How to Record Guitar in GarageBand With an Audio Interface

GarageBand on a Mac can record guitar well with a compatible audio interface. Plug your guitar into the interface’s instrument input and check that the Mac sees the interface. Select the interface in GarageBand, then create an audio track, choose the input, arm the track, and monitor. Menu names and button positions can change between GarageBand versions, so look for the labels described here rather than an exact spot on the screen.

What You Need

Item	Why
Mac with GarageBand	The recording software
Audio interface that works with macOS	Turns the guitar signal into digital audio for the computer
Instrument (Hi-Z) input on the interface	Made for a guitar plugged in directly. Hi-Z means high impedance.
Instrument cable	Connects the guitar to the interface
Headphones	Lets you hear yourself without feedback

Step 1: Connect and Check the Interface

Plug the guitar into the interface’s instrument input. If the interface has a switch marked Inst or Hi-Z, turn it on. Then connect the interface to the Mac.

Open Audio MIDI Setup, which is in the Utilities folder inside Applications. Your interface should show up in the list of audio devices. If it doesn’t, reconnect the cable, check that the interface has power, and see the maker’s instructions for any driver you need to install.

Step 2: Set GarageBand’s Audio Settings

Open GarageBand and find the audio section in its settings or preferences window. Set:

• Input device: your audio interface
• Output device: your interface, if your headphones are plugged into it

Step 3: Create a Guitar Track

1. Create a new audio track for guitar or for a microphone.
2. Pick the input channel your guitar is plugged into, such as input 1.
3. Arm the track for recording.
4. Turn on monitoring for the track if you want to hear GarageBand’s amp and effects.
5. Play, and set the gain knob on the interface so the loudest parts don’t clip. Clipping is the harsh distortion you get when the level goes too high.

Then press record.

Direct Monitoring vs Software Monitoring

You can hear yourself in two ways, and they sound different.

Method	What you hear	Tradeoff
Direct monitoring (on the interface)	The dry guitar, straight from the input	No noticeable delay, but no amp or effects
Software monitoring (in GarageBand)	The guitar through GarageBand’s amp and effects	You hear the full tone, but with some delay, called latency

If both are on at once, you may hear the dry sound and the amp sound together, which can sound doubled. Pick one. Use direct monitoring if timing matters most. Use software monitoring if you want to hear the amp tone while you play.

Software monitoring is also how you hear effects while you play. If you add a delay effect and set it by ear, the repeats can drift against the beat. Timing delay repeats to your song’s BPM shows how to turn your project tempo into millisecond values for straight, dotted, and triplet notes, so the echoes sit in time with your part.

Use Headphones

Wear headphones while you record. If GarageBand plays through speakers with monitoring on, the sound can loop back and cause feedback. This is most likely when you record an acoustic guitar with a mic. Headphones keep the recording clean and protect your ears.

Worked Example

Plug an electric guitar into input 1 with Hi-Z on. Check that the interface appears in Audio MIDI Setup. In GarageBand, select it as both the input and output device. Create an audio track set to input 1, arm it, and turn on monitoring. Then turn direct monitoring off on the interface so you hear only the GarageBand amp tone in your headphones.

Related Guides

If you’re new to the hardware side, start with connecting a guitar to a computer. If you’re not on a Mac, see recording guitar on a PC. For delay effects that fit your song’s tempo, try the delay calculator.

For device and track setup, check Apple’s GarageBand input-device guide and Focusrite’s GarageBand interface instructions. Controls vary with your software and interface version.