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How To Record Your Guitar In GarageBand

If you’re a guitarist who’s just getting started with GarageBand and are dying to jump in a start recording, you may be overwhelmed with the different gear options available to you.

While many would argue that the only way to accurately capture an electric guitar performance is by mic’ing up your amplifier and hitting record, in my latest video I share 3 ways that you can directly input your guitar into your Mac so that you can record it in GarageBand.

Directly inputting (or ‘DI-ing’) your instrument in this way gives you more control over how your recording sounds if you choose to use Garageband’s built in amp designer and/or Audio Unit plug ins.

Check it out below:

 

 

You can find the gear mentioned in the video here:

 

TOOGOO(R) 3M Guitar to PC USB Recording Cable

 

IK Multimedia iRig Pro I/O

 

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

 

 

How do you prefer to record your guitars in GarageBand? What gear do you use? Leave a comment and let me know or come join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Show Comments (7)
  1. Yay!!! Thanks so much, Patrick, for doing this! I had almost given up on getting any kind of clear instruction on getting my gear pulled together. Now, I can give it a go! Thanks for responding to my request from a ways back!

  2. Thanks for the videos. Years ago i used to plug into my old pc via a quarter inch jack reducer right to the input on the back. It didn’t have problems with lag as you mentioned but it did dirty up the signal considerably. I always used a processor in between and distortion so i didn’t notice the problem until I played clean and it sounded like overdrive.

    I’m hoping to get back into making music again (not professional quality necessarily just something for myself to listen to) and I realized my new iPhone could possibly help me record. If I get the cheapest option I can expect to have a latency issue that causes a delay in my signal being recorded? It looks like the middle option is better but much more expensive. Its not that bad but if I could start with the cheaper option and be reasonably satisfied I would do that at first.

    I’m assuming that I can program drums and possibly other accompanying instruments for my songs right? I used to import drum tracks from an emulated drum machine program back in the day.

  3. I’ve had GarageBand installed on one iPad or another for five years, and because my BR800 came with a 120-page book telling me how to work it while GarageBand didn’t, I’ve been somewhat scared of it all this time. Now I’m finding that all I needed was an iRig and a likeable Scottish chap explaining what stuff does.

    The only criticism I have is that what I have seen so far is Mac based only. How about a parallel guide for iPad users?

  4. This question is so basic I’m a little embarrassed to ask: I have a Mac mini, a Behringer UM22 audio interface and an Epiphone ES-339 Pro. For now, I would like to know if I can play my guitar over a backing track and hear both inputs on my headphones.

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