GarageBand 3 and Firewire Interface

I want to know more about using a USB or Firewire audio interface to record real instruments & mics as separate tracks in GB... but I'm so novice I don't even know what questions to ask? Basically, if I get something like an 8-channel Firewire audio interface, can I plug a few mics and a couple guitars in and record each one as its own separate track? Am I correctly intepreting the purpose and use of these devices? Are there any compatibility issues to consider?

Briefly: Everything that you record from the "real world" has to be converted from analog sound wave to analog current to digital signals for GB to be able to use it. A microphone or electic guitar pickup does the first part, the analog to digital is the part that you use these interfaces for (you can also do it on-board if your Mac has a line-in, but your signal has to be pre-amped to do that, and it's strictly one stereo channel only).
The interfaces send their converted digital signal through the USB or Firewire port, and they can send multiple channels at once. GB can handle eight stereo tracks simultaneously, you can even combine several devices on several ports, as long as it's not more than eight channels.
The only compatibility issues are: Does your interface need a driver, and is this driver available for your Mac? (There's a couple of devices that still aren't fully supported on Intel Macs.)

Similar Messages

  • Does 2 firewire audio and video interface can work together  on FCP ?

    hello,
    My audio interface is a TC Electronic Konnekt 24D
    my video interface is a Canopus ADVC 110
    my hard drives are plugged in firewire too
    and I use Final Cut Pro 5.0.4
    So, the konnekt is recognized by FCP only when the Canopus is not plugged. And even then, the audio sometimes drop out and sometimes causes the app to crash, so that I have to trash the preferences
    When I plug the Canopus, the Konnekt 24D is recognised by OS X but not FCP
    I want to use the voice over tool with the konnekt 24D, so what should I do ?
    Does 2 firewire audio and video interface can work together ?
    If so, maybe I only have a driver problem from TC Electronic.
    But if not, I have to change this interface. Let me know if only RME, MOTU, Presonus and Edirol work, as it is said on apple's webpage for hardware compatibility
    thanks
    eMac G4 1,25 Ghz Mac OS X (10.3.9)
    eMac G4 1,25 Ghz 1 Go RAM DDR   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

    The 1082 does show up as a possible input when I open
    the VO tool.
    Ok. So an audio interface can be plugged to FCP without crashing the app. Because of the Konnekt driver problem, I wasn't shure of this.
    I use my Aja box for export & external monitoring.
    All my audio sources run back into the Tascam and I
    use the analog mixer in the 1082 to monitor different
    sources.
    When I view external video, the audio follows it to
    keep sync.
    that's exactly what I want with other I/O interfaces. I'd like to monitor video with the canopus ADVC 110, and monitor audio with the Konnekt 24D (or another interface if this one is not compatible)
    I also imput dailies with a deck or a camera (DV or HDV) but that's not the point here.
    I want to imput audio with the Konnekt 24D because of its audio quality. Not audio sync to video dailies. But voice over, in sync with FCP video playback (for me, tha ADVC 110)

  • Firewire Interface and Microphone Choices?

    Was looking to drop no more than 500 dollars on a firewire interface and less than 175 in a microphone to do some decent quality recording onto my MB (primarily trumpet, ukulele and acoustic guitar). For the interface I've been looking at the:
    Apogee Duet
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Apogee-Duet-Firewire-Interface?sku=234444
    And for the mic, the:
    MXL 992
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-MXL-992-LargeDiaphragm-Condenser-Micr ophone?sku=273162
    Any feedback on these two products or have any other recommendations? Thanks for the help.

    MBaltrusitis wrote:
    Was looking to drop no more than 500 dollars on a firewire interface and less than 175 in a microphone to do some decent quality recording onto my MB (primarily trumpet, ukulele and acoustic guitar). For the interface I've been looking at the:
    Apogee Duet
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Apogee-Duet-Firewire-Interface?sku=234444
    And for the mic, the:
    MXL 992
    http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MXL-MXL-992-LargeDiaphragm-Condenser-Micr ophone?sku=273162
    Any feedback on these two products or have any other recommendations? Thanks for the help.
    If you don't need a lot of inputs and outputs, but are looking for decent sound quality, the Apogee Duet seems like a good deal.
    I'm not familiar with the mic.

  • USB/Firewire Interface for MIDI and audio (Garage Band)

    I want to connect a Roland Handsonic (electronic drum) and Shure microphone to a Mac Pro for recording in Garage Band. What is the best USB/firewire interface for MIDI and audio?
    Mac Pro desktop   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    If you click one of the links you can read all about it in depth.
    three guitarists
    That's not what you asked for B-)>
    Once you want more than 2 audio inputs, the prices start jumping up dramatically.
    would this be the best interface to use?
    If you really want "Best" then it's a simple answer:
    http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/FirePod.html

  • (MacOSX Lion 10.7.4) The problem of connecting the audio interface (USB and FireWire), grained acoustic distortion!?

    When you connect the audio interface to usb or firewire grained acoustic distortion, there is no loud noise in the acoustics! In the old "iMac24 Snow Leopard" was not like this!
    Just bought the iMac21 lion, installed the new drivers and the two interfaces of different firms is presented, this acoustic problem.
    I understand it comes from a usb and firewire!?
    Help Me_____
    Sorry for my english

    Well, it's been a few days and with no response I thought I'd look for another solution. I've been trying this software called iVPN, apparently it's like a front-end to OS X's built-in VPN server. Anyway, I disabled the VPN Server from the Server app, turned on iVPN and was VPN-ing from my iPhone over 3G in notime. It's a great app, though it kinda ***** that the server can't do what it's built to do. Since VPN was the big reason I got Server in the first place, I'll probably uninstall it and stick with OS X's built-in file sharing and iVPN.

  • IMac and USB or Firewire interface?

    I'm close to purchasing a new quad core iMac. My only hesitation is that the iMac has only a single Firewire input. At the moment I use a MacBook 2 GHz with an Edirol UA-25 USB interface and two external Firewire drives, one for recording audio and the other for samples.
    But what if I need to replace my interface? There are far more Firewire audio interfaces than there are USB offerings. I assume that daisy-chaining the two external drives plus a Firewire interface might over-tax the iMac's single Firewire input. On the other hand, the most I ever record at one time are two tracks. I guess what I'm really asking is this: Given my need for only two inputs, what's the difference between a USB and a Firewire interface?
    Jim

    It's a Firewire 800 port.
    Daisy-chain or use a hub. For maximum performance in daisy-chaining, hook up your FW800 devices first, and hang the FW 400 device(s) off that. If you have more than on FW 400 device, use a hub.
    Also, I don't think there's ever been a Mac that had more than one Firewire controller, i.e. even on machines with more than one port, all Firewire ports hook up to a single chipset, meaning it's just an integrated hub, with no speed benefit at all from the multiple sockets.

  • Suggestions for Higher End USB/Firewire Interface

    I am looking for a pretty good quality interface that will let me record at least 2 tracks (stereo minijack doesn't seem to record to seperate tracks yes?) - but preferrably 4 or 8 tracks at a time into GarageBand.
    One thing I've seen is this m-audio w/ 4 inputs but it looks lousy for Macs by the reviewers' accounts. http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-FireWire-410-Recording-Interface/dp/B0000TP588/sr= 1-11/qid=1172259647/ref=sr111/105-2727921-4590048?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
    I have a Macbook pro. I also have a pretty nice 16 channel Mackie board -- but no way to get multiple tracks into GarageBand. Are there interfaces that are simply conduits to multiple tracks without the need for pricey pre's that I have in the mixer?
    Budget = up to $400 or $500.
    macbook pro   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    are there more mobile, non-rack options?
    Can you explain what the problem is with the FirePod? I find it very mobile because I have not mounted it in any of our racks, I just pick it up and take it where I need it (jsut because it CAN be rack mounted doesn't mean you have to do so B-)>.
    It's a fantastic interface and at a decent price for what it has.
    <hr width="250" align="left">
    HangTime [Will Compute for Food] B-)>
    ♪♫ The Bullets and Bones Band ♫♪
    Disclaimer<hr width="250" align="left">

  • New-MIDI and Audio Interface

    I am new to garageband but not new to the mac. I used to use Cakewalk on the PC for my sequencing about 15 years ago. I have a 12 powerbook 1.5. For MIDI I was looking at the MOTU FastLan. What about Audio? Can I use the line in on my laptop or do I need some kind of USB or Firewire interface?
    As the interface is USB fast enough or do we need firewire?

    If you are cash-strapped, you can use the line in on the Powerbook; however, you may need a preamp to boost the signal into the PB. I can use my electric guitar straight in, but a mic wouldn't work. I agree that you should probably just get a MIDI/Audio interface from the start, especially if you don't have any preamps of mixers laying around that can boost a signal. The consensus around here seems to be that Firewire works better overall and stresses that CPU less than USB. Lot's of people swear by the Tascam US-122 (USB) though. I'm saving for the M-Audio Firewire Audiophile or the Firewire Solo.

  • Intel iMac 20' users - any problems with noise on your firewire interfaces?

    Someone please tell me that they have a quiet intel iMac 20'/Firewire interface set up, I'm having problems with a lot of digital noise from my Saffire LE & badly am hoping it's 'fixable' or just a faulty unit but more so, praying it's not noise from the iMacs Power supply that will interfere with any firewire interface I get???
    I've read many posts about G5's suffering from noisy psu's which was one factor in my choosing an intel iMac & I chose the Saffire on it's great reviews for sound quality, there's no way I can work with the noise I'm getting & I'm pretty much panicking that if it IS the iMac & firewire thats the problem I'll be screwed as i only have 6 pin firewire as a useable option (really don't want to use usb2)
    Incidentally, the 'budget' set up I had previously (PC & soundblaster audigy) didnt suffer from any noise like this (at least not that was even audible with the mixer levels at conversational level!) which i guess rules out any blame of this on 'mains hum/interference'?
    The noise is there with the saffire's monitor output knob at any setting & with no inputs connected, it;s even worse if i power the saffire with it's external psu instead of off buss power. I'm not using a firewire hub & I've tried switching firewire leads & removing the firewire hard drive i have in the other port in case this was affecting it.
    Would really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar troubles or even better anyone thats NOT having this problem with a 20' intel iMac & firewire interface so at least i know there's light (& quiet!) at the end of the tunnel
    Adam
    Intel iMac 20'   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    funnily enough I'm going the other way, I have a rack of external modules/>sampler/fx etc & a crate of looms I've just unplugged as they've not been >turned on in so long!!!
    I hear you there!
    The noise is there without any inputs at all to the interface, its defiantely >digital though, its like a toned version of the sound of an old telephone >modem.
    What I mean, is try disconnecting everything, drives and all. You might even disconnect the interface and crank up the iMacs volume to see if it is there. If it is, you can try the UPS and see if that takes care of it. Then add them in one at a time. All it takes is one cheap power brick in the mix to cause all kinds of trouble (if your using powered monitors, that brick too). Noisy components can actually send noise back into the source power.
    I know it can be really frustrating, especially if you have noise coming from more that one source. The key is to strip everything until it is quiet and then add them back in to see where the worst is. Then come up with a plan to try to get rid of the noise.

  • Hard-drive and audio interface set-up - Advice please

    Hello,
    Please offer me some advice if you can. I have the new 13" macbook pro 2.26Ghz with Logic Studio. I am going to get a hard-drive that has both usb and firewire 800 interfaces and need to decide whether to get a usb or firewire audio interface. The crux of my problem is in what configuration to use the devices, which will determine which audio interface I choose. E.g.
    1. Firewire 800 hard-drive to record tracks onto and back-up + usb audio interface; or
    2. Firewire 800 hard-drive as above + firewire 400 audio interface daisy-chained; or
    3. Record onto the internal hard-drive and use a usb audio interface; or
    4. Record onto the internal hard-drive and use a firewire 400 interface.
    FYI, the audio interfaces I'm looking at are the E-Mu 0404 USB or Focusrite Saffire LE, both of which have had excellent reviews.
    Questions to consider, please, are: Which configuration will offer the best performance and least latency? Is it worth recording onto external hard-drive (7,200) or will the internal drive (5,200) be faster/as fast? Will daisy-chaining cause a significant drop in performance? Do you have any alternative configuration suggestions? Plus any other comments you can think of.
    Thank you in advance
    Jamie

    The good thing about #2, if the drive enclosure also has a USB 2.0 interface you have the option of using/trying that configuration as well. I know a few that get away with using USB drives for recording.
    Make sure the audio drive is formatted Mac OS Extended, with Journaling OFF.
    Don't trust the drive formatting as it's delivered.
    pancenter-

  • Which firewire interface for Final Cut Pro on MacPro?

    I currently own a Presonus Firepod, and it seems to work pretty well, but may sell this when I upgrade from a MacMini to a MacPro. I use my Mac for Logic Pro currently.
    I anticipate running Final Cut Pro in the near future, so I'm wondering about the ability to read/generate SMPTE time code that the MOTU traveller supplies?
    There will be no external mixer, so this interface will connect directly to speakers & headphones. (would be nice to be able to mute speakers and control headphone mix using just the firewire interface).
    I don't anticipate needing more than 2 Mic inputs - and my current mike is a Rode NT1. (As the NT1 is not a top-of-the-line mic, unsure if I should place a lot of emphasis on worrying about the pre-ams?)
    I would like decent mic preamps, and ability to graphically monitor input and output levels (is this graphic monitoring necessary, or is just the single overload indicator sufficient?).
    Which interfaces in $600-$1500 range would work best with Final Cut Pro - and Logic Pro?

    I saw the Traveller ads in Videography mentioning
    time code, so I presumed it had an advantage over
    other interfaces.
    I found this in some ad copy:
    """The Travler provides on-board SMPTE time code synchronization features that allow you to slave your Traveler system to SMPTE time code without a synchronizer. The Traveler provides a DSP-driven phase-lock engine with sophisticated filtering that provides fast lockup times and sub-frame accuracy. The included MOTU SMPTE Console software provides a complete set of tools to generate SMPTE for striping, regenerating or slaving other devices to the computer."""
    So it likely uses an audio port for timecode I/O. However, unless you have external equipment that you want to slave to Logic Pro, (or have Logic slave to) e.g. a timecode DAT, then this really is not necessary. FCP would not see the Travaller as a "controllable" device.
    For Final Cut Pro use, I'd probably shoot in HDV.
    When shooting a green screen near my computer (or
    maybe even on-site), I wondered if there would be an
    advantage to recording the audio thru an interface
    like the traveller.
    The advantage is that you could capture additional mics and audio tracks with your mac while the cameras shoot. Just slate your takes and sync up later.
    Do I actually need an interface that provides time
    code, or is that only needed for movie work?
    I have SMPTE I/O on my Unitor8, directly accessable in Logic Pro. In 8 years I've probably used it twice to capture audio from some modular digital multitracks. So, unless you have some specific need.....
    Maybe it is simpler just to connect to the mic
    directly to the camera's input?
    Indeed. You should always have camera audio available. Anything else is supplemental. Alternatively, you could use the Travaller or RME, etc. as a "live to camera" mixer in a studio situation. Plug your mics into the interface, create a submix and send it to the camera while simultaneously capturing each mic to an individual track in Logic Pro. There are many possibilities.
    G5 QuadPPC2.5, Ram:12.5g, Magma PCIe-PCI expansion   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   2X Hammerfall DSP Digiface+Multiface, Digi 002r, 4X UAD-1

  • Are there ANY firewire interfaces that work with 24" imac 2.16 Core 2 duo?

    This is really getting frustrating. I have now tried and failed at getting both an m-audio profire lightbridge and a TC electronic studio konnekt 48 to work on this computer. Both interfaces were tested with Leopard and Tiger, no success.
    My computer is NOT the aluminum imac, it's the earlier whiteface version, so it's supposed to have the TI chipset(I've been told that the aluminum imacs don't work because they have a agrere chipset....) The firewire port works fine with an external hard drive, but no one seems to be able to write software drivers that work.
    If anyone is successfully running a firewire interface with this model computer please let me know what OS you are running, the interface, and what software you are using.
    I'm starting to think that the problem is on apple's end, it shouldn't be this hard for third party manufacturers to write reliable drivers. both m-audio and tc electronic's forums are littered with complaints about bad drivers for the last year or so.
    Message was edited by: MNMinstrel

    Yildox - I've been doing a little more research... Your imac has a known problem, it's the particular firewire chipset it uses, made by Agere. The older white versions have a Texas instruments chipset, which is supposed to be better, though I haven't had any success with mine so far in the audio interface department.
    I really think that the problem is bigger than that though. Everyone having a problem with a firewire audio interface seems to have one similarity, a mac made in the last 2 years running OS 10.4.9 or later.

  • Favoring FireWire interface over USB for external HDD

    I have my iMac hooked up to an external HDD via both USB and FireWire 800 as it is triple-interfaced (USB, FW 400 & FW 800).
    Lately, as I turn on the external HDD (pretty much always once the iMac is up & running), the HDD icon shows in the Finder with the USB symbol.
    It requires me to eject the HDD in the Finder and then disconnect the USB cable for the iMac to detect the external HDD again but now through FireWire.
    The reason I use both interfaces is to handle HDD read/write communication via FW whereas USB only as hub (the external HDD comes with 3 USB ports).
    Is there anything I can do to make sure the primary interface is FireWire and not otherwise?
    Thanks!

    In a recent phone call with OWC's tech support I asked the same question. Answer was "Do not connect both interfaces at the same time". There is no way to arbitrate the connection the Mac will use, and strange things will happen.
    If you think about it, there is no way to specify a preference in the Mac for what ports to connect with, so it does what it wants, not what you'd like.
    I can only imaging what happens on Windows machines. I suspect corruption ahead

  • M-Audio 1814 and FireWire 800

    I am working on a MBP and Logic 8, using the Vienna Symphonic Library on external hard drives, one 250 GB LaCie, the second a 500 GB Maxtor. When I use the external hard drives with FireWire 800 first the Audio Interface starts clicking, using Logic 8 the system crashes seriously. If I use the FireWire Hub on the back of my Cinema Display, the 1814 is not recognized.
    For the use of the VI-Library I need fast hard drives, the CPU seems not to be the problem. Why I cannot use FireWire 400 (Audio Interface) and Firewire 800 hard drives?

    Thank you Chris, I just wonder why Bee Jay can use the HD FW800 with the M-Audio Firewire interface without problems.
    I use the ext HD for backup too, but sometimes I need to find something in my backups and I have to turn off the audio interface and copy the files on my internal HD ... then turn off the drive again and turn on the M-Audio ... it's very annoying.
    In some forum I read that the problem can be the firewire chipset, but my iMac has the Lucent and the MacBook Pro has the TI (reccomended by M-Audio) ... same problem on both machines.
    I did some test:
    1) If I use the FW800 external HD and the FW400 with iMovie and my Video Camcorder I have no problem at all. I tried to use the HD at maximum (during a time machine backup I was copying other files and saving the HDV files in the same external HD) and everything works perfectly without loosing a single frame.
    2) If I connect the HDV camcorder to the M-Audio interface I cannot even start the capture ... I have to turn off the external FW800 HD.
    It looks that the problem is definitely in the M-Audio Firewire driver but unfortunatley the M-Audio e-mail support is only for US customers ... and I'm Italian.
    Is there any US customer that has this problem and can insist with the M-Audio support?
    Maybe they can solve it in the next release ...
    Thank you in advance.

  • Thunderbolt and Firewire

    I am pondering the idea of getting one of the new MacBook Pros with the Retina Display. However: they only have Thunderbolt and USB ports, and I have a Firewire interface. As far as I can see, there are no low-end Thunderbolt audio interfaces yet. Can I hook up my Firewire device to the Thunderbolt port somehow, or will I have to ditch it for a USB one?

    Apple announced both a Thunderbolt to Ethernet, and Thunderbolt to FireWire 800 adaptor during WWDC. the FireWire adaptor doesn't seem to be available yet, but the ethernet version is US$29:
    http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD463ZM/A
    perhaps the FW adaptor will be the same, and with a combination of 800 to 400 adaptor it'll work?
    think it's worth the effort?
    (good luck if you go for it, i'm holding out for a new mac pro and retina cinema display!)

Maybe you are looking for