Can't Get Connections Right - Please Help!

[lga5824]

Hi - I am trying to get my presonus firebox to work with garagaband. The firebox is on and connected to the mac fine. I now want to record my QS7 keyboard through the firebox and record it on garageband. I want to then do a vocal track. I get the garageband stuff, it's the connections between the keyboard, PA system, and firebox that have me pulling my hair out. And this is supposed to be super easy for us "new at recording" folks.

Someone please help. My keyboard has a main out which a 1/4" is plugged into. Right now it goes directly into channel 2 of my PA head, then out to speakers. How do I get this to run through the firebox,play into the headphones and record through the software? Do I need my PA head at all? How about the PA speakers? The manual that comes with the firebox is comical for us newbies - I'm not gettin' it.

For whomever answers, please speak in newbie terms.....

Thanks!

[gecko zzed]

There are at least two ways of doing this.

1 Maybe your PA system has a line out (I'm not talking about the speaker outs). You can go from this line out to the firebox.

2 Or you can go straight from the keyboard's line out into the firebox. To be able to hear what you are playing, you need to monitor somehow. Maybe use the speakers you use with your computer. Maybe go from the output of the firebox into your mixer.

[lga5824]

Okay, so let me see if I get what you're saying. My PA does have a few outputs. Has a main output, monitor output and a few others. Are you stating that I should keep my keyboard plugged into the PA and then run a line from the PA output to the firebox line 1 input?

Your 2nd statement, about the keyboard going directly into the firebox, that's what I'm currently doing. I have the system preferences set up to use the computer speakers for outs, but set the mixer online up to go to the headphones. Shouldn't that be working?

[gecko zzed]

I am not saying you 'should'. I am saying you 'can'. It's an alternative, not am imperative. If you do it this way, you can hear what you are playing via your PA. The monitor out would work for this, but check out other outputs.

The other method, which you say you are using, should work. Are you able to record (even though you may not be able to hear anything)?

If you can record, it means the signal path into the system is ok, and it's the monitoring path that needs checking.

It's generally better to monitor via the firebox (headphones or speakers), and it would be neat if you could connect up both to the firebox. Someone else may know what outputs the firebox has. However, for this to work, you may need to go to Control Panel/Audio and Sound Devices/Audio, and set recordng and playback to the firebox. You also need to go into Garageband and make sure it recognises the firebox.

Best of luck