Recording in GarageBand?

[elfin buddy]

I'm want to record some of my roommates' music on my PowerBook, so I went out and bought an external mic. It has a standard 1/4" plug, and a 1/8" adapter to plug into the line-in on my PowerBook.

Problem is that when I push the record button in GarageBand with everything hooked up, it doesn't record anything It seems like it's recording something, but when I click to stop the recording, the track just disappears. Please help!!!

 

[annk]

A mic alone won't do it. You need some sort of audio interface, if that's the right term. My son uses a Griffin iMic - take a look at the link to see what I mean, and what it does.

I'm sure there are other options, too - perhaps other posters have other ideas.

 

[elfin buddy]

A mic alone won't do it. You need some sort of audio interfaceif that's the right term. My son uses a Griffin iMic - take a look at the link to see what I mean, and what it does.

I'm sure there are other options, too - perhaps other posters have other ideas.

Ah, dammit Thanks for the reply though! I guess I'll have to go find myself an iMic...

 

[quigleybc]

before you bail on your mic

go to system prefs>sound>input and make sure your mic is selected as an incoming source, and make sure the level is turned up.

scratch the top of the mic to see if you see any levels moving indicating that you have sound..

If that doesn't work....then get the iMic.

 

[elfin buddy]

before you bail on your mic

go to system prefs>sound>input and make sure your mic is selected as an incoming source, and make sure the level is turned up.

scratch the top of the mic to see if you see any levels moving indicating that you have sound..

If that doesn't work....then get the iMic.

Yup, the level has been turned up all along. Guess it's an iMic for me, haha Thanks for the reply!

 

[Rapmastac1]

Hey, has anyone ever heard of a cool little app, er freeware for Windows called FreeHighRecord? Does anyone know if this is Mac Made or not? Any free recording apps for mac? Shouldn't garage band be enough, that is so strange... I use Magix Music Mixer ( I LOVE IT, can't wait for Crossover) And it has everything you need for recording and making hits, surprised Garage band doesn't have any of this....

 

[elfin buddy]

Hey, has anyone ever heard of a cool little app, er freeware for Windows called FreeHighRecord? Does anyone know if this is Mac Made or not? Any free recording apps for mac? Shouldn't garage band be enough, that is so strange... I use Magix Music Mixer ( I LOVE IT, can't wait for Crossover) And it has everything you need for recording and making hits, surprised Garage band doesn't have any of this....

Yeah, I figured a mic alone would be enough, but apparently it's not. I guess there needs to be some sort of hardware to amplify the signal produced by a mic.

I also tried using two small Mac apps to record, and they semi-worked. Everything was super-silent, so I used the equaliser to pump up the decibels. It "worked", but there was way too much noise to make it worth my while.

I used the trial version of Audio Hijack and LineIn in tandem to get that far.

 

[gothicx00]

In the long run though, once you get into it, you are not going to be happy with a unbalanced microphone (thats what any 1/4" or 1/8" microphone is). I'd suggest if you got a little cash to spend to get a usb or firewire device that has an XLR mic input on it. Then get yourself a inexpensive XLR mic, even one from Radio Shack would work. And it'll end up sounding tons better than any unbalanced setup you go with.

And if you have any questions in the long run, feel free to PM me. I just happen to be an Audio Engineer