Did you know that Apple laptops don’t have a Mic in socket? No, the one next to the line out is a line in not a mic in.
It’s a strange omission considering Apple prides itself on creative users who might want to use a mic to record stuff rather than rely on the built in offering.
In steps the iMic from Griffin, a USB audio capture device that allows you to connect a microphone to your Mac (or PC) and then to any other device for that matter, be it a record player or tape deck.
With no software to install to get the unit working, all you have to do on a Mac is change the Sound settings in System Preferences to make sure you use the iMic instead of your Mac’s internal microphone and away you go.
Luckily you can opt for your line in to be via the iMic and your computer to use your regular speakers via the line out on the computer rather than the iMic.
The simple device features both line in and line out sockets with the addition of a mic in as well.
In our tests we used it within iMovie (from next week the Megawhat.tv quick reviews will be recorded using it) as well as using it to get some old songs on tape we had transferred to our computer using the accompanying phono to 3.5mm jack cable.
To sweeten the deal, the Griffin iMic now comes with Final Vinyl, a music recording program that is very to use. You will need to have the iMic (or another Griffin product) plugged in to use it, and although easy to use it is very basic.
VERDICT
There isn’t much to say about the Griffin iMic apart from the fact that it is very easy to use and does a very good job at doing it.
Price £17
The good Easy to use, no software to install
The bad Not much
We say There might not be much to it, but that doesn’t stop it being very easy to use
Story: Stuart Miles
