: Home studio setup with Mac & LogicPro I used to do recording on a Korg hard disk recorder, worked fine, but due to an intercontinental move, I've left most of my equipment behind as I thought it would be a good time for a

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My main issue is with connecting the guitar and phantom mic to the MacBook. I have a cheap usb interface, but it doesn't have enough preamp for the guitar to work. This used to work when I routed it through a GTX pedal first with preamp, sadly, did not move that with me.

Would you say I need a DAW or some sort of mixer with USB output

It sounds like you just need a USB (or Thunderbolt) interface—not a DAW as that tends to refer to the software or the combination of software and hardware—that has both a phantom powered XLR and an instrument input.

Your Behringer UCA222 only has line inputs and outputs and doesn't include preamps. So either you need to add preamps in front of it—there are standalone ones or you can get another mixer—or you need to get an interface that includes preamps (and at least 1 channel with phantom power).

One benefit of external preamps is that by decoupling them you can decide to get better quality pres if/when your budget allows. When you buy a combined interface you don't get choose because the pres are built-in. But if your budget is tight you probably want an interface because for about the same price as 2 channels of external pres or a small mixer you could just by an entry level 2 channel interface that includes pres. And you could still add in external pres in front of the interface later if you decide you need better quality (it should be absolutely fine for home recording).

You probably don't need an actual mixer though unless you need it for some reason more than the preamps. Or maybe if you want the absolutely cheapest solution and you can find a cheap enough mixer with 2 channels of preamps, one with phantom power. But personally I'd spend the money to get a new combined interface.