[disarmwithasmile]

Hi,
This is my first post and first i wanted to thank ya'll for starting this site and for all of the people throwing in thier two cents. This has been extremely helpful to me so far as i am only beginning my recording journey. Im not really yet looking to record other bands and such but am mostly right now looking into recording my own stuff. I have come accross an issue with the bass. it sounds like crap lol. i am using a cheap ibanez bass with active pickups and i have limited funds. I tried going direct in using an emu1616 pci and im using cubase le. is there any way for me to get a good sound out going direct in? will i get a better sound by using an amp and a mic? if so then what amp would be a good choice for this considering i dont need anything for playing the bass live at any point? the bass tones that i really like the sound of as far as bands go are u2, the smashing pumpkins, etc. any amount of help is greatly appreciated and i know this is an ultra beginner question but i thought id ask for help rather than spend alot of cash with no results lol. thanks alot.
joe