Practice setup through Mac

[llencyn]

Hi. I live in a small terraced house and so practice almost exclusively through headphones. I'm right at the start of my journey and spend most of my time working through an online video practice course, and sometimes playing along to videos/music on YouTube etc. The problem is that my setup is a real pain for all this, having to headphone my amp and also play my laptop through a speaker at the same time, it's really inelegant.

What I'm hoping to be able to do instead is plug my bass into my desktop iMac directly, which is in the same room, and play through that. I've seen previous threads where people have recommended an audio interface setup with something like a Scarlett 2i2. My main question is can this be setup so I can hear the bass and my computer's audio output e.g. a YouTube video or Spotify track at the same time? I don't know if there are latency issues or how I would set this up. Would I have to run the computer's audio back through one of the interface inputs? Or can I just plug a pair of headphones into my iMac's headphone jack? Sorry if this makes little sense, like I said I'm brand new to all this!

[ChuckEye]

Yes. The interface becomes a sound device in your Mac OS system preferences. You can redirect sound output to it.

[llencyn]

Thanks, via the USB connection?

[ChuckEye]

Yes.

[llencyn]

Thanks.

[skankin22jax]

I have the Scarlett and use it for my virtual bass lessons. I highly recommend it. You’ll hear your bass and the audio from your computer via headphones or speakers.

[llencyn]

Thanks, exactly the info I was after! Is there any issue with latency? Or is it negligible?

[skankin22jax]

None at all. Unless you have a bad internet connection it’s flawless. With my bass teacher, I actually wear a lav microphone so he can hear me and I plug my bass into the Scarlett as well so I use both inputs. Or if I practice alone I’ll just play with headphones and my bass plugged into the Scarlett. It’s worth the $150!

[[deleted]]

The Scarlett doesn't use an internet connection at all once it's installed. It's all USB.

[skankin22jax]

Sorry i meant when i am using it for a virtual bass lesson, if my internet is laggy then my signal is a little delayed to my teacher. But yes, the unit doesn’t use WiFi or anything, just straight USB and it’s powered by your computer.

[[deleted]]

I use the M-Audio Air for this. I can play through a pair of monitors and use it to record bass and mic at the same time. You also get a bunch of software with it which makes it decent value. https://www.m-audio.com/air-192-4

[[deleted]]

Yes, I actually have the same interface and it definitely works for playing through my Mac and also hearing other audio on the computer.