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recording music on Mac
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You have a microphone located somewhere in one of the speaker grills, I wouldn't be able to tell you where since I don't know which macbook pro you are using.
Make sure the sound input in the system preferences is set to built-in microphone and not line it. Check the microphone volume as well, you should be able to record very easily.
Just curious what exactly you mean by "recording music"? Recording ambient sound in a bar with a performance? Singing into your computer? Creating a fully orchestrated song?
Other question: Do you WANT to use the internal mic to 'record music'? The quality won't be great. Do you have an external mic attached?
Answer trhe type of music you wish to record (the situation/set up) and whether or not you have a mic attached. From what you have stated you have a computer and Audacity and you want to 'record music'. We know nothing else about the situation to be able to offer suggestions and help.
Go to Settings and the Sound panel and make sure the mic you wish to use is chosen.
Also, I highly recommend GarageBand for music...that's what it is designed for with MIDI inputs and all sorts of loops and tools to create songs. It can also do voice recording as my wife uses it that way all the time to record interviews.
Other question: Do you WANT to use the internal mic to 'record music'? The quality won't be great. Do you have an external mic attached?
Answer trhe type of music you wish to record (the situation/set up) and whether or not you have a mic attached. From what you have stated you have a computer and Audacity and you want to 'record music'. We know nothing else about the situation to be able to offer suggestions and help.
Go to Settings and the Sound panel and make sure the mic you wish to use is chosen.
Also, I highly recommend GarageBand for music...that's what it is designed for with MIDI inputs and all sorts of loops and tools to create songs. It can also do voice recording as my wife uses it that way all the time to record interviews.
Agreed, Garageband is my personal favourite when it comes to home recording. I used to use things like Cubase LE but to be honest, they're a real ballache when all you want to do is get some music down onto a disk.
Internal microphone works ok for vocals, or if you're recording guitars, on most amps you'll find a headphone jack, which you can plug into the line-in on your notebook.
An example of something recorded in Garageband:
http://soundcloud.com/cameron-3-1/garageband-demo-4
Internal microphone works ok for vocals, or if you're recording guitars, on most amps you'll find a headphone jack, which you can plug into the line-in on your notebook.
An example of something recorded in Garageband:
http://soundcloud.com/cameron-3-1/garageband-demo-4
Im a cubase user. Audacity is free but really isn't for QUALITY recording. Garage band is pretty good too...cheaper.
great chugging metal riffs ya got there. just picked up an M-Audio Fast Track II 2 to use with garageband. i really know crapabout garageband but want to start using it for fun. seems a bit technical for me but ill give it a go.
indeed, garageband is a dumbed down version of Apple's Logic audio application. It can do more than just loops and softsynths. In fact, unless you are doing more advanced music production you would be hard pressed to need anything more than Garageband. Even then Logic Express is 90% of Logic minus a couple effects AUs and some sample/loop libraries.
Audacity is ok for simple wave editing and such, but it doesnt have realtime effects support. Meaning you cant turn on an EQ and turn the knobs. You have to turn on the EQ, set the knobs, then process the file to hear the result. Hello, 1998 wants their DAW program back!
Heck garageband is like $15.99 from the app store.
Audacity is ok for simple wave editing and such, but it doesnt have realtime effects support. Meaning you cant turn on an EQ and turn the knobs. You have to turn on the EQ, set the knobs, then process the file to hear the result. Hello, 1998 wants their DAW program back!
Heck garageband is like $15.99 from the app store.
As well it should be noted that nearly all the stuff Logic Pro has over Logic Express is ultimately not great. The reason you buy Logic Studio is for the other apps, which for a hobbyist has no real use (MainStage etc). Heck the only reason Im debating buying Logic Studio is because I get it for a massive discount. Anything GarageBand cant do you can generally find a free program to do if its specialised, or get a GarageBand add-in to do it.
I kind of like the Logic look better than Garageband. There are some AUs and such that come with Logic that are worth the $200 retail. Especially the stuff that you can do as far as beat matching, time stretching etc. Ultimately, Logic express at $200 is a great deal compared to Cubase, Sonar, Pro Tools. Logic Studio is cool but $300 cooler?! No way.
Though I am sure for some folks they can justify the price when compared to buying AUs/VSTs and sample libraries separately.
Me I am happy with stilwell audio AUs for EQ and dynamics and the stock stuff in Logic express for the rest.
Heck I have yet to hit a wall in Logic 8, so I havent even upgraded to 9.
Sorry to sort of hi jack this thread, but does anyone know of any good tutorials on logic express 8? Im looking to make the move from garageband to logic, I already have the program, but am at a loss as to what to do lol.
For recording internet radio to Audacity, this is probably your best bet.
Soundflower (freeware)
http://cycling74.com/products/soundflower/
I don't understand why you would want to "record" iTunes though? If you need the music, copy it from your music folder.
Thanks, Garageband is great because it can be as simple or as advanced as you need it.
My advice is just play with it, in my opinion that's the best way.
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Why do you want to record iTunes songs? You are aware that they are already stored on your hard drive?
Do this:
Go to Desktop.
Go to Macintosh HD (Or whatever you call your main hard drive)
Go to Users
Go to *Your username*
Go to Music
Go to iTunes
Go to iTunes Media
Go to Music
Find the artist
Find the song
There is the file. You don't need to "record" it.
I'm sorry if that seemed patronising, but if you're really asking what I think you're asking then the baby steps are necessary.
Do this:
Go to Desktop.
Go to Macintosh HD (Or whatever you call your main hard drive)
Go to Users
Go to *Your username*
Go to Music
Go to iTunes
Go to iTunes Media
Go to Music
Find the artist
Find the song
There is the file. You don't need to "record" it.
I'm sorry if that seemed patronising, but if you're really asking what I think you're asking then the baby steps are necessary.
Me personally, I just picked up the apple (peachpit press actually) book on Logic. Peachpits books usually err on the side of overexplaining so it's pretty good if you are new. I have already gone through several other DAWs so I knew what I was looking for as far as features and methods. As far as recording on a computer in general, well its a big field with lots of opinions. Check out gearslutz.com and tapeop.com for some good info on how to actually sound good. One thing you could try that helped me out a long time ago is this. Every day get on Logic and do something. Even if you only learn one tiny silly thing like how to make a loop or how to make a softsynth multiout it adds up over time. I spent a whole year writing a song every week in Logic until I had that program down pat.
One thing I wouldnt advise is to check out the apple.com forums for Logic. The folks that frequent that forum do not tolerate noobs very well and are more likely to tell you to read the PDF documentation of Logic than offer any useful advice!
There are some decent tutorials on youtube, but most of them are short (not very indepth) and style specific. EQ magazine and Electronic Musician as well as sound on sound all have frequent how-tos on Logic, as well as Sonar, Pro Tools and Cubase.
One thing I did when I was learning Sonar was to try and duplicate the tutorials for PT on Sonar!
Oh and for starters, if you want your tracks to sound good, watch your headroom. Make sure that no individual track in Logic is above -12dbfs (thats -12 decibels below full scale) and you should be good. This breathing space serves 2 purposes. First it allows the full signal you record to make it though unmolested. All the transients and bass frequency will be preserved. It also allows you to mix multiple tracks together without overloading the final output.
Also, Logic always wants to put a ton of effects on every channel. Turn these off! They clutter up the mix and make it hard to hear what each element is doing.
