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I am one of those 40 something "Switchers" that has
just joined the ranks of enthusiastic Mac users in NZ with my new 800 MHz PowerPC
G4. I was dying to get involved with some of the "intuitive interface" use
that I had heard and read so much about in doing the research before purchasing
my iMac. I had some old vinyl records and a growing stack of audio tapes from
a correspondence course and was looking for an inexpensive entry level try
at transferring it into digital sound on my hard drive.
I called my local MacIntosh reseller in Wellington and told
them what I wanted to do and they recommended purchasing an iMic USB Audio
interface by Griffin Technology ($115 NZD). They were happy to send one to
me via courier and I was nearly ready to go. I needed a cable to get the music
from the stereo RCA output to the iMic and found what I needed at the local
electronics store. It was then a quick search online for some shareware that
was inexpensive to meet my needs. I found Audio
X 2.1.0 ($15 USD).
Setting up the hardware
The iMic
The iMic comes out of the wrapper with an easy to understand bi-fold
card with set up instructions on one side and trouble shooting tips on the
other. Keep this handy as you may need to refer to the switch position instructions
a few times as you are getting familiar with the set up.
They recommend you connect the iMic to a USB port on the body
of the iMac rather than using a peripheral port.
Follow the simple 5 step set up on the card. It gives clear directions with
visual pictures directing you to the Sound control panel so you can use the
iMic for audio input.
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| Naming the file you are about to record in AudioX |
The switch on the iMic itself lets you move between two different
positions. If you are line-in recording from some audio device, push the
switch towards the microphone icon. If you are recording from a microphone
attached to the iMic , push the switch towards the speaker icon. This confused
me at first but the bi-fold card is easy to keep near at hand until the positions
seem second nature.
The Cable
Electronics newbie that I am, I took the iMic with me to the electronics
store to assure I could get the right connecting cord. Telling them I wanted
to move stereo sounds to my hard drive seemed to pose no problem for the
sales person and they directed me to the correct cable with two RCA male
prongs for attachment to the back of my stereo receiver and a single male
connector for the iMic.
The Stereo or audio device
Make sure your audio device has audio output jacks at the back of the machine.
Higher end stereo systems have these and some of the newest low end mini
systems (under $200 NZ) are produced now with RCA jacks for the speakers
and these are also easy to utilise with this set-up. The most difficult
part of the exercise may be to find a stereo with a turntable still intact
if you want to rip your vinyl. I located an audiophile friend who came
to the rescue.
Setting up the Software
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| By default, iTunes converts your .mov music file to
an MP3 file |
Audio X downloads from Realmacsoftware.com.
System Requirements are Mac OS X 10.2 with Quicktime 6.0.2.
You can download Audio X for a free trial but it limits the
length of your recording. An online Kagi purchase with my Visa and they sent
a serial number to activate the full version of the software and this went
without a hitch. Audio X installs itself on the hard drive and comes complete
with a PDF file giving directions for saving your recordings to iTunes.
Making a recording
Get your selection ready to play on your stereo and open Audio
X. Click on "Record" and a drop down window will appear so you
can name your recording. Click Start recording as you begin play of your
audio selection. Record as much or as little as you like and then click the
Stop button. Audio X will save the recording in the Audio X window as a Quicktime
movie file.
Audio X saves your sound file in its own folder that you can
then locate in Finder or you may export the .mov file to other software that
you may have for editing. I dropped my .mov files straight into the main
window of iTunes using the drag and drop facility. I met with temporary pause
here as my default settings in iTunes would convert the movie file into MP3
format which was fine for the audio tapes I copied but I was hoping for a
less compressed format for the songs ripped off vinyl.
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| You can adjust iTunes to convert imported music into
the audio format of your choosing |
iTunes came to the rescue with a click of the preference settings
in iTunes and then a click to the import button you can import your .mov
files as .wav or .aiff format as well.
Once you have your recordings in iTunes in the file format
of your choice it is simple to create a playlist in iTunes and burn to audio
or MP3 CD.
Once you discover just how easy this is you will be finding
other creative uses for the software and your iMac. My eight year old is happy
to do his reading homework if I give him a lapel mic and let him read, laugh
and listen to his stories afterwards. So, at the end of the day I may still
be dreaming of Roxio's Toast with Jam to fully edit the music on the hard drive,
but in the meantime...I'm still having fun and all for under $150 NZD.
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