Microphone/computer question

[scolfax]

I have a Shure SM57 mic that I want to use to record my guitar amp. If I get this cable: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XVM410 will I be able to plug it into the mic input of my MacBook Pro and record with Ableton Live or GarageBand without any latency?

 

I noticed that this cable has a stereo jack, which doesn't make sense to me since the mic isn't stereo. Will this be an issue? Is there another cable I should look at?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Citizen_Insane]

No, you'll want one like this:

 

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XVM305F/

 

Mics have a male end, so you'll want a cable that's female to 1/8" mono male.

 

FYI, going direct into your sound card probably won't sound that great without a preamp. The onboard amplifiers on your soundcard probably aren't designed to the same noise isolation specs as a decent preamp.

 

The stereo jack thing won't matter. You can select which channel you want to use in your recording program.

 

There will be latency in the input, there's always latency w/ digital gear, but the computer should take it into account when recording multiple tracks. However, you will not be able to hear yourself playing over the headphones to monitor yourself because the signal will be delayed.

 

Also, since I take it you're using a mac, check out http://ardour.org/. Great freeware program for multitrack recording.

[mister natural]

nah - sorry, you really don't want to do this . . . it might work but will sound like crap with un-playable latency

what you really need is an interface that takes the mic > mic pre > ASIO digital musical language > usb port on your Mac

then the ASIO output of the Garageband or LIVE > usb back to > the interface > your monitors or headphones - bingo : no latency and pure audio heaven

something like this (there are many other choices) will work beautifully
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MultiMix4USB/

best of luck

[CoqBelliqueux]

I don't see how he would get latency if he's putting a microphone in front of his amplifier. The Alesis is a good idea. You get a mixer for a little more money than a simple cable interface.

[brewgoodbeer]

You get latency from the conversion of analog to digital without the proper interface cards. Typically onboard computer devices are too slow for proper recording. You can make due, but for $80 the Alesis or any other interface is the way to go. The cord would work for a one-time pass for a podcast or something, but that is about all. If he wants that, I would get a blue snowflake or something of that nature for $50.

[CoqBelliqueux]

You get latency from the conversion of analog to digital without the proper interface cards. Typically onboard computer devices are too slow for proper recording.

What I'm saying is that if he's using the amp, he's going to hear it in real time, so latency is not an issue like when plugging a modeler direct into the PC.

[Citizen_Insane]

What I'm saying is that if he's using the amp, he's going to hear it in real time, so latency is not an issue like when plugging a modeler direct into the PC.

 

 

Yep, this. When your recording software plays back the track for you to record over top of it will compensate for the lag. You can run AISO4ALL as a free AISO driver which will allow your program to do this properly.

[JohnCub]

I run a similar setup but I have a small mixer between the mic and the line in on my computer. It works fine but I did have to perform latency correction in my recording program.

[scolfax]

No, you'll want one like this: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/XVM305F/ Mics have a male end, so you'll want a cable that's female to 1/8" mono male.

 

 

Thanks, I'll give this a try.

 

I tried the Alesis USB GuitarLink cable and the latency made it unusable. I have a Line6 TonePort GX which doesn't have latency problems, but for $10 I'd like to experiment without using USB.