Working On GarageBand Files On The Internet

[gvdv]

Does anyone happen to have any advice on the best way that I can share GB files with my cousin over the internet when working on the same song? He has GB2 and I have GB3 and I think I read somewhere that the different versions of GB will not work together.

I suppose that I could send him an MP3, and he could import it into GB2, play along to it, recording his contribution, and save this track as a GB2 file, and email it to me. I could then import this GB2 file into GB3 and incorporate it into my project. Is there any way I could send him GB3 files so that he could import them into his projects, or is MP3 the only way to go?

Thanks

 

[Jolly Jimmy]

Does anyone happen to have any advice on the best way that I can share GB files with my cousin over the internet when working on the same song? He has GB2 and I have GB3 and I think I read somewhere that the different versions of GB will not work together.

I suppose that I could send him an MP3, and he could import it into GB2, play along to it, recording his contribution, and save this track as a GB2 file, and email it to me. I could then import this GB2 file into GB3 and incorporate it into my project. Is there any way I could send him GB3 files so that he could import them into his projects, or is MP3 the only way to go?

Thanks

Hey gvdv,

Glad I could be of help for your last question, but to be honest I'm not sure I can help with this one. The thing is, depending how many tracks your dealing with and how long they are, GB files can get to be quite big, probably too big to send via email. Sending them via Adium or MSN Messenger would be a better option. I don't know about the compatibilty of the different versions of GB, so all I can say is to try it out for yourself. If it doesn't work you can always send the seperate audio files, uncompressed rather than MP3 via your IM service of choice.

JJ

 

[gvdv]

Hey gvdv,

Glad I could be of help for your last question, but to be honest I'm not sure I can help with this one. The thing is, depending how many tracks your dealing with and how long they are, GB files can get to be quite big, probably too big to send via email. Sending them via Adium or MSN Messenger would be a better option. I don't know about the compatibilty of the different versions of GB, so all I can say is to try it out for yourself. If it doesn't work you can always send the seperate audio files, uncompressed rather than MP3 via your IM service of choice.

JJ

Hi Jolly Jimmy,
Thanks for this.

After I posted this I discovered that Garage Band 3 and 08 (not 2) have the compact files feature which is aimed at people wanting to share files via the net, and which allows one to create an AAC with choices of file size of 64kbps, 128kbps or 192kbps.

Even using this, I can imagine using a bare minimum of tracks which would give others a good idea of how the song goes, but which does not need to have the finished, fully mixed version.

I suppose that files being sent back and forth in this manner will have to be imported as either AAC's or MP3's (and I understand that import of the latter is difficult even though it is supposed to be possible). This would mean a decrease in sound quality, but is probably the only way of exchanging files from different versions of GB (as files are not compatible between any two different versions, apparently).

Also, using the compact format keeps file sizes smaller.

One thing I don't understand is that Logic Express and Logic can import from any version of GB as far as I know. If that is so, why can't the latest version of GB import from previous versions?

Thanks once again,

 

[zimv20]

my bandmates and i exchange files over the internet. i do the mixing at my place, but we'll track at several different places.

in those cases where the remote site doesn't have all the tracks, i'll do a couple stem mixes to mp3: stereo drums, bass, guitar buss, vocal track, so whoever's doing the overdubs or new parts can do a mini-mix for themselves.

then they'll get me the full bandwidth new tracks, either through the band's ftp site or i'll just wait until i see them.

we'll also exchange PT session files, too. we have to stay fairly in sync regarding versions of PT, and we're trying to more or less get the same plugs. it's not always perfect, but we make it work.

 

[gvdv]

my bandmates and i exchange files over the internet. i do the mixing at my place, but we'll track at several different places.

in those cases where the remote site doesn't have all the tracks, i'll do a couple stem mixes to mp3: stereo drums, bass, guitar buss, vocal track, so whoever's doing the overdubs or new parts can do a mini-mix for themselves.

then they'll get me the full bandwidth new tracks, either through the band's ftp site or i'll just wait until i see them.

we'll also exchange PT session files, too. we have to stay fairly in sync regarding versions of PT, and we're trying to more or less get the same plugs. it's not always perfect, but we make it work.

Hi zimv20,
Thanks for this.

Can you tell me a little more about exchanging files over the net using FTP? This has always been a mystery to me. Is it faster to upload and exchange bigger files? And does one need a dedicated site, or could I pay my ISP for this as an extra service, as and when I need it, if I decided to use FTP? What would the receiving person need in the way of a download connection?

Thanks,
GVDV

 

[AviationFan]

Can you tell me a little more about exchanging files over the net using FTP? This has always been a mystery to me. Is it faster to upload and exchange bigger files? And does one need a dedicated site, or could I pay my ISP for this as an extra service, as and when I need it, if I decided to use FTP? What would the receiving person need in the way of a download connection?

FTP (file transfer protocol) allows you to send and receive files between your computer and a remote one that you have an account on. FTP's purpose is not to make the transfer faster or be able to handle larger files, it is to make the transfer happen in the first place.

I hope zimv will explain more of the specifics about how he uses FTP for his band. In general, though, the easiest way to get an account on an ftp server is to set up a free or cheap website somewhere. When you set that up, the hosting company will send you the necessary details (such as your account name and password to log in using FTP). FTP is normally used to transfer the HTML files to the web server, but it could send and receive other file types just as easily - such as music.

- Martin

 

[zimv20]

my band has a (horribly out of date) website that has ftp set up on it. there's not a ton of space on it, but we can upload and download AIFFs as need be.

actually, now that i think about it, usually now one of us logs in to the site's control panel and chucks the AIFFs in a directory somewhere, then whoever needs them grabs them through http.

i liked the ftp security better, but http is more convenient. it's not like anyone's grabbing those AIFFs, and even if they did, i'm not certain i care.

 

[gvdv]

my band has a (horribly out of date) website that has ftp set up on it. there's not a ton of space on it, but we can upload and download AIFFs as need be.

actually, now that i think about it, usually now one of us logs in to the site's control panel and chucks the AIFFs in a directory somewhere, then whoever needs them grabs them through http.

i liked the ftp security better, but http is more convenient. it's not like anyone's grabbing those AIFFs, and even if they did, i'm not certain i care.

zimv20 and AviationFan,
Thanks very much for the replies.

I had forgotten that FTP was how I got my files on to my webpage.

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the advantage of FTP over simple emailing. Obviously the thought of emailing huge files isn't too realistic, so is there some advantage to FTP in this regard? I can see that several people being able to access one repository of information (in this case music files) is handy, so maybe that's the only advantage.

Thanks once again,

GVDV

 

[AviationFan]

I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the advantage of FTP over simple emailing. Obviously the thought of emailing huge files isn't too realistic, so is there some advantage to FTP in this regard? I can see that several people being able to access one repository of information (in this case music files) is handy, so maybe that's the only advantage.

E-mail can still choke on very large attachments, so it's not a very practical solution for large audio files. There are several services available (such as dropsend) that let you transfer very large files in an e-mail like way, but really the e-mail message that the recipient(s) get just contains a link to the actual file (which is stored somewhere else). So this is essentially an FTP-like solution, where the file gets stored on a server, but they make it look more like e-mail. Maybe an alternative for you.

To me, the biggest difference is that once I upload a file to an FTP server, it stays there until I delete it. So it can serve as an archive, and a repository from which multiple people can retrieve it at different times. Whereas e-mail is just a one-time transfer, and then the file is gone.

- Martin

 

[gvdv]

E-mail can still choke on very large attachments, so it's not a very practical solution for large audio files. There are several services available (such as dropsend) that let you transfer very large files in an e-mail like way, but really the e-mail message that the recipient(s) get just contains a link to the actual file (which is stored somewhere else). So this is essentially an FTP-like solution, where the file gets stored on a server, but they make it look more like e-mail. Maybe an alternative for you.

To me, the biggest difference is that once I upload a file to an FTP server, it stays there until I delete it. So it can serve as an archive, and a repository from which multiple people can retrieve it at different times. Whereas e-mail is just a one-time transfer, and then the file is gone.

- Martin

Hi Martin,
Thanks very much for this.

It makes a lot of sense.

All the best,

Geert.