Re-amping through a sansamp bass driver?

[obscura1560]

As a crap bassist (for 5 years of my precious youth so far) and a fairly noob audio engineer (because after recording shit with my band and the guitarist finding out about re-amping, we now swear by it), I've decided to quicken the album recording process by attempting to record the bass at home as opposed to our "studio" (which is a windows media center computer with an Edirol FA-101 and a PodXT with some tubescreamers and the sorts).

My question is, is it possible to record from the sansamp directly into my home PC? And another question is after recording through the sansamp (through the edirol or not) should I then further re-amp the tone of it or add any impulses to the sound? I'm going for a killswitch engage style bass tone, but I want to be using Ampeg style sounds. I downloaded the Ampeg impulses just in case.

Thanks in advance,

Jay Chow, The Institution

 

[deLuther]

Impulses can`t give overdrive or distortion - only EQ and accustics.

 

[obscura1560]

Yeah that's what I'm asking, is it worth using impulses or just using the sansamp to do the EQ after re-amping.

 

[AStacy2]

I'm pretty sure Sansamps already have some sort of speaker emulation on them when you use them so there wouldn't be a need for another impulse...unless it sounded good, in which case you should do it.

 

[everybody's x]

you can leave it off and use it as a direct box if that's what you want to know.

 

[obscura1560]

I think Hex answered my question, thanks. One more thing, I've looked at the websites and I'm guessing you need a mixing desk or a firewire box to put it through a PC, but would using an XLR to USB converter let me record stuff directly from the Sansamp to the PC? I presume not, but if it means not having to fork out another £250 for home-recording

 

[AStacy2]

I have seen those Lightsnake XLR to USB cables but I've never used them. I think there like $80 though. For a little bit more you could get a cheap firewire interface too.

 

[obscura1560]

Yeah I was thinking of buying one of them, £35 on eBay, which is close to the $80 you say. Recommend me a cheap firewire interface? Keep in mind that all I'll be using it for is the bass with the sansamp, no guitars or anything. So it only really has to have one XLR input/lead input. At least 4 channels like, for the re-amping (if that happens).

I was looking a Behringer but I don't trust anything that starts with Behr as far as I can throw it. I saw an Eridol FA-66 for £169, I might buy that.

 

[sparkyness]

The Edirol stuff is generally ok and that unit should be more than enough to get you started.

My first interface was an Edirol UA-5 and I still have it stuffed in a box somewhere. I made some good demos with that thing back in the day.

 

[obscura1560]

Alright cheers, my band have been producing some good stuff with it and I just want to quicken the process by recording my parts in my own time (our songs add up to about 40 tracks, that's probably more production than Fear Factory).