How do I drop a bass line into Acid 4.0 -ACID Product Family

Subject:How do I drop a bass line into Acid 4.0 Posted by: T_rock Date:6/5/2003 9:02:34 PM Hi. I'm new to Acid and I'm clueless. How can I drop a live bass line into an Acid 4.0 project? I have a direct box between my bass and the sound card, I have the beginnings of a project and want to know how to lay down a bass line in synch with the other tracks. Help.
Subject:Tips for recording a bass line into Acid 4.0 Reply by: gunhed Date:6/6/2003 9:33:44 AM Forgive me for being vague on some specifics; I'm at work (naughty, naughty) and not at home in front of my PC. I'm stating this from memory; if anyone wants to correct me, please do so. What I do is set the cursor at least 3 measures before the location that my recording should start so I can have a reasonable lead time. You can always adjust the recording's position later to sync it up. 1) Start the Recording panel: Assuming you have the "preamp" for your guitar plugged into your sound card's "Line In," you will need to do a basic Record Audio. The first thing you should do is click the Record button (the square one with a circle in it) - it's located at the bottom of track editor window along with the play buttons, etc. This will bring up the Record window - it should have two options "Audio" and "MIDI" - make sure Audio is selected. 2) Check your recording options: If you want the option to edit the sound later, you may want to consider recording it in 16-bit so Sound Forge Studio can read it (unless you get the full version, it won't support 24-bit). The bottom-left will show you the sample rate (probably 44,100) and the bit depth - use the Properties button to change these settings. 3) Check your input: You'll notice the sound levels that are being monitored - pluck a few strings and see if it responds on the meter. If it doesn't, there's a problem with your cabling or a mixer level isn't set right. The mixer I'm referring to is the one that comes with your sound card; not the one in Acid. It's usually the speaker icon in your system tray in the bottom-right. Make sure the "Line In" on your mixer isn't muted and is turned at least halfway. Your mixer may also have a choice of recording inputs (mic or line in, etc.) - make sure the recording option is set to use Line In. Play with the settings until you get a decent signal. 4) Check your sound levels: The idea of the monitor is to adjust the levels so the meter won't go into the red (called clipping) and that you don't have too much noise during "silence." Play with the volume slider until the meter doesn't clip when you play your instrument. 5) Begin recording: Once you have the levels set right, hit the Record button on that panel, and start playing when "the time is right." When you're done, click the Stop button. Your recorded track should appear as a "Recording Take 1" track in the track editor. 6) Fine-tuning: If the recording is out of sync, you can drag it left or right to line it up (you may need to turn off Snapping or change the Grid Spacing). Most often, I'll have unwanted junk / noise at the beginning before the main action, so I merely drag the left end of the track to the right, essentially "chopping it off." You may wish to, instead, edit your recording and cut that section out, apply effects, noise gates, etc. Assuming you installed Sound Forge, you should be able to select the recording and, in the menus, go to Tools>Edit in SoundForge. I hope this helps you out and doesn't confuse you. Sorry if I went into more detail than you wanted. Good luck!
Subject:RE: How do I drop a bass line into Acid 4.0 Reply by: fhodshon Date:6/6/2003 12:55:02 PM i'm a bassist too. i use ACID to setup my drums and other instruments, then use it as a multitracker for my bass and guitar lines. the direct box should help boost the bass output level fine. you should be able to just hit record and play your bass. are you having problems getting a signal into ACID? here's my latest bass tune: www.hodshon.com/stewed_lungs.mp3 fred

Forgive me for being vague on some specifics; I'm at work (naughty, naughty) and not at home in front of my PC. I'm stating this from memory; if anyone wants to correct me, please do so.

What I do is set the cursor at least 3 measures before the location that my recording should start so I can have a reasonable lead time. You can always adjust the recording's position later to sync it up.

1) Start the Recording panel:
Assuming you have the "preamp" for your guitar plugged into your sound card's "Line In," you will need to do a basic Record Audio. The first thing you should do is click the Record button (the square one with a circle in it) - it's located at the bottom of track editor window along with the play buttons, etc. This will bring up the Record window - it should have two options "Audio" and "MIDI" - make sure Audio is selected.

2) Check your recording options:
If you want the option to edit the sound later, you may want to consider recording it in 16-bit so Sound Forge Studio can read it (unless you get the full version, it won't support 24-bit). The bottom-left will show you the sample rate (probably 44,100) and the bit depth - use the Properties button to change these settings.

3) Check your input:
You'll notice the sound levels that are being monitored - pluck a few strings and see if it responds on the meter. If it doesn't, there's a problem with your cabling or a mixer level isn't set right. The mixer I'm referring to is the one that comes with your sound card; not the one in Acid. It's usually the speaker icon in your system tray in the bottom-right. Make sure the "Line In" on your mixer isn't muted and is turned at least halfway. Your mixer may also have a choice of recording inputs (mic or line in, etc.) - make sure the recording option is set to use Line In. Play with the settings until you get a decent signal.

4) Check your sound levels:
The idea of the monitor is to adjust the levels so the meter won't go into the red (called clipping) and that you don't have too much noise during "silence." Play with the volume slider until the meter doesn't clip when you play your instrument.

5) Begin recording:
Once you have the levels set right, hit the Record button on that panel, and start playing when "the time is right." When you're done, click the Stop button. Your recorded track should appear as a "Recording Take 1" track in the track editor.

6) Fine-tuning:
If the recording is out of sync, you can drag it left or right to line it up (you may need to turn off Snapping or change the Grid Spacing). Most often, I'll have unwanted junk / noise at the beginning before the main action, so I merely drag the left end of the track to the right, essentially "chopping it off." You may wish to, instead, edit your recording and cut that section out, apply effects, noise gates, etc. Assuming you installed Sound Forge, you should be able to select the recording and, in the menus, go to Tools>Edit in SoundForge.

I hope this helps you out and doesn't confuse you. Sorry if I went into more detail than you wanted. Good luck!