Audio interface and Garageband questions

[Gee]

I want to choose an audio interface so that I can record a guitar amp (with an SM57mike) and also use the interface to play my guitar into my Mac iBook for quiet late night practice. I have the latest Garageband on a MacOS 10.5 partition and also Garageband3 on a 10.4 partition. So far I don't have an audio interface so I need to choose one and I would p[refer to spend as litle as possible. If I can use the audio interface on a PC (without Firewire) that would be an advantage so I would prefer a USB interface. Firewire interfaced AI's carry a big premium in the UK.

I am thinking about buying the M-Audio Fast Track USB interface which is available for £65 delivered in the UK. The M-Audio Solo (Firewire) is about £140!.

From searching about I have read that the Fast Track will work with Garageband so I am fairly confident that I will be able to use it to record with a mike. Can anyone confirm that this is possible?

However, my main question is about using the Fast Track to practice. I would like to play my guitar into the Fast Track and then the iBook into Garageband and then hear the result through the iBook speakers. Is this possible?

[ibobunot]

If I could take a mulligan and start over I would get something like a Zoom H4 Portable Recorder. One package, everything you need, works with Garageband or as a stand alone recorder.

[Tdot]

Originally Posted by Gee

However, my main question is about using the Fast Track to practice. I would like to play my guitar into the Fast Track and then the iBook into Garageband and then hear the result through the iBook speakers. Is this possible?

The Fast Track has a guitar input, mic input, and headphone input. It should work fine with the guitar>cable>FastTrack>USB>Mac>Mac Speakers. Or Mic, instead of guitar the same way.

M-Audio and Line6 have a few gadgets that will work for your request. The sound output source can be selected in your Mac System Preferences>Sound. The default will be the built-in speakers, but other choices will appear depending on what you have attached.