Recording to an iMac

[pauldo]

Didn’t want to hijack Buzzard's thread.


I recently acquired my Mom’s iMac and was thinking of using it for recording.   It was recommended that before I do anything that I should “re-image” the iMac (we have an iPad and my wife has an iPhone).   Before I reach out to Apple Support was wondering if anyone here has experience with “re-imaging” an Apple device and had any advice.




Paul (who is revealing his ‘hate’ side of technology and dreads going to an Apple store to have an pimply faced kid start rattling off a bunch of lingo that will frustrate more than fascinate)

[hankster]

It’s basically a clean install of the existing operating system. It’s a good idea - gives you a clean machine to start with. There are all kinds of posts on the web explaining how to do it. This link is a good one and allows you to view the instructions for your particular OS:

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mh27903/mac

[StephenR]

How old is the iMac you got from your mother and do you have a backup of the OS that is on it? My understanding is that Apple no longer archives the old operating systems once they move to a new one. If you don't create a back up install disc each time or save the OS install disc image you can't restore/replace the OS currently installed you can only install the newest one available from Apple. Depending on the age of your iMac you may not want the latest OS or it may not even be compatible with your computer.

I used to love technology but over time have grown more and more disenchanted with it.

[pauldo]

I did manage to do a "re-format" the iMac with assistance on the phone with a very patient group of Apple people.
Admittedly the landscape and features are proving to offer some opportunities to me!   

Anyone have suggestions for audio conversion software on an Apple product?  I used to use CDEX on a Windows machine and found it very useful.

[JimmyJ]

Audio conversion?  Like making wav files into mp3s, etc?  If that's what you mean:
https://www.audacityteam.org
is a handy one.  I use it often to edit, level, add fades in and out, eq things, etc., then export mp3s.  Great for demo level stuff.  I guess you can actually use it as a DAW but it's fairly crude compared to Logic or even Garage Band.

Jimmy J

[pauldo]

Thanks Jimmy,
Yes,this will be used mostly for converting from MP3 into wav and then using that format in MTR mode on a Zoom H4N.  This allows the bass track to easily be extracted and sent to the Producer.  GarageBand is installed, it has many features.

If by crude, you mean ‘bare bones’ then that is perfect for me,   Will download it and see how it goes.

Paul

[JimmyJ]

Hope that works for you then.  Also grab the plugins and the "FFmpeg import/export library" a bit lower on the Mac download page.  Yes, barebones as in a bit awkward to do some operations, but it can do a surprising amount of handy things.

So you're using your H4N as a DAW.  That's cool.  At some point you may enjoy moving to the iMac's relatively larger screen for ease of editing, comping, etc...  In fact, you can use the H4N as an interface to get sound into the Mac too.  There are so many different ways to do it that it's just whatever you get comfy with. 

Jimmy J