Stealth plug

[onehappybunny]

Just wondered what the best (cheap) way of getting a signal from bass to my MacBook. Need to do this quietly, while the kids are asleep, so mic'ing up is not an option.

Came across this... [url="http://www.stealthplug.com/Main.php?prod-SP.php"]Stealth Plug[/url]... but wasn't sure if it was any good, or if there are other options available.

Appreciate your help (it's birthday pressie research )

Many thanks

Stu

[tonybassplayer]

Looking forward to see what responses you get as I have been thinking about an audio interface for a while now for my mac and keep looking at something that will do the full band but that would probably cost a few hundred pounds and I will then probably only use it occasionally so the best option for me would be a cheap, simple, one channel interface to use with garageband.

Tony

[Lee-Man]

Thought you guys might be interested in this: [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb07/articles/guitartech_0207.htm"]http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb07/arti...artech_0207.htm[/url]

Lee

[onehappybunny]

[quote name='Lee-Man' post='210799' date='Jun 1 2008, 10:19 PM']Thought you guys might be interested in this: [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb07/articles/guitartech_0207.htm"]http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb07/arti...artech_0207.htm[/url]

Lee[/quote]


Excellent - many thanks Lee

If anyone has any practical experience of these, or other options, please let us know.

Thanks

Stu

[crez5150]

If your budget allows...... buy a MOTU interface.... 828MK2 or 3 is awsome!!

[BigRedX]

Can't really beat MotU without spending very serious money. I'm still running a 2408 mk1 interface that I've had since they first came out and have just upgraded the PCI portion so I can continue usin it with my new MacPro. Very reliable.

[ZMech]

what would happen if I were to just get a lead with a guitar jack on one end and a headphone one on the other, and stick it straight from the headphone socket of my amp to the mike input of the computer? would that sound very bad or just slightly bad?

[Dubs]

[quote name='Zach' post='212791' date='Jun 4 2008, 10:01 PM']what would happen if I were to just get a lead with a guitar jack on one end and a headphone one on the other, and stick it straight from the headphone socket of my amp to the mike input of the computer? would that sound very bad or just slightly bad?[/quote]

that works, I've done it many times before, rubbish sound though

EDIT - just a rubbish sound, not very rubbish - the good thing about that stealth plug is that it comes with some good basic software including a couple of amp modelling plugins and "a full recording studio" - whatever the f*** that means

Edited June 4, 2008 by benwhiteuk

[bennifer]

[quote name='tonybassplayer' post='210770' date='Jun 1 2008, 09:39 PM']Looking forward to see what responses you get as I have been thinking about an audio interface for a while now for my mac and keep looking at something that will do the full band but that would probably cost a few hundred pounds and I will then probably only use it occasionally so the best option for me would be a cheap, simple, one channel interface to use with garageband.

Tony[/quote]
Some of the best cheap audio interfaces suitable for that are the Motu 8pre and the Presonus Firepod. I've personally got the Firepod, it has 8 XLR inputs on the front and a further stereo 2 channel Spdif input on the back, which I link a fairly classy Focusrite Penta Preamp/Compressor into to give me an extra channel in. Its a rock solid system and sounds great. I haven't used the 8pre but its about the same price, it has the bonus of having ADAT which lets you link in a further 8 channels if you buy another rack preamp strip.

Of course, if you're a bit sketchy about affording an interface with that many channels, you're probably going to be screwed when it comes to recording in as you probably won't have any microphones either! A decent drum mic kits gonna set you back at least 500 quid!

Hope that helps.

[onehappybunny]

...also found this cheapo option

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_usb_1g.htm"]1/4" jack to USB cable[/url]

[Dubs]

[quote name='bennifer' post='213152' date='Jun 5 2008, 01:00 PM']Some of the best cheap audio interfaces suitable for that are the Motu 8pre and the Presonus Firepod.[/quote]

You’re still looking at around £350 with that though. You can pick up an Mbox mini with ProTools LE 7.4 for about £160 brand new from ebay.

[onehappybunny]

I've seen a Mackie Onyx Satellite which has some good reviews. Does anyone have any experience of them? Thanks, Stu

[bennifer]

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='213516' date='Jun 5 2008, 10:14 PM']You’re still looking at around £350 with that though. You can pick up an Mbox mini with ProTools LE 7.4 for about £160 brand new from ebay.[/quote]
ah yeah totally, they're more expensive than one with just a few channels, however I was replying to the bit about the guy wanting to record a full band - with that you really want 8 channels for just the drums, then track everything on top of that.

But yeah, if you just want to track a bass or guitar, a basic usb-jack will do ok, better yet a basic 2 channel interface with provision for zero latency monitoring and phantom power were you to use a condenser mic to track vocals.

[dr.funk]

I considered the mackie Onyx, there are some very cheap deals to be had and mackie gear is meant to be pretty solid. I can't remember why I didn't buy it though..

In the end I went for a M Audio FW410 which is alright although I personally wouldn't reccommend one as the drivers can be a bit of a pain. It had a lot of problems with the power management on my laptop.

Presonus Firebox is the smaller version of the Firepod and its pretty popular, I have a friend who has one and its survived being handled by a drummer so must be pretty solid I am actually quite tempted to swap my 410 for a firebox, I had bought one on ebay but the seller said he still needed it (grr) and so I had to go for a cheap deal on the M Audio instead. The 4 analog inputs on the firebox would be useful for recording drums..

Mind you if your just looking to record bass that usb lead will probably do just fine. If you want to be able to attatch a mic or any other gear maybe worth considering the Emu 0202 or 0404 which are both USB. Or if you would prefer firewire the Presonus Inspire 1394 looks good value albeit without midi, but that not might be an issue for you.

Wow that t.bone cable is cheap, would probably be worth buying it as I am sure it will do the job. I think behringer also make a similar kind of thing but with a few more features thats also very cheap.

[backwater]

I've been using an M-Audio Fast Track USB which seems to do the trick. Cost about £60 to buy and gives you an XLR in and a guitar in. Sounds good and works straight off with garage band. Details are here : [url="http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackUSB-main.html"]M-Audio[/url]


Andy

[BigRedX]

Unlike Windows machines, on the the Mac (which the OP has), USB audio interfaces are pretty poor for more than a couple of channels of audio, because on the whole the drivers are badly reworked versions of the Windows ones. FireWire is a far more robust interface for Mac audio.

[stingrayfan]

[quote name='onehappybunny' post='213489' date='Jun 5 2008, 09:26 PM']...also found this cheapo option

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_usb_1g.htm"]1/4" jack to USB cable[/url][/quote]
I'd avoid going supercheap as you'll end up using it once, being disappointed that it sounds noisy and rubbish and stick it in a drawer somewhere.

I've got a [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/12090/a/r/e/base"]Line 6 Toneport UX2[/url] which cost about £110. I wouldn't say it's the best USB interface in the world ever but fits with the GarageBand "plug and play" style of recording. It's records guitar, line in, phantom powers condenser mics and the software's really good too. Good fun (especially when you start plugging lead guitar into it) and defo worth a look. There's also a [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/?keyword=ux1&page=shop%2Fsearch_results&manufacturer_id=0"]cheaper version[/url] for £65 which might suit your budget better. A/B'd my UX2 with a more expensive Edirol box recently and couldn't detect a difference.

Get one and have fun. Have recently converted to Mac myself and am bowled over by GarageBand. After using Cubase on PC, it's a breeze and so easy to use.

[Dubs]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='214377' date='Jun 7 2008, 02:23 PM']FireWire is a far more robust interface for Mac audio.[/quote]

it's also quicker - theoretically slower than USB2.0 but actually a lot quicker due to the way it works out how to send the data – therefore you can send more data (channels of audio) down a firewire cable than USB

[rslaing]

I bought one of these last week for £59, (24 bit Lexicon Alpha Audio) it came with Free Cubase LE (which I haven't installed as I use Cubase studio anyway). I bought it so I could use it with my laptop when not at home, and it is fantastic value. It's USB, but the latency (important bit for me) is very low and it doesn't eat up my CPU. Works brilliantly with a Mac.

I also have a VERY expensive firewire audio card which I use only at home, and for light use, the Lexicon works just as well. Easy to install and with the Cubase package included, you really can't go wrong. It also has 4 inputs, headphones, and all the bells and whistles. It really sounds like the sort of thing you are looking for, plus the people I bought it from are very helpful if you have any set up problems, there is a specialist in the shop that works only on this type of stuff.

Have a look at the spec etc here:

[url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Lexicon-Alpha~ID~6341.asp"]Lexicon Alpha[/url]

[Alun]

I've been using a Stealhplug with Windows XP for a year or so and find it very good. The bundled software is pretty much worth the price in itself.

Cheers
Alun

[Adam.M]

I also have a Stealth Plug and at first i was annoyed that i couldnt set it to be my main windows soundcard BUT, after playing for a while i remember that all the error beeps or any noises the computer makes would just be a distraction and because of that im glad that i can't.

I use Guitar Rig 3 software with mine though, i prefer it to the Amplitube.

I really like my stealh plug and guitar rig 3, its made bass playing enjoyable! i could never get a good tone before...

[onehappybunny]

Warning!!! - at least two of the manufacturers of these computer interfaces are having significant problems with Mac firewire interface drivers (I'm not a techie)

Looks like Mackie Onyx is screwed beyond OSX 10.4.10 (and has been for about 1 year!) and TC (see manufacturer forum for details) also has problems with Leopard upgrade compatibility with drivers. (also appears the Gibson sale fell flat)

Lesson for me, software drivers are at least as important as the hardware as otherwise the hardware won't work!

[Dubs]

[quote name='onehappybunny' post='215871' date='Jun 10 2008, 01:13 AM']Warning!!! - at least two of the manufacturers of these computer interfaces are having significant problems with Mac firewire interface drivers (I'm not a techie)[/quote]

The moral of this story is obviously dump the mac and get a PC

[onehappybunny]

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='215948' date='Jun 10 2008, 10:00 AM']The moral of this story is obviously dump the mac and get a PC [/quote]

...but only after you've read the horror-stories about Vista drivers!!!

[Dubs]

[quote name='onehappybunny' post='215963' date='Jun 10 2008, 10:16 AM']...but only after you've read the horror-stories about Vista drivers!!! [/quote]

Haha that’s another error I’m still running XP with SP3 and it’s nice and smooth