Hthomas Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Anyone? Was hoping someone could explain what stuff I needed to record straight into the mac using the preset amps? Wat about recording with my amp? What all do I need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Ah, yes. Another Mac user. The newest Garage Band is pretty sweet and it is what I am using for my current project (it's a one off song for a The Seeds/Sky Saxton tribute album). Have not mixed down yet and cannot wait to see what is possible. The great thing about Macs is that you don't have to buy a sound card. Just get yourself a mixer of some type. When mine is not available I use my old cassette 4trk for it. Your signal chain will be - Guitar into amp - Mic the amp - plug the mic into your mixer - run the out from your mixer into the input on your Mac. Most likely it will be phono plugs out of the mixer into the mini (1/8 inch) jack on your Mac Note: You will need to go into Garage Band preferences and change the input from the built in mic. It will ask if you want to change the drivers and just click yes or OK (forgot what it was). This setup will work great for home recording. You can get pretty fancy with lotsa outboard gear like compressors and tube preamps that will exist between the Mic and mixer. A nice tube preamp can replace the mixer if you have the correct cables. Make sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 - Guitar into amp - Mic the amp - plug the mic into your mixer - run the out from your mixer into the input on your Mac. Most likely it will be phono plugs out of the mixer into the mini (1/8 inch) jack on your Mac That only works if you have a powered line out of the mixer. The audio input (since it is also an optical audio port) is passive. I recommend a USB or FireWire preamp. I have one by ART with two universal inputs (1/4" or XLR) that I like quite a bit. That would let you record the guitar direct (as I usually do) or plug in a mic. The model I have can be bought for about $80. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hthomas Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 Alright cool. Makes sense. I need to get an interface then. I haven't gotten the mac yet but hopefully soon. Evol, is GarageBand hard to use or figure out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Alright cool. Makes sense. I need to get an interface then. I haven't gotten the mac yet but hopefully soon. Evol' date=' is GarageBand hard to use or figure out? [/quote'] If you have basic knowledge of multi track recording and non linear editing it is a piece of cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 That only works if you have a powered line out of the mixer. The audio input (since it is also an optical audio port) is passive. What mixers do not have line level outputs? Hell, my little 4 channel Behringer mixer has that. And the audio input jack on a Mac is not optical, it's all analog. Takes an 1/8" cable. I will agree that upgrading to a USB or FireWire device would give you more flexibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hthomas Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 Well I'm new to all of this haha. Will a tutorial help? I'm sure just messing with or and practicing will help. All I plan to do is record myself playing guitar. I prolly won't use morre than 1 or 2 tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hthomas Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 Well I'm new to all of this haha. Will a tutorial help? I'm sure just messing with or and practicing will help. All I plan to do is record myself playing guitar. I prolly won't use morre than 1 or 2 tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 i have the guitar rig session interface. i recently figured out how to use it (a little bit). i used the guitarrig amp presets in the garageband to record this: http://www.myspace.com/streetcornerpharmacist not bad for one take while watching women's downhill skiing. doesnt sound half bad either imo. but so far, when i try to mic my amp, it sounds like ***. i am still working on it. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I found out yesterday from a reliable source that The Edge (U2) records all of his demo tracks on GarageBand. I love it, was recording directly this morning. It's great when you understand what to do. This is a good post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 but so far' date=' when i try to mic my amp, it sounds like ***. i am still working on it. [biggrin'] Just some general advice for everyone, outside of having a great sounding source, the mic you use is the most important piece of equipment in your signal chain. An SM57 or SM58 is good and is great for home recording, but an MD421 will take you to the next level and give your recordings that little extra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 Actually there are a number of ways to do what you're looking to do, depending on a number of variables. Each will have its own proponents depending on hardware they have, or want to have, and the recording space they have - or want to have. <grin> For me, it works rather well to plug a mike and the guitar into an acoustic amp designed to take both, and then run the line out into a USB converter and thence into the computer and a recording program. That takes away microphone variables for the amp, need for a preamp for the mike, and maintains a degree of consistency regardless. It's probably not the "best" way, but it works quite well for practice purposes at a minimum. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 I like Garageband, I need to start doing more on it though. What I am going to do, is get the VOX Tonelab ST and use the USB line in, go from guitar-->VOX-->MAC. That should work out pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 What mixers do not have line level outputs? Hell' date=' my little 4 channel Behringer mixer has that. And the audio input jack on a Mac is not optical, it's all analog. Takes an 1/8" cable. I will agree that upgrading to a USB or FireWire device would give you more flexibility. [/quote'] Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack) That, or something very similar, is included in the specs for the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini. The Mac Pro has dedicated, separate optical and analog inputs, and the MacBook only has optical output. The MacBook Air has no optical audio at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 New Mac user here. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witmer Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 If you want to use the modeled amps that come with GarageBand 9, all you need is a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter. Plug your guitar in, and plug the adapter into the computer. Like they said, you'll have to change the input settings but that's not hard. Oddly, I sometimes have to re-start mine in order to get it to realize that input settings have changed. Yeah, the amp/mixer/usb thing works, but all you have to have is your guitar, cable and adapter. I recorded two out of the three guitar tracks on this demo (www.witmerandanastasi.com) that way. For the lead track (comes in at the end) I ran directly out of my BOSS multi-effects unit, with built in amp & cab models. I love my mesa, but with a new baby in the house, I'm not going to be running it at recording volumes any time soon. =) EDIT: Oh, wait. I forgot. This is the first demo version. The lead track is also a GarageBand amp model. The newer cuts are still on my home computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witmer Posted February 25, 2010 Share Posted February 25, 2010 Alright cool. Makes sense. I need to get an interface then. I haven't gotten the mac yet but hopefully soon. Evol' date=' is GarageBand hard to use or figure out? [/quote'] Also, take the time to watch the tutorials/demos on their website. Get through those, and I don't think you'll have a lick of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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