I want to record my guitar and voice

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Level 1

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I want to record my guitar and voice

First post!

So I've got an acoustic-electric guitar that I've been recording in GarageBand 3 on my MacBook Pro. I record by plugging my guitar into into the audio in line using a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter.

Basically, I want to be able to record both my guitar and my voice at the same time. I already have a Memorex MKA301.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AHSAM/ref=sr111/103-7498225-6408650?%5Fencoding=UTF8

I know that this microphone is kinda cheap so I may want to get a new one of those too.

I'm looking for some info as to what my options are and what everybody would recommend.

I'm aware that there is the M-Audio FastTrack Recording Interface for $99.95 but it seems that it got several bad reviews on the Apple Store.

Then there is also the M-Audio FireWire 410 Audio/MIDI Interface for $399.95 (but I can find it for around $250). I was kinda leaning towards this one, but wanted too hear some opinions first.

Could anyone out there give me some advice on what I should use. All I really need is something that is reasonably priced and will record well. I may want to add other instrument tracks later so that's why I was thinking about the 410.

Any information you could provide me with or any link to helpful sites or products would be greatly appreciated.

(Note: I just became a Mac person about 1 month ago, so I'm still learning)

15" MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.6) 2 GHz Intel Core Duo, 1 GB SDRAM

15" MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.6), 2 GHz Intel Core Duo, 1 GB SDRAM

Posted on May 18, 2006 6:28 PM

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Answer 1

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

May 18, 2006 8:38 PM in response to J. Knox

I had a fast tracks usb and it worked great and at $99 it is well worth it. But if you plan on recording vocal and guitar you will need a XLR plug on your mic because it only has two inputs 1/4 and XLR.

Also you don't need a multichannel interface to record multiple tracks, only multiple tracks at the same time.

If your doing all the instruments yourself the fast track or fast track pro may be a good idea for now and then when you need it upgrade to a more expensive firewire interface.

And make sure whatever you get will work with your intel mac.

I just read some of the negative comments about the fast track usb. I don't think some of these people know what there doing. Comments like it only records on the left channel shows user error.

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Answer 2

J. Knox Author

Level 1

0 points

May 21, 2006 10:50 AM in response to isteveus

Cool thanks. I will probably end up going with M-Audio although I'm not sure which one. I was looking on their site at the Fast Track USB, but when I looked up the drivers, I didn't see any drivers for Intel-based Macs.

Does anybody out there with an intel Mac have Fast Track USB or know if it is compatible?

And if it isn't does anybody know if they are still working on updating their drivers, because it says in their news section that "all of their audio interfaces are now universal for Macs". Some help would be greatly appreciated.

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Answer 3

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

May 21, 2006 11:05 AM in response to J. Knox

My notes have a driver for the Fast Track USB, but none for the Fast Track Pro (that was in Mid April)

If they haven't moved anything, this is the link I have for the former:

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=support.drivers&k=driver&b=1&s=6&p=fa76e34e9 f3de0b8b3d0b6f1e7b32912&o=MacOS+10.4.4+-Intel&f=650

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Answer 4

J. Knox Author

Level 1

0 points

May 21, 2006 11:57 AM in response to HangTime

Ok, I clicked on that link and saw that Fast Track USB has drivers for Mac OS 10.4.6 PPC and 10.4.6. The one that is just 10.4.6 is was released on 10/13/2004, so I don't think that would be the one that I needed. Also, I noticed on some other devices that they have intel specific drivers that say 10.4.6 Intel, but I don't see anything like that for Fast Track USB.

Am I not clear on somthing here?

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Answer 5

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

May 21, 2006 12:01 PM in response to J. Knox

They've definitely changed things since my last visit. That's very confusing the way they've listed some things as PPC and otherd with no indication if they are PPC, intel, or universal.

Now I see that the Fast Track Pro lists intel specific drivers

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Answer 6

J. Knox Author

Level 1

0 points

May 21, 2006 12:06 PM in response to HangTime

So do you think I'm gonna have to wait until they come out with a new driver for the Fast Track USB before I can use it on my MacBook Pro? That would stink. If that's the case do you know of anything else similar to the Fast Track USB that is univeral? I'm looking to send no more than around $150.

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Answer 7

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

May 21, 2006 2:16 PM in response to J. Knox

I think the fast track is class compliant and should work without a driver. When I had mine I was using it for a few months before I even knew there was a driver. The driver at that time just let you switch from 16 bit to 8 bit. M-Audio are very good with customer service you should call or email them.

And the fast track pro intel driver was released in march

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Answer 8

J. Knox Author

Level 1

0 points

May 25, 2006 6:30 PM in response to isteveus

Thanks, now I understand. I've decided that I'm either going to get the Fast Track Pro or the Firewire Solo which are both made by m-audio.

Does anybody out there have experience with either of these? From looking at the reviews on musiciansfriend.com, it seems that the Firewire Solo has a better quality for sound recording. If anybody uses or has used these products, could you please tell me what you think? thanks.

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Answer 9

David F

Level 1

11 points

May 26, 2006 9:14 PM in response to J. Knox

I've just started working with the M-Audio MobilePre USB ($150), which can accommodate either a mic and electric guitar input or two mics. This might give you more flexibility than the Solo, which can't accommodate a second mic, especially if you ever need to mic an acoustic guitar, and it's $50 cheaper than the FastTrack Pro. I don't know about availability of Mac/Intel drivers for the MobilePre, but the M-Audio phone tech people are great: 626-633-9055.

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Answer 10

J. Knox Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 8, 2006 9:32 PM in response to J. Knox

Thanks for all of the helpful information everybody. By the way I had decided on the Firewire Solo, but I ended up finding the Firewire 410 for just an extra $20-30 bucks on ebay, so went with that instead so that now I can also use the midi with my keyboard. thanks again.

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