Garageband instead of an amp?

S56035

Hi,
Not sure this is the right category and this may well be a stupid question but here goes anyway.

We have a new iMac with Garageband that I want to try and make use of.  I may well do some recording at some point but I'm most likely to just use it to just noodle away on a set of headphones if that's possible?  I guess what I'm asking is can I use Garageband instead of an amp?  If it's possible what sort of interface do I need?

Ta

Bill_S

You certainly can - the amp sims in GarageBand are decent enough. You’ll need an audio interface of some kind - I’ve used the Focusrite ones for years, but there are loads. The Audient iD4 gets great reviews and is well priced. 

axisus

Yeah, I did that for years. Very convenient.

S56035

Cool. Thanks both.

Would this work for an interface? This may be a ten minute thing so don't  want to go too crazy.

https://www.coda-music.com/bandlab-link-analog-mini.html

TheBigDipper

aS56035 said:

Cool. Thanks both.

Would this work for an interface? This may be a ten minute thing so don't  want to go too crazy.

https://www.coda-music.com/bandlab-link-analog-mini.html

If this is telling you something you already know, then apologies.  :-) 

Some background.

When the iPhone/iPad first came out, the early interfaces to let you connect your electric guitar to your computer were analogue connections using the microphone input to your computer. So, the analogue signal from your guitar was sent to the computer as if it were a microphone signal and the analogue-to-digital converter in your computer did the conversion work. What you heard on your headphones was converted back to analogue and amplified by the headphones circuitry in your computer. 

They were then superseded by "proper" audio interfaces that contained their own analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue converters. They'd generally use better converters than the one in your computer, have some helpful electronics for your input signal, a headphone amp for your phones and deliver better quality sound. Some are powered by external power supplies and others over your USB connection to the computer. 

You can usually tell which is which by the way it connects. If it connects using the jack cable, then it's the first type. If it connects using USB, Firewire or whatever then it's the better type. The one you've asked about connects using a jack cable. It will work, but may not sound very good. 

You don't say if you have an iPhone or iPad. If you do, you might like to look at the iTrack Pocket from Focusrite. It's no longer made, I think, but it's a great convenient audio interface for iDevices that uses a Lightning connection. I own one. The guitar amps on Garageband iOS are decent. There's a used one on eBay right now that ends tomorrow and hasn't had a bid yet.

nonesuch

Yeah I'd agree with the other comments that you'd be better off getting a proper USB interface. Something like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, which is less than £100. I use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 which gives you more inputs and outputs.

Yes it's a bit more money, but with something like this you get the low latency you need for playing and listening, and it will also open up a world of opportunities for recording and mixing your music.

S56035

Cheers guys.  Really appreciate the responses as I'm clueless in this area.  Think I'll bite the bullet and go straight for the Focusrite Solo.

JezWynd

As an alternative, Behringer do low cost versions of the Scarlett that I've found work very well. The UMC22 or higher spec UMC202HD.

S56035

JezWynd said:

As an alternative, Behringer do low cost versions of the Scarlett that I've found work very well. The UMC22 or higher spec UMC202HD.

Interesting option.  Cheers.

steven70

I use Garageband at home. Presonus USB interface for about £80 quid. And a set of half decent headphones and/or monitors.

I am very fussy when it comes to live/studio guitar sounds, but for practice and demos, Garageband is fantastic and the built in amp models are more than adequate to get ideas flowing.

chrisj1602

The Apogee Jam is a good guitar interface for guitar into Mac.

S56035

I ended up getting the Focusrite Solo and it all works great. Only used it for one session so far though and it was really easy to use.  Just need to invest in a decent set of headphones now as the bluetooth ones I have suffer from too much latency.

S56035

Resurrecting this instead of raising a new thread.

Does anyone have any recommendations for speakers to connect to the Mac?  I'm enjoying using the headphones but do get to play loud sometimes. There appears to be a billion speaker options so any help would be appreciated.  Do I need a pair or will one do me?

nonesuch

For years I always just had my Mac or audio interface connected to a hi-fi amp and speakers. Now I use a pair of PreSonus Eris E5 Monitors that I got to help with recording and mixing. These are connected to the output of a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4.

As with all things it depends on how much you want to spend. These were about £200 for the pair.