I want to build my first recording rig on this Mac

Matt300ZXT

Well-known member
Alright guys, I have no idea how all this stuff works. All I've ever done with guitar is just plug into various rack effects or pedals, hooked up preamp/poweramps in my rack rig or run straight into heads so my knowledge is a little lacking in this department. I bought this Mac a couple years ago to pick up a basic interface with to record some simple guitar riffs so I wouldn't forget them.

These days, I wouldn't mind having one so I could record guitar parts to remember them, but also play through my computer and studio monitors w/o having to crank up my tube amps. The walls are a bit thin in the new place so it'd be nice to get all kinds of different sounds through the computer but also at a better volume.

I have a friend who offered to sell me a barely used Scarlett 18i20 for a very good price and I have a small rack I keep under the desk here with a 1 space power conditioner to supply power to the Mac, monitor, and the studio monitors, so there is still more space to install the interface. I'll list what I've got here:

Early 2009 Mac Pro running 2.66ghz quad core cpu, 16gb ram, and 10.13.4 High Sierra (Firewire 800 ports)
Cheap but make good loud noise Samson Resolv 65a monitors with a 120a subwoofer
The Mac has Garage Band on it, not sure if there's any other studio software

Another friend mentioned rather than plugging straight into the interface and using amp sims through the software, I could run one of my preamps into the interface. I have 4 different rackmount tube guitar preamps, and well, I can only play one at a time through my rack rig, so I could pirate one to install in this rack under the desk. Is it going to make much of a difference using the amp sims or a real preamp?

Also, I'm just using a 3mm cable that splits into 2 RCA plugs to get signal from the Mac to the studio monitors so I can play along with songs on Youtube and stuff but there is annoying static coming through the speakers, I'm assuming due to the basic cable. Does the interface have some sort of output plug to run sound into the studio monitors or do I need some sort of sound card in the Mac?
 
Back
Top