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HOW-TO: Turn your Mac mini into a low-cost recording studio
posted Feb 8th 2005 1:01PM So we know that everybody, their sister and their cousin, too are working on how to use the Mac mini in a home theater setup (we are not immune!). But better yet - one thing you can just never teach your TiVo is how to be a music production station. Gone are the days of needing hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up a studio to produce your own tracks; a decent digital audio workstation can now be set up for comparatively ridiculously low cost.
Today we'll talk about yet another of the many tasks you could devote your Mac mini to: the home recording studio. Would-be bedroom producers gather 'round and we'll talk about some of the essentials you'll need, plus how to get started recording and mixing tracks.
Keep in mind that, much like the Mac mini media center how-to, there is more than one way to skin a mini. You don't have to duplicate our setup. You can pick and choose among some of the components we cover here, or search for others that fit your particular needs. What gear you ultimately decide on depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is how much you can afford to spend: what style of music you primarily make, how many instrumentalists you need to record (if any), the size of your room, and so forth. This article is here to help get you started!
The essentials: your basic gear list
- Audio recording software
- Audio interface
- Microphone(s)
- Instruments
- Cables
- Monitoring device
1. Audio recording software
We're going to go with the obvious and free choice, here: GarageBand, which comes with the iLife '05 suite on the mini. Version 2 supports multi-tracking up to eight tracks, which should be enough to get you started recording. We'll talk later about other options in this department, for when you're ready for the next level.
2. The audio interface
This is the very heart of your home studio. It is the piece of kit you should spend the most time thinking about and researching, and for small setups is most likely what you'll shell out the most dough for. Your options here run the gamut from el-cheapo to DAWs so bling we'd have to post them on Luxist before we could even link to them.
The most basic route here would be a simple line-in interface like the $40 iMic from Griffin. If you will only ever need to record one audio source at a time - one person speaking for a Podcast, or converting your old records to MP3s, e.g. - this could very well be all you need. It plugs into a USB port on your mini and acts as a breakout cable allowing you to plug-in a mic (1/8" jack provided) or a line-in (RCA jacks provided). It has a line out as well, so if you have an all-in-one headphone/mic headset, you can use it to record speech or vocals and listen back. If you really just want to play around with GarageBand, and you're looking for dirt cheap, this is it.
The quality won't be all that and a bucket of chicken, but it won't be absolutely terrible, either. It'll be enough to have fun with.
Or, if you're a DJ and just want to record the output from your turntables, this solution is not a bad option for a low-cost practice studio. You already have a mixer, so you can mix in a vocal track or other line-in source like a CD player or MP3 player, as well. Just take the output from your mixer:
And direct it to the iMic using an RCA-RCA cable:
...and you have a $40 DAW. You can record a mix into a GarageBand stereo track and export it straight into iTunes in a time-saving jiffy.
If you're going to be doing any audio production that involves recording analog instruments (guitar, bass, etc.), or that requires multiple tracks, though, you need to look at a multi-channel USB or Firewire audio interface. There are many, many options here and again, what you get will be determined by what your needs are and what style of music you're making. If you need to track a full band, look at a Firewire interface such as the MOTU 828 or the Presonus Firepod. If you only need a handful of ins and outs, look at something with a smaller footprint like the Presonus Firebox, M-Audio Firewire 410, or the Edirol FA-66.
We have the M-Audio Ozone USB audio interface in our studio, because it combines two audio inputs (one microphone, one line in; or, a single stereo line in) with a MIDI keyboard and 8 programmable MIDI knobs in one unit at a decent price (you should be able to find one for $250 or less). You may not need a MIDI controller in your setup; if you're only recording live instrumentalists and vocalists, you likely won't. But if you make electronic music or if you want to trigger software instruments in your recording software at any point, you're going to want a MIDI keyboard of some sort. You can get a separate audio interface and MIDI keyboard; especially if you're a Rick Wakeman-type, you'll feel limited by the two octave Ozone (you have access to the full note range via octave up/down keys, but we know, Rick, it's just not the same.). But it's the perfect all-in-one device for us, and travel-size to boot.
3. Microphone
If you're doing serious multi-tracking, you'll need a selection of mics suited to the ranges of the instruments you're recording. If you just want a decent and versatile mic or several that can serve general purpose duty, we recommend the old industry standby Shure SM57. It will do admirably for vocals as well as various instruments, and you can pick one up for less than $100.
4. Cables
Your microphone will connect to your audio interface via an XLR cable:
Instruments plug into a 1/4" line in jack via a regular instrument cable:
If you have a separate audio interface and MIDI keyboard or other MIDI controller, you will wed the twain together via ye olde MIDI cable:
5. Monitoring device
You will need something with which to listen to your next big hit. If you have a set of PC speakers lying around, this is the cheapest route. You can also connect your mini to your stereo via either the internal audio out or your audio interface's audio out. The pros and semi-pros use near field monitors. Regardless of what external sound system you choose, it is a good idea to have a decent pair of studio headphones in your arsenal. We recommend the Sony MDR-7506s, which can be had for less than $100.
6. Instruments
Many choices here in both analog and digital realms. If you're already an instrumentalist, you'll probably start recording yourself playing guitar, etc. If you're not an instrumentalist, hunker down and get to know your new instrument: the MIDI keyboard. Remember that your number one goal in music-making is always fun, and whether or not it ever gets you on tour with Peter Gabriel is purely incidental. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
If you're itching to get into the hottest thing in digital recording, loop-based music production, then you have a whole world of software instruments and sample loops open before you. Garageband comes with a number of standard preset instruments as well as loops for you to start exploring, plus you can make your own loops for use in your projects.
Sooner or later if you upgrade to an audio sequencer such as the most righteous Ableton Live, you can use all manner of third-party loops found free or as buyware. If you're the tweaker type, you can also take advantage of some other excellent freeware sound generation software on the Mac to create some unique soundscapes you're guaranteed won't turn up on the next BT record: Rumblence: zoyd and Csound, to name a couple.
You may also at some point get interested in outboard gear such as external drum machines or synthesizers that contain a number of editable sounds you can trigger with your MIDI keyboard. All in good time, my friends. For now, let's just fire up GarageBand and lay some tracks, shall we?
System set-up
You'll have to install drivers for your audio interface, if you haven't already. Next, connect your cables to your audio interface, then connect your interface to your computer. If your interface is USB, hot-swapping applies so you can just plug it in when the machine is already on. For Firewire interfaces, it's usually best for everyone involved to shut down the machine, connect the Firewire cable, power on, and party on. We're hooking in one instrument and one mic, and our headphones to the headphone out jack:
The other cables go into the Mac mini as they usually do, with the addition of the USB cable for the M-Audio Ozone:
Next, fire up our new friend, Garageband. You'll be prompted for a name and location for your project file. Once the app is open, we'll first need to set the audio preferences to use your interface for handling audio in/out duties, so go to the File menu and select Preferences. Select the Audio/MIDI tab, and select your interface as both the audio in and out source, unless you're using your stereo or other speakers to play back sound from your Mac. If you're listening through headphones, there is a surely a headphone out jack on your interface in which case you'll want it to be selected for audio out duties.
We're ready to unleash some aural mayhem, so let's create a new track. Press apple-option-n to start a new track (or use the New Track command from the Track menu) and you'll see we have a choice between real and software instruments. Let's start with a simple vocal track, a real instrument:
If you turn monitoring on, you'll be able to hear yourself played back through your headphones or speakers as you record. There will be a slight delay between what you're saying/singing and what comes back to you, though, so if that bothers you, leave monitoring off.
The pane on the right are the possible effects you can add to your track. Many of the settings of these effects are tweakable, so you can take the default settings and modify them to create new sounds. We'll choose the Deeper Vocals plug-in to record our first voice track and click the Create button, which generates a new track in the timeline browser:
Before we start recording, let's check our levels. Keep an eye on the level meters at the far right of the control strip:
Start adjusting the gain control for the mic channel on your audio interface. There should be a gain (volume) section that will set the recording levels for all of your channels:
You want the signal to be as far into the green as possible without spilling over into the red and clipping, which can cause nasty pops, cracks and other digital artifacts into your pristine audio. You want the signal to be strong, but not too hot. Once you've got a good level, you can hit the red record button on the transport control to start recording your vocals:
After you've recorded your audio, your track will show the waveform of the audio you just generated:
If you've chosen the Deeper Vocals effect, you'll notice that Darth Vader has got nothing on you in this track. Have fun playing around with the different effects to see what kind of sounds you can come up with:
Of course, with a microphone you're not limited to just your voice. You can record any ambient sound and add effects to it to alter its character into something that might be useful in a track. For example, we made some industrial noise by recording a spoon hitting a bowl with heavy effects. Use your imagination and experiment.
Let's create another new track, but this time we will select a software instrument such as a piano or synth. This time, instead of recording from an external sound generator such as your voice, we are going to use the MIDI keyboard to play a software-based instrument. Once you've added the new track to your project, start tinkling on the keys and you should hear the sound output from the instrument. Recording from here is just as simple as hitting ye olde record button again and ripping up those keys.
Garageband has some decent stock sounds out of the box, and as always you can further tweak them by adding and manipulating effects. In general, the sounds that attempt to be representations of real instruments like woodwinds and brass will not sound as good as the more synth and electronic sounds that we want to sound a bit artificial anyway. You won't be producing your next symphony out of Garageband, but you may very well use it as a composition tool to sketch ideas.
Recording your external instruments into Garageband works exactly the same way as recording vocals, from above: start a new track, choose what type of instrument you are bringing in, set your levels and go to town. Add effects at will, tweak to your heart's content, and experiment away. You can record two tracks of the same instrument for melody and harmony, or you can record multiple tracks simultaneously if your audio interface has more than one audio input. We'll leave all of that up to you to play with, and we'll move on to the fun of loop-based music production.
Hit apple-L (or Control > Show Loop Browser) to open the loop browser, which appears at the bottom of the window:
From here you can choose from a number of Apple Loops included with Garageband. Just browse around until you find one you like, and then drag it into a spot on the timeline:
If you've dragged it into an existing track, the audio loop will be placed at the spot in the timeline where you dropped it. If you dropped it into an empty space in the timeline, a new track will be created and the audio placed there. You'll see the waveform displayed:
We want this percussion loop to keep looping, not just play through once and stop. So move your mouse to the upper right hand corner of the waveform and it will turn into a circle-ish "extend" icon; if you click and drag to the right, you will increase the length of the loop:
Now, find some other clips that go with your first clip and layer a few instrument tracks on top of each other:
Now you can start to mix your tracks, which essentially means getting all of the sounds to blend together in a way that sounds fairly natural. You'll want to adjust the volume of certain tracks relative to others. To do this, click on the triangle in the track info pane to expand the volume control:
You'll see a linear representation of the track volume displayed beneath the track waveform. To adjust the volume you create edit points by clicking on the volume line at the points where you wish to make volume changes:
Once you've made your edit markers, you can click and drag them to raise or lower the volume of the track and create effects like fade ins:
If you want to make changes to the overall volume of the whole project itself, not just a single track, you'll have to show the "master track" which controls all the other tracks' volume levels. Hit apple-B (or Track > Show Master Track) to display the master track at the bottom of the window. If you edit volume data on this track, it will be reflected across all of the tracks. Thus, if you want to fade out at the end of your track, you would edit the master track. Here's the final view of our quick mini-project after some other mix tweaks such as adjusting the track panning, which refers to where the sound is located in the stereo field, i.e. how far to the left or right does the sound source sound as if it were coming from.
Here's the result of our all of about 10 minutes of tinkering, testament to how dead easy this program is to use and just a little sampling of the kinds of things you can do with Garageband. Good luck, and happy music making! Post some links to your tracks! :)
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im burned out on tinkering with my pc. when its running its great but for some reason audio realy f's up this pc. it was built for recording audio but its realy given me probs. i do most tracking of audio one track at a time. im looking to be able to play back like 24 tracks while recording 1 track. a friend of mine said change to a mac and spend time recording rather than stressing out on getting it fixed. anyway will a mini mac do what i need? Ill probably use Tracktion2 to start with and move on to live5 for software. what do i do! I'm realy frustrated. ive been working on about 7 tunes for 1.5 years most time my pc is down. help.
dk
If you have an Mbox 2 Pro, can you play a computer soft synth via a normal (non midi controller) keyboard if it has Midi In/Out?
It's an ok advice column, but nothing great.
First off, a Shure SM57 and the M-Audio gear will produce mediocre results.
Second, you don't have to use Pro Tools with that, you can use any program it supports.
It's decent advice though.
My Set-Up.
Apple IMac 20" Dual Core
Apogee Ensemble
Apogee Big Ben
Presonus Central Station
JBL LSR 4328P Studio Monitors
Soundelux U195
Blue Dragonfly
SE Z3300A
I am working on an imac G3 with ableton live lite 5. I have an M audio friewire solo and am trying to hook up midi. I bought the m audio usb mini uno device. I have a yamaha keyboard. Ableton will recognize the midi interface and i am getting signal from the yamaha but there is a massive delay. there is no delay when i switch back to using the computer keyboard for midi controll. I want to use the voices on the yamaha keyboard for drums and piano but with this delay its impossible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
ok for everyone wondering about how much the mini can handle, I've been using my 1.42 Ghz mini for the last year as the only computer in my studio, and this is my setup:
Mac mini with 512 Mb of RAM
Alesis Photon X25 midi controller with audio and MIDI interface (similar to the Ozone in the article, but in my opinion much better quality construction. Itlacks built-in preamps on the audio I/O, which means you'll need a seperate preamp, but it makes up for this with a lower price tag, better controller, and MIDI in and out for those who need it. Also, the outputs are balanced, which does make a difference in quality.)
AKG K 240 Studio headphones
ART Tube MP preamp
Edirol MA-10D micro monitors (nowhere near top of the line, but work out quite well for a bedroom studio, and they have digital inputs, which I'm not using but could prove to be useful down the road)
Logic Express 7
Ableton Live 5
Cubase LE (came with the Photon)
Garageband
From my experience, the mini performs quite admirably with virtual instruments and effects. And this includes running Logic and Ableton at the same time via ReWire (if you're not familiar with ReWire you absolutely must look it up). Playback of audio tracks is absolutely no problem at all. However, recording simultaneous audio tracks (ie, guitars, bass, mics) it performs decently, but with the slow internal drive I've found I've had to mess around with the settings in Logic to cut back on latency, glitches etc. You see, virtual instruments and plug-in effects are largely dependant on the CPU and memory, which has proven to not be a problem at all, whereas audio recording and playback is largely dependant on hard drive speed. If you're like me and you're recording say no more than 3 "real instruments" at a time you should be fine, as long as you understand buffer settings and such. However, for more intense multi-track recording, such as recording an entire band, I'd reccomend an external firewire hard drive, and you should be fine. (AND of course you'll want an interface with more than two inputs, duh). All in all, I'm mainly using Ableton rewired into Logic Express, mainly virtual synths and LOADS of effects, and usually with a handful of audio tracks (such as guitars and vocals) and this mini has yet to let me down. In fact, I can't remember ever "bouncing" a track, well at least not to conserve juice.
and P.s. as far as Garageband vs. Logic express...definitely Logic Express. Much more full-featured, gives you better control over your mixes, and if anyone here is using Garageband and not seeing the level of performance that I'm talking about, that's because Garageband is a terrible CPU hog. Logic and Ableton are much more efficient.
I hope this helps the newbies.
This is an awesome way to start a home recording studio. I think the new dual core mac laptops would compliment this set up.
Don
Recording Studios in Los Angeles
Your article is perfect for what i am recently doing and i would first like to thank you for your time well spent to make people realize how cost efficient and easy this set up can be. But i do have one question regarding connections to the computer. In your picture you have a keyboard, mouse, and MIDI piano. 3 of these running into the MacMini by USB. The MacMini only has 2 USB inputs. I am stuck in this rut and am lookin to avoid further costs of $300 for a FireWire interface. Response would be apprectiated
So when i go to prefrences in Garage Band, the only options for audio input and output is built in, there is no choice for my USB midi connector? Thus i cant get it to work :-/
Does anyone know how to fix this?
Thanks!
Jamie
how much will it cost for a home studio
Hi. I created a video tutorial on how to use your headphones as a microphone if you don't have a mic. It works pretty well. Check it out. Thanks.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/342700/use_your_headphones_as_a_microphone/
I think it´s senceless to built such a lowcost studio, posted up there!
I mean, I have a really good projectstudio:
AKG C3000B
Shure Sm7
t.bone SCT-800 Tube
SPL Gainstation
RME-Fireface
M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB
Edirol PCR-M50
Akai MPD 24
DynAudio BM-6A Aktiv Nearfield Monitor
AKG-271 Studio
SPL Volumecontroll 2
Mackie BigKnob
Samplitude 9.0 Pro
Reason 3 LE
Appelton Live Lite
Sonar 4 Pro + 6 LE
And I get really good recording results.
But with the components wich r postet on this site to build a "recordingstudio", u´ll get nottin more than shit!
Thats just my opinion, u don´t have to join´in but just believe me!
Hounest regrets, LilAndré straight outta Austria *gg*!!
give me everything i need to make some beats for rappers out there...
Why bother, just go to a recording studio and get results you can use.
@#1: Umm, read the title - "low cost recording studio", and just in case you weren't following -- the software is called "Garage"Band.
Nonsense
Mac Mini
Reason 2.5
Garageband
M-box with pro-tools lite
Shure sm57 - 58 mic
and two event or mackie monitors and u've got a kick arse above pre-production studio.
@#3: except then you have to use pro tools, lol. :) i personally can't stand the stuff. it's like the microsoft of the DAW world. but that's just me. ;) Reason does kick royal arse, though.
David, you�re right. My point was that recording studios are becoming obsolete. It meant to be sarcastic.
tight work there Barb!
Personally, I think the machine is too underpowered to expect it to do 8-16 track audio recording well. But I'm sure that the midi guys could really use this turn out some cool stuff. At any rate, you can still get the whole setup for much cheaper than it would cost to go into a pro studio and record a demo. I've heard so many crappy demos that cost $500 to $1000 or more I don't know why everyone's not recording at home these days.
I thought I'd give GB a go, I had moved to OSX and wondered - do I upgrade Logic gold for OSX, I had found it a royal pain to get working in OS9?
I thought about it and decided to use GB in the meantime while I made my mind up. One year later I still use GB and only GB, no Logic on this mac! I am happy, I produce loads - from day one onwards!
Now GB2 is out there is less reason to go pro again.
Here's to the DodgyDesign=Micro$oft comment. ProTools has always been mediocre at best - and now that Avid (their parent company) have bought M-Audio who used to be great and very competitive in the low end of the audio market, watch their competition dry up. Same business tactics as MS too...
It's true, a friend of mine told me the studios are getting worried that more and more people are doing it themselves. The setup mentioned above is perfect for hearing how you would sound on CD. A couple things I have found that have brought my mix from sounding like a tape recorder at a concert to clean clear instruments.
First off, if you are at all serious about doing anything with the music you record, or want to learn something more 'high-end', GET LOGIC EXPRESS!!! Yes, express, because garageband (as great as it is to mess around with) is not even low end recording software. Obviously express is not going to be the whole bucket of chicken either (as someone said), but it is high enough quality software to get a professional sound out of. It only costs 300$ for full straight up version.
Second, get to know compressors and download the C3 multiband compressor, these tools are very helpful. Do not use them to modify your sound, only use them to reinforce it, thats what they are there for. Personally, I put a multiband on the entire mix, compressor on the bass only (below 124hz), and turned the gain to 6dB and turned limiter on. This makes the sound more consistent overall. The direct effect is not noticable, but you will hear the difference.
Isolate room noise as much as possible. I boult a 14X14X14 inch box that contains a speaker and a microphone, plugged it into my guitar amp, and I now mic my bass, eletric, and even ran my martin through it. It keeps the noise at a minimum and does not piss off the neighbors. If you are using an iMic, you will probably need a good loud source (as its amp sucks).
And other than that, it is all just EQing and levels. Less is more.
You can hear an example of what a low quality studio sounds like in the link above, under the Live folder.
My setup:
Gibson SG (p90 soapbars)
Martin DM12
Fender J Bass
Default garageband rock drum kit
Line 6 Spider 2X10 amp, right channel ran through a sound proofed box with a mic inside
Cheap 20$ nady mic (want to get a 57 SOOOOOO bad)
iMic
Logic Express 7
Side note on why logic over GB: logic lets you control the mix a lot better. think of GB as the 4 channel tape deck, and logic as the rack units + expensive mixing board.
It would be really interesting to find out how much the MiniMac could handle audiowise. I wonder how it would get on playing back loads of tracks with effects etc.
I think the topic may have drifted a bit. Point is; the mac mini out of the box is a very capable audio workstation. It has firewire ports as well as usb. The expansion is insane for the price. The bundled I-life allows you to import export, mix and edit audio and video.
There are pro-audio/video hardware and software that can definitley turn it into a pro audio/video workstation. I have a powerbook with half the processing speed that was able to handle production, recording and editing with reason/logic/cubase and digital performer. I already have an oxygen 8 that was attached to this laptop and I'm picking up a motu 828 mk2. I could use the Mbox as well. Apple was very smart in marketing the mini; most of us have keyboards and a mouse as well as a monitor. Those of us who produce and remix music have midi/audio usb firewire keyboards and other interfaces. It's a great way to get back into a mac (if you couldn't afford upgrading) or to be introduced to the mac.
Propellerheads: the makers of Reason 2.5 ended the need for racks of expensive sampling and synthesis hardware. Apple's final cut pro ended the need for expensive workstations (digidesign's avid) to record and edit digital video.
Logic Audio is the answer to digidesigns Pro Tools. No more minimal 20,000 workstations for recording/producing music.
Mac Mini; another revolution! I thought a 20 gig ipod was a great idea for transporting my multi track recordings from studio to studio. But the Mac Mini allows me to bring my personal workstation to any recording studio (home or big budget)
I ordered mine a week ago from musiciansfriend.
It's great that many audio h/w co's products run with apples. Now that apple is growing in popularity esp. in audio circles, maybe software makers will take notice. That means you cakewalk!!! I want to switch over from windows badly, but have much better s/w on the windows world.
How about if you just buy the Samson C01U studio mic that plugs directly to your USB port and forgo the audio interface. The sucker is priced at only $79 dollars.
http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1810&brandID=2
ADVICE NEEDED:
Hey folks, I'm looking for a way to start digitizing all my vinyl and granted, the imic looks like a great option, my concern is the sound quality. Ideally, I'd like to use Rane or FinalScratch in the near future for djing mp3's, so I want to ensure that if I take up the laborious task of encoding my vinyl it's done properly the first time.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding the best RCA or XLR to USB/Firewire solution out there, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Many thanks,
-Garth.
(Oh, also the sample rates, etc.,. if you feel like you're on a role...)
ADVICE NEEDED:
Hey folks, I'm looking for a way to start digitizing all my vinyl and granted, the imic looks like a great option, my concern is the sound quality. Ideally, I'd like to use Rane or FinalScratch in the near future for djing mp3's, so I want to ensure that if I take up the laborious task of encoding my vinyl it's done properly the first time.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding the best RCA or XLR to USB/Firewire solution out there, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Many thanks,
-Garth.
(Oh, also the sample rates, etc.,. if you feel like you're on a role...)
ADVICE NEEDED:
Hey folks, I'm looking for a way to start digitizing all my vinyl and granted, the imic looks like a great option, my concern is the sound quality. Ideally, I'd like to use Rane or FinalScratch in the near future for djing mp3's, so I want to ensure that if I take up the laborious task of encoding my vinyl it's done properly the first time.
If anyone has any suggestions regarding the best RCA or XLR to USB/Firewire solution out there, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Many thanks,
-Garth.
(Oh, also the sample rates, etc.,. if you feel like you're on a role...)
I have a 1.25ghz powerbook (512mb ram), motu 896 and record with cubase sx. I've recorded 8 tracks at a time with ease and played/mixed upwards of 30 tracks at a time with no problem. The mini could easly do the same. This would be a tight little set up, I would say spend a little more $ on mic's and you can get a great recording, you might not even need to if your just tracking guitars or the like. Vocals or live drums would beg for something a little more than a 57.
I would recommend this setup to anyone who wants to get into digital recording for cheap. how could you beat it?
there's also the blue snowball usb mic:
http://www.bluemic.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=11&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Garth Breaks,
I was thinking I'd like to "digitize" all my records too. I have been looking at the Stanton ST-100 turntable, because it has a digital out. Seems it would be real straight-forward to get a decent USB digital audio input unit for your computer and something like Audacity , or better if you like, for some simple filtering (don't want to get rid of all the crackly vinyl goodness) and you're good to go.
Garth,
if you have an audio line in on your machine, just go out from your mixer (RCA) to the audio line in(1/8in) and as Vinal Fan says get Audacity and your all set. I would use gold connectors if your worried about quality loss. I've digitized many albums this way and it sounds good.
In response to #10: very weak! I tried to play a software instrument and recorded instrument at once-- just TWO tracks people-- and got the warning that it couldn't play back in real time because of not enough "juice." Granted, I'm using a stock 1.25 GHz model, which means 256 MB of RAM. More RAM, more juice. GB is really tuned for a G5 though, don't let Steve fool ya.
So we're back to the old 4-track recorder trick: bumping tracks. At least it's digital!
Now I need to audition some "talent" for my "bedroom" production...
@#6: Pedro - thanx! :)
@#7: Regarding the mini's mythical "underpoweredness", as other folks are mentioning in this thread it is pure bunk. I have the lowest-end 1.25Ghz/256RAM version of the mini (until the come back in stock and I can get my second souped up one! ;)) and it handled the 6 "real instrument" tracks with effects used for the demo in this how-to pretty admirably. My 512M chip is on the way and that is only going to help. That is admittedly only the playback, though - I have yet to test recording more than 2 simultaneous "real" tracks at once. We'll see.
@#9: Yes, Logic was already a great app under Emagic and the happy union of Emagic and Apple is only going to make this sucker sweeter and sweeter into the future. Also, if you know anyone who works in academia, or if you can tie up a college student and steal their ID card you can swing Logic Express for the academic price of $99. Apple is pretty decent about the educational discounts - you can also get Final Cut Pro for $299 instead of the normal $999 price tag.
Great article. As a PC owner, Garage Band isn't a choice. I'm a big fan of Cakewalk products, as well as Propellerhead's Reason. My setup includes a DMP3 preamp, MXL V67g and Shure 57 mics, M-Audio Delta 1010LT soundcard, and a Yamaha keyboard.
GarageSpin.com is a great new dedicated to digital audio home recording. See what you think!
Yeah right. Another matrix scheme or pyramid scheme.
I've been using garageband since it came out and really like my results so far.
Linkage: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/djhighlifemusic.htm
I swear by this program......many countless hours, many ,many ,many, ......go check it out.......
try it out....
www.slappythetallywacker.bigbig.com
Well, I dont use GarageBand but my years of experience with audio recording(incl DAW based) says this:
"Get a decent microphone!" - A Shure SM57 (or 58) as a cheap reliable condenser really great for live use in a sweaty smokey dirty pub. In a recording "environment" you'll need a better response profile. Rode do really nice condensers, and large diaphram(read good for vocals) mics at very reasonable prices...
As to DAW software EASILY the best value for money is Mackie Tracktion...it's $80.00 for heavens sake! I use it INSTEAD of a full blown LOGIC or ProTools...but there's no real replacement for Ableton LIVE....
Article is great. My old G4 Cube pumps out 24+ audio tracks of Cubase SX easilly (768MB RAM). Beef up your Mini RAM and you're good for plenty of audio tracks!
One thing about the article, though; while Shure SM57 is a legend on stage, today, for under $100 you can find spectacular quality large-diaphragm condenser studio mics (with shock-mount!) from MXL, M-Audio and similar. These are Chinese- or Russian-made, but have pristine sound, which is definitely what you want for your vocals, horns, acoustic guitars... Check them out at places like sweetwater.com or musiciansfriend.com. SM57 does a wonderful job in front of an amp, though.
Awesome article. +10 on the coolness factor for sure.
V Cool article - but be warned that (if my experience of the very excellent GB is anything to go by), 256K RAM isn't going to get you very far in the way of playing back multiple tracks/instruments, etc.
Where the setup comes into its own is the versitility and ease of use of GB, particularly its loops and software instruments.
But if I was just recording a guitar and voice, I'd just pick up any of the madly cheap digital 4 tracks on ebay.
Okay, a little off topic, but does anyone know what kind of desk that is in the first picture?
Quote from the Article:
"create some unique soundscapes you�re guaranteed won�t turn up on the next BT record: Rumblence: zoyd"
Sorry guys, that's not exactly true... BT does indeed use Zoyd (maybe not on his next record, tho). He also uses my More Feedback Machine and Zebra (see comments from BT on Zebra's opinions page).
But thanks for recommending it :-)
Cheers,
;) Urs
mac minis are awesome! for anyone who wants to know how to get a FREE mac mini, check out this blog. it explains the whole process:
http://macminiconga.tblog.com/
I can see everyone's points. But I think what some are missing is the value GB has as a song writing tool.
And if properly done and kept simple GB records fine.
here is tunage I wrote totally in GB
Hi Fi
http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/play.php?band_id=801&song_id=6106&mode=song_hifi
Lo Fi
http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/play.php?band_id=801&song_id=6106&mode=song_lofi
QuickTime
http://www.macidol.com/jamroom/bands/801/player.php?band_id=801&song_id=6106
Keep in mind all I have is an imac flatpanel and a pin hole mic. Reckon the point I am trying to make is as a self proclaimed songwriter GB1 or GB2 is the perfect tool.
I used ProTools forever. And since getting GB I haven't used ProTools since.
IMHO, GB's strongest atrribute is the drumkits. This particular tunage doesn't have any of those loops but still allowed me very easily and quickly to produce the tunage.
So it really depends on one's desired level of "professionalism" they are wanting. I am one who likes the live feel of things so for me it's all I need.
Peace