Which M-Audio Interface to record acoustic guitar?

Hi, I've been using Garageband for over 2 years and am currently switching to LE8. I used the USB Samson mic primarily for my recordings and am thinking of upgrading to better equipments. I record mostly my acoustic guitar which has a plug-in.
I am thinking of getting a Shure Sm57 together with either
1) M-audio Firewire Solo - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWireSolo.html
2) M-Audio Fast Track USB - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackUSB.html
I'm hoping to spend as little as possible. Does anyone know if these hardware are compatible with LE8? And which one should I get?

If I were you I'd get a FireWire Solo interface. First, FireWire is a more stable and reliable connection than USB (believe me, I have used both for recording and USB has regular glitches compared to FW, which has none). Secondly, FW Solo has inputs on the front panel which is more comfortable for recording, while FastTrack doesn't. Third, have a look at the first input on the Solo's front panel. It's designed for the Mic plug.
Both devices have Mac OS drivers, so both are compatible with Tiger/Leopard and hence with LE8.

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re the firmware update - there is talk that this should only be done if you are going to use USB - and also that it needs to be done via Windows.........I am confused re this?
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Digital Audio Workstation; Logic, Cubase, Protools etc are all DAWs. You'll probably encounter this term once in a while...
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man 'O tunes wrote:
I'm preparing to expand my studio from a 1 man songwriting system,
to add the capability to record a complete live band, with 16 separate
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4) If not 16, what's the highest realistic track count I can hope for?
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thanks in advance
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Be aware that when using two mics in this fashion they must be in phase with one another. Normally by positioning them the same distance from the guitar will achieve this. Sometimes it's a little more tricky.
Normally if I'm gonna use two mics on an acoustic, I would use a coincident pair. Preferably two of the same kinds of mics (matched stereo pair when possible) and cross them over one another at 90 degrees. Making sure the actual capsules of the mics are directly next to one another meaning the sound will arrive at both mics at the same time. This should stop any phase problems. by pointing one towards the body and the other towards the neck you should be able to get a fairly good picture of the full tone of the guitar.
See this site:
http://www.dpamicrophones.com/
For some GREAT info on stereo micing techniques. The technique I badly tried to describe is known as the X-Y Technique, it is shown there recording acoustic guitar.
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Best way to mic/record acoustic guitar in song with wide dynamic range

Hey Everyone,
I'm currently working on recording an original song for acoustic guitar and voice. I'm running into trouble though because the guitar part for the verse and refrain are both quiet and understated, but I have this bridge section I do that is very loud. I'm mic-ing my guitar with an AKG 200 Perception Large Diaphragm condenser mic (round-about the 12th fret), and also via my built-in-mic in my guitar, both of which I run directly into my Presonus Firepod. I then record on two tracks at the same time, one for the AKG, and one for the built in mic. But, I'm having to set the sensitivity so low so as not to clip/distort during the loud bridge that I'm just getting a poor sound on the quiet verses and refrains. What's the best way to deal with this? Have a pair of tracks for the quiet parts, and a separate pair for the loud parts? But then I end up with an inconsistent guitar sound.... I'm really fairly new to both the recording process as well as Logic Pro 7. ANY AND ALL suggestions and/or resources are welcome! Thansk very much.
David
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2.0 GHz Processor, 2 GB RAM, Logic Pro 7
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.9) 2.0 GHz Processor, 2 GB RAM

Hi David,
When you say "you're getting poor sound" when it's turned down, is it really poor sound? Or are your ears favoring the other because it's louder? This is a common mistake with beginners. Louder isn't better, it's just louder.
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But you could certainly record this is 2 sections, just make sure the ONLY difference is in the level of the pre-amps going to Logic. Make sure the guitar/microphone distance stays the same.
Then when mixing, you have control over the levels of the different sections, and for all intensive purposes, they should sound the same... meaning the same guitar in the same room... just played louder/softer, which by itself is two totally different sounds. Don't expect the softer parts to sound like the louder parts. they simply can't.. and more importantly, they shouldn't. That's the beauty of any acoustic instrument.

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My sound levels are very low when I try to record a guitar - Real Instrument/Acoustic Guitar/Natural settings. I am using a Shure SM58 via an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra. My line levels seem very low. Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?

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Christian Henson wrote:
For what it's worth ( I don't know what these fetch on eBay) I use a Coles 4038 in conjuntion with a Neumann KM184, make sure they're very close to each other avoid phase problems and they've got air between the player and the mic's.
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I have a little annoying problem:
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GarageBand (1) only supports a single track at a time for recording. You could do what you want in GB2, up to 8 audio tracks (and 1 MIDI track) at the same time.
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--HangTime [Will Compute for Food] B-)>

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Ok, I've been messing around with Garageband all day, totally stoked and I'm ready to get into it. Right now I'm using a First Act quarter inch plug to USB cord to hook up my guitar and start recording and after some messing around I got it to work.
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Message was edited by: xSlamx

I have a total now of 4 interfaces - I recently purchased a FOCUSRITE SAPPHIRE 6 USB - it's amazing quality and I only paid $149 for it at my local Guitar Center. I use it with my Guitar and everything sounds fantastic - they say the preamps are really high-quality for Mics too... I recommend it. I have a firewire interface too but the Sapphire is my man baby now - don't let the USB 1.1 fool you - it works flawlessly with my Mac and my Windows 7 machine too. It also comes with a selection of software including Ableton Live Lite and 4 really nice Focusrite plug-ins too.

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I'm no musician, but I have a MBP C2D and I want to record my grandpa playing guitar and singing with GB. He won't be around forever and all I want to do is preserve some of his music for our family.
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I don't have a lot of money to spend after buying the MBP so just let me know what the essentials are for this one.
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Assuming you have the mic already, we can easily stay under $100.
This Behringer Mixer is about $30.
If you don't have a mic, then take a look at this Studio Condenser Mic with USB Output for about $80 (nothing else needed)
And of course there's the mic built-in to the laptop, but quality there will be lacking.

Which M-Audio Interface to record acoustic guitar?

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