In giddy anticipation of GarageBand's arrival, I bought an M-Audio MobilePRE USB this morning. I've plugged my guitar into it and it into my Mac via the USB port, however I'm only getting sound in the left channel. This is understandable since the the guitar is sending out a mono signal, but before I go out and buy a 1/4"-mono-to-1/4"-stereo adapter, I thought I'd ask if there was something I was missing. My gut tells me there is.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Guitar -> MobilePRE > Mac = Left Channel Only
- Thread starter Ratboy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you are using Apple Audio then you only get mono from a mono source, but when attached to a recording system like Garage band I'd expect mono to be pannable across the stereo image, so I don't think it'll be a problem.
Recording into any decent audio app allows the choice of mono or stereo and indeed which channel for the mono, I think Apple will have followed this for GB.
Recording into any decent audio app allows the choice of mono or stereo and indeed which channel for the mono, I think Apple will have followed this for GB.
I'd wait for your copy of GarageBand to arrive before buying the adapter. No need to buy something you probably won't be needing.
In addition, I'm quite sure I saw a slider in GB that lets you set how much of your mono signal goes left vs right. Go look at the screen shots and you'll see what I'm talking about.
I have the same problem with tascam us-122 and soundtrack. I record vocals into soundtrack and the sound only comes out of one speaker. I hope GarageBand doesn't have this problem. Anyone else have this problem in soundtrack and has anyone tested this with Garageband?
Nonetheless, none of that should be necessary. Just wait until you get GB.
Everything we record is mono, we create the stereo image when we mix down.
I just hope it works with my Digi hw. I want this as a sketchpad/practice tool.
Everything we record is mono, we create the stereo image when we mix down.
I just hope it works with my Digi hw. I want this as a sketchpad/practice tool.
A mono signal recorded into any stereo recording app is placed (by default) center, i.e. equally between the left and right speakers. Copying a mono source to the right simply wastes space and can cause phase problems.
For example, you could record ten mono guitar tracks, and send three of the out of the left speaker, three out the right speaker, one 15% right, one 15% left, and two center.
The only sources that are typically recorded stereo are drum overheads (as opposed to the mic used for kick, snare, and hihat), stereo keyboards (if external and not built into the computer), and sometimes acoustic guitar-- in which case you'd need to use two mics and then pan the appropriate GB channels hard-left and hard-right.
Vocals, guitars, basses, kicks, snares, hihats, and percussion are almost always recorded mono and then panned wherever later.
For example, you could record ten mono guitar tracks, and send three of the out of the left speaker, three out the right speaker, one 15% right, one 15% left, and two center.
The only sources that are typically recorded stereo are drum overheads (as opposed to the mic used for kick, snare, and hihat), stereo keyboards (if external and not built into the computer), and sometimes acoustic guitar-- in which case you'd need to use two mics and then pan the appropriate GB channels hard-left and hard-right.
Vocals, guitars, basses, kicks, snares, hihats, and percussion are almost always recorded mono and then panned wherever later.