Hardware Review: M-Audio MobilePre USB Preamp and Audio Interface
Getting to mess around and play with Apple's GarageBand was the driving factor when I purchased a copy of iLife '04 awhile back. But my ability to actually use it with my guitar was totally impaired by our Quicksilver G4 being a Mac that doesn't have an audio in port. While I could have opted for a Griffin iMic and a Monster Instrument Adaptor I was concerned that I might be cutting myself short on a wider range of functionality. A quick phone call to the Guitar Center's Pro Audio desk helped me choose M-Audio's MobilePre USB Preamp.

The MobilePre has two input channels that can each be accessed by standard 1/4 instrument lines or microphone jacks. Each channel has independent gain controls plus signal and clip indicators. Outputs are also 1/4 lines. A big plus is the MobilePre's direct analog monitor feature that can be used with external speakers or through a pair of headphones — this is extremely beneficial since any USB audio signal can have a slight delay/latency during signal processing which is way distracting when one is trying to play and stay in time. All of the MobilePre's functions are accessed by a pane in the System prefs.

A nice bundle of third party software is bundled with the MobilePre including Pro Sessions Sound & Loop Libraries and limited editions of Propellerhead Software's Reason Adapted and Ableton's Delta Live 2.

From a new users view I found the MobilePre easy to configure. The headphone option is nice for playing while the family is watching TV but when they've stepped out for a moment or two feeding the live signal to my Crate amplifier lets me blast out and explore the wide range of amps and effects that GarageBand has to offer.