Hello from newbie bass player who started late
Moderators: MattKingUSA, khz
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:44 am
- Has thanked: 5 times
Hello from newbie bass player who started late
Hello, I started playing bass later in life in my late 40s. I started about six weeks ago and really enjoying it.
I've joined here because I need to start recording myself for a few reasons but have no idea where to start. All I have is my bass and amp and nothing else. I kept seeing everyone I know using a Focusrite Scarlett but they're not Linux users, so I'm in research mode meets information overload at the moment. I'm running Debian stable (bullseye). Hoping there's a simple but great option!
I've joined here because I need to start recording myself for a few reasons but have no idea where to start. All I have is my bass and amp and nothing else. I kept seeing everyone I know using a Focusrite Scarlett but they're not Linux users, so I'm in research mode meets information overload at the moment. I'm running Debian stable (bullseye). Hoping there's a simple but great option!
-
- Established Member
- Posts: 2083
- Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 8:06 pm
- Location: Here, of course!
- Has thanked: 232 times
- Been thanked: 400 times
- Contact:
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
Welcome here.
The thing to look for if you're using USB audio units is the statement:
"Class Compliant".
This means you won't need any drivers and it will be plug-and-play.
The thing to look for if you're using USB audio units is the statement:
"Class Compliant".
This means you won't need any drivers and it will be plug-and-play.
The Yoshimi guy {apparently now an 'elderly'}
- Michael Willis
- Established Member
- Posts: 1460
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:27 pm
- Location: Rocky Mountains, North America
- Has thanked: 71 times
- Been thanked: 169 times
- Contact:
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
Hi! Plenty of people here use Focusrite devices without trouble. There was even some recent effort to build kernel drivers specifically for some of the Focusrite devices.
Of course @folderol gives good advice. You don't have to look for a specific brand, just make sure the device is class compliant. I used to have an M-Audio interface that worked just fine, and other people have reported that the Behringer interfaces work.
The other thing you'll need is a program for recording. If you just want to record bass, Audacity is pretty easy to get started, but you'll hit its limitations pretty quickly if you want to do multitrack recording/mixing/mastering. Ardour is popular for that, but a lot of people don't like the midi features. Let us know if you want to know more about arranging midi tracks; if you do I'll go pop some corn and come back to watch the fight that ensues over which midi sequencer is the best.
Of course @folderol gives good advice. You don't have to look for a specific brand, just make sure the device is class compliant. I used to have an M-Audio interface that worked just fine, and other people have reported that the Behringer interfaces work.
The other thing you'll need is a program for recording. If you just want to record bass, Audacity is pretty easy to get started, but you'll hit its limitations pretty quickly if you want to do multitrack recording/mixing/mastering. Ardour is popular for that, but a lot of people don't like the midi features. Let us know if you want to know more about arranging midi tracks; if you do I'll go pop some corn and come back to watch the fight that ensues over which midi sequencer is the best.
-
- Established Member
- Posts: 2059
- Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 6:56 am
- Location: Kangasala, Finland
- Has thanked: 375 times
- Been thanked: 209 times
- Contact:
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
I have bit different feeling: if there is huge threads for using them, it can't be without trouble. Instead, Behringer audio interfaces are ones that people use without trouble. They are affordable and work plug & play. That is why there is no discussion about them, people just use.Michael Willis wrote: βFri Oct 14, 2022 1:46 pm Hi! Plenty of people here use Focusrite devices without trouble. There was even some recent effort to build kernel drivers specifically for some of the Focusrite devices.
Linux veteran & Novice musician
Latest track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycVrgGtrBmM
-
- Established Member
- Posts: 1516
- Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 2:25 pm
- Location: Italy
- Has thanked: 385 times
- Been thanked: 299 times
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
Well, starting something new at any age is surely a good thing, but playing bass is cool. Welcome
The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. [Acts 4:32]
Please donate time (even bug reports) or money to libre software
Jam on openSUSE + GeekosDAW!
Please donate time (even bug reports) or money to libre software
Jam on openSUSE + GeekosDAW!
-
- Established Member
- Posts: 16
- Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2022 3:02 pm
- Has thanked: 2 times
- Been thanked: 10 times
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
As an owner of two behringer units I can confirm they work seemlessly!tavasti wrote: βFri Oct 14, 2022 2:21 pmI have bit different feeling: if there is huge threads for using them, it can't be without trouble. Instead, Behringer audio interfaces are ones that people use without trouble. They are affordable and work plug & play. That is why there is no discussion about them, people just use.Michael Willis wrote: βFri Oct 14, 2022 1:46 pm Hi! Plenty of people here use Focusrite devices without trouble. There was even some recent effort to build kernel drivers specifically for some of the Focusrite devices.
-
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2022 5:44 am
- Has thanked: 5 times
- Linuxmusician01
- Established Member
- Posts: 1548
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
- Location: Holland (Europe)
- Has thanked: 784 times
- Been thanked: 144 times
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
There's one caveat with the latest revisions of the Behringer USB audio devices: they need a very up to date kernel becuase the old kernel module (read: driver) didn't work well with Behringer. B. changed a little thing (not even worth mentioning B. thought) and some of their audio devices didn't work well. That's been taken care of in the latest Linux distributions/kernels as far as I know.tavasti wrote: βFri Oct 14, 2022 2:21 pmI have bit different feeling: if there is huge threads for using them, it can't be without trouble. Instead, Behringer audio interfaces are ones that people use without trouble. They are affordable and work plug & play. That is why there is no discussion about them, people just use.Michael Willis wrote: βFri Oct 14, 2022 1:46 pm Hi! Plenty of people here use Focusrite devices without trouble. There was even some recent effort to build kernel drivers specifically for some of the Focusrite devices.
And I agree with @tavasti: I personally would never use Focusrite given the hoops you must jump though to get 'm to work. If you really like Focusrite because of the good quality of their devices that's no problem of course: I understand why you'd do that. But for somebody starting in Linux? Hmmmm. Maybe not so.
- Michael Willis
- Established Member
- Posts: 1460
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:27 pm
- Location: Rocky Mountains, North America
- Has thanked: 71 times
- Been thanked: 169 times
- Contact:
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
I've used two different Focusrite devices, all I had to do was plug them in and select the device in my DAW.Linuxmusician01 wrote: βMon Oct 17, 2022 9:24 am I personally would never use Focusrite given the hoops you must jump though to get 'm to work.
- Linuxmusician01
- Established Member
- Posts: 1548
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
- Location: Holland (Europe)
- Has thanked: 784 times
- Been thanked: 144 times
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
That's great. Which models and are they still being sold?Michael Willis wrote: βMon Oct 17, 2022 1:52 pmI've used two different Focusrite devices, all I had to do was plug them in and select the device in my DAW.Linuxmusician01 wrote: βMon Oct 17, 2022 9:24 am I personally would never use Focusrite given the hoops you must jump though to get 'm to work.
- Michael Willis
- Established Member
- Posts: 1460
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:27 pm
- Location: Rocky Mountains, North America
- Has thanked: 71 times
- Been thanked: 169 times
- Contact:
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
2i4 (1st gen) and 18i20 (2nd gen). Neither of which is being manufactured anymore, but are readily available in second hand markets. Also, I understand that @geoffrey's work on kernel drivers makes all of the internal routing features of the current 3rd gen devices available.Linuxmusician01 wrote: βTue Oct 18, 2022 9:35 am That's great. Which models and are they still being sold?
- Linuxmusician01
- Established Member
- Posts: 1548
- Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 2:38 pm
- Location: Holland (Europe)
- Has thanked: 784 times
- Been thanked: 144 times
Re: Hello from newbie bass player who started late
Thank you for that information.Michael Willis wrote: βTue Oct 18, 2022 1:29 pm2i4 (1st gen) and 18i20 (2nd gen). Neither of which is being manufactured anymore, but are readily available in second hand markets. Also, I understand that @geoffrey's work on kernel drivers makes all of the internal routing features of the current 3rd gen devices available.Linuxmusician01 wrote: βTue Oct 18, 2022 9:35 am That's great. Which models and are they still being sold?