How to hook uke up to mac

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gnort_2

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I want to use my concert electric/acoustic lanikai ukulele with garageband to record my self some backing tracks to practice solos by.

-What type of cable/ connectors do i need to do this?

- mono/stereo? whats the difference/best/cheapest?

-Do i plug into USB? Ear phone hole?

Help. Im not great with a mac. Please walk me through it, thanks
 
Well, your Mac has a built in mic that's not awful. You could just stand in front of it and play.

Or you can get something like Griffin's iMic.

http://store.griffintechnology.com/imic


Scooter
 
This has worked for my MacBook and GarageBand:

You need:
1. Standard "electric guitar" cable. This has the male 1/4" monaural plug at each end.
2. A 1/4" female monaural - to - 3.5mm male monaural adapter. Get one at Radio Shack, et. al. It looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-GMP113-inch-3-5mm-Adaptor/dp/B000068O47

Be sure this adapter is monaural, not stereo.

Using the cable plugged into your 'uke, and the adapter on the other end, plug it into the external microphone jack on your Mac. On the MacBook, this is next to the headphone/earbud jack.

Go to Systems Preferences -> Sound -> Input. Select the Line In (instead of the Internal Microphone)

Now you should be able to start Garage Band and hear yourself playing. If so, you're ready to record.

Rock on! :D
 
Last edited:
Just get a Griffin I-Mic and plug a 3/4" gold plated to 3.5 mm into the I-Mic and uke.
 
Ingrate said:
This has worked for my MacBook and GarageBand:

You need:
1. Standard "electric guitar" cable. This has the male 1/4" monaural plug at each end.
2. A 1/4" female monaural - to - 3.5mm male monaural adapter. Get one at Radio Shack, et. al. It looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-GMP113-inch-3-5mm-Adaptor/dp/B000068O47

Be sure this adapter is monaural, not stereo.

Using the cable plugged into your 'uke, and the adapter on the other end, plug it into the external microphone jack on your Mac. On the MacBook, this is next to the headphone/earbud jack.

Go to Systems Preferences -> Sound -> Input. Select the Line In (instead of the Internal Microphone)

Now you should be able to start Garage Band and hear yourself playing. If so, you're ready to record.

Rock on! :D
Click to expand...

Great news, getting a Macbook when the new ones come out in a couple of months, would hoping they would be this simple!
 
ukudaily.co.uk said:
Great news, getting a Macbook when the new ones come out in a couple of months, would hoping they would be this simple!
Click to expand...

Looking at Apple's website, it appears that the Macbook Air doesn't have the audio in port. Here's a screen capture:

Picture 1.jpg

The Macbook Pro appears to have it:

Picture 2.jpg

Unless this port is present, you cannot use the hookup I described.
 
If you have a 1/4 jack to usb cable can you plug the uke into the USB slot adn use it in garageband?
 
Ingrate said:
This has worked for my MacBook and GarageBand:

You need:
1. Standard "electric guitar" cable. This has the male 1/4" monaural plug at each end.
2. A 1/4" female monaural - to - 3.5mm male monaural adapter. Get one at Radio Shack, et. al. It looks like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-GMP113-inch-3-5mm-Adaptor/dp/B000068O47

Be sure this adapter is monaural, not stereo.

Using the cable plugged into your 'uke, and the adapter on the other end, plug it into the external microphone jack on your Mac. On the MacBook, this is next to the headphone/earbud jack.

Go to Systems Preferences -> Sound -> Input. Select the Line In (instead of the Internal Microphone)

Now you should be able to start Garage Band and hear yourself playing. If so, you're ready to record.

Rock on! :D
Click to expand...

Ingrate, I can't thank you enough for this info. I've looked high and low for this easy solution. I think I've found parts of it here and there, but didn't have the mental capacity to put the pieces together. I'd been told I needed some fancy interface type thing that costs more. I'm gonna get my Eleuke Peanut plugged in to Garage Band!!!!! Sooo awesome!!!!
 
vanflynn said:
If you have a 1/4 jack to usb cable can you plug the uke into the USB slot adn use it in garageband?
Click to expand...

Hi vanflynn

I'm very certain it does not work. Your ukulele sends out an analog signal. USB port expects a digital signal (plus interface protocol signal). They are two completely different signals and not compatible.

I've actually never seen a 1/4" jack to USB???

Cheers
Chief
 
ckellogg said:
Ingrate, I can't thank you enough for this info. I've looked high and low for this easy solution. I think I've found parts of it here and there, but didn't have the mental capacity to put the pieces together. I'd been told I needed some fancy interface type thing that costs more. I'm gonna get my Eleuke Peanut plugged in to Garage Band!!!!! Sooo awesome!!!!
Click to expand...

You are SO welcome! I used this setup to record using my Eleuke w/o problems. Pretty cheap, too = maybe $15 for the cable + adapter. After recording, you can fiddle around with the reverb, etc. w/GBand.

This is cool and cheap, too. If you have a digital camera that'll do video, you can set it up (tripod, etc.) and record yourself while playing your 'uke that's hooked up to your Mac. (Don't worry about exactly when you start the camera recording. You can clip and sync this later.) Then, remove the camera data card and read the video file into your Mac. Import this file into iMovie (another nice freebee). Next you can export your audio recording from GBand, which you can then import into iMovie into that video "project" you just made w/the camera video. Delete the orig. camera audio track, sync the audio track made w/GBand, and you've got a nice finished project. This can be exported in various formats and quality levels for upload to YouTube, etc. I did this using a pocket Canon camera (PowerShot a570) with fine results.

Why bother w/all this? The camera will give you a good video, but lousy audio. The direct-connect from your 'uke to the Mac will provide excellent audio. Put them together in iMovie. Be sure that the audio track you fine-tune and then export from GBand was played during the video you shot w/the camera, else you'll have timing problems. Don't try to sync an audio track that you played at a different time, if you get my meaning. When you get the GBand-created audio into iMovie, you only have to sync the beginning. Be sure to edit your video in iMovie (add credits, fade-ins, etc.) before you import the audio track if you want to keep life simple. ;)
 
Last edited:
I know that I'm certainly not answering the op's questions as my solution is a little complicated....

I use a Yamaha USB mixing board (http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-Audiogram-6-audio-interface/dp/B001F1WNAS/ref=pd_cp_e_0) straight into garage band on my 2010 macbook pro. It's nice and flexible (will take xlr/mic cables or 1/4 straight from the uke) and gives you a bit more ability to fiddle with your levels. Plus its got phantom power.
 
ukuhippo said:
www.htfr.com/p/321870/alesis_guitar_link_63mm_14_jack_to_usb_5_metre
Click to expand...

OMG, I stand corrected. So this cable does have an analog to digital converter built-in and handles USB transfer protocol. Pretty cool, and sadly it's discontinued?!?

I guess, if you can buy a mic that plugs into a USB port, the idea behind is same.....

How is the latency handled in these inputs? I use a Mac (G4) with a Firebox interface. The quality is decent but the latency is pretty significant, although I have not experimented much.

Cheers
Chief
 
Ingrate said:
You are SO welcome! I used this setup to record using my Eleuke w/o problems. Pretty cheap, too = maybe $15 for the cable + adapter. After recording, you can fiddle around with the reverb, etc. w/GBand.

This is cool and cheap, too. ......stuff deleted from quote.... ;)
Click to expand...

OMG so cool! Thank you!
When I look on Radio Shack's website, they don't have a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter. I see it on Amazon, but am stunned RS wouldn't have it. They have many that are 1/4" to 1/8" - is that the same???
 
ckellogg said:
OMG so cool! Thank you!
When I look on Radio Shack's website, they don't have a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter. I see it on Amazon, but am stunned RS wouldn't have it. They have many that are 1/4" to 1/8" - is that the same???
Click to expand...

Yes, 1/8" is same as 3.5 mm. You just have to be careful if it's a mono (aka TS for Tip-Sleeve) or a stereo (TRS; Tip-Ring-Sleeve)

Cheers
Chief
 
ckellogg said:
Ingrate, I can't thank you enough for this info. I've looked high and low for this easy solution. I think I've found parts of it here and there, but didn't have the mental capacity to put the pieces together. I'd been told I needed some fancy interface type thing that costs more. I'm gonna get my Eleuke Peanut plugged in to Garage Band!!!!! Sooo awesome!!!!
Click to expand...

With an Eleuke, you only need a simple 3.5 to 3.5 cord, going from the headphone jack of the Eleuke to the input jack on your Mac. If you have an Aux cable for your iPod to your car stereo, this will work.

For the OP, the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter will only work if the electronics are preamped - I think it'll be fine for your uke, but it won't work for a uke with a passive pickup. In that case, you'll have to run it through some sort of preamp system first. I have done this with my mini amp, plugging 1/4" into the amp and then using the aforementioned 3.5 cable running from the amps headphone jack to the Mac.
 
Last edited:
mattydee said:
With an Eleuke, you only need a simple 3.5 to 3.5 cord, going from the headphone jack of the Eleuke to the input jack on your Mac. If you have an Aux cable for your iPod to your car stereo, this will work.
Click to expand...

I tried this when I got the Peanut, it comes with a cable to go from an MP3 player to the Peanut, both ends are the same size as headphone outputs (3.5mm or 1/8"). It didn't work, and that's when I was told I needed another interface kind of thing (I forgot the name). But, I'll try this again. Thanks!!!!
 
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