Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Input Electronic Guitar sound to New 13' MBP??

KeeeeenW

KeeeeenW

macrumors member
Original poster
May 19, 2009
66
2
New 13'MBP does not have the mic port, what's the best way to input a Electronic Guitar sound via cable in MBP???

Plus,I just I want to record my guitar for fun, and I want to record it in a better quality than just use the build-in mic in MBP


I found a stuff called Behringer Guitar-to-USB Interface UCG102 on Amazon which is cheap enough I can afford.
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCG102-Guitar-to-USB-Interface/dp/B000PAPO9W/ref=pd_cp_MI_2

Is that a worth thing to buy??
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
KeeeeenW said:
what's the best way to input a Electronic Guitar sound via cable in MBP???
Click to expand...

Best way? In to a Macbook Pro? That's subjective, but since you asked...

I would get a Gibson 335 with a simple signal chain of:

- Demeter Compulator, a Keeley Baked Ibanez TS-9 and a stock MXR Phase 90 into a Fender Twin Reverb.

- Sennheiser MD421mkII (on axis)

- Neve 1073 Preamp

- Apogee A/D

- digidesign 003 Rack (bypassing the digidesign A/D by going into one of the digital inputs)

- Pro Tools LE 8

I hope that helps.
 
getz76 said:
Best way? In to a Macbook Pro? That's subjective, but since you asked...

I would get a Gibson 335 with a simple signal chain of:

- Demeter Compulator, a Keeley Baked Ibanez TS-9 and a stock MXR Phase 90 into a Fender Twin Reverb.

- Sennheiser MD421mkII (on axis)

- Neve 1073 Preamp

- Apogee A/D

- digidesign 003 Rack (bypassing the digidesign A/D by going into one of the digital inputs)

- Pro Tools LE 8

I hope that helps.
Click to expand...


Thank you... That seems a lot hard :)
 
tempusfugit said:
get a midi interface

i use a tascam and it works seemlessly with garageband (no need to get pro tools, way too much $)
Click to expand...



use the Firewire port for the midi interface??? Which brand is worth to buy?? I do not require the professional sound quality, I just want the one that can do it.
 
KeeeeenW said:
use the Firewire port for the midi interface??? Which brand is worth to buy?? I do not require the professional sound quality, I just want the one that can do it.
Click to expand...

I record a lot on my MBP (classic). I use a combination of recording methods, so I will tell you them all.

-Use the Mic on your MBP. Now, it isnt very good, so don't expect excellent quality. You can use Garageband, which is the easiest for crappy recordings

-Use the Line In like you suggested. What I would do for this is run from your amp a cable to the line in. For instance, I have a Gallien Krueger bass head, so I plug my Line In cable into the Send input on my head and from there into my computer. I would use this way for quick, good quality recordings. If you are looking for better quality, I would use the Line Out(mic jack) from your amp to an audio interface and/or pre-amp. For this, I usually use Logic Express, or Garageband.

-Plug your electric guitar directly into the Line In. Now, this method isnt very good because the quality is quite low, because your not using a head to adjust your settings. I would use this for rough electric guitar recordings.

-If you are using an acoustic guitar, or even electric, the best method would be to use a mic. I have 2 MXL mics, the cheap 990/992 ones. There are pretty good for what I do. For this, I aim for high quality recordings. For mics, your need a pre-amp. I have a very cheap, but very good pre-amp, the M-Audio Audio Buddy. It gets the job done. So I plug whatever it is into the pre-amp then into an audio interface. For the interface I use a Behringer FireWire interface. I then use Logic to record. This gives me the best resuslts.

Hope this helps.
 
noodle654 said:
I record a lot on my MBP (classic). I use a combination of recording methods, so I will tell you them all.

-Use the Mic on your MBP. Now, it isnt very good, so don't expect excellent quality. You can use Garageband, which is the easiest for crappy recordings

-Use the Line In like you suggested. What I would do for this is run from your amp a cable to the line in. For instance, I have a Gallien Krueger bass head, so I plug my Line In cable into the Send input on my head and from there into my computer. I would use this way for quick, good quality recordings. If you are looking for better quality, I would use the Line Out(mic jack) from your amp to an audio interface and/or pre-amp. For this, I usually use Logic Express, or Garageband.

-Plug your electric guitar directly into the Line In. Now, this method isnt very good because the quality is quite low, because your not using a head to adjust your settings. I would use this for rough electric guitar recordings.

-If you are using an acoustic guitar, or even electric, the best method would be to use a mic. I have 2 MXL mics, the cheap 990/992 ones. There are pretty good for what I do. For this, I aim for high quality recordings. For mics, your need a pre-amp. I have a very cheap, but very good pre-amp, the M-Audio Audio Buddy. It gets the job done. So I plug whatever it is into the pre-amp then into an audio interface. For the interface I use a Behringer FireWire interface. I then use Logic to record. This gives me the best resuslts.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


Thank you! I really appreciated! The new MBP 13-inch does not have a mic jack, it is really expensive for me to buy a head and good mic. I just I want to record my guitar for fun, and I want to record it in a better quality than just use the build-in mic in MBP, do you know some cheap way to do it??? Thank you very much!!! Plus, I just have Garageband
 
You could just stick a 1/4" to headphone jack adapter on the end of a guitar cable and plug it into the line input on the computer. However, due to impedance mismatches, it'll sound muffly and weak and noisy. Not ideal at all, but it'll work if you just want to mess around.

But otherwise, yeh, you need an audio interface.
 
What I recommend (what I actually use), is a 1/4 in jack to a 1/8 in. Plug the 1/8in (aka RCA cable, make sure it supports input), and plug the 1/4in cable from your guitar to this converter. Set the mic input to the headphone jack and fire up GarageBand. Select electric guitar, and turn the Amplifier Monitor on so you can hear yourself play through the speakers. Then add in any special effects you want, and rock out dude!
 
TXBDan said:
You could just stick a 1/4" to headphone jack adapter on the end of a guitar cable and plug it into the line input on the computer. However, due to impedance mismatches, it'll sound muffly and weak and noisy. Not ideal at all, but it'll work if you just want to mess around.

But otherwise, yeh, you need an audio interface.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I think I should try the cheap way first!
 
yah, dont listen to the rest of these fools. You said you like to just mess around and they are trying to get you to buy a recording rig setup. Just buy a 1/4 to 1/8th in adapter. Even a name brand gold plated one is less than $5 but you can get them for like $1 or less. Dont buy the wal-mart super cheapies, they are junk and short out and get loose easy.
 
mikes70mustang said:
yah, dont listen to the rest of these fools. You said you like to just mess around and they are trying to get you to buy a recording rig setup. Just buy a 1/4 to 1/8th in adapter. Even a name brand gold plated one is less than $5 but you can get them for like $1 or less. Dont buy the wal-mart super cheapies, they are junk and short out and get loose easy.
Click to expand...

I tried this when I first got my MB (that later was exchanged for a MBP) and I got about .75 seconds of lag in the signal, it was impossible to do anything.
 
Thank you guys! I still didn't figure out. Can I plug-in a mic(not the mic come with iPod Touch,I know that will work) in the new MBP 13-inch??? There is a single Audio out/input port.
 
TXBDan said:
You could just stick a 1/4" to headphone jack adapter on the end of a guitar cable and plug it into the line input on the computer. However, due to impedance mismatches, it'll sound muffly and weak and noisy. Not ideal at all, but it'll work if you just want to mess around.

But otherwise, yeh, you need an audio interface.
Click to expand...

That's also a good way to blow out your sound card/circuitry. Happened to my friend's desktop back in high school.
 
NewMacbookPlz said:
That's also a good way to blow out your sound card/circuitry. Happened to my friend's desktop back in high school.
Click to expand...

That should not happen unless there is already something busted (like a grounding issue).

However, the sound is going to be anemic, as already discussed.

Latency from the on-board sound is going to be an issue as well, also already discussed.

The input jack is not a microphone in, it is a line in. This is fine for voice/headset type microphones, but it is not enough to match a proper microphone for recording guitar. If you have an amplifier or a Line6 POD or similar, you should be able to use the line out and get a proper adapter to get your guitar sound into the Macbook Pro.

If you do care about the sound, from personal experience, I suggest a Pro Tools LE system. Since version 7.x, they have done wonders with the interface. 8.x is fabulous. The user community is great, the user base is immense, and digidesign's customer service is actually fabulous. The Mbox 2 Mini can be had in the US for under $100 used. By no means is Pro Tools perfect, but the pros outweigh the cons. Just my opinion.
 
getz76 said:
That should not happen unless there is already something busted (like a grounding issue).

However, the sound is going to be anemic, as already discussed.

Latency from the on-board sound is going to be an issue as well, also already discussed.

The input jack is not a microphone in, it is a line in. This is fine for voice/headset type microphones, but it is not enough to match a proper microphone for recording guitar. If you have an amplifier or a Line6 POD or similar, you should be able to use the line out and get a proper adapter to get your guitar sound into the Macbook Pro.

If you do care about the sound, from personal experience, I suggest a Pro Tools LE system. Since version 7.x, they have done wonders with the interface. 8.x is fabulous. The user community is great, the user base is immense, and digidesign's customer service is actually fabulous. The Mbox 2 Mini can be had in the US for under $100 used. By no means is Pro Tools perfect, but the pros outweigh the cons. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thank you!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back