MEhockey said:
Greeting fellow garage band-ers,
I am new to the mac world so this thread is great for to see how others are using garage band. Currently I am using a tascam 424 4 track as the preamp for my guitars and vocals, I connect the L/R out on the 424 to the stereo in on our new G5 iMac. It seams to work pretty well, though I have nothing to which to compare. Am I missing anything by not having a specific use pre-amp?
It all depends on dollars. Preamps will run from $100 to several thousand, with higher end computer interface/preams in the $600 - $1100 range, depending on number of inputs and features. I started out with the 424, and although it's an OK Cassette multitracker, the preamps aren't anything to write home about.
Reasons you would upgrade to a dedicated preamp:
The conversion will be quieter than the 16 bit A/D convertors built into the Mac because you'd bypass them and go direct in by USB or FW
The preamps would be cleaner than the 424,
A preamp that is one step up from the entry level will have a balanced XLR input for the microphone, for less interference, and 48V phantom power for better mics that require it,
A decent preamp will alsohave a hi-impedence input or switch for plugging in the guitar. An electric guitar sounds dinky plugged straight into a mic input like the 424's,
A higher end preamp could also include EQ, compression and/or effects such as a tube stage or guitar-based distortion and cabinet simulation,
You can use an outboard preamp with a laptop mac or Mini that may lack an audio input.
Edirol makes a line of interfaces, as do M-Audio, Steinberg, Digidesign and others, the Edirol UA 700 at about US$600 has a good mix of vocal and guitar effects and takes the plkace of a small mixer for solo recording.
I've got a Digidesign Digi002 Rack 4 channel Firewire interface, and someday soon when I'm not working 14/7 I'm going to hook up the Tascam 424 and port over all my 20 year old tracks from cassette.
Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
