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davecom · Jan 31, 2004, 12:28 PM

What's the cheapest way to get a microphone hooked up to garage band?

absmiths · Feb 18, 2004, 01:49 PM

Originally posted by davecom:
What's the cheapest way to get a microphone hooked up to garage band?

The cheapest way is to plug a 1/8th" microphone plug into your Mac's line in (if you have one). Other options include a Griffin iMic (30$-40$) which provides a 1/8th" line-in over USB. I personally use a direct box plugged into my line in (I am going to buy a real audio interface soon), and both of my mics are plugged into the direct box. If your mic has a mic plug (big round plug with three pins) then you will need to get an adapter to convert that to 1/8 mono.

My biggest problem now is background noise. Even perfect mics and a perfect setup won't help if you are in a room with poor accoustics and a lot of noise (A/C, fans, computer, children, etc).

spiky_dog · Feb 18, 2004, 02:25 PM

buy a 1/8" plug microphone from www.minidisco.com or the equivalent. if you want to buy a "real" (xlr plug) mic then you'll likely need a preamp, which will run you at least $80, for a m-audio audio buddy.

Fothb · Feb 18, 2004, 08:35 PM

For 'Books, the cheapest way is to just use the built-in microphone that comes with the 'Books. It's not professional recording studio quality or anything, but it works fairly decently. Some friends and I were fooling around with GarageBand and recorded some vocals using it and it works better than we would have expected a built-in mic to do. If you're in a completely isolated area with minimal background noise it works even better.

tritonus · Feb 19, 2004, 06:03 AM

My microphone sounds really bad when plugged into my PowerBook's Line-In. Very low volume. It sounds fine with my portable MiniDisc and DAT recorder. So, what's the deal here? Is the Line-In input of bad quality?

Fothb · Feb 19, 2004, 01:05 PM

Originally posted by tritonus:
My microphone sounds really bad when plugged into my PowerBook's Line-In. Very low volume. It sounds fine with my portable MiniDisc and DAT recorder. So, what's the deal here? Is the Line-In input of bad quality?

Is the line "hot"? (meaning, are you using a powered mic or routing it through a preamp that gives you any volume control?) I've found the line-in on my PowerBook to be of great quality when used with my guitar. Also, you can try adjusting the line-in input level under System Preferences. Try maxing out the input volume of the line-in source to see if that makes things better.

waffffffle · Feb 19, 2004, 01:59 PM

Does anyone know if a PowerBook can power an SM58 mic? I want to buy one but I don't want to invest in any more hardware to power the mic if I don't have to.

spiky_dog · Feb 19, 2004, 03:37 PM

Originally posted by waffffffle:
Does anyone know if a PowerBook can power an SM58 mic? I want to buy one but I don't want to invest in any more hardware to power the mic if I don't have to.

no, you need a preamp like the m-audio audio buddy that i mentioned, in addition to a usb audio device such as an imic or something more capable, roland ua-3 maybe.

tritonus · Feb 19, 2004, 05:44 PM

Originally posted by Fothb:
Is the line "hot"? (meaning, are you using a powered mic or routing it through a preamp that gives you any volume control?) I've found the line-in on my PowerBook to be of great quality when used with my guitar. Also, you can try adjusting the line-in input level under System Preferences. Try maxing out the input volume of the line-in source to see if that makes things better.

"Hot"? Well, I use a Sony ECM-MS907 mic with my MiniDisc and DAT, no preamp or powered mic. I have maxed out the input volume in System Preferences, of course. So, yo say that the line-in is not usable for mics without a preamp?

absmiths · Feb 19, 2004, 06:55 PM

Originally posted by tritonus:
"Hot"? Well, I use a Sony ECM-MS907 mic with my MiniDisc and DAT, no preamp or powered mic. I have maxed out the input volume in System Preferences, of course. So, yo say that the line-in is not usable for mics without a preamp?

The line-in will never provide phantom power - you need a direct-box or the equivalent for that.

spiky_dog · Feb 19, 2004, 07:03 PM

Originally posted by absmiths:
The line-in will never provide phantom power - you need a direct-box or the equivalent for that.

and even for non-condensers that don't need phantom power, mic level and line level are not the same. you need a preamp. (i guess the minidisc players have a mic-level input.)

tritonus · Feb 20, 2004, 12:32 AM

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
and even for non-condensers that don't need phantom power, mic level and line level are not the same. you need a preamp. (i guess the minidisc players have a mic-level input.)

Thanks! Yes, my MiniDisc recorder has a mic input.

waffffffle · Feb 20, 2004, 12:33 AM

Originally posted by spiky_dog:
no, you need a preamp like the m-audio audio buddy that i mentioned, in addition to a usb audio device such as an imic or something more capable, roland ua-3 maybe.

I'm talking about plugging the SM58 directly into the line input on the PowerBook. I currently plug my guitars and basses directly in and it works fine, but I would like a good vocal mic. Are you sure that the line input cant power a vocal mic?

jwblase · Feb 20, 2004, 05:20 PM

Heck... If you want to try something... try putting a set of earphones into the microphone jack on your mac. I used to be able to use each earbud as a separate mono microphone. Hold them close together, and Voila! you have stereo!

JB

spiky_dog · Feb 20, 2004, 06:02 PM

Originally posted by waffffffle:
I'm talking about plugging the SM58 directly into the line input on the PowerBook. I currently plug my guitars and basses directly in and it works fine, but I would like a good vocal mic. Are you sure that the line input cant power a vocal mic?

yes. line level != mic level. try it, and i predict that you'll get just about no signal.