sound recording on Mac

[csonni]

I am in search of a program that would allow me to use my Mac (Pismo or G4 Sawtooth) to do audio recordings for a radio broadcast (onto cassette tape).  I would like to blend music into the background of voice at various volumes.  Do i actually need a soundboard for something like this, or is there software that can accomplish this?  How does one hook up to a basic stereo for the actual recording?  Or, would I do it all on my drive and then somehow upload it to a cassette recorder?  As you can tell, I am new to Mac recording.  Any cheap but good shareware programs out there that you recommend?

[kbeartx]

quote:Originally posted by csonni:
I would like to blend music into the background of voice at various volumes.  ....  How does one hook up to a basic stereo for the actual recording?

Taking the second question first, I do not know about the sound in /out capabilities provided on those two specific models, because on Macs newer than mine (beige G3), some have 'standard' audio ins and outs, while some do not (beige G3s and prior models all had 1/8" jacks for audio in and out).  

If your Mac has standard audio ins and outs, then all you need do is purchase patch cables to connect the 1/8" mini-phone jacks on the Mac to the ubiquitous dual-RCA jacks of a standard stereo system.  

These cables can be found at Radio Snack, Frys, Circuit City, Best Buy, and similar retailers, or can be ordered from the web.  If your Mac does not have standard audio ins and outs, you will likely need to purchase some sort of USB audio device that will provide standard 1/8" audio in and out or RCA jacks in and out.

The first question I quoted from your post indicates to me that you will need a multi-track audio program.  The only free one of which I am aware is Digidesign's ProToolsFree (there are many others that I know of, but they are not free, and there might be other free ones, but I am not aware of them).   It's available for d/l at www.digidesign.com but it's a hefty one, and you can also order it on a seedie for a small fee if you  prefer.

Hope this info helps,

 - kbeartx
 
 [ 04-15-2003, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: kbeartx ]

[csonni]

Great help, kbeartx!  Now I've just got to learn how to use the many functions.  Yikes!

[Mayo]

For some reason that link kbeartx supplied isn't working for me; hopefully this one will work...

http://www.digidesign.com/ptfree/