Plugging guitar and Headphones into MacBook Pro

Hi. I want to know if there is a way to plug my guitar into my Macbook Pro and listen to it on my headphones. I have a dilemma because I need to practice late at night and I don't want to disturb my neighbors so I go to the practice rooms at school and they are always incredibly loud with musicians in other rooms so I would like to be able to plug my guitar into my computer and listen to it on my head phones. I have a loud gypsy jazz acoustic guitar with a pickup that I attach to it so it's not quiet regardless if it's plugged in or not, therefore I can't practice at my apartment late at night. What would be the best way to do this without buying some sort of audio interface, or is something like an Mbox necessary and what programs should I use. Recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

You need an audio interface. The good news is you can pick one up pretty cheap. Especially if you're able to track down a used one. I have been using the Presonus Audiobox 2X2 for a couple years now and would recommend it no problem. I see it's on Amazon.com now for $149.95. Your local music shops should have it and similar options as well, worth calling around for.

As far as software goes, Garageband should be more than adequate, and it should already be installed on your mac.It may take you a little bit to figure out how to set the preferences to work with your interface and learn how to create a guitar track etc. but Google, Youtube and these forums should give you all the help you need.

If you do get an interface, and really get stuck trying to configure Garageband just post in this thread again and I'll see if I can give you a hand.

Thank you for your reply. Couldn't I just get a converter to plug my headphones into the USB jack and another converter to plug my guitar into the headphone jack?

You could use a converter but you will probably experience latency problems.
As derkeverett said you should use an USB interface.
Don't get one that's too cheap as they don't help.

Latency problems, electronic noise, level issues, all these and more could result without using a proper audio interface. The sound card in the mac isn't designed for that type of input.