the place. It will be fine for starting out, but once you hear the clipping it will get annoying. This can be easily rectified by having a DI box however, or in your case, you could run the DI from the bass amp into the XLR on the focusrite. I've had no problems recording vocals or anything with microphones with it, just with Bass DI's.