Live Recording

Check these pages for tips on Using microphones, Recording Vocals and Recording Instruments
Master Pitch
Master Pitch
how low can you go?
You can change the pitch of an entire song with the Master Pitch control located in the Master Track. You will need to use this when you want to match your tracks to another recording.
The standard pitch, known as concert pitch, is A440 Hz - but in many parts of the world A442 has become the new standard pitch. This difference is slight enough that you will often get away with unmatched recordings.

But there are other situations that make the Master Pitch control very useful:
recording with an acoustic piano for instance; the majority of pianos around the world are well below pitch, and piano tuners do not automatically raise the pitch. In fact, they will charge you for an extra tuning if the piano is below A338 Hz. Many pianos you will come across are a semi-tone flat (=A425 Hz) or more.....
icon
Direct in or Mic?
Get some air
GarageBand's gorgeous line up of amps may tempt you to always record electric guitar by plugging it in directly.
There is certainly enough variation in the amps and amp settings to produce hundreds of different guitar sounds this way.
However, recording the guitarist by placing a good mic in front of the amp can give a new, individual dimension to the guitar sound: a whole lot of factors now come into play: the room size, type of amp and mic, distance of mic from amp.
There is something attractive about a sound that has traveled through the air before reaching your hard disk. The same goes for synths and bass - experiment.

icon
Input Level
Mic & Line
There are two kinds: "mic level" signals have low voltage, for example microphones and el. guitars; and "line level" signals, stronger, from synths, your stereo system, etc.
Electric guitars can often produce a signal that falls in-between mic and line level - this is sometimes known as "instrument level". You will know that the signal coming from your instrument/microphone/mixer/amp is right when the GarageBand volume sliders are neither at the very left or right of their range, but comfortably in the middle. This gives you enough flexibility to get the right mix.

TheGarageDoor Image Gallery


imic
Imic
Bits
A reminder: Make sure you set the Audio input to 16 bit when using the Imic. GarageBand 1.0 may have reset it to 8-bit upon launch. Here's how:
-In the Finder, go to Applications-Utilities.
-Open the Audio Midi Setup App - Click on the Audio Devices tab -Choose the iMic under "Properties For" on the left
- You now see "Audio Input"; select "2ch-16bit" instead of "2ch-8bit".
See also our tip on "Input Volume" on the GarageDoor Set-up | Import page.

Learning more...
dummies
click image to view

Amazon is selling "Home Recording for Dummies" for $15.30 ( $21.99)
Home recording
dummies
If you are passionate about home recording, there are some very good books available to guide you. A book like "Home Recording for Dummies" will help you raise your standards - and give you the confidence to experiment with more advanced ideas.
"Home Recording for Dummies" is one of the most popular books on the subject and I have always recommended it highly.

A couple of reader reviews (from amazon.com):
This book is great!!!! I have been messing around with home recording for about 2 years, So I say I am still new at this. This book has got me off on the right foot, and helped to set up the studio I have now. It has also shown what kinda of upgrades I can make in the future. I now have everything that I want to get in the future laid out in the order I want/need to get them. I highly recommend this book I wish I had this two years ago !!

My only dislike of this book is that it didn't come sooner for me. I don't consider myself a novice, nor do I think of myself as an expert. I fall somewhere in the middle and think I can still benefit greatly from the topics covered in this book. Unless you've gone to college as a sound engineer, there is something useful for you in this book !
DJ Papabear


To the Top