Recording Kemper direct on Garageband Mac with Apogee Jam HELP!

  • Hello


    I was wondering if somebody could help me with recording the kemper direct to garageband on the mac. I have an apogee jam w/ 1/4 " guitar lead/ usb and would prefer to record it like this if possible. That is the only equipment I really have at the moment that I'm thinking could perform the task and don't really want to spend much more money on interfaces. I have tried a couple of times to try and get this working but I have not been successful.


    So to record direct to garageband how would I go about it in terms of
    1. Connections on the back... Where do i put the 1/4" guitar lead monitor out or direct out ? After this I would plug that cable into the Apogee jam and it would then connect to the Mac via USB
    2. When connected to Garageband on the Mac how would I go about just getting the pure kemper sound?
    Is there a way to turn off the garageband amp sims and plugin effects so that they do not interfere with the kemper tone?
    3. Anything else I should be aware of when recording this way ?


    Apologies in advance if this seems naive of me, but I have only ever recorded guitars into garageband before via mic'ing my Guitar cabinets.


    Many thanks for any help or insights you can provide.


    Cheers

  • Hi @greenmanalishi, welcome to the community,


    Apogee Jam is a sound interface with 1 guitar input. I don't know if it can accept line level signal and if input is stereo - I guess it's mono since you plug guitar there.
    To record signal from Kemper in stereo, you need to have 2 TS inputs (or S/PDIF - but this is not the case for Apogee Jam).


    In a nutshell the connection could be - Guitar -> Kemper Input -> Kemper Main stereo output -> stereo input of sound interface ----USB----> Mac.

  • @skoczy thanks for the swift reply.


    thats a shame, I remember reading a previous forum ( Kemper to iPad) were the users basically said the kemper could be used in conjunction with the apogee jam record on an iPad, so i thought recording to the mac would then be possible.


    guess i'll have to look for some ts inputs + audio interface or maybe the spdif route. Im sure they don't come cheap, the wife is going to love me :thumbup: lol.


    incidentally do you know how to record on the likes of garageband with the kemper, while bypassing their amp sims and pluggins?

  • Hi @greenmanalishi - Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 gest much love here (using myself with Win10) stable drivers, pristine preamps, S/PDIF for all digital Kemper connection (easy reamping).


    I've never used Garage Band (maybe some mac folks will chime in), but I suppose you can create audio track with no effects on it and choose your input, whether you go S/PDIF or LINE IN.


    But I still don't know if 1) Apogee Duet has stereo input and/or can 2) accept line level signal - if "yes" to both questions then you can record with Apogee Duet. Or if you're fine with mono, just make sure Apogee accepts line level signals.


    If you want to monitor your sound (what comes from DAW) with stereo speakers, you need to plug them somewhere and Apogee Jam can't do that.

    Edited once, last by skoczy ().

  • Sure you can do this. Plug into the Kemper normally, then run a guitar cable from Monitor Out to the Jam connected to the Mac. While in the GarageBand audio recorder, adjust the level on the side of the Jam so that you aren't clipping the input into the red. Record! Of course you're going to record a mono signal, but I assume you knew that already since the Jam is mono.

  • Sure you can do this. Plug into the Kemper normally, then run a guitar cable from Monitor Out to the Jam connected to the Mac. While in the GarageBand audio recorder, adjust the level on the side of the Jam so that you aren't clipping the input into the red. Record! Of course you're going to record a mono signal, but I assume you knew that already since the Jam is mono.

    It' not going be optimal in my opinion: http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/linelevel.shtml


    Generally speaking if you send an instrument-level signal into a device that needs line-level input, you will get weak sound, inadequate processing, and probably extra noise as you boost the signal to compensate. If you send a line-level signal into a device that's meant for instrument or mic-level input, you will get distortion.

  • Only if the signal is too hot for the unit to handle. If you turn down the kemper enough, it might work. It might not be optimal though.
    BTW, there's no concrete "line level" as in a defined amplitude.

    We're talking about "typical" line level signal into instrument input - off course Kemper's output can be tamed, Apogee Jam has GAIN knob on the side.


    But is is only matter of "loudness" of a signal, which can be set at output and input stage?

  • We're talking about "typical" line level signal into instrument input - off course Kemper's output can be tamed, Apogee Jam has GAIN knob on the side.
    But is is only matter of "loudness" of a signal, which can be set at output and input stage?

    If I were a facetious man, I'd ask "how much is a typical line level signal"? ;) But I know what you mean and vice versa :)


    No, there's at least one other factor to consider: impedance. Instrument inputs have a very high impedance, which is not the case for typical line level inputs. This might impact the sound.


    Other than that, there may be something about noise too.


    The right way to go about these things are just to try it out and see if it works sufficiently well.


    Since the OP uses garageband and an apogee jam interface, I think this is not intended for recording a big name album - so as long as the sound quality is sufficient if not stellar, I'm guessing that's good enough :)

  • Typical line level signal could be MAIN outputs in Kemper :P


    Instrument inputs have 1MOhm of impedance, now the question is what is the impedance of line level output

    http://electronics.stackexchan…ing-in-audio-applications

    • A mic output might be around 600 Ω, while mic preamp inputs are 1 kΩ or more.
    • A line output will be something like 100 Ω, while a line input is more like 10 kΩ.
    • A loudspeaker amplifier will be less than 0.5 Ω, while loudspeakers are more like 4 Ω.
    • A guitar output might be 100 kΩ, while a guitar amp input is at least 1 MΩ.


    You're right @Michael_dk - impedance matching is crucial here.


    I remember long long time ago trying to record electric guitar into input (just input) of a mixer and it was hell weak.


    Then I learnt, that it was of 300kOhm impedance and I started reading about all that stuff.


    But coming back to OP's question - it might be doable, but results may not be as using dedicated line level input.

  • I think maybe you guys are talking past each other :)


    OP: When you say "record the kemper direct" - do you mean record a DI signal, or record the "amp" signal?


    Could you describe exactly what you want to achieve?

    Okay chances are I'm probably not using the correct terms for what I am after. As I say I'm pretty new to the kemper, only had it about a month. Basically what I would like to do is record/monitor what I am playing from my KPA straight into my mac/ garageband. Preferably with equipment that I already have such as the Apogee Jam. (which Iused to use for late night practising pre Kemper) I don't mind if its recorded in mono and yes you are right in saying that Im not necessarily trying to record a state of the art album sound (yet haha) but I would love a basic recording of the tones that I get through my headphones on the Kemper into garageband so I can work on demos etc


    Or if you guys think this is too much hassle/ probably won't work correctly what do you recommend for some hassle free recording in your experience? preferably something that won't bust the bank too much (just bought a new car ) but will be able to provide a fair recorded representation of the Kemper .


    Thanks again for all the help and input

  • Sure you can do this. Plug into the Kemper normally, then run a guitar cable from Monitor Out to the Jam connected to the Mac. While in the GarageBand audio recorder, adjust the level on the side of the Jam so that you aren't clipping the input into the red. Record! Of course you're going to record a mono signal, but I assume you knew that already since the Jam is mono.

    Did you get this working yourself ?? I'm pretty sure the last time I had the chance, I tried this but the guitar recording basically sounded like it wasn't plugged into the kemper at all... just a really bare sounding guitar with no effects/ or amp

  • Did you get this working yourself ?? I'm pretty sure the last time I had the chance, I tried this but the guitar recording basically sounded like it wasn't plugged into the kemper at all... just a really bare sounding guitar with no effects/ or amp

    Like someone mentioned earlier. Connect your guitar to Kemper, connect Monitor OUT to Apogee Jam using guitar cable, arm a track in Garage Band (with input source being Apogee Jam) and try to record.


    You may set gain level with the knob on a side of Apogee Jam if your signal from Monitor OUT is too hot.


    Be sure your Monitor OUT is set to "Master Mono" in OUTPUT settings (page 1/6).

  • Okay chances are I'm probably not using the correct terms for what I am after. As I say I'm pretty knew to the kemper, only had it about a month. Basically what I would like to do is record/monitor what I am playing from my KPA straight into my mac/ garageband. Preferably with equipment that I already have such as the Apogee Jam. (which Iused to use for late night practising pre Kemper) I don't mind if its recorded in mono and yes you are right in saying that Im not necessarily trying to record a state of the art album sound (yet haha) but I would love a basic recording of the tones that I get through my headphones on the Kemper into garageband so I can work on demos etc
    Or if you guys think this is too much hassle/ probably won't work correctly what do you recommend for some hassle free recording in your experience? preferably something that won't bust the bank too much (just bought a new car ) but will be able to provide a fair recorded representation of the Kemper .


    Thanks again for all the help and input

    In that case, try it with the apogee before you buy something new! :)


    As has been said, turn down the kemper volume on whichever output you're using - and consider not linking it to the "master volume" knob on the front of the unit.
    See the manuals for details on the outputs. There's a link the FAQ in my signature.


    When making a track in garaband, select the "mic" type of track.
    Select the track, and click the icon that looks like a dial to the top of the screen (left side, third from the left). In the bottom panel that opens up, lick the icon that has a circled "i". I think there's a section called "plugins" or something, where you should then disable all the plugins. That should give you the unaffected sound.


    That's all I can do to help :)

  • Did you get this working yourself ?? I'm pretty sure the last time I had the chance, I tried this but the guitar recording basically sounded like it wasn't plugged into the kemper at all... just a really bare sounding guitar with no effects/ or amp

    Sure did. I tried it just before submitting my reply. It was quite easy and the recorded guitar sound was quite good - certainly better than the built-in GB amp sims. I did have to spend 20 seconds playing a hard chord and adjusting the level control to keep the signal from clipping, but that part was pretty trivial.

  • Excellent... finally got it working with the help of all of your instructions.


    Connecting guitar to Kemper, to Monitor OUT to Apogee Jam using guitar cable,
    Made sure Monitor OUT was set to "Master Mono" in OUTPUT settings on page one of OUTPUT and also turned up the MONITOR VOLUME on page 2. Now I just adjust the gain on the side of the Apogee Jam to avoid clipping. It sounds great.


    @Michael_dk instructions on getting the clean kemper sound in garageband also worked a treat :)


    thanks again @Lugosi @skoczy @Michael_dk a great help and you probably saved me a few £££ on more gear that I don't really need right now.


    Cheers :thumbup: