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it5five

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 31, 2006
1,219
1
New York
Recently me and my girlfriend have been making some music on our macs since we got them. Someone we know has asked us to play some shows with them, and I have some simple beats and stuff on my MacBook, and was wondering how I'd use the MacBook in a live setup to act as the drum machine? I pretty much have no idea where to start/what to buy to accomplish this. If anyone would be so kind to explain or just post a link to somewhere where I can read up on it, it would be much appreciated.
 

zimv20

macrumors 601
Jul 18, 2002
4,402
11
toronto
this is done all the time. simplest approach is to get an adapter, 1/8" stereo [TRS] (for the mac headphone output) to a pair of 1/4" males, mono [TS], for the mixing board.

OR you could get any number of USB or firewire devices which would offer a stereo out which would go to the board.

on stage, i use an mbox, 'cuz it sounds (marginally) better than the headphone out, the cable-only is a little flimsy, and it gives me a hardware volume control.
 

it5five

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 31, 2006
1,219
1
New York
Thanks. I just wasn't sure of the equipment I'd need for it. I'll look into the mbox.
 

scottlinux

macrumors 6502a
Sep 21, 2005
691
1
Yeah mbox is only a stereo (two channel) input, and USB. Bluh. It has a lot of hype, but check out m-audio's pro tools compatible devices for alternatives.
 

pulsewidth947

macrumors 65816
Jan 25, 2005
1,106
2
If you are on a budget, look into M-Audio's range of interfaces. Cheap as chips, and you can still run Pro Tools at a later date. M-Audio are compatible with just about every piece of software out. Prices are from about 80-150 (£, $, whatever)

But as zimv20 says the easiest (and cheapest) method, the lead he quotes would set you back less than £5 or what ever your currency :)
 

iamhammill

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2006
286
0
York, PA
I found a 1/8" out to stereo RCA jacks the easiest (and cheapest, $4) This then can go to monitor speakers a DJ would use, or into a mixer which you can send to a PA system or whatever. If you don't have a budget for more speakers, you can buy 1/8" to 1/4" and plug into a standard guitar/bass amp using a convential guitar cable.
 
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