"Hi. I'm looking to record my classical guitar and from what I've understood it small diaphragm condenser microphones are the way to go. They need phantom power though.
Can plugging them into the line-in or usb ports provide the phantom power? Or is the only way to do so through pre-amps?"
As a previous poster said, no phantom power on the Mac.
There _are_ devices out there that you can "insert" between a mic and the "mic input" on the Mac that would provide the phantom power, but considering what they cost, it's probably a far better solution to buy an audio interface and get the additional benefits from having one.
Since you're a classical player, I'm sure you have a good ear, so don't get a cheap one.
Important question: does your Mac have a firewire port? If you have firewire connectivity, I recommend that you shun USB-based interfaces and get a firewire-based interface. If all you have is USB, well, get what you need to get....
I use an Echo AudioFire8 (which is now discontinued). However, the Echo AudioFire4 looks to be very similar (just slightly fewer inputs). You won't go wrong with this one.
If you want to spend a bit more, I've heard very nice things about the Steinberg MR816x interface, which integrates seamlessly with their Cubase digital audio production software. Others in this forum will recommend Apple's "Logic" or "Logic Express", but I find Cubase a better program -- very easy to learn and use, and much better than Logic in terms of "editing capabilities".
Any interface will also work well with GarageBand, which is a good app to start out on.
Mics -- well that's a whole different area altogether!
You might also consider visiting gearslutz.com and seeing what other classical players have to say over there....
