I plug my guitar directly into my mac, via a handy little usb
device called the GuitarPlug. Unfortunately, DVForge, makers of the
GuitarPlug and MicPlug have since gone out of business.
Non-the-less they made amazing products. Thanks to the GuitarPlug, I
can plug my guitar, or microphones directly into my MacBook
The Instruments
I currently plug three different instruments into my mac. I have an
m-audio 49e keyboard, connected over USB, through a
hub. I also plug my acoustic-electric Cascade
DC-25 guitar into my mac. Occasionally, I'll plug in a Hohner Blues Blaster 1490 or Egg-Static Harp
Mic using a JamPlug, iallowing me to record music from my
Lee
Oskar harmonicas. I also use a Behringer C3 microphone, when I'm recording vocals. I’ve
recently picked up a generic electric guitar, just to putter around
with.
The Setup
I plug in an Edirol FA-66 over firewire, into my MacBook. The
Cascade is plugged in over quarter-inch cable, into port #1, while
the Behringer is plugged into Port #2. The m-audio is plugged in
over USB, along with a simple trackball. This gives me the
flexibility to record guitar, vocals, and pretty much mix up
anything I want using the keyboard. I’ve stopped using my
amplifier, and instead moved to an iRig, plugged
into my iPad. Given all the software that’s now available on the
iPad, the iRig brings everything to life, and is one less thing to
carry!