Garage Band sounds bad
I try to record my practice songs on Garage Band but I have yet for it to sound very good. Oh yes some it is me for sure but Im wondering if there is anything I can do to improve the sound quality.
I use the built in Mic on my MAC so Im sure that is one problem. I use a moderate recording level but have not messed with any of the other many confiuration elements. Compression elements, equalizzer etc.
Any suggestions how to get my recodings to sound better?
Gary
Thanks so much. I bought a USB mic a while back and garaage band/MAC coul;d not see it. Its been some time and I dont recall the technical problem. Are you confident Blue MiCs will be recognized my MAC?
Blue microphones are definitely compatible with Macs. Make sure you check your system preferences (click the apple symbol in the upper left corner of the screen and select System Preferences -- Sound) and check to see that your input device is selected and that the levels are set correctly. Then check within GarageBand to ensure you've set an audio track using a microphone input. It's been a while since I used GarageBand (I have Pro Tools in my studio), but I think it works the same as I remember it.
The Mac microphone kinda sucks for anything outside of Facetiming or Webexes. I think you'll see a noticeable improvement by stepping up your mic. There's several that are made specificially for computer use. Blue makes a number of good ones like the Snowball and others:
www.bluedesigns.com
CAD Audio makes some nice USB mics as well:
www.cadaudio.com
If you want to use your existing equipment like bullet mics and vocal/audio mics or connecting your guitars, keyboards, or other instruments, you should look at audio interface devices. You can find a zillion of them at Sweetwater (the most AWESOME company in the entire world):
www.sweetwater.com/shop/studio-recording/audio-interfaces/
For Mac, they make them in Firewire, Ethernet, USB, and Thunderbolt connections, depending on what you have available on your computer, and you can find interface units in all price ranges to meet your budget.
The only caution I can give you is: Be careful my friend! Stepping into studio sound equipment can be VERY addictive.