new to mac and want to record guitar and voice

So I finally made the switch to a mac(love it so far)
I picked up the mid-range macbook and my sister was wondering if she could use it to record some tracks on it using garageband
She wants to record her voice and her guitar.
She owns a digital multi-tracker
Fostex MR-8
http://www.mercasystems.com/multipista-digital-fostex-p-1972.html
how good would this work?
what are my other options with a $150 budget if this doesnt work?
thanks in advance
happy new year

bump....

bayvillian516 said:

So I finally made the switch to a mac(love it so far)
I picked up the mid-range macbook and my sister was wondering if she could use it to record some tracks on it using garageband
She wants to record her voice and her guitar.
She owns a digital multi-tracker
Fostex MR-8
http://www.mercasystems.com/multipista-digital-fostex-p-1972.html
how good would this work?
what are my other options with a $150 budget if this doesnt work?
thanks in advance
happy new year

Click to expand...

Sorry, but most likely not.

The Fostex does have an option to "bounce" tracks to a Windows machine, but not actually record through it using it as an A/D converter.

Page 88 of the manual says it will not work with a Mac:
http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pdf/man/m_240239.pdf

It does however use a memory card, which when transfering the tracks to 7 & 8 converts them to .wav file format. This may be stored on the card in a way that connecting it to you MB via a card reader will let you copy those files to your computer and import them into GB for editing.

If you want to record straight to your computer, you at least need an A/D converter, microphone(s), and the appropriate cables to connect them. The cheapest possible solution would be something like this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lexicon-Alpha-USB-Audio-Interface?sku=245507

Different options:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navi...ording-cards-audio-interfaces?N=100001+304891

Firewire is better, but the cheapest interfaces start around $200ish. The USB should be fine though for single track recording. Keep in mind if she's recording she'll probably want to record the guitar first, then the vocals as she'll most likely get better quality while only concentrating on one thing at a time. If you do that, You'll only need one mic. You can find Audio Technica 2020's for under $100. A very, very good condensor mic for the price.

My music teacher uses his macbook built-in mic to record guitar and voice to garageband and it sounds incredibly good!

yer

the built in mic is ok for vocals (ish), but for guitar its a bit rubbish

Hmm if you wanna directly record guitar you could try an m-Audio Mobile Pre or a Digidesign MBox-2! Both sorta pricey

There is always some Behringer Mixer products that act as a pre-amp so you can record and mix at the same time. Some people say they're fairly good =]

Granny Prime said:

Hmm if you wanna directly record guitar you could try an m-Audio Mobile Pre or a Digidesign MBox-2! Both sorta pricey

There is always some Behringer Mixer products that act as a pre-amp so you can record and mix at the same time. Some people say they're fairly good =]

Click to expand...

Have those people used anything else? Not to be a smart, but Behringer is crap when compared to most other brands.

The ones I listed above do the same as those interfaces, but can be had starting at $99.

Berniemac said:

My music teacher uses his macbook built-in mic to record guitar and voice to garageband and it sounds incredibly good!

Click to expand...

And another I don't want to sound like an XXXXXXX post.

I have a recording studio. Small, but in business. a $100 condensor mic with a $100 pre-amped interface will beat out the built in mic in pretty much anything any day of the week.

It's fine if you just want a scratch track or something that will allow you to hear what you're playing so you can practice, but if you want at least a little quality on the recording, this is not the way to go.

this may be too primitive or cheap...ha...but u could just get an adapter that goes from 1/4" instrument cable to headphone jack and plug it into the line-in plug. Use a USB mic and put the mic and guitar on separate tracks in garageband and configure the settings. If you want to hook up on iChat we can do a video chat if u need help: guitarman39338