Effects /Bass combo/ mixer questions

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

While stumbling across the many empty boxes of various music manufacturers in my spare bedroom of my small flat  ( plus the multitude of cables ), I have been wondering do I need all of the effects that I have . Plus I have been finally trying to record stuff in a more polished fashion. I seem to be unusually getting more patient with age with my persistence . 
However, I would like some guidance please regarding the placement of effects in my behringer usb mixer.

 

The questions I have are probably basic ; 

Regarding recording bass : do I place effects into separate effects channel or can I place them like when gigging- bass/ effect/input

 

i do have a zoom B3 which i connect to xlr via x l r cable , so that’s straightforward enough. 
However, I do have an old Boss ME8B which I may want to use on occasion.

I still have a Roland Bass Cube RX which has a headphone/ mixer output. 
Where would that go? Shoukd I still keep it , as I also have cheap behringer monitors. 
I also have lots of mini guitar effects pedals etc and wondering if they would be surplus to requirements.

my fave pedals ( bass/ synth / wah and bass whammy) will stay. 
 

Regarding using effects with moogs : could I plug them into the B3 or Boss me8b?
What I’m trying to do here, is to stop pulling plugs out all the time etc and have everything in place as much as I can. 
 

All the gear and no idea 

 

Thanks in advance 😬

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Oops ! One other thing to mention ; bass combo is stereo , as is the boss me 8b multi effects unit 😬

[BigRedX]

Unless you have very specific effects that can't be replicated or your computer is very old and lacking in processing power, I would try and avoid recording with the effects in place and replicate them "in the box". If recording with effects on the sound makes the parts easier to play then I would consider splitting the signal and running one trough the effects and the other dry straight into the computer. If you really want you can record both signals and separate tracks. I always find that my effects settings need to be tweaked once mixing starts and it's always easier to do this to a dry signal than try and add (or remove) effects that have already been recorded.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Thanks @BigRedX

I have a 2017 16 gb iMac . I don't know whether to upgrade to M1 MacBook or Mac mini . I do need another external hard drive should it be better to keep it . 
I use GarageBand , but still find Reason 12 a challenge , and  I have ableton live lite ( free version ) . I need to put more effort into learning these properly . I have an iPad mini 6 also, but I tend to just use random apps into the mixer .

 

I understand that straight bass  direct signal without effects is the way to go . Is there much if any difference ,of plugging bass straight into input socket and using the x l r input from Zoom B3?

 

It does seem that in the bigger picture that I do have lots of the same formulas of sound in the effects units so to speak. Wah/ fuzz/ chorus  etc. :The main go to effects that I do use mostly I are the digitech bass-synth-wah and the Digitech Bass whammy . The Boss Me8-b has a distinct analogue sound but the synth effect is the best thing there.

Maybe it's time to sell a few of those effects and the Boss micro cube amp 🤔

 

I got a bit obsessed about having 'toys' for the bass for home use , but having  a couple of synths I seem to be more into them now . 
I have seen various people on you tube using effects with synths . Just wondering if I did that, would I be better off using synths direct into mixer instead ? 
It does sound like I could do a lot more by using the effects in Reason .

 

Anymore help,and pointers  appreciated 😬

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

[BigRedX]

Unless you are using lots of sample libraries, you should find your current Mac perfectly fine. I'm still running a 2010 MacPro which for music is more than adequate for my needs.

 

If you like GarageBand you should consider Logic rather than anything else if you need more facilities on your DAW. It will import your GarageBand projects directly and uses many of the same instruments, just with more editing parameters.

 

For my band apart from the bass and vocals everything is done "in the box" mostly using the plug-ins that come free with Logic. For the bass I use the Line6 Helix along with the Helix Native plug-in (one of only two 3rd party plug-ins I use). The Helix allows me to record both the direct and effected bass sound simultaneously on separate tracks and then I can import the presets from the Helix and start by applying the same Preset to the direct sound than then tweak it as the arrangement/mix progresses. Once the recording is complete I can export the final edited version of the Preset back to the Helix for live use. 

 

I used to have racks full of hardware synths and samplers, but they have all been sold in favour of ES2, Retro Synth, Alchemy, Drum Machine Designer and Drum Kit Designer all which come free with Logic plus VSDSX (Simmons drum emulator) which is my other 3rd party plug-in.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

15 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

Unless you are using lots of sample libraries, you should find your current Mac perfectly fine. I'm still running a 2010 MacPro which for music is more than adequate for my needs.

 

If you like GarageBand you should consider Logic rather than anything else if you need more facilities on your DAW. It will import your GarageBand projects directly and uses many of the same instruments, just with more editing parameters.

 

For my band apart from the bass and vocals everything is done "in the box" mostly using the plug-ins that come free with Logic. For the bass I use the Line6 Helix along with the Helix Native plug-in (one of only two 3rd party plug-ins I use). The Helix allows me to record both the direct and effected bass sound simultaneously on separate tracks and then I can import the presets from the Helix and start by applying the same Preset to the direct sound than then tweak it as the arrangement/mix progresses. Once the recording is complete I can export the final edited version of the Preset back to the Helix for live use. 

 

I used to have racks full of hardware synths and samplers, but they have all been sold in favour of ES2, Retro Synth, Alchemy, Drum Machine Designer and Drum Kit Designer all which come free with Logic plus VSDSX (Simmons drum emulator) which is my other 3rd party plug-in.

Thanks again  . I remember somewhere you saying that you  went all into software.  I admire you for doing that. I've browsed various forums about the subject , hardware v software etc . With all the apps I have on iPad , it's something I do wonder if I'll do it one day .

I doubt if I'll do it , as I'm more of a plug 'n' play kind of guy .  I used to tend to look at recording as irritating and taking the joy out of something but now am trying to just get something half decent for short soundcloud sounds . Not exactly mutt lange 😬

I think I will get Logic in the not too distant , as you say it's the next step from GarageBand .  Alchemy is cool , and I have launchpad mini . Seems a no brainier ..
 

[BigRedX]

The two main reasons I went into mostly software was partly because I ended up with so much hardware that by the time it was all powered up I had lost much the inspiration that I had when I started switching things on. The other was I had a couple of very expensive non-repairable hardware failures that made me realise how much I was relying on devices that were getting less easy to replace with each year when they would eventually fail.

 

Making the decision to not only ditch the hardware but also to stick with mostly what came as part of the Logic package has meant that my spend just for recording purposes over the last two years has been under £200 for a controller keyboard and Helix Native - everything else is used for live performances as well. 

 

I separate recording from the compositional activities, and TBH I don't enjoy it as much either. For me it puts too much of a microscope on my playing abilities or lack of them. Most of the time Logic is used a as massively featured MIDI sequencer with instruments built-in rather than multi-track recorder. I never record the live parts until the band are actually going to make a version available for public consumption.