I've been playing with Garageband over the weekend and I'm fairly impressed with this product. Apple has done a great thing by taking the solid MIDI, audio, and software instruments/effects engine from Logic Pro Audio and putting an easy-to-use "shell" over the top of it to make it accessible to everyone.
For those of us that are serious musicians, it works well as a scratch-pad for ideas, but there are a few limitations keeping it from competing with Apple's pro apps like Logic.
1. No support for control surfaces. I have a Tascam US-428 and it would be nice to use the control surface to adjust levels on GarageBand. There is no support whatsoever for this. I don't really expect this feature though; it would make GarageBand compete too much with Logic.
2. No import of MIDI files. This is a major oversight and I think they will probably remedy this in GarageBand 1.1. Lacking the ability to import MIDI files means that every MIDI sequence has to be recorded manually. That's just unrealistic. It would be great to have the ability to take MIDI sequences I've recorded in Cubase and import them to Soundtrack, add some loops, and finish up the project.
3. No support for Logic AU plugins. Even if you have Logic Platinum installed, GarageBand doesn't let you use the AU plugins that come with it. This is ridiculous because Soundtrack supports them just fine. While we're at it, why not let GarageBand use Logic software instruments like the EXS24 sampler as well? If you've paid the premium price for Logic and all of it's plugins, you should damn well be able to use those software instruments in _ANY_ program that supports AU. I'm sick of Apple "crippling" their own and competitors products by forcing you to use a single monolithic product (Logic) to access their instruments. AU plugins should be like VST plugins and should be accessible from any program that supports them. I have Digital Performer 4 also and although it supports AU, none of the Logic plugs or instruments show up; only third-party ones work.
I didn't really intend for this post to become a rant. GarageBand is a great app, but the one question that's really bothering me is this:
How long is it going to take Apple to make a version of Logic that is as easy to use as GarageBand?
I know Logic is a very complicated program, but GarageBand has given me a glimpse of what great audio software _should_ work like. It's a program that combines the useability of Mac with the power of a great audio engine.
Here's to hoping that Logic Platinum 7.0 will look and feel like GarageBand, but with all the functionality of Logic.
For those of us that are serious musicians, it works well as a scratch-pad for ideas, but there are a few limitations keeping it from competing with Apple's pro apps like Logic.
1. No support for control surfaces. I have a Tascam US-428 and it would be nice to use the control surface to adjust levels on GarageBand. There is no support whatsoever for this. I don't really expect this feature though; it would make GarageBand compete too much with Logic.
2. No import of MIDI files. This is a major oversight and I think they will probably remedy this in GarageBand 1.1. Lacking the ability to import MIDI files means that every MIDI sequence has to be recorded manually. That's just unrealistic. It would be great to have the ability to take MIDI sequences I've recorded in Cubase and import them to Soundtrack, add some loops, and finish up the project.
3. No support for Logic AU plugins. Even if you have Logic Platinum installed, GarageBand doesn't let you use the AU plugins that come with it. This is ridiculous because Soundtrack supports them just fine. While we're at it, why not let GarageBand use Logic software instruments like the EXS24 sampler as well? If you've paid the premium price for Logic and all of it's plugins, you should damn well be able to use those software instruments in _ANY_ program that supports AU. I'm sick of Apple "crippling" their own and competitors products by forcing you to use a single monolithic product (Logic) to access their instruments. AU plugins should be like VST plugins and should be accessible from any program that supports them. I have Digital Performer 4 also and although it supports AU, none of the Logic plugs or instruments show up; only third-party ones work.
I didn't really intend for this post to become a rant. GarageBand is a great app, but the one question that's really bothering me is this:
How long is it going to take Apple to make a version of Logic that is as easy to use as GarageBand?
I know Logic is a very complicated program, but GarageBand has given me a glimpse of what great audio software _should_ work like. It's a program that combines the useability of Mac with the power of a great audio engine.
Here's to hoping that Logic Platinum 7.0 will look and feel like GarageBand, but with all the functionality of Logic.