You can connect real instruments, such as electric keyboards and guitars to your Mac for use in GarageBand. Using real instruments with GarageBand produces not only better sound, but realistic practice, as you finger the actual instrument and not an on-screen keyboard/string set.

So You Want To Record Authentic-Sounding Guitar In Your DAW

In this article, I’ll show you exactly how to plug your guitar into GarageBand. The way that I find works best is the most convenient and sounds pretty good as well while minimizing latency and other problems.

How to Plug Your Guitar Into GarageBand

There are a few different ways of doing this, and some are significantly better than others. I’m just going to show you the way that I do it.

I have a couple of pieces of necessary gear:

• Obviously, your guitar.
• A Firewire to USB Cable
• an Audio Interface (I use the Focusrite Saffire 6USB. The Scarlett 2i2 is good too.)
• A USB-C to USB cable (The only reason this adapter is necessary is I’m using the latest edition of the MacBook Pro. The older generation MacBook Pro doesn’t need this adapter).
• Regular Guitar Cable.

If you’re new to music production, understand that a lot of this equipment will come in handy for years to come.

If you’re serious about recording and producing, much of this equipment and more are a necessity, so just grab some of it off Amazon and be done with it.

Without further ado,

The actual steps:

1) Connect your Firewire cable to your MacBook Pro. In most cases, this cable will come with your purchase of an audio interface, or a MIDI keyboard. However, if you don’t have one for whatever reason, I’m sure you can pick one up from Amazon for cheap.

2) Usually, the port for the firewire cable is on the back of the Audio Interface. Plug the other part of the firewire cable into the back of the Audio Interface.

In my case, the Firewire to USB has to go into the USB-C adapter that I mentioned earlier.

3) Now, assuming you have the Focusrite Saffire 6USB, it should be powered by your computer. You don’t have to plug it in or anything like that, so all of its lights will turn on which you can see on the front of the unit.

4) Open GarageBand.

5) Click “Open Project,” or one of your old existing files. It doesn’t matter.

6) Once it brings up the “Choose A Track Type Page,” Click on where it says: “Built-in Input.”

7) This should be all that’s needed for this part of the process. However, assuming this is the first time that you’ve ever done this, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to click on where it says, “Built-in Output.”

8) That should bring up your “Output” and “Input” Devices under the Audio-MIDI region preferences.

9) Make sure you’ve selected “Built-in Output,” if you’re using your computer as your speaker, or the speakers that are hooked up to your laptop.

10) Select your Audio Interface for the “Input Device.”

11) Now, once you’re back at the “Choose A Track Type Page,” then click on one of the two subheadings below, either the “Guitar option,” or the “Microphone option.” This should bring up your MIDI Region and all of your controls.

12) In the “Smart Controls Area,” make sure that you’ve selected your audio-interface where it says, “Input.”

13) Now, plug your guitar into the front of your Audio Interface.

14) Click on the “Monitoring Button,” which looks like an upside down Wi-Fi symbol. This part is important, otherwise, you won’t be able to hear what you’re even playing.

15) You can now select whatever kind of amp you want, whether it’s a “clean guitar,” “crunch guitar,” “acoustic guitar,” “distorted guitar,” “experimental guitar,” “clean bass,” “crunch bass,” and “experimental bass.”

Using Guitar On Mac Garageband Pro

16) You want to hit the “Monitoring” button beside your track-header as well. I’ve highlighted the upside down Wi-Fi-looking symbol with a black circle. It’ll turn orange once it’s been selected.

Under each heading, there are quite a few options that all sound pretty good, especially after you tweak them to your preferences.

And it’s pretty much as simple as that.

There are some problems that you can run into when doing all of this for the very first time. For that reason, I’ll explain some of the problems that I’ve had when I first started out.

Common Problems and Annoyances As A Beginner

1) Make sure that the gain on your Audio-Interface isn’t turned up too much, otherwise, you’re going to be feeding GarageBand too hot of a signal, which will make it sound distorted and bad.

2) Make sure the “Pad,” and “Inst,” buttons are turned off on your audio interface, assuming you own a Focusrite Saffire 6USB. I imagine there are similar controls on other audio interface models.

I find that these buttons make the signal too powerful as well, and thus, create distortion.

3) Latency. I’ve never actually had latency problems when using an Audio Interface, but some people do have this problem. I have an entire article on Latency which you can read more about here.

Essentially, if you’re having latency issues, there could be a number of different causes, however, most of them will be a result of your set-up and incorrect settings for your gear.

For instance, you want to make sure that – if you’re running more than one track – you have the monitoring button turned on for only one of them, rather than every single track.

Other Ways Of Recording Your Guitar In GarageBand

1) You can also use your MacBook’s microphone. This is for very rough demos, obviously, because this way of doing it is going to make a very low-quality recording. However, if you’re desperate, and want to record something, this method will work.

• To do this, you just open a new “Audio” track in your workspace.
• And then click on the “Record” button.
• Start playing the guitar with your amplifier close to it, and that should be enough for a very rough demo.

2) You can also purchase a Guitar to USB cable and hook your guitar directly up to GarageBand. This is an inferior way of recording guitar tracks as well, but it works if you’re running on a string budget.

(This is what a guitar-jack to USB looks like. I don’t own one so I couldn’t take a picture. I had to piece these two images together, but this is what it looks like).

GarageBand will immediately recognize this as an input, so you don’t have to worry about there being compatibility issues.

However, like the method above, you’ll likely run into latency.

3) Use a small portable audio interface if you plan on only running one instrument through your DAW. This is pretty much the same as the main method which I described in detail above.

The only difference is that you’ll be using a much smaller, and likely, limited audio interface. The good thing about this is that it’s relatively inexpensive. Small interfaces are becoming exceedingly popular, like the iRig for example.

I haven’t picked one of these up yet, but once I start traveling around Europe, I imagine I’ll eventually purchase one. I’ll make sure to write a review on it once I do.

Update: You have to use the iRig HD if you want it to work with a PC computer or Mac. The iRig 2 is only good for mobile.

4) Another popular way would be to mic your guitar amplifier up to your audio interface and then through GarageBand.

This is a decent option, but I prefer just to run my guitar directly through GarageBand, rather than doing this. Amplifiers are too big and cumbersome, and I would much rather limit the amount of gear I own.

Before playing your guitar in GarageBand, know that there’s an actually fairly useful tuning mechanism set up in the DAW. It’s not as good as a good old fashioned Korg tuner, but it still works pretty well. I usually use it if I’m too lazy to go over and grab my tuner.

How To Tune Your Guitar Using GarageBand

1) Your guitar is plugged into your audio interface in the computer, so it’s as simple as clicking on the tuning fork beside the center of the DAW where it shows the time signature, tempo, and key signature.

2) When you click on the tuning fork icon, it’ll bring up the meter where you can tune your guitar.

Other Features

One of the great things about using a DAW for your guitar is all of the great VST plug-ins that you can use for your guitar.

For example, you can download amplifier simulators and cabs for your set up, and while it may not sound good as the original which the plug-ins are modeled after, they still sound good enough to use, and they’re good enough for the vast majority of people who aren’t tone-purists.

I’ll show you how to download plug-ins into your DAW in a later article.

That’s all for now. If this helped you out, do me a favor and share it on social media.

YouTube Video Tutorial

The iRig HD 2 from IK Multimedia is arguably the best beginner audio interface for recording guitar with Garageband.

I own three audio interfaces: the Focusrite Saffire 6USB, the Scarlett 2i2, as well as the iRig HD 2.

Due to the fact I rarely record vocals, I pretty much always stick to the iRig HD 2, on account of the fact it’s super small and convenient.

To be truthful, I would argue that, while the iRig HD 2 is not the absolute “best” you can get in terms of audio interfaces, it is great for just recording guitar and it’s the perfect interface if you’re looking for a unit that will do the trick while also being inexpensive.

With that said, there are other solid audio interfaces on the market that have multiple inputs for not only the guitar, but also vocals, so there aren’t any limitations in terms of how many instruments you can use at once.

For instance, the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 has two inputs, that way you can have your guitar/bass/etc plugged in while also recording vocals. You can read more about the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 at this link here.

The iRig HD 2, on the other hand, is only meant for playing the guitar, so if that’s all you’re looking for – just a simple audio interface for playing the guitar – then the HD 2 is a great choice, especially considering its relatively cheap price.

On the other hand, there are some issues with it. My biggest gripe with the iRig HD 2 is the fact it’s made out of plastic, which, to me, always communicates “cheap.”

Other than that, the iRig HD 2 doesn’t have a lot of down-sides to it, with the exception of some users finding it difficult to get their computer to recognize it.

Let’s say you’ve purchased the iRig HD 2 and you’re having trouble getting Garageband to recognize it; this problem can be solved by rebooting Garageband with your iRig HD 2 plugged in.

It’s also worth noting that if you have a new MacBook Pro, rather than one of the old ones, you’ll need a USB-C to USB port, so make sure to pick one of those up if that’s the case. Although, if you own a new MacBook Pro, you probably are already aware of the necessity of an adaptor.

If you want to get a USB-C to USB-B port, I recommend checking out this one right here on Amazon. This one, in particular, has four USB ports, so you can plug in multiple devices if necessary.

Let’s move on to the details and specifications of the unit, as well as what comes with the box.

***The iRig HD 2 is compatible with PC, Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

What Comes With The iRig HD 2

• Micro USB to Thunderbolt Cable (for new iPhone users)
• Micro USB to USB Cable (Will Need an Adaptor if you’re computer is brand new)
• A clip for attaching it to the microphone stand.
• ***Amplitube 4 for Mac and PC (and Amplitube for iOS)

***It’s worth noting that many of the amplifiers and presets that come with Amplitube 4 are locked, which for me, has rendered Amplitube 4 completely worthless. I never use it. From what I understand, you actually have to purchase each amp model.

• T-RackS 5 Custom Shop
• AmpliTube Custom Shop
• Syntronik Free
• SampleTank Custom Shop

It has a Micro USB Device Output and a 1/8″inch Headphone port.

And LED light that communicates that it’s turned on and whether the signal is too hot or just right.

It flashes blue when it’s turned on, flashes red when the signal is too hot, and it flashes green when it’s just right.

It has a gain control knob on it on the left-hand side of the unit, also known as a pre-amp control. In other words, you can turn down the strength of the signal in case you’re clipping.

It’s worth noting that if you’re using a guitar with active (battery-powered such as EMGs) pick-ups, you might have to turn down the gain because the signal is much stronger.

It also has a microphone clip on the back for clipping it to your microphone on stage or wherever, not only for the convenience of use but also for using the unit as a stomp-box. We’ll dive into what I mean by that later.

On the bottom of the iRig HD 2, it has two ports, the 1/4 instrument jack as well as a 1/4 amplifier jack.

What this allows, is for us to send a signal to the computer/Garageband, and to an amplifier at the same time, so we can use an amplifier/cab combo for a speaker system, and also record it through Garageband at the same time.

Using Guitar On Mac Garageband Download

In other words, in case you want to play your traditional amp and cabinet set-up, including with all of your pedals and whatnot, you can send the “traditional set-up” signal into Garageband for recording, or you can play it through Garageband’s Amp Designer.

If you want to read more about using the Amp Designer, click the link here to read the article I wrote about it.

On the right-hand side of the unit, we have the FX-Thru switch as well as a headphone volume control.

The “FX” setting is for playing the guitar through Garageband’s interface. In other words, it sends the processed signal from the software, in this case, Garageband, to the iRig HD 2.

This means we can use the computer/Garageband as the amplifier/pedal effects.

Using Guitar On Mac Garageband Lyrics

The “Thru” setting is for the unprocessed signal, which means we’re using the “dry unprocessed signal,” of the guitar through the guitar amplifier, and using that signal and sending it into Garageband.

This might be confusing, so I’ll explain it another way.

The “FX” setting is for playing the guitar using Garageband as the pedal-effects board/amplifier setting, and then sending that signal out to a guitar amplifier or a mixing board for playing a live show.

If you intend on only using the iRig HD 2 through the computer and playing it back through the speakers, then FX is what you want.

FX is also the setting you want if you’re going to plug your guitar pedals into the iRig and play it through your computer speakers.

The “Thru” setting means that we’re sending an unprocessed signal to a guitar amplifier or a mixing board. In other words, the “Thru” toggle switch means that we’re sending a signal unaffected by Amplitube or Garageband settings out to an amplifier or a mixing board.

The device is 24bit and has a 96kHz sampling rate, which means that the device is operating at what is commonly believed to be the industry standard for recording.

If you want to read more about what these terms mean, check out my article on audio interfaces, The Definitive Guide to Audio Interfaces.

Other Important Things To Consider

• As I mentioned in passing above, if the LED light is flashing red, that means that you’re clipping, and you need to turn the gain on the audio interface down.
• Aim to have the LED signal flashing green when you’re strumming hard on your guitar
• For Amplitube 4, you actually have to purchase each model in the Custom Shop, which in my opinion, was a huge disappointment. Like I said above, if you know how to access these without paying $25 for each model, let me know.
• The iRig HD 2 doesn’t work for microphones, it only works for bass and guitar.
• Make sure you’ve selected “iRig HD 2” as the input, down in the Smart Controls in the Recording Settings. You can see what this looks like in the image below.

• If you’re having issues getting Garageband to recognize the device, try and reboot Garageband with the iRig HD 2 plugged in. This is what I did when I first bought the device and had trouble getting the computer to recognize it. Additionally, you can go into Garageband’s preferences and change the “Output” and “Input” device settings.
• Make sure your “Enable Audio Units” box is checked, which will allow you to enable various AU plug-ins, including Amplitube if you end up wanting to use it.

• It’s also worth mentioning that, yes, you can use the iRig HD 2 with your guitar pedals. If you want to know how to plug your guitar pedals into Garageband while using the iRig HD 2 as an audio interface, click the link here.
• I’ve also noticed that some MicroUSB cables don’t work with the iRig HD 2 for some reason. For instance, despite having the same cable as nearly all of my vapes, they don’t work in the same way, so make sure that you’re using the MicroUSB that comes in the box, rather than some other miscellaneous cable. This might just be an issue with the vape cables, but I can’t say for sure – just something to keep in mind.

How To Set Up The iRig HD 2

In terms of just getting the iRig HD 2 set up, it’s not that hard. It’s just a matter of plugging it into your computer, which looks a lot like the image below.

1) Plug your USB to USB-C adaptor into your computer

2) Plug the USB to MicroUSB cable into the adaptor

3) Attach the MicroUSB to your iRig HD 2

4) Plug your guitar cable into the iRig HD 2, and then run it into your guitar.

How To Access Amplitube 4 and Other Free Software

This part is optional, but in order to get access to Amplitube 4, Custom Shop, and the other plug-ins that it comes with, you must register the product with IK Multimedia on their website.

You don’t have to do this if you intend on just using the iRig HD 2 as is, however, it is necessary for accessing Amplitube.

1) Go to IK Multimedia’s website at www.ikmultimedia.com

2) Make an account with them.

3) Register the iRig HD 2’s serial number with IK Multimedia. You can find the serial number for the product on the box.

4) Once you’ve registered the product with them, you’ll have to download the authorization manager to set everything up, but once everything has been registered, you’ll land on a page that looks like this.

Then, you can download all of the plug-ins that it comes with.

YouTube Video Tutorial

Using Guitar On Mac Garageband Video

Conclusion

Using Guitar On Mac Garageband Youtube

All in all, the iRig HD 2 is definitely a really handy device to have if you’re a guitar player, and it’s worth grabbing, especially if you’re all about the convenience of use or you need an audio interface to travel with on the road.

Additionally, if you’re in the market for a portable audio interface that’s good for both microphones and the guitar, the iRig Pro I/O is a great choice because it works for both. I wrote about the iRig Pro I/0 more in detail at this link here.

There are also additional models with more than one input, so you can plug your guitar as well as your microphone into the same unit at the same time. It costs more money, however.