Set up and record with Line 6 Toneport Ux1 and Ableton
Sorry for the quality of the videos, I did these a while ago but thought they would be useful for you to check out.
Line 6 Toneport Ux1 Review
Line 6 Toneport Ux1
Line 6 Toneport Ux1
Price paid: £68
The Line 6 Toneport Ux1 is a USB interface that works with both PC and MAC, it allows you to record guitar, midi and vocals to your computer in a few easy steps. This is a great way into home recording and at a price which isnt going to break the bank.
The package comes with all you need to get recording straight away and I have used it with Ableton (included), Garageband and Pro Studio 9.
Connections
It connects to your computer via USB and offers XLR, Instrument Inputs and Headphones and Line Outputs. I will mention that you cant listen to the audio through your computer speakers, only monitor speakers or headphones.
In Use
Once setup and working (look for a green light on top) you can starting straight away. You can either use the included Gearbox software (doesnt currently work on Snow Leopard) or just use it as a way of interfacing your instruments to your computer. The only controls you have on the unit itself are volume and MIC gain so all the controls are on your computer.
Overall
This unit is perfect for someone who wants to start recording music at home, easy to setup and comes with all you need and at a price that can be justified.
G | H rating 5/5
Recording Guitar
Its pretty daunting when you start to think about recording your guitar, there is so much advice and equipment its hard to know what to concentrate. I wanted to share my experience of recording my EP so that it might help others achieve the same pleasure as I have.
I have recorded on both PC and MAC, through trial and error (and google!) I have now found a method that works for me and ones that I suggest any new starter tries out. This post describes both methods (sorry its a little long).
PC Method
- DELL PC
- 1 GB RAM
- Ableton Lite
- Line 6 Toneport UX1
This was my first method for recording, which meant purchasing a USB interface. I went for the LINE 6 TONEPORT UX1, which I got from GAK for £60.
Bundled with this you get Ableton and Gearbox, which is all you need to get started.
I plugged in the instrument cable, fired up Gearbox and off I went. I was impressed with Gearbox, which comes with a wide range of effects out of the box and with the added online feature so you can download your favourite artist patches its a steal at £60.
Once you are happy with your sound, fire up Ableton and start recording. This package isn't as intuitive as something like Garageband but also not too complicated to make you switch it off, within 5 minutes I had recorded a little sample for testing.
Now comes to the point where the PC method falls over for me, file conversion! I had to download an mp3 converter to get my test sample into a format I could use with iTunes, which added a step that I have always found to be a pain in the backside on PC's.
If you are PC user who doesn't mind tinkering then this will be ok for you.
Mac Method
- Macbook (white)
- 4 GB RAM
- Line 6 Toneport UX1
- Garageband
Connecting up the Toneport and using Gearbox is the same process here, the difference comes in the ease of use and compatibility between programs makes this my preferred method.
If you want to get serious recording music then I would suggest upgrading the RAM and Hard Drive, took me 20 minutes to do both and cost under £100 to do both. If you have lots of tracks on your mix you might find you are getting memory errors, which I encountered when recording over 5 tracks.
The beauty in this setup is that with iLife you have total integration so that you can share tracks between Garageband, iTunes and iMovie really easily. Once I had started recording guitar I went onto use the iSight built in camera to do the unboxing and review videos you see today on my YouTube channel.
Summary
There are pros and cons of both methods but if you want it to be straight forward go with the MAC, if you have a PC and dont mind messing around with file types then you will be fine with the PC method.
GOOD LUCK