equipment needed for recording on an iMac.

Greetings,

Even though I do not post often this is the place I go to find out real answers and I thank you all for that. My question tonight is that I purchased a new iMac desktop with making music one of my main priorities. I'm just making the change from analog to digital and am starting with garageband. I think this will at least get me started. What do I need to record voice, guitar, keyboards and bass into the iMac? I know this is probably a very easy question but I would like to hear your ideas. Simple to extreme I like to hear it all but would like to know how to get started off simple. I've already put together some music on garageband but don't know how to implement my own playing into the computer and into the song. Thanks so much for your help in any way.

Markus

First question: Do you need to record those instruments simultaneously (i.e., a band context), or are you overdubbing?

Second question: What's your budget?

Actually, it's a very complex question. It would help to know how you were recording previously. "Analog" isn't enough of a description. What did you record? What equipment were you using and do you still have it or did you sell everything to buy the Mac? (some people do that). Do you own a microphone, and if so what kind? Do you need to record a whole band together or is your plan to build up a song one part at a time?

Simple is plugging a single mic and headphones into the jacks on your computer. Extreme is buying a $150,000 console, $50,000 worth of mics, cables, speakers, software, and spend thousands of dollars on a building to use for recording. I suspect that you're closer to the low end of the scale, and there are many answers including going to your local music store and saying "What do I need to record my voice, guitar, and keyboards at home with my Mac? I have $100 to spend." Or $500, or $2,500. (don't spend more than that your first round).

Gus, did you fall into a space temporal vortex and woke up in 2005 this morning? GarageBand has had the ability to record 8 tracks for a looong while

Actually, GarageBand is a fantastic product. I am amazed they offer it for free with the OS. It has everything one needs to create songs, and it sounds... well, it sounds great.

I have a Mac Mini with Apogee Duet2 (two tracks at the time only and four tracks out) and that works well. Like Craig said, though... if you need to record- say - a drum kit with several microphones... you'll need an interface with more channels. There are many choices and again, depends on the budget... for example, I have another slightly more expensive setup with M-Audio Profire2626 which also sounds good and offers 8 tracks at the same time (actually, 26 - but to get to 26 tracks you have to get some external equipment - for everyday use, it's an 8 track box), and a more expensive SSL Alpha Link setup which sounds great and gives 24 channels at the same time or even more, goes up to 64, depending on configuration), should I ever need them (I haven't, so far, needed 24 inputs at the same time, but use the 24 outputs for mixing "OTB" to a 24-channel mixer)

Gus sums it up pretty well, since you didn't mention drums, and assuming you're planning to record one track at a time (which is what most of us do, most of the time).

Almost any audio interface (a.k.a. "soundcard") will do, and as Gus said, you'll want one with built-in mic preamps (which most 2x2's have). 2x2 just means two inputs by two outputs. There are a lot of excellent contenders here in the range under $150. The quality difference in the converters is minimal since most of them are far more transparent than any analog gear of yesteryear, and certainly more transparent than speakers or other items in the audio chain. (No doubt I'll get slammed for this.)

When figuring out where to put your money, if you have more than enough to cover the cheapest monitors and the cheapest decent audio interface, put any extra money into the monitors. The extra money there will be very clearly audible, whereas it won't with dumping more money into the soundcard: you'll convince yourself the more expensive one sounds better, but in a double-blind test you won't be able to tell.

You can't mix what you can't hear, so get the best monitors you can afford.

You'll also need microphones, which is a huge subject. Start by telling us what mics you already have and how you use them. If you have any of your mixes posted online, point us to them.

I often like to point out what I believe is the rough order of importance in getting a good result, from most important to least important:

1 - composition, performance, arrangement. Need I say more?

2 - instruments: what's the point of spending $1000 on a soundcard to record a crappy guitar that won't intonate?

3 - recording engineering -- not too hard to do well, but easy to screw up. Good engineering can go a long way to compensate for weaknesses in the items below.

4 - monitors: you can't mix what you can't hear

5 - microphones & mic preamps: get a good signal. Note that there are great inexpensive mics & preamps.

6 - software (DAW & plugins): any DAW can sound good, but if the workflow doesn't suit you, it's tedious. Decent plugins are necessary, great ones are a joy. GB is remarkably good; you're set here, though you'll be on the lookout for more good plugins.

7 - audio interface: this really does belong on the bottom of the list, assuming it's decent.

Of course, you'll only be sinking money into items 2, 4, 5 and 7, but look at them as a whole rather than focusing too much on any one of them.

As a very smart guy once said, "Anyone who can't make a good recording with a stick mic and a soundblaster probably can't make a good recording with anything." And of the two, I'd upgrade the mic first.

The cheapest audio interface you can find is the iMic (I think that's what it was called) -- around $20 for a tiny unit that allows you to connect a cheap mic or line inputs. Test results show this is actually worse than many line inputs built into many laptops, and is below the line for "decent" (as are the mic inputs on computers & laptops). On the other hand, just about anything made by M-Audio, Eiderol, TASCAM, MOTU, PreSonus, Roland, Yamaha, or Alesis is decent. No doubt there are a number of brands I missed. For example, M-Audio Mobile Pre, or TASCAM US122. I see we now have a number under $100 even; I bet most of them are quite good.

I suggest USB rather than Firewire, since Firewire seems to be fading out.

PS: If you use acoustic guitar, record it with a mic, not a built-in preamp. With a very small number of exceptions, recording the preamp will make you sound amateurish and even worse, it'll sound like a guitar pickup. It's a lot more trouble, but worth it. (Recording both mic and pickup is a very useful technique.)

Hit Best Buy or damn near any electronics place and buy an M-audio usb recording interface withb2 lo z ins, an instrumet in, and start playing. If you get into it, you'll prolly upgrade later. It seems you are look for a simple starting point. The m-audio inter face at about $100 is the place to start. Also, I owned an irig for about a day..it screamed of falling apart quickly.

Damn fat fingers and iPad typing!

I don't know about Best Buy's prices on music gear -- I haven't been in one since they started selling it -- but their prices on some other items is unconscionable, like, for instance, selling USB cables they can buy in bulk for around 50 cents each for $22 up. Maybe the big items will be competitively priced -- but they will likely rip a big hole in your backside selling you overpriced accessories.

That's a fact Jack! And not only for music accessories. I went into a BB looking for a simple 10' to 12' cross over cable. $40.00. I ended up going to a little computer shop and they made one up on the spot for $7.00.

Don't Macs have mic input and headphone output jacks any more? Sure, I know, this isn't likely to be the highest fidelity arrangement, but when you're learning, you need to first learn how to do and not worry about submitting your early works for Grammy nomination for best recorded album.

You're all suggesting "second step" things when we don't have a clue as to what this guy wants to do, why he wants to do it, and how much mney he wants to spend (or not). I say he should start simple until he learns his software and its capabilities, then ask how to take the next step.

Well, the guy asked "Simple to extreme I like to hear it all but would like to know how to get started off simple."

He also asked "What do I need to record voice, guitar, keyboards and bass into the iMac?"

It is true that - like you're saying - you can get a 1/4" to 1/8" cable and simply use the built-in audio input on the computer, but it's a bit of an inadequate solution when the OP wants to "make music one of his main priorities".

In particular, at least a basic 2-channel, external audio interface will be needed if he wants to records microphones that have XLR jacks, not 1/4", and also dedicated audio interfaces often have decent quality preamps with XLR inputs besides 1/4" jacks, and hi-z inputs for guitar/bass as well. With the standard 1/8" you have to purchase an additional mixer to get those capabilities, and frankly at that point you might as well get a proper audio interface -

If all you want to do is to use the soft synths built-in GarageBand, the on-board 1/8" audio jack on a computer will be fine - but the moment you want to start incorporating external instruments like microphones, bass, guitars etc, at least a basic 2-channel interface is a must-have imho.

He also said " your ideas. Simple to extreme I like to hear it all but would like to know how to get started off simple." See above for about as simple as it gets.

MY version only allows me to record one at once and I have OS X LION   It's obvious I do not use it frequently, though. I only use it when I need a "fast piano" sound. Open it and voil

I have a quad i7 iMac in my studio and I use a Firestudio Mobile or Apogee Duet. I need only 2 inputs at once here so it's fine. I would look at the Duet or Duet II and RME stuff. I hear the Focusrite Saffire stuff is cool too. Higher end/more I/O is a different story. The new Avid MBox Pro has gotten KILLER reviews as well.

1. I don't have enough information on what the guy has, so I'm coming up with the simplest solution to get him going.

2. I previously suggested he use one of his mini-mixers, which would enable him to use XLR or guitar or bass and input it, which works quite well and is as simple as you can get

3. Obviously, I use an audio interface and feel that is superior, but since we have no idea what the guy is trying to do, to get his feet wet, my method is the simplest to get him going. It is also admittedly a stop-gap measure because it has poorer fidelity than a decent audio interface, but again, lacking information and him wanting to get started simply, this is as simple as it gets.

We won't know more until he chimes in and says what he really wants and already has.

May we please hear something more specific from Musichead lest this discussion tail off into what's simple (I haven't seen anything extreme yet other than my original post about $150,000 consoles). You'll get more useful answers if you explain what you want to do, what you already have in the way of recording equipment that you can use with the Mac and Garage Band, and what you really mean by "making music one of my main priorities." Do you mean that music was high on the list of priorities that led you to buying a Mac, or that you're going to quit your day job and study music and recording?

I agree with Ken. If your computer has line inputs and you have a mixer, definitely give that a try. To do it, you'd need some adaptors. I use a RCA-to-1/8" stereo cable (make sure it's TRS and not TS -- RS doesn't label their cables clearly) and a pair of 1/4" to RCA adaptor plugs.

As Paolo points out, it's not the "simplest", it's just the way to get started with buying the least amount of new gear. Plus I find the adaptor cable comes in handy a lot. I one to plug an iPod into the mixer at practice, for example.

However, the mic inputs on most computers aren't really up to the task of recording music. Sure no harm in giving it a try, but don't expect good sound. They're engineered for voice, not music.

The biggest limitation of built-in soundcards is that they record in 16 bits. The biggest problem with this isn't sound quality per se -- IMHO, if you record and peak within 6 dB of full scale on 16 bits, nobody would be able to tell that track (or a whole mix of them) from a track recorded at 24 bits. The issue is that to get a good recording in 16 bits, you really have to make sure you have the gain set perfectly for the performance so that you do peak at less than 6dB from full scale, without any clipping. On a 24-bit card, the digital end has plenty of headroom. If you keep the analog gear in the green and peak anywhere within say 24dB of full scale, you have a good take. This makes a huge difference in convenience, not to mention being able to keep good takes that didn't hit the "sweet spot" on the digital meters. Of course, this is all a bit beyond the scope of the course here.

Rocking an iMac here with an Apogee Duet 2. Simple setup and very efficient. Use REASON for all my MIDI and DP as my DAW and Waves plugs. Have several key outboard pieces and thats about it. I used to do bands but now its all one track at a time and if I do need something larger, I record at another studio.

Hi Anderton,

Just getting back to my computer from the other night. We were talking about recording on my iMac. No I don't need to record instruments simultaneously I'm just going to lay down some backing rhythm tracks, lead guitar and vocal using the drums and effects on the program to start off with. By the way...I bought a recording book some time ago written by a man with the last name Anderton....would that be you?

Thanks for getting back to me.

Markus

That's him. I've got three of the "for musicians" books on the shelf behind me as I type.

Hi MikeRivers,

Thanks for the adding your thoughts and the great info. My analog set up is very basic using a TEAC A2430SX 4 track R2R, another TEAC R2R and an Akai GX-625 to bounce tracks and eventually send my mix down to before I have it mastered. I use a TEAC Model 2A & Model 2 mixers with a Boss "Dr. Rhythm" BR-880, a Lexicon MPX Dual Channel Processor. I use a Strat & Tele, through a 60's Fender Twin Reverb or a little old Fender Vibro Champ (which is killer), a Martin D-28, Ovation 12 string and various other stringed instruments, a B3 Hammond and Leslie, piano and an assortment of other stuff. I use an old Electro-Voice V2 ribbon, an old Shure Unidyne 55s and a few Shure SM57s & 58s. I always had others record my music and now that I'm about 60 I decide to learn myself. The 4 track is just to small. I thought about the TEAC model 3 8 track but I think I'll try the digital way first. That way I can learn to use analog and digital together. I am not going to spend to much on the digital recording until I get the hang of it. I bought a Tascam US-122L audio/midi interface which has the Cubase LE download CD. I really haven't tried it yet and I know nothing about midi but will be reading up about it and asking questions from those that know. I just wanted to get to know what other people would use. Again, thanks for listening and hope to talk to you again.

Markus