What equipment do I need for Garageband?

Short answer - all you need is a USB mic with Garage Band:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--SAMMETEOR

Garage Band Equipment

Having rugs lying around will help reduce the bass vibrations going all over the place. Make sure there is electricity

Necessary instruments are a drum set, Electric Guitar, and Bass. You may elaborate, adding another guitar, keyboard, organist, or solo singer

do not get too small an amp. You want something at least maybe 10"x10"

The SHURE 57 and 58 are great live performance mic's but are lacking a lot in the recording arena...condensor mic's are whats called for...Rode is one brand there are many brands and models but condensor is the key..some of the Rode Condensoe mic's go for around $300 and more, I need to get one for a lot less for now...they can be had for $50

BLUE has introduced a USB mic, the Snowball. Looks like a great addition for hobbyists and pro's on the go - they make some REALLY serious mics. With regards to the Shure 57's and 58's, whoever said that they are lacking in the studio is clueless. Those are 2 of the most common mics in the world for a reason - they are great mics at a great price. They certainly aren't going to replace a $2000 ribbon mic or condenser, but I'll guarantee you that you've heard more than your fair share of 57's and 58's on countless recordings. Truly the workhorses of the music industry - live and studio.

Condensor mikes: Large diaphragm condensor mics are used predominantly for recording vocals because the design tends to flatter voices: smooth bass and articulate highs. They are available in wide variety, each with particular features and "sound colour". Small diaphragm condensors are mostly used as instrument mics where accuracy, esp. in the high end, is desired.

Note: For accuracy sake, the cheap and nasty mics that come with cassette recorders and answering machines are electret condensors, so when we talk about condensor mics in the musical sense, we're referring to a small or large diaphragm condensor, not an electret condensor.

Condensor mics require power to charge the capacitative plates of the transducer. This power is sometimes provided by a battery, occasionally by a dedicated power pack specific to the mic, or more often by "phantom power", which is nominally 48V (but can be as low as 9V) that is provided by the preamplifier to the mic "up" the microphone cable.

This is a problem for Mac recording, because no Mac provides phantom power (or a 3-pin XLR jack). Neither do the least expensive microphone interfaces like the iMic.

You would be looking at a Firewire or USB audio interface from Edirol, M-Audio or Presonus (to name some popular brands) that had both a preamplifier and phantom power. These type of interfaces with two to 4 mic inputs will run $150 - $600 (more elaborate ones will go up to $2500)

Alternatively, you could get an inexpensive mixer (Behringer, Alesis, Tapco/Mackie) which provides mic preamps and phantom power, and just run a line level signal to the Mac or a Griffin iMic.

Large diaphragm condensor mics of acceptable quality have come down dramatically in price, due to mass production in China. The microphone you can get for $90-$120 today blows away an "entry level" $400 mic from 10 years ago. Brands to look for are Behringer, Studio Projects, Marshall/MXL, Red, and many others who rebrand these Chinese mics.

Rode, the Australian mic manufacturer, started out selling mics made in China to their designs, but several years ago switched back to producing in-house. So what you get if you are buying used depends on how old the mic is. There are many models and revisions of Rode mics, so don't be taken in by sellers claiming to sell a $800 mic for $400. Some comparable to Rode in this mid-price level are Studio Electronics (SE), Blue (innovative mics from Latvia) and Audio Technica (their 30xx series and the lower end of their 40xx series).

As opposed to handheld "performance" mics, large diaphragm condensors are almost always mounted on a stand, with a shock-absorbing mount and a shield or pop-filter in between them and the performer's lips.

I should mention that there are some other mics in the market: Ribbon mics use a differnent technology, and can also be very nice on voice and instruments. They have also come down some in price (but not as far) and they do tend to be more fragile - prone to being dam,aged by blasts of wind or too-high sound levels. Royer and AEA are two manufacturers.

Dynamic mics are mostly used in performance, and for high impact sound sources like drums and guitar amps. Shure, Beyer, Electo-Voice, Peavey, Sennheiser, Adio-Technica and AKG are some makers. Not all handheld mics are dynamics though - there are some condensors and even one or two ribbon mics made for performance use.

I recommend that you study up on some of the basics with books and magazines before making a decision. Hit the library. Good magazines to read are: Sound on Sound, Recording (the current issue is all on mics), Electronic Musician, Keyboard, Future Music, Computer Music, Mix. They of