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The best, most cost effective way of getting a guitar into GarageBand?
- Thread starter edesignuk
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bennetsaysargh
macrumors 68020
he can use the internal mic on the computer, or you can get the Monster Instrument Adapter
or one from radioshack for about $15 less. the problem i had was i got one of the cheaper ones, and it won't completely plug into my line in port in my FP iMac. the monster one should be higher quality though.
or one from radioshack for about $15 less. the problem i had was i got one of the cheaper ones, and it won't completely plug into my line in port in my FP iMac. the monster one should be higher quality though.
caveman_uk
Guest
spercharged69
macrumors 6502a
Guys there's NO reason to buy that Monster Cable over-priced piece of crap, go to Radio Shack or Best Buy and pick up a generic convertor for less than $5 🙂
(Unless you're one of those insane audiophile people who believe that the 2 inches of un-shielded cable will cause your entire sound quality to degrade to unspeakable levels. 😛 )
(Unless you're one of those insane audiophile people who believe that the 2 inches of un-shielded cable will cause your entire sound quality to degrade to unspeakable levels. 😛 )
spercharged69
macrumors 6502a
Even so, you should be able to find some store that you can buy just plain old cable convertors from for a fraction of the cost of that over-priced Monster crap. 🙂
Guitar adaptors
In the UK, Tandy or Dixons will sell most of these kind of things. I got an adaptor with a 1/4 inch jack input on one end and a stereo minijack on t'other.
But be careful - the connector on those little sockets can be very fragile. Much better to get a USB or Firewire interface. Lots more functionality.
Confession time: I've owned a Mac for six days - a second-hand G4 Dual Processor 450mhz/256 mb RAM, running OS X.1. I'm looking for a suitable interface and software for it at SoundExpo tomorrow.
Up to now, I've used a PC (hopeless for music) and a BR-8 digital 8-track (brilliant), but if this Mac can handle audio, sequencing, mixing and mastering, I can unload some gear and software and get some decent monitors.
Why's it all gone quiet?😀
In the UK, Tandy or Dixons will sell most of these kind of things. I got an adaptor with a 1/4 inch jack input on one end and a stereo minijack on t'other.
But be careful - the connector on those little sockets can be very fragile. Much better to get a USB or Firewire interface. Lots more functionality.
Confession time: I've owned a Mac for six days - a second-hand G4 Dual Processor 450mhz/256 mb RAM, running OS X.1. I'm looking for a suitable interface and software for it at SoundExpo tomorrow.
Up to now, I've used a PC (hopeless for music) and a BR-8 digital 8-track (brilliant), but if this Mac can handle audio, sequencing, mixing and mastering, I can unload some gear and software and get some decent monitors.
Why's it all gone quiet?😀
edesignuk --
What did you end up doing?
You have two separate questions. The most cost-effective way to get guitar into a Quicksilver is with an iMic ($35 in the U.S.) or something like it, unless your guitar player already has an effects processor that can send audio out over USB (like the Edirol UA-700 or the Line6 PODxt).
One step up in quality would be a more full-featured USB audio interface like the M-Audio MobilePre ($150 in the U.S.), which would handle more than one instrument and which also handles the better class of microphones that use XLR cabling.
Does anyone know why the GarageBand hardware compatibility list doesn't contain any of the many inexpensive PCI audio cards on the market?
There are upscale USB audio interfaces like the digidesign Mbox ($450) and the Edirol UA-700 ($450), and there are FireWire audio interfaces starting at $450 and going way up.
I've looked at osxaudio.com forum postings. There seem to be a lot of postings complaining about driver support and other deficiencies of the lower end FireWire interfaces; I noticed not many complaints about the Mark of the Unicorn 828mkII ($750) and digidesign products ($1200+).
It's hard for someone with no experience at all this to determine whether the more expensive options are worth the premium.
I'm curious about what you did and how you like the results.
Cheers,
Crikey
What did you end up doing?
You have two separate questions. The most cost-effective way to get guitar into a Quicksilver is with an iMic ($35 in the U.S.) or something like it, unless your guitar player already has an effects processor that can send audio out over USB (like the Edirol UA-700 or the Line6 PODxt).
One step up in quality would be a more full-featured USB audio interface like the M-Audio MobilePre ($150 in the U.S.), which would handle more than one instrument and which also handles the better class of microphones that use XLR cabling.
Does anyone know why the GarageBand hardware compatibility list doesn't contain any of the many inexpensive PCI audio cards on the market?
There are upscale USB audio interfaces like the digidesign Mbox ($450) and the Edirol UA-700 ($450), and there are FireWire audio interfaces starting at $450 and going way up.
I've looked at osxaudio.com forum postings. There seem to be a lot of postings complaining about driver support and other deficiencies of the lower end FireWire interfaces; I noticed not many complaints about the Mark of the Unicorn 828mkII ($750) and digidesign products ($1200+).
It's hard for someone with no experience at all this to determine whether the more expensive options are worth the premium.
I'm curious about what you did and how you like the results.
Cheers,
Crikey
The best and cheapest ways are a contradiction as you should know.
The best way is, use a line out from a rig consisting of a mesaboogie triaxis fed to a lexicon pcm 81 to a mesaboogie 2:90 to line in...
The cheapest way is to use mac's line in and an amp simulation in GB or a vst simulation via audio hijackpro
The best way is, use a line out from a rig consisting of a mesaboogie triaxis fed to a lexicon pcm 81 to a mesaboogie 2:90 to line in...
The cheapest way is to use mac's line in and an amp simulation in GB or a vst simulation via audio hijackpro
imic into GB?
Gang:
I've been trying imic into GB for a week now. At first I thought I was doing something wrong, I 've adjusted everything I know to adjust and read all the threads I can find... This sucks. There's hardly any volume. This can't be the solution people are recommendingcan it?
Is anybody really getting a good sound from an imic connection? If so, please tell me how!
Gang:
I've been trying imic into GB for a week now. At first I thought I was doing something wrong, I 've adjusted everything I know to adjust and read all the threads I can find... This sucks. There's hardly any volume. This can't be the solution people are recommendingcan it?
Is anybody really getting a good sound from an imic connection? If so, please tell me how!
spikymohawks
macrumors newbie
USB??? Try PCI
Listen if you have five thousand usb ports... hey sure why not just throw sum putty in the other ones for kicks... my point USB is flacky and with the mice and keyboards and what such you might not always have a usb port. So look for a PCI card. If you dont know what that is, its the card that goes right by your graphics one where you plug in you screen.
edesignuk said:
Listen if you have five thousand usb ports... hey sure why not just throw sum putty in the other ones for kicks... my point USB is flacky and with the mice and keyboards and what such you might not always have a usb port. So look for a PCI card. If you dont know what that is, its the card that goes right by your graphics one where you plug in you screen.
fingers
macrumors regular
R-Man said:
Sounds like you need a preamp of some soughts - a typical electrical guitar has a different impedance than what the imic or the built in line input was designed for. Get a DI box, a mini mixer or something similar to boost your signal and you should be able to get some decent results out of it.
I hope this helps.
This thread is 5 months old eh? Boy is my face red...
As I said in another post somewhere here, I bought the Edirol UA-20 for $179 from the Apple store and it works great. It has 1/4" stereo line in and MIDI in/out. As well as Optical and stereo RCA outs. Can't beat it...
As I said in another post somewhere here, I bought the Edirol UA-20 for $179 from the Apple store and it works great. It has 1/4" stereo line in and MIDI in/out. As well as Optical and stereo RCA outs. Can't beat it...
Sorry, R-man, I've used the iMic for a while and it really, actually works. I record deep bass and sparkling guitars. As you well know, you have to follow the instructions. Find the little brochure that accompanied iMic. Clamp onto it like a terrier.
Wan: me, too. For some time I've used a Boss BR-8 portable studio and a Boss DR-5 for drums and keyboards. Now I'm going to sell them because I've been spoiled by GB waveform editing and mastering.
This week I'm diving into midi controlling via a 25-key keyboard, the Oxygen 8. Hmm. Anyone using that one?
Wan: me, too. For some time I've used a Boss BR-8 portable studio and a Boss DR-5 for drums and keyboards. Now I'm going to sell them because I've been spoiled by GB waveform editing and mastering.
This week I'm diving into midi controlling via a 25-key keyboard, the Oxygen 8. Hmm. Anyone using that one?
I had heard bad things about the iMic so I didn't buy it. Plus I wanted an all-in-one box for my MIDI guitar.
I am in the same boat as you Triage, I haven't touched my Boss BR-8 since GB came out and I am going to slang it too.
I was so afraid to take the plunge into computer based recording until Apple made it easy for me. I still haven't figured out Cubase SX so I am staying with GB for a while.
🙂
I am in the same boat as you Triage, I haven't touched my Boss BR-8 since GB came out and I am going to slang it too.
I was so afraid to take the plunge into computer based recording until Apple made it easy for me. I still haven't figured out Cubase SX so I am staying with GB for a while.
🙂