Apple GarageBand Tips and Detailed Info

[MacRumors]

continued from this page (http://www.macrumors.com/pages/2004/01/20040112000045.shtml)

Loops (Continued)

- When you add an Apple Loop to the timeline, it is matched to the key of the song. If you change the key of the song, the regions created from the loops are transposed to the new key. GarageBand can also use loops created for other music software. In some cases, these loops may not be matched to the key of the song, or may not be transposed if you change the song's key. (In which case it can be done manually)

- You can add a loop or other audio file (in AIFF, WAV, or MP3 format) to a song by dragging it directly from the Finder to the timeline. You can drag the audio file either to a Real Instrument track or to an empty area below the existing tracks. When you add an MP3 file by dragging it to the timeline, the file is converted to an AIFF file which is stored as part of the song.


Recording

- To play the onscreen keyboard, click the notes on the keyboard. You can click when the song is playing or stopped, and record by clicking during recording. Clicking notes lower on the keys plays notes with higher velocity, and clicking higher plays notes with lower velocity.

- You can also connect a MIDI-compatible music keyboard to your computer to play and record Software Instruments.

- You can connect a microphone to your computer using the computer's audio in port, if your computer has one. You can also connect an audio interface to your computer, then connect instruments and microphones to the audio interface for recording. Audio interfaces are available in a variety of compatible formats, including USB, FireWire, PCI, and PC card formats. You can also connect an audio mixer or console to your computer, and record microphones or instruments through the mixer.

- When you add a Real Instrument track, you select the input channel (http://www.chaosmint.com/screenshots/inputchan.jpg) (or pair of channels, for stereo input) for the instrument in the New Track dialog. You can change the input channel, and whether the track uses mono or stereo input, in the Track Info window. You can also turn on monitoring so you can hear the instrument before recording. (According to one report, you can record two mono channels simultaneously)

Editing

- You can edit individual notes in a Software Instrument region to adjust their timing, length, and pitch. You can also copy, paste, and delete notes.
The notes in the region are shown in a graphic "piano roll" format. The left edge of a note shows where it starts in the timeline. The length of a note shows how long it plays. The vertical position of the note shows its pitch in relation to the piano keyboard displayed along the left edge of the editor.
Each note also shows how hard you pressed the key when you played the note (called the note's "velocity"). Notes played softly are lighter gray, and notes played more intensely are darker. Many Software Instruments change their sound depending on how hard you press the key.

- Files are exported to iTunes in AIFF format. You can convert the exported file to another format, such as AAC or MP3, from within iTunes.

Performance

- The maximum number of notes Software Instruments can play at once depends on the CPU of your computer.

- The maximum number of Real Instrument tracks and Software Instrument Tracks your songs can have depends on the amount of RAM memory installed in your computer.

[Sabenth]

ive said it once ill say it again GB is just Acid Pro to me with an apple bit of flair added to it. still its a great app more or less free and who the hell wont at least play around with it. I know i will be

[yoman]

I'm looking forward to it regardless. I really want to play around with it and see what it can do.

[arn]

odd it can't import AAC. ;)

arn

[Kingsnapped]

Prolly no AAC because Apple's trying to avoid people remixing and distributing songs they *bought* in the ITMS, or other parts of their iTunes colle ction. Kinda odd, anybody with any desire will be able to just burn CDs, then rip them to MP3.

Looks like I need to buy some more RAM.

[Flowbee]

Originally posted by Sabenth
ive said it once ill say it again GB is just Acid Pro to me with an apple bit of flair added to it.

At $249 less!! :D

Actually, Acid is primarily a loop arranging program with midi support. Loops are only one part of what GarageBand does. I don't the the two programs are very comparable.

[elgruga]

Also odd it cant import AIFF files - or can it?

[gwangung]

Originally posted by elgruga
Also odd it cant import AIFF files - or can it?

Ummm, I think it said

You can add a loop or other audio file (in AIFF, WAV, or MP3 format) to a song by dragging it directly from the Finder to the timeline

Kinda direct in saying what it can import....

[From Win to Mac]

Originally posted by Kingsnapped
Prolly no AAC because Apple's trying to avoid people remixing and distributing songs they *bought* in the ITMSNot really, since those are FairPlay-protetected AAC files.

[balconycollapse]

Great! Thanks for increased clarity on this bugger. Well if you can import your own loops then it goes with out saying that you can also make your own in other programs then drag 'n drop. Thats a big deal. Soundtrack is compatible with all the ACID loops available commercially. So must GB apparently. If your savvy you can also rip some loops out of AKAI discs. My only remaining question is yay or nay on the AU instruments like Absynth or Kontakt?

[darkhawk64]

What I really want to know for sure (and maybe it's just something that I'm overlooking) is if I get one of those m-box inputs that have 2 xlr and some other inputs and connect via USB, will GB record just one track of all mixed together, or seperate each vocal track and each instrument track?

[travishill]

Originally posted by Sabenth
ive said it once ill say it again GB is just Acid Pro to me with an apple bit of flair added to it. still its a great app more or less free and who the hell wont at least play around with it. I know i will be

Actually, ACID Pro has -zero- included software instruments. While you can do a MIDI piano roll edit to trigger other instruments you purchase elsewhere in ACID, GarageBand is the first mainstream application to combine audio recording/loop aranging/software instruments in one package...

[Sauron1440]

Originally posted by darkhawk64
What I really want to know for sure (and maybe it's just something that I'm overlooking) is if I get one of those m-box inputs that have 2 xlr and some other inputs and connect via USB, will GB record just one track of all mixed together, or seperate each vocal track and each instrument track?


I'd say it's unlikely GB would mix em all together; I'd imagine they'll either record all as separate tracks, or you'll be limited to recording one at a time

[jazzman45]

for those who bought iLife '04 online, are you expecting it sooner than the 16th?

[C14ru5]

Originally posted by darkhawk64
What I really want to know for sure (and maybe it's just something that I'm overlooking) is if I get one of those m-box inputs that have 2 xlr and some other inputs and connect via USB, will GB record just one track of all mixed together, or seperate each vocal track and each instrument track? I would assume that, to keep things simple, GB only supports mono or stereo recording. More advanced audio routing should be reserved for applications like Logic Audio and Pro Tools. So if anyone out there are using, say, a MOTU 828 or similar multichannel incerfaces, a more advanced application is preferable. Nevertheless, in GB you may still record two unrelated tracks as a stereo track and then split the file into two different mono tracks (this is possible in SoundTrack as well).
edit: To fully answer your question: The Digidesign mbox is a two-channel stereo interface, so even in Pro Tools LE (which is included with the mbox) you will only be able to record either in dual mono or in single stereo. /edit

[JSRockit]

For all of those who keep blabbing about ACID being $299...there is Screenblast ACID 4.0 for $69.99 list.

I hope Sountrack gets some GB treatment...but instead of Midi Instruments...AU Instruments.

[Photorun]

Originally posted by darkhawk64
What I really want to know for sure (and maybe it's just something that I'm overlooking) is if I get one of those m-box inputs that have 2 xlr and some other inputs and connect via USB, will GB record just one track of all mixed together, or seperate each vocal track and each instrument track?

A great question and as someone who owns an Mbox and will be getting iLife the first day it hits an Apple Store I'd be happy to let you know. It really depends on how much trouble Apple may have put into the software recognizing different input device set ups, hopefull some, and the Mbox et al will have dual support. Regardless Mbox is still a good balanced XLR and instrument input device with some bells and whistles just a regular input wouldn't have.

[johnnyjibbs]

It really looks like they've pulled out all the stops on this little App to produce the most unlimiting thing possible. They've catered for non-musicians and musicians (and probably will start encouraging people who don't play to start!).

This looks just what I'm looking for. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

[aaroncd]

Am I the only Bass player who is a mac user? I havent noticed any other comments (including other places) about the lack of bass amps.

Or did I miss info on it someplace?

Aaron

[pbooker]

Ah bass amps all sound the same. ;)

Just kidding! Just another guitar player buggin a bass player.

Originally posted by aaroncd
Am I the only Bass player who is a mac user? I havent noticed any other comments (including other places) about the lack of bass amps.

Or did I miss info on it someplace?

Aaron

[cubist]

Can it OUTPUT MIDI to real MIDI devices?

The $49 keyboard will still need a USB-MIDI gizmo, right?

To me, GB seems very much like PC's Cakewalk, with added software synths. Of course, hundreds of dollars cheaper, and hopefully a lot easier to use.

[Jodeo]

The WORST part of GB is that it does NOT play OUT to connected MIDI instruments. Thus, my synth, tone generator and drum machine require another package like Tracktion or Intuem (both under $100 and available for OSX; my preference is ).Tracktion (http://www.rawmaterialsoftware.com/products/tracktion/).

But APPLE will NEED to add MIDI OUT for the future, and the ability to save and import .MID files. For a 1.0 release, it's a great program, but it needs more for future development.

[Rincewind42]

Originally posted by cubist
The $49 keyboard will still need a USB-MIDI gizmo, right?


The $99 keyboard does not. It is a USB-MIDI keyboard so works off of just a USB port.

M-Audio Keystation 49e @ The Apple Store (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/72303/wo/P221io8UonaD2nQTkYvcEnZt1RS/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.8.1.2.0.0.1.0)

[Mantat]

It says on my order that I should get it the 15th...

[Ginko]

Originally posted by cubist
The $49 keyboard will still need a USB-MIDI gizmo, right?

The keyboard showed during the keynote is $99, 49 notes wide, and USB. So I guess it doesn't need an external USB/MIDI converter. This keyboard can actually act like such a converter -- routing the Mac's MIDI messages through USB to the MIDI out port. I don't know if GB outputs them, though.

(Disclaimer: all of this info comes from the Apple Store; I don't own the device.)

[Bandit]

You can actually get the keyboard for $79 at Macmall or clubmac.

[KooStarck]

Originally posted by travishill
While you can do a MIDI piano roll edit to trigger other instruments you purchase elsewhere in ACID, GarageBand is the first mainstream application to combine audio recording/loop aranging/software instruments in one package...

Actually, Logic (and Cubase, to be fair) also do all of this, albeit with a much more complex user interface. They both do audio recording, they support time-stretchable REX2 files for audio loops, and of course you have virtual instruments (VST and AU).

GarageBand is a fantastic beginner's tool or sketchpad, but what if I want to export these tracks to use elsewhere, particularly Logic, a product from the same company? Maybe there'll be some sort of GarageBand Import Tool for Logic, to encourage users to upgrade once they outgrow the entry-level tools.

I can understand GB not having MIDI out: Reason survives perfectly well in the market without it, because people either use it standalone (better internal timing sync), or as a slave device over ReWire -- the Propellerheads development team didn't set out to make a DAW, they were making an integrated studio. \

As a sop to the "prosumer" market, ReWire support in GB would be a Good Thing but Apple shouldn't make it too complicated.

Someone posted the question about using multiple inputs from a Digidesign mBox - good question, can you assign them to different audio tracks? I suspect it's going to be limited to one mono or stereo input at a time...

[SilentPanda]

I was rereading Mac Addicts article on BT (http://www.btmusic.com) and was reminded of a website that sells loop CD's and such.

http://www.soundsonline.com/

Might be worth looking at if the format of those are importable into GarageBand. Can anybody tell me if these will work with GarageBand?

[hkhaskell]

I haven't seen any mention of the maximum recording resolution or bitrate yet...

My converter will go up to 24 bit/ 96Khz. I doubt that GB will be able to handle that but I'd love to know what the limit is.

[merge]

can someone help me out?

I have an iBook 800, but I saw you need a G4 for the software instuments?
So what will I not be able to do?

I can recored instruments, but i can't have the computer play the loops or other instruments?

[SilentPanda]

Originally posted by merge
can someone help me out?

I have an iBook 800, but I saw you need a G4 for the software instuments?
So what will I not be able to do?

I can recored instruments, but i can't have the computer play the loops or other instruments?

You need a G4/G5 for the software instruments. So you will probably not be able to input using a USB/midi keyboard or guitar or use the on screen keyboard that GarageBand has. You will be able to use the loops though.

[ShaggyLR]

The Pro-Tools LE that the mbox comes with, is it OS 9 only or now with OSX as well?

Dave

[greenstork]

Originally posted by jazzman45
for those who bought iLife '04 online, are you expecting it sooner than the 16th?

No according to the online store, it is scheduled to ship Jan. 16

[van2van2]

What is the best way to get GB. Order via the online store? (how much is shipping) or buy it at CompUSA? (anyone know when they will be in stock)

[SilentPanda]

Originally posted by van2van2
What is the best way to get GB. Order via the online store? (how much is shipping) or buy it at CompUSA? (anyone know when they will be in stock)

It's going to be $49 wherever you go. So unless you can get an EDU or government discount you might as well buy it from a local store if you can otherwise find a site with cheap shipping.

[jesuscandle]

Originally posted by cubist
Can it OUTPUT MIDI to real MIDI devices?

The $49 keyboard will still need a USB-MIDI gizmo, right?


Can someone explain what midi-out is? Why would you need this feature?

Can't you just plug your mac into some speakers and play your song?

I just don't know anything about it...

thanks
todd

[illumin8]

Well, as a musician I'm currently using a PowerBook G4 1.25 with Mark of the Unicorn Digital Performer 4.11 as my main Audio/MIDI sequencing program. Digital Performer is comparable in features to Logic Audio, just a little less expensive, but it supports Audio Units as well.

I'm excited about Garageband because I've already played with Soundtrack quite a bit, and it's one awesome program. Garageband is simply Soundtrack plus Audio Units (similar to VST instruments) software synthesizers. The problem is that Apple has crippled GarageBand so that you still have to buy Logic Audio if you want to do anything serious.

The biggest problem with both Soundtrack and Garageband is that there is no sync capability. Almost every audio application out there has either a MIDI time code sync or word clock sync so that you can run it alongside your sequencer and incorporate the sounds from the software into your mix. Apple doesn't want to add this functionality to Garageband or Soundtrack because then you wouldn't even need Logic audio any more. If Garageband could be your MIDI sequencer for hardware synths, and software synths, and if it had Rewire for synchronizing Reason and Ableton Live up with it, nobody would buy Logic any more because Garageband would do it all and only costs 10% of the price.

Here is a breakdown of Apple's Audio offerings:

Soundtrack - Loop playback and editing. No MIDI capability whatsoever. If I want to incorporate sounds from Soundtrack into another audio program I have to export the tracks as .AIFF and import them into the other program.

Garageband - Loop playback and editing. Adds Software synthesizers and basic MIDI input functionality. Still no MIDI sync or MIDI output because they don't want it to compete with Logic.

Logic Audio - Audio and MIDI playback. Complete MTC, Word Clock, and Rewire support for sync.

It looks to me like Garageband has some of the same loops that are included with Soundtrack. I think Apple may have just given the Garageband people a smaller set of the Soundtrack loops.

Another thing that seems strange to me now is the price of Soundtrack. It has way less functionality than Garageband and it's something like $400. I guess you pay a lot of money for the extra loops (recorded by professional musicians and all).

[crashcoder]

Does anybody own the Edirol UA-20 Audio Capture USB Audio/MIDI Interface?? For GB I will not such (iBook..), and I don't know what to buy.. MBox also looks okay but doesn't have an optical out..

[ideapower]

How many tracks of recorded audio can GarageBand handle altogether? The full 64? I can't find this info anywhere.

[nagromme]

MIDI out means that you could trigger an additional kind of instrument: the built-in instruments that a MIDI keyboard often contains. (The $99 one looks like just a keyboard for driving other devices--like GarageBand, not a synth with its own sounds. Does anyone know for sure?)

MIDI in means the kayboard can trigger GarageBand's bank of instruments.

MIDI out means GarageBand could trigger the keyboard's bank of instruments--if any. But then the GarageBand file could only be played if someone had that same keyboard. By using only the Mac's audio and not the external device, a GarageBand file can be universal. Plus if some sounds are coming from the Mac and some from an external sound bank, you've got to mix them together to hear the whole piece: more cabling and complexity. It looks like Apple is dodging this complexity and using the Mac for all sound. For a 1/5-of-$49 comsumer app, this makes sense.

(I'm oversimplifying, I know. I'm a non-musician but I help a friend troubleshoot CuBase sometimes.)

[antsterr]

No Bass Amps is kind of lame, Does that Jam Pak have Bass amps maybe? or am I hopeing for too much?
sigh.
why am I complaining about no bass amps? I got a great pre-amp anyway, software just isn't as nice as the real thing.

[geerlingguy]

Originally posted by ShaggyLR
The Pro-Tools LE that the mbox comes with, is it OS 9 only or now with OSX as well?

Dave

From the Digidesign website:

Digidesign Software Compatiblity

Pro Tools LE 6.2.2 for Mac OS X "Panther"
Pro Tools LE 6.1.2 for Mac OS X "Jaguar"
Pro Tools LE 6.1.1 for Windows XP

So, yes, it works fine with OSX... :)

[KooStarck]

Originally posted by jesuscandle
Can someone explain what midi-out is? Why would you need this feature?

Can't you just plug your mac into some speakers and play your song?

I just don't know anything about it...

thanks
todd

MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It's a protocol for communicating between different pieces of music hardware.

What MIDI does, at its most basic level, is communicate information about what notes to play, and how long to play them, and other information such as tempo - as well as a lot of other data which I won't go into here.

Almost anything can have MIDI on it - computers running MIDI software; keyboards, MIDI guitar; sound modules; etc.

A MIDI Sequencer, for example, is software that records MIDI information (usually displayed as dots on a grid, like an old player piano roll).

For example, you play notes on your MIDI keyboard and they are translated into MIDI signals, carried by a MIDI cable to an interface box attached to your Mac, and software (like GarageBand) reads this information and records it to the track or instrument you've selected.

MIDI Output would be the reverse: MIDI information being played back from the computer to your keyboard to tell it to produce notes.

Popular sequencer apps include Apple's Emagic Logic, Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer, Cakewalk (for PCs,) and Steinberg Cubase.

This applies to GarageBand because while you can play into it using MIDI, it doesn't output MIDI notes.

People might want to do this to use it to control other (real) synths in addition to GarageBand's built-in instruments, or to transfer their songs to other music applications -- for example, if you have GarageBand at home but your recording studio has Logic, you could export the MIDI and audio tracks and import them into the other app. If you can't do this, it's a little bit limited, but still very useful.

But as you say, if you have a Mac and speakers, you're good to go.

[jch200]

So it says you can import loops from some other applications as well. Does anyone know if this includes REX files and other stuff from Reason? That would be totally great.

[travishill]

Originally posted by KooStarck
Actually, Logic (and Cubase, to be fair) also do all of this, albeit with a much more complex user interface.

But depending on which version of either of those you buy, they may or may not come with their own software instruments. But really I don't think that Logic (which I use) or Cubase fall under truly mainstream software. I think the folks purchasing either of those already are part of the upper-end as far as required features.


Maybe there'll be some sort of GarageBand Import Tool for Logic, to encourage users to upgrade once they outgrow the entry-level tools.

You know you raise a very good point- and if this isn't easy out of the box I'm sure some enterprising developer(s) will try to fill the hole. At least I'd hope so!

As a sop to the "prosumer" market, ReWire support in GB would be a Good Thing but Apple shouldn't make it too complicated.

Agreed. Perhaps this is coming in whatever the next Soundtrack or "professional" version of GarageBand is in the works...

Someone posted the question about using multiple inputs from a Digidesign mBox - good question, can you assign them to different audio tracks? I suspect it's going to be limited to one mono or stereo input at a time...

Yes I am quite sure this will be one of the intentional limitations of GarageBand. Not a real technical one, but chosen to differentiate between towards their more prosumer product(s) coming...

[jujubee]

Originally posted by gwangung
Ummm, I think it said

[/i]

Kinda direct in saying what it can import....

You are an extremely nice person.

[simoniac]

Does anyone know what (if anything) sits between an electric guitar and the Mac (aside from the player)?

Is there some sort of adapter or preamp needed to capture guitar input to GB?

Simon

[Aqua OS X]

Originally posted by Bandit
You can actually get the keyboard for $79 at Macmall or clubmac.

Ya, but a $79 dollar keyboard is going to suck. It'll probably be pressure sensitive, but I highly doubt you'll get nice pressure sensitivity, and I'm certain you won't get weighted keys.

[Aqua OS X]

Originally posted by simoniac
Does anyone know what (if anything) sits between an electric guitar and the Mac (aside from the player)?

Is there some sort of adapter or preamp needed to capture guitar input to GB?

Simon

you can get a 1/4inch to 1/8inch adaptor (if you have a mic port). If not, you need some type of USB adaptor.

[arn]

Originally posted by simoniac
Does anyone know what (if anything) sits between an electric guitar and the Mac (aside from the player)?

Is there some sort of adapter or preamp needed to capture guitar input to GB?

Simon

Apple sells a Monster one for $19.95... which just converts the jack to the right size.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T9106LL/A

http://a772.g.akamai.net/7/772/51/6cc1c67bf30476/www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/images/accmonsteradaptor01062004.jpg

you can prob find it cheaper at Radio Shack

arn

[pbooker]

AFAIK it'll be both, but it's only 10.2, not 10.3 as of yet.

Nevermind, I see someone beat me to the punch and it works in 10.3 now.

Originally posted by ShaggyLR
The Pro-Tools LE that the mbox comes with, is it OS 9 only or now with OSX as well?

Dave

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by balconycollapse ...yay or nay on the AU instruments like Absynth or Kontakt?Nay, and they shouldn't either, to keep it simple and stable. The more third-party compatability an app supports, the greater chance for problems arises.Originally posted by darkhawk64 What I really want to know for sure (and maybe it's just something that I'm overlooking) is if I get one of those m-box inputs that have 2 xlr and some other inputs and connect via USB, will GB record just one track of all mixed together, or seperate each vocal track and each instrument track?Well, the MBox only has two inputs anyway, so yes, you'd be able to record either one stereo or two mono signals simultaneously. This does require, however, the Digidesign Core Audio driver (available here (http://www.digidesign.com/download/coreaudio/)). The big question is why would you want to? The Mbox ($399) comes with ProTools LE and scaled-down versions of Reason and Ableton Live. There'd be no reason to use Garage Band at that point. Plus, there are much less expensive audio interfaces that perform the same tasks (like the M-Audio Mobile Pre (http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=8eb1a9920df341303f81bca7ff458be3) ($139) or the Tascam US-122 (http://www.tascam.com/product_info.php?pid=253&nav=computer_recording) ($199, which includes MIDI in and out, whereas the MBox does not).Originally posted by Jodeo The WORST part of GB is that it does NOT play OUT to connected MIDI instruments.I'm convinced that's actually a good thing. With MIDI out, you suddenly have to explain MIDI ports, MIDI channels, local control, program changes, multitimbrality, polyphony... not to mention why the sound of the keyboard won't play through the computer speakers. Think about it-- Garage Band should be as accessable to newbie musicians as iPhoto is to newbie photographers. Plus, sheesh people, it's free.Originally posted by KooStarck Maybe there'll be some sort of GarageBand Import Tool for Logic,Unnecessary. All you have to do is find the resultant GB mixdown file and import it from Logic. Or even easier, drag the file into Logic's audio window, and then onto anywhere in the song's arrange window. I have a screenset programmed for this specifically, and it takes about three seconds.Originally posted by SilentPanda Can anybody tell me if these [sample formates] will work with GarageBand?Garage Band will be able to read AIFF, .WAV, and ACID (which are essentially .WAV files with pitch, tempo, and marker info encoded into them) files. It will not be able to read Akai, E-MU, Kurzweil, Roland, Samplecell, or Unity files. The raw samples in Emagic EXS files are actually AIFF, but are useless, because any pitched instrument samples (as opposed to a simple loop) can't be played from anything but a software sampler (like Emagic's EXS24 MkII (http://www.emagic.de/products/si/exs24mk/index.php?lang=EN)), which must be accessed through an existing app (like Logic).Originally posted by hkhaskell My converter will go up to 24 bit/ 96Khz. I doubt that GB will be able to handle that but I'd love to know what the limit is.I can't imagine GB would or should support anything other than 16-bit/44.1k simply because CDs have to be burned at that resolution. It it did support higher resolution, Apple suddenly has to explain sample rate conversion and dithering to newbies. Yuck. Keep it simple. Plus, 16-bit/44.1k sounds just fine, especially for a free app, and especially when you consider your average GB user can't tell the difference between AIFF and AAC (or MP3!). Recording 24-bit/96k into Garage Band would be like puting jet fuel in a Yugo.Originally posted by simoniac Does anyone know what (if anything) sits between an electric guitar and the Mac (aside from the player)? Is there some sort of adapter or preamp needed to capture guitar input to GB?Apple's not going to get into impedences, level-matching, the differences between balanced and unbalanced, etc. The stock line input on Macs (if your particular Mac has one) isn't really meant to take a guitar-level (lower) signal. To get the best sound-quality, you'll want to get some sort of instrument preamp (which will boost instrument level to line level) or if your guitar amp has a line output, you could connect that as well. Plus, there's no way to control the analog gain into the line input's A/D converter, so the input volume has to be controlled at the source, necessitating some sort of audio interface with input trim control (see above) or a standalone mixer (Behringer makes one (http://www.behringer.com/02_products/prodindex_ub.cfm?id=UB502&lang=eng) for less than $40 that can handle a mic/instrument, a keyboard/drum machine, and the output of your Mac, and then combine them all out to a single pair of speakers).

The monster adapter mentioned earlier will get the guitar signal into the computer just fine, it's just not the correct way to do it, and it won't sound very good.

Hope this helps.

[Aqua OS X]

Still no MIDI sync or MIDI output because they don't want it to compete with Logic.


Ya, but here's the problem.

Home musicians are not limited to people that play analog / acoustic instruments. If you're like me, then most of your friends "garage bands" are made up using a set of Technics 1200's and a slew of MIDI devices.

Nevertheless, people like this are just as broke as traditional analog / acoustic musicians. Moreover, just because they dabble in electronic music doesn't mean they are the least bit adept with popular professional recording and sequencing solutions. These people should have proper access to this application as well.

Apple has already allowed Garage Band to fully interact with 1/4inch musicians. A typical crappy local band now has no need to spend money on something like Logic, Cubase, or ProTools if they are not doing any high-end recording. Why should MIDI musicians be exempt if they wish do do the same?

If Apple was really concerned about competition with it's Pro apps, they would've limited Garage Band's recording tracks. However, they didn't. And with, or without MIDI out, people are still going to stray from Apple's other products.

[kcmac]

"The monster adapter mentioned earlier will get the guitar signal into the computer just fine, it's just not the correct way to do it, and it won't sound very good."

I don't know enough to dispute this. John Mayer sounded pretty good on the playback during the keynote. Were they doing something different than just plugging his guitar directly in to the mac?

[Aqua OS X]

Originally posted by Audacity Works
I'm convinced that's actually a good thing. With MIDI out, you suddenly have to explain MIDI ports, MIDI channels, local control, program changes, multitimbrality, polyphony... not to mention why the sound of the keyboard won't play through the computer speakers. Think about it-- Garage Band should be as accessable to newbie musicians as iPhoto is to newbie photographers. Plus, sheesh people, it's free.


Ya, but people that want MIDI-out already know the basics of MIDI. People that don't know much about MIDI can simply record with a 1/4inch.

Simple playback through an instrument is a features that should be available. Heck, I'd be happy if it only supported one MIDI device.

Then again, if non-keyboard midi devices can trigger Garage Bands instruments properly, and they don't sound like ****, I'll probably shut up. But, I doubt garage band will have a MIDI drum set that sounds as real as my V-Drums :(

[jackiechan]

[Does anyone know what (if anything) sits between an electric guitar and the Mac (aside from the player)? Is there some sort of adapter or preamp needed to capture guitar input to GB?

Simon

you can get a 1/4inch to 1/8inch adaptor (if you have a mic port). If not, you need some type of USB adaptor.]

You could do that, but I can assure you, plugging an electric guitar straight into a computer is going to sound like poo poo.

An electric guitar is a combination of the guitar and the amp. In my career of audio recording, I have never once recorded a guitar from plugging it straight into the board. Get a guitar mic, like a 57, and stick that thing right up to your amp, take your level, and then record. Otherwise, it's going to sound horrible.

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by Aqua OS X Ya, but people that want MIDI-out already know the basics of MIDI. People that don't know much about MIDI can simply record with a 1/4inch.That's why Logic Audio's only $199 with a bunch of softsynths included.Originally posted by kcmac I don't know enough to dispute this. John Mayer sounded pretty good on the playback during the keynote. Were they doing something different than just plugging his guitar directly in to the mac? I'm sure they had some sort of simple preamp to get a decent-sounding, hot signal into the Mac. A good guideline to follow is to record each signal as loud as possible without distorting. Otherwise, you actually end up using fewer bits, and when you turn up that track's output volume to compensate, it can very easily sound like crap. There's no analog input trim on the Mac, which, again, means you have to control the input volume at the source. If your guitar is active, it probably has enough "juice" to drive the Mac's input properly. Most guitars are have passive pickups, however, which need to be boosted. Mics are even worse. True, there are some line-level mics (Sony make some decent ones), but your average Shure, AKG, or Neumann needs a proper mic preamp to get it to line level. A mixer or audio interface with preamps with volume control are the easiest options.

Again, it'll work-- it's just not the right way to do it.Originally posted by jackiechan I have never once recorded a guitar from plugging it straight into the board. Get a guitar mic, like a 57, and stick that thing right up to your amp, take your level, and then record. Otherwise, it's going to sound horrible.If you do it right (i.e. implement a proper instrument preamp), and utilize decent amp simulation software, direct recording of guitars can sound great. You'd be surprised how many major-label guitar tracks use Line6 Amp Farm (http://www.digidesign.com/products/details.cfm?product_id=1001). Plus, with software amp simulators, you can change the amp and effects after the guitar's recorded.

[KooStarck]

Originally posted by Audacity Works
Unnecessary. All you have to do is find the resultant GB mixdown file and import it from Logic. Or even easier, drag the file into Logic's audio window, and then onto anywhere in the song's arrange window. I have a screenset programmed for this specifically, and it takes about three seconds.

When you say "mixdown file," you're obviously referring to an exported, final stereo AIFF / WAV / MP3 file and importing it ino the Audio Pool. That's not what I'm proposing at all.

What I'm talking about is importing the separate MIDI and audio tracks (or in GarageBand parlance, Real Instruments and Software Instruments) to new, separate MIDI and audio tracks in Logic. Unmixed and/or uneffected.

Ideally, there would be a GB import function in Logic that would pull in audio loops to the Audio pool and place them on new tracks in the timeline automatically, and put MIDI data on new tracks (without assigning them to any particular instrument necessarily).

For instance, this would let someone use GarageBand as a sketchpad (for instance, in case you forget your XSKey dongle at the studio and can't use your other Logic installation!) and then to import that data into Logic later.

Or if someone has songs in GarageBand and decides later that Logic suits their needs, they shouldn't have to throw away those files.

[jackiechan]

[If you do it right (i.e. implement a proper instrument preamp), and utilize decent amp simulation software, direct recording of guitars can sound great. You'd be surprised how many major-label guitar tracks use Line6 Amp Farm. Plus, with software amp simulators, you can change the amp and effects after the guitar's recorded.]

Honestly, there are no major label acts in America or any other part of the world that record a guitar by plugging straight into the board. I can tell you, from my experiences and sessions with top players from all over, it just doesn't happen. Line 6 is used, this is correct, but it's used and then output from an amp. Otherwise, you end up with this completely cold sound that sucks. I guess you could do it that way, plugging it straight it, but it's kind of like spray painting a corvette.

Also, you don't want as high of a level as possible. That's a mistake that many amateurs make. You want a little bit of "air" in there. Otherwise it's too hot, and will sound way too "digital".

[pbooktebo]

Some thoughts that may also be answers:

Regarding the Monster cable adaptor. I think it may also transform the mono signal of the guitar to stereo (no DSP, just splitting so it matches the audio in). You may want to find out as you'll then need two adaptors (1/4" to heaphone, and mono-to-stereo). Maybe the audio in on the mac handles both mono and stereo, though (I'm not sure).

If you have an ibook, you can get the Griffin iMic to import audio (older PowerBooks models also lack a dedicated audio-in).

From asking an Apple guy manning the Garage Band booth, Garage Band gets its audio from whatever you've selected in System Preferences. I doubt you can multi-track into Garage Band, but if you can get your audio in gizmo recognized, you can send that audio to Garage Band.

For the bass whiners, I mean players, you should be able to use any of the guitar amp filters for bass. I know that some customized bass amps would be cool, but all the "guitar amp" does is apply a filter to incoming audio: you should be able to sing through it, have a "surf kazoo," or "British Invasion pots 'n pans" if you like. Of course, the filter may be attuned to guitar frequencies, but that's a broad enough range that you're probably all going to be happy with your instrument, whatever it is.

[simoniac]

Actually the Apple store has the preamp previously mentioned...

MobilePre (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71108/wo/tg2MUZXpIioq253h27L1z0yhPoD/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.8.1.4.0.0.1.0)

$149. No educational discount yet.

Kinda pushes the entry price up a bit.

Simon

[ethernet76]

Originally posted by Kingsnapped
Prolly no AAC because Apple's trying to avoid people remixing and distributing songs they *bought* in the ITMS, or other parts of their iTunes colle ction. Kinda odd, anybody with any desire will be able to just burn CDs, then rip them to MP3.

Looks like I need to buy some more RAM.

They probably stayed away from acc because it's lossy compression. I'm sure my recordings would be great if I combined 128 AAC with a live recording.

Soundtrack doesn't support ACC or MP3 does it?

[Aqua OS X]

Originally posted by Audacity Works
That's why Logic Audio's only $199 with a bunch of softsynths included.

Ya, but you're missing what I'm saying.

I'm saying you can add MIDI out, however you don't really have to explain it to users. People that use it know how to use it.

Basic MIDI playback through one synth is not rocket science. MIDI can get quite complicated; however, if you only want a piece of software to play back a certain instrument with X notes, at Y time, and Z velocity, then you can usually leave everything at it's default settings.

---
and as for the software synths. Well, they can be cool, however if you've spent $3000 on a nice MIDI instrument, it's sure nice to use the hardware as opposed to your computer.

[ethernet76]

Again, it'll work-- it's just not the right way to do it.If you do it right (i.e. implement a proper instrument preamp), and utilize decent amp simulation software, direct recording of guitars can sound great. You'd be surprised how many major-label guitar tracks use Line6 Amp Farm (http://www.digidesign.com/products/details.cfm?product_id=1001). Plus, with software amp simulators, you can change the amp and effects after the guitar's recorded.

I have recorded directly into my mac, and a preamp is needed. The signal is too weak. As for getting the mic. Here's the problem. Pre-amps are relatively cheap and all that. However a decent recording mic is not. To get sound that is close to what you'd get by a direct computer plug in you'd have to buy a lot of expensive equipment. Let's start off with the guitar. I have a strat, set me back 800 or so. Then the amp. I have a Kustom, not the best, but it's good enough to the point where i'd use it for recording. Then I'd need a mic, but, I'm not going to just plug the mic into the computer, you need phantom power. Well I also need a compressor.

If you cheap out on any of those parts your quality is going to go down quick. Back in the day when all i had was my strat and an 80 dollar custom amp which sounded like ****. You can't record that amp. It doesn't do the guitar justice. Garageband is by no means a professioinal recording studio. The only place you can get that is with 10,000 in equipment. This is so I can make that demo so that I can get that 10,000 to make my own studio.

[MetallicPenguin]

Don't know if this has been asked or not, but can you record your own music and turn it into a loop? This would be very nifty, especially for a little doo ti doo doo, doo ti doo doo, doo ti doo doo...etc:p

[fatfish]

Not to be rude to the original poster, but it was quite clear to me what GB would do from Steve's little demo and presentation. I've got to say if I had to rely on the post to discover what GB could do, I would be uterly confused.

[antsterr]

with all this talk of pre-amps, I have a question for some one knowing a bit more then me, would having active pickups do you better for going directly into a macs line in?
I'm playing Bass so I don't know if I'd want to do that anyway as there doesn't seem to be any bass amp options, but lugging around a big rack mounted amp is a pain and if I could just use Garageband to play with at home that would be fun.

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by jackiechan Honestly, there are no major label acts in America or any other part of the world that record a guitar by plugging straight into the board. I can tell you, from my experiences and sessions with top players from all over, it just doesn't happen.Wrong. It's used on TONS of major label records. In fact, I would venture to say most top-40 pop songs with guitar in them have implemented Amp Farm. I know, because I work with these people-- they're complete ProTools geeks and they don't have time to track with real amps, because they're cranking out multiple songs a day.

Nine Inch Nails uses Amp Farm almost exclusively for their guitar tracks. Filter uses Amp Farm. Underworld uses Amp Farm. The Neptunes use Amp Farm. Timbaland and Missy Elliott use Amp Farm. Dr. Dre uses Amp Farm. Even Aerosmith and Radiohead used Amp Farm on a couple of tracks on their last albums. It's used everywhere.

[JSRockit]

Originally posted by crashcoder
Does anybody own the Edirol UA-20 Audio Capture USB Audio/MIDI Interface?? For GB I will not such (iBook..), and I don't know what to buy.. MBox also looks okay but doesn't have an optical out..

I'll take the focusrite Mic pre-amps on the mBox anyday over optical outs.

[jackiechan]

[Wrong. It's used on TONS of major label records. In fact, I would venture to say mosttop-40 pop songs with guitar in them have implemented Amp Farm. I know, because I work with these people-- they're complete ProTools geeks and they don't have time to track with real amps, because they're cranking out multiple songs a day.

Nine Inch Nails uses Amp Farm almost exclusively for their guitar tracks. Filter uses Amp Farm. Underworld uses Amp Farm. The Neptunes use Amp Farm. Timbaland and Missy Elliott use Amp Farm. Dr. Dre uses Amp Farm. Even Aerosmith and Radiohead used Amp Farm on a couple of tracks on their last albums. It's used everywhere.]


That is laughable. Radiohead is world famous for recording everything analog. Then digitizing into pro tools. Read any Nigel Godrich interview. I'm not saying that people don't use amp farm, honestly thousands do. I sure lots of people use it by plugging straight in, and you know, as an audio engineer, I'm here to tell you that it sounds like crap. I don't care how you manipulate it, the converters cannot capture what a microphone can, it's just not possible. As for NIN, have a look over at Trent's studio, http://www.nothingstudios.com/studio.html they give a detailed listing of the amps they use. They even mention amp farm in their software listing. They use it, but after recording it from the amp. I'm not here to argue technical bs, I'm just saying if you want your guitar to sound halfway decent and get a wide frequency range, it's best done by getting a decent guitar mic and recording it from your amp.

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by Aqua OS X Basic MIDI playback through one synth is not rocket science. MIDI can get quite complicated; however, if you only want a piece of software to play back a certain instrument with X notes, at Y time, and Z velocity, then you can usually leave everything at it's default settings.MIDI playback through one synth is definitely like rocket science to most people. You know how MIDI works, I know how MIDI works, Joe Schmo down the street has absolutely no clue how it works. Garage Band is for him, not you or I. In other words, if your needs surpass Garage Band, it's simply not the app for you. Similarly, one can't crossfade tracks while burning a CD in iTunes, so it's not the app for me-- So I use WaveBurner Pro-- simple.

And I can guarantee when Joe Schmo comes across "select MIDI channels and MIDI ports", he's gonna be confused, even if he won't ever implement that particular function. I've sold recording and MIDI gear to thousands of people, from the most clueless newbies to major-label acts and film composers. No one makes multitrack sequencing and recording software that newbies will be able to grasp. That is, until now. The more stuff Apple adds to Garage Band, the more it's gonna confuse people.

Garage Band has to be designed so complete morons, 11-year-olds, and technophobic housewives can master it without a manual. Like iTunes and iPhoto.

MIDI export? Okay, I can see that one. Hide it in the "Advanced Features" page or something. But sample-accurate OMF-esque playlist export is awfully damn complicated-- so complicated in fact that I'd suggest Apple will never implement it, especially when workarounds are readily available. Because those who need to perfectly export a song into Logic are typically smart enough to be aware of said workarounds.

If anything, perhaps Apple will offer a "Render All Tracks to New Folder" feature, which would mean all one would have to do is drag those files into Logic's arrange window, and voila!

There's a $20 version of Logic out there (I forget where I saw it, but it came with a book) that does all of the stuff you want. Or you can download Logic VS, which won't record audio, but its MIDI functionality far surpasses that of Garage Band.

If Apple does anything to Logic, they need to fix all the TDM bugs before 20,000 Logic TDM guys (such as myself) give up and switch to ProTools. That's definitely coming.

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by jackiechan
I'm just saying if you want your guitar to sound halfway decent and get a wide frequency range, it's best done by getting a decent guitar mic and recording it from your amp.We're not discussing whether it sounds good or not-- That's obviously highly subjective. I would certainly suggest that if one wants the best possible recording tone, he or she should mic up an amp. That much we agree on. Cool, fine.

No, seriously. Trent used to buy stuff from my store several years ago. I've spoken to him on numerous occasions. Amp Farm isn't a "piece of gear" per se, so it won't be listed at Nothing. Joe Chicarelli (Grammy-award winning producer/mixer-- Tori Amos, Frank Zappa, Bon Jovi, Couting Crows, Hole, U2) mixed two of my songs last week and we were talking about all the people he's worked with who use direct Amp Farm tracks on their records. Like Nigel Godrich's productions with Radiohead and Beck (Radiohead relies heavily on ProTools, whether the initial tracking's on 2" tape or not). In fact, the whole conversation started because he liked my guitar tone and asked what I used. It was Amp Farm.

[ces1965]

What's to stop someone from writing an Audio Unit that sends midi out? There's several new AUs that send audio out to any application you want, or take audio in from any application you want. I would imagine sending out the midi data would be no problem in a plug-in.

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by ces1965 What's to stop someone from writing an Audio Unit that sends midi out? There's several new AUs that send audio out to any application you want, or take audio in from any application you want. I would imagine sending out the midi data would be no problem in a plug-in.Except Garage Band doesn't support AU plugins, nor can it send MIDI data out to anything but its internal instruments. At least not with the current version.

If you had, say, a standalone softsynth app with built-in sequencing (like NI Reaktor), you could very well route that MIDI data into Garage Band, but how would Garage Band then send that data back to Reaktor? It can't.

One thing I think Apple might that wouldn't be too obtuse is MIDI clock out.

[h'biki]

Got this info from Apple Australia:

1) GarageBand is a great way for music hobbyists and people who want to
experiment with creating music
Soundtrack is a professional app designed for serious loop music creation

2) Soundtrack has advanced abilities to create custom scores for video and
motion graphics (video window, markers, export options)
GarageBand = no

3) Soundtrack supports the thousands of loop libraries out there Apple Loops,
Acid Loops, WAV, AIFF
GarageBand = Apple Loops only

4) Soundtrack has region pitch shifting and master automation of tempo and key
GarageBand = no

5) GarageBand has SW instruments and Guitar amp simulators for musicians who
want to use these features with keyboard or guitar
Soundtrack can record these things but does not have SW instruments or amp
simulation

6) GarageBand = music Starting point for everyone
Soundtrack = Music starting point for motion graphics folks or people who want
to get more serious with looping after using GarageBand and are not interested
in continuing use of SW instruments
Logic = More serious application for recording and SW instruments after using
GarageBand

[JSRockit]

So, I guess GB will be 16bit?

[Casey]

Hey guys. I am the guy who sent chaosmint the GB help files last night. I am glad you like the info he took from it. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I probably won't be coming back here much but I have been posting a lot of the info over at the garagebandcreations.com forums. Over there is some more info and I posted the document and loop icons. If you don't want to go there you can find the info here (http://www.garagebandcreations.com/gbinfo.htm).

Thanks guys.

[MrMacMan]

Originally posted by Audacity Works
Think about it-- Garage Band should be as accessable to newbie musicians as iPhoto is to newbie photographers. Plus, sheesh people, it's free. Yuck. Keep it simple.

Plus, 16-bit/44.1k sounds just fine, especially for a free app, and especially when you consider your average GB user can't tell the difference between AIFF and AAC (or MP3!).
Hope this helps.

Audacity Works -- You state many times that GB is free... but its not.

Not even close to free.

At ALL.

GB -- NOT FREE.

It doesn't help if you don't state the truth.
iLife -- Not free, therefore
GB -- Not Free!

http://www.apple.com/ilife/

Notice there is no where there that says 'FREE DOWNLOAD NOW' it says purchase.

Originally posted by fatfish
Not to be rude to the original poster, but it was quite clear to me what GB would do from Steve's little demo and presentation. I've got to say if I had to rely on the post to discover what GB could do, I would be uterly confused.

Not all of us have seen the Keynote or where there in person.


And yes I am confused.

;)

Also the accessories cost more:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/accessories.html

[arn]

Originally posted by MrMacman
Audacity Works -- You state many times that GB is free... but its not.

Not even close to free.

At ALL.

GB -- NOT FREE.


*Free with purchase of a new Mac.

arn

[Audacity Works]

Originally posted by MrMacman
Not Free!Okay, touché. Free for me in two weeks when I buy my new G5 (hopefully with speed bump).

[Tokyo]

A question from a MIDI newbie:

Will GB allow you to input music manually, note for note, without the use of a keyboard? I've seen screenshots with the notes shown as bars in the lower window, and have seen MIDI apps where you can draw those lines with the mouse to input the notes. Can GB do that, or is MIDI/mic/loop the only way to get music in?

[zal]

I have an M-Box, so I have Protools too, with Reason Adapted2.5 and a scaled down version of Live. I can say that i'm just pleased with this gear (except for Reason2.5... I'd say that they adapted it too much... I can barely do a thing that REAL users of Reason can do. And I can't even buy the full thing for an update price...) I'm not a pro, just an hobbyist. But i can tell that i'll get my hand on GB. That's for sure. Anyway, there's more than GB in the box... So for 59 CAN$ I'd say that this is a fair price.
I just wonder though, is GB compatible with ReWire so i could use it as a third "instrument"?

[MikeAtari]

Having put in my order,
I can now say IPhoto and IMovie should be free.

- If you want the new functionality of IDVD or GB then you should buy it.

But, I would want to keep all those Apple people up to date on IPhoto and IMovie.

That's how I'd do it.

I like the enticement of the IApps drawing people to the Mac Platform. And Keeping them.

[illumin8]

Originally posted by jch200
So it says you can import loops from some other applications as well. Does anyone know if this includes REX files and other stuff from Reason? That would be totally great.

I'm going to guess no to the Recycle loops (REX files) because they come from a competing product.

Reason will work just fine because you can easily export loops from it in an .AIFF or .WAV format. I guess Recycle will work just fine to that extent as well, but you'll have to export the loops at the exact same tempo as the song you're making in Garageband.

My guess is a big no on the Rewire support though...

[blixa]

Originally posted by jackiechan


That is laughable. Radiohead is world famous for recording everything analog. Then digitizing into pro tools. Read any Nigel Godrich interview. I'm not saying that people don't use amp farm, honestly thousands do. I sure lots of people use it by plugging straight in, and you know, as an audio engineer, I'm here to tell you that it sounds like crap. I don't care how you manipulate it, the converters cannot capture what a microphone can, it's just not possible. As for NIN, have a look over at Trent's studio, http://www.nothingstudios.com/studio.html they give a detailed listing of the amps they use. They even mention amp farm in their software listing. They use it, but after recording it from the amp. I'm not here to argue technical bs, I'm just saying if you want your guitar to sound halfway decent and get a wide frequency range, it's best done by getting a decent guitar mic and recording it from your amp.

Here are a couple of interviews with engineer Tchad Blake, where he says he doesn't record amps much anymore (he uses a SansAmp instead):
http://www.bombfactory.com/faq/tchad.html
http://www.prosoundweb.com/recording/tapeop/tchad/tchad_16_3.shtml

a quote:
Listen to the Soul Coughing "Ruby Vroom" LP--the drum and bass sound, that's SansAmp. In fact, there are no amps used at all on that record.

(...though he does mention that he doesn't like using the SansAmp so much for electric guitar.)

[illumin8]

Originally posted by kcmac
"The monster adapter mentioned earlier will get the guitar signal into the computer just fine, it's just not the correct way to do it, and it won't sound very good."

I don't know enough to dispute this. John Mayer sounded pretty good on the playback during the keynote. Were they doing something different than just plugging his guitar directly in to the mac?
I'm pretty positive they used a real sound card for that test. Probably one of the newer firewire audio interfaces because the latency is really low and this is important for direct monitoring of effects.

[JazzDude]

Originally posted by aaroncd
Am I the only Bass player who is a mac user? I havent noticed any other comments (including other places) about the lack of bass amps.

Or did I miss info on it someplace?

Aaron
Nooooo! I'm a guitarist/bassist and I'm pretty sure you can have a decent-sounding bassline using a clean guitar preset with some EQ tweaking. Remember, it's all in the fingers!

[JazzDude]

You forgot one or two things...
Originally posted by illumin8

Soundtrack - Loop playback and editing. No MIDI capability whatsoever. If I want to incorporate sounds from Soundtrack into another audio program I have to export the tracks as .AIFF and import them into the other program.
You can also record audio with Soundtrack. You can also convert your recording to a stretchable loop using Soundtrack's Loop Utility (which lives in /Applications/Utilities, no less).


Garageband - Loop playback and editing. Adds Software synthesizers and basic MIDI input functionality. Still no MIDI sync or MIDI output because they don't want it to compete with Logic.
You forgot the most important thing: audio recording via line-in. If GB lacked that capability, it'd be nothing more than a toy.


Another thing that seems strange to me now is the price of Soundtrack. It has way less functionality than Garageband and it's something like $400. I guess you pay a lot of money for the extra loops (recorded by professional musicians and all).
Don't forget that Soundtrack is part of FinalCut Pro and can sync video and audio. Its purpose is to create a soundtrack (sic) for a movie.

[JazzDude]

Originally posted by MetallicPenguin
Don't know if this has been asked or not, but can you record your own music and turn it into a loop? This would be very nifty, especially for a little doo ti doo doo, doo ti doo doo, doo ti doo doo...etc:p
You can do this with Soundtrack's Loop Utility. Might be available as a standalone app (if you know where to look :D ).

[JazzDude]

Originally posted by antsterr
with all this talk of pre-amps, I have a question for some one knowing a bit more then me, would having active pickups do you better for going directly into a macs line in?
Definitely. As many other posters here said, a guitar with passive pickups, single-coils even, doesn't sound very pleasant when plugged directly into a Mac.


I'm playing Bass so I don't know if I'd want to do that anyway as there doesn't seem to be any bass amp options, but lugging around a big rack mounted amp is a pain and if I could just use Garageband to play with at home that would be fun. [/B]
Guess what? You don't need a bass amp! Just take clean guitar sound, tweak the EQ a bit. If you have a good-sounding bass and know who to get different sounds using just your fingers, that's all you need.

I mean, for me that is the whole point in GB: take a PowerBook, a guitar or bass, maybe a little preamp (I use a BOSS CS-3 Compressor with very little compression dialled in) and off you go. Add a good mic and mic-preamp and I'm sure a talented musician could produce really great music. When you hear a great song, do you care about the equipment that's used to produce that song? Do you care that Strawberry Fields was recorded on a 4-Track tape machine? See.

[ideapower]

still wondering - what is the limit of the number of audio or "real instrument" tracks in garageband? anybody?

[johnnyjibbs]

Originally posted by ideapower
still wondering - what is the limit of the number of audio or "real instrument" tracks in garageband? anybody?
Steve said 64

[darcyb]

I think the reason there is no MIDI out is because the iLife strategy, is to manage your digital lifestyle on your mac and integrate all iLife apps so that what each one does, is accessible to the other. Not that you can dump iDVD to iPhoto but...heh...media conflict there.

This whole strategy lets you bring your life TO the Mac. Apple wants you to have your Mac as the destination with the ability to archive to cd, dvd, paper etc. MIDI IN does this; plugging in a guitar does this and so on. The mix-down function of GB satisfies the second requirement. It makes the music accessible to other iLife apps, since it dumps to AIFF.

By having a MIDI OUT, you are then taking people AWAY from their Macs to other MIDI devices, for which Apple cannot control the user experience, which iLife is founded on as a core philosophy. Apple doesn't want to have to ever issue a 'GB won't play out of such an such a keyboard because it doesn't support GMS, has different patch sections which controller ## must trigger to do a bank cfhange blah blah blah' knowledge base article I'm guessing.

It may be because I struggle grasping MIDI and patch selection on my Roland XP-60, but I despise being invited to send some controller number and data number to get to patch 43 in section C from a MIDI app that doesn't have a sound list in plain english. I'm trying to get away from all that stuff. GB will help me delve into the world of softsynths. I don't see any easy way for GB to let users select a tone from a bank or keyboard expansion bay bank or GM set or what have you. Apple would have to constantly provide transparent patch selection tools and be issuing software patch databases all day long for every new sound module (with keyboard or not as a synth) out there. BLECH!

Also, with Apple's strategy to have the Mac as the center of our digital lifestyle, how practical would it be to have to change it to, "you can play your songs on your digital lifestyle Mac, only if you bring along that MIDI device there, that one there on and that big-ass digital piano there that you recorded those 3 filler notes that only sound good on that MIDI enable digital piano". I'm guessing Apple wants to keep your portable, for the "year of the laptop" type things too. A softsynth collection without any need to ever send MIDI messages outside of its tone generator to a U-haul of MIDI gear, is a sweet portable deal. Keeps your musical creative life on your Mac without strings attached (litterally).

It also allows this sceniario, "you're up till 3 am and you get this killer brainstorm. You jump in GB, toss the idea together really quick and click on 'save'. You then sleep 2 hours, get back up, yank your other band mates out of their sleep and you know they're too exhausted to run to the full MIDI setup you have a 30 min drive away from the hotel, so you just flip open the laptop and press play. They don't have to be truly conscious nor get dressed to hear your brilliance." By inviting a GB user to even remotely consider sending stuff out to other MIDI devices, kills spontaneous creativity and portable presentation unless you never leave the confines of your MIDI network. It's no longer your life, it becomes work. It's calleld iLife and not iWork heh.

GB is not a sequencer, it's an enabler. It's not a MIDI waypoint to push data along past a tone generator. It's a destination where Apple controls the plushness of your stay. And it does this with great quality, some of it professional quality.

I hope this makes sense and that I came off as having some kind of clue.

[margotspop]

Originally posted by arn
*Free with purchase of a new Mac.

arn

I was in one of the Apple Stores in Boston yesterday and asked two sales people there this specific question. Both of them asserted that the new iLife will NOT be included in new macs - it'll cost the $20 upgrade to get it.

[Laocoon]

watch stevenote again. steve clearly states that ilife 04 will be included with every new mac.

[margotspop]

Originally posted by Laocoon
watch stevenote again. steve clearly states that ilife 04 will be included with every new mac.

Well I certainly hope so - I'm buying a mac for the wife fairly soon. You would think that Apple would ensure that their staff knew pretty important stuff like this, wouldn't you? I told them to expect some fairly disgruntled customers if what they said was true.

[arn]

Originally posted by margotspop
I was in one of the Apple Stores in Boston yesterday and asked two sales people there this specific question. Both of them asserted that the new iLife will NOT be included in new macs - it'll cost the $20 upgrade to get it.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2004/jan/06ilife.html


Pricing & Availability
iLife ‘04 will be available on January 16 for a suggested retail price of $49 (US) through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The iLife ‘04 applications will also be included with all new Macs. An iLife Up-To-Date upgrade package is available to all customers who purchase a new Mac on or after January 6 that does not include iLife ‘04. The iLife Up-To-Date package is available for a shipping and handling fee of $19.95 (US). iTunes version 4.2 is currently available as a free download at www.apple.com.

The $20 thing is if you buy a mac today before iLife starts shipping. After Jan 16th or so, it will come with iLife.

arn

[ideapower]

Originally posted by johnnyjibbs
Steve said 64

Steve said "Digitally mix up to 64 tracks" just as a general statement about the app. I have seen other low-end apps have separate limits on audio tracks than on other tracks such as MIDI. Nowhere in the keynote or on Apple's site does it say anything specific about the number of audio tracks other than this general statement of "64 tracks" .. in fact the GarageBand pages on the Apple site tout "You can record multiple performances in the same track" as some sort of advantage, although it says nothing specific about multiple tracks of audio or "real instruments." Sure, I'm probably being paranoid, but this makes me at least want to wait for something more conclusive before buying it.

Also, anybody else notice they added the word LIKE to "It's (Like) Microsoft Office for the rest of your life" .... I guess somebody thought they were offering lifetime upgrades to somebody else's product :)

[redshifter]

So I'm pretty new to digital multitracking. I plan on recording guitar and bass tracks and some tracks from my drum machine as well. I imagine that I'll have to buy something like the MobilePre USB in/out interface to plug my mics into, but I'm wondering something about it.

Since that interface handles both the audio in and out, when I'm laying down tracks, what's to stop GB from recording not only the audio that I'm playing but RE-RECORDING the audio that I've already recorded? Maybe this is super simple or there's some kind of setting or something, but I'm having a hard time understanding how that would work.

thanks for any advice. ..

[hamslam]

I'm new to the music software game and had a basic question:

with garageband, can one import mp3 or wav files but more importantly, once imported, can you edit them into loops? ie chop and tweak them down the a piece you want? Or does that need to be done in additional software before import?

If not, can anyone recomnmend an inexpensive and BASIC sample editer, where i can manipulate loops, pref. in real time?

Thanks so much

PS I have played with Reason before but am looking for something much more simple.

[darcyb]

You can drag n drop import mp3 and wav files but I'm not sure about waveform cutting. You could do that in a 3rd party app like you said. Some of my most frequently include Sound Studio ( http://www.felttip.com/products/soundstudio/ ) and Quicktime Pro ( http://www.apple.com/quicktime/buy/ ).

[jaredm]

Are the soft synth sounds that are included with the program any good? I have a kurzweil pc2 and I like the sounds on it. Anythings that sounds reasonably close to the sounds on a roland, yamaha, kurzweil, or korg synth would be alright. I'm also curious if there is a way to use a click track in the program. I'm curious if I'd be able to separate the click track into a mono track so that I can run the channel without the click to the board and the other channel to the drummer so that this app. would be useful in a live performance situation. This would be a great program if it could do these two things for me. Also, is there a way to do continious loops and then hit a key to go on to the next part of the song. They did a great idea.