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Hey chums,

I've been playing guitar for some time and have finally decided to explore home recording. There are a lot of interfaces to choose from. I was curious what you guys use or what you might recommend for a first interface. Eventually i'll be recording with Garageband on my Mac. Primary concern is ease of use, followed by price(although I was considering an Apogee, so price is negotiable). As far as input/outputs, It's just me(at the moment) so I don't know if one would do, or maybe I should do two so I can record in stereo?

Thanks!

The most budget-friendly option is the Lexicon Alpha, which clocks in at about $60. However, the packaged software that comes with that thing is absolutely useless.

You can go more expensive and get a Presonus Audiobox or a M-Audio Fast Track, which will run you about $150.

All three of these option sometimes have durability problems so baby them a little.

I've been using the Line6 UX1 with garageband, and it has been working well. I've never used anything else, so I can't tell you how it compares to the Apogee. I plug my guitar straight into the interface.

Me and my dad both use the M Audio fasttrack, he uses his with garageband and I've tried that, it works great. Very easy to use, no latency issues, perfect for simple recording purposes. Don't have any experience with any of the other options though, so I can't compare.

Apogee Duet is great for the price, really decent converters - better than other 'budget' interfaces in my experience. Only drawback is that it doesn't support midi. But from a recording perspective (assuming that you won't be recording more than one or two instruments at a time) it's all you need.

If price is negotiable, I say go for something with two inputs. If, for example, you sing as well, it's always useful to be able to improvise with a guitar and vocal and record the results.

I've actually used guitar tracks I've recorded in this way in completed tracks because there was a spontaneity/sound/je-ne-sais-quoi that I couldn't reproduce.

Also, the difference is prices between one and two input devices isn't very great.

Im using m-audio firewire solo into imac into logic. I highly recommend it . No latency issues and for simple recordings it works great.

i got an maudio fast track, i use it with reaper and i dig it. easy to use and gets the job done for me