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GarageBand Roundup
Wired covers the GarageBand revolution. Matt Van Horm writes "MacBand.com is an online directory of songs and loops created by users of Apple's GarageBand software who submit their work. Songs are organized by category and loops are organized by genre, instrument and mood, and are rated with a system similar to the one in iTunes." franklinrh writes in about the free loops available from Access, and others note free loops from Bitshift Audio and Drums on Demand. And if you want to import MIDI files into GarageBand, check out Dent du MIDI. What other software -- and equipment -- are you using with GarageBand? I've got my setup pumping out tunes.
Oh my, I can see/hear why no one uses Macs for music.
The classic essay on "worse is better" is either misunderstood
NEWS BULLETIN - Cupertino, CA
Rumors came to an end today. In a press conference, Steve Jobs announced the new Apple user input/output device. The device, called COCK(R), is a radical shift in human interaction devices. COCK(R)'s enhanced as it also contains feedback support.
Basically COCK(R) looks like a shaft with two balls at the end. A user places the shaft into their mouth and keeps the balls pointed towards the monitor. There are sensors on the balls that track the motion of the COCK(R) in relation to the monitor. The user must look at the area on the screen to move the mouse. Thrusting of the shaft results in click actions. Additional functions may be provided by mapping licking and coddling the balls.
Since the device is used by one's mouth, bio-metric security can easily be used on OS X. COCK(R) has a built sampling device which can match saliva to specific users on the computer. As such, the user will have access based on their spit.
Feedback exists in several forms. First the shaft may increase in size to better fit the user's mouth. This usually takes a couple of minutes. There is also the ability to give the user a slight shock given error conditions on the computer. Additionally, in severe error states, a milky substance will be emitted from the COCK(R) to signify an error condition to the user.
Questions at the press release signified mixed opinions on COCK(R). There seems to be resistance to using such a device in the non-Macintosh community. Steve Jobs acknowledged this problem. As such, the current mice will still be available when purchasing Macintoshes. Currently Apple is marketing towards current users of their platform. "Product testing showed us that long-term Mac users were most willing to use COCK," Jobs stated.
Despite resistance, Apple does not feel it will hurt their sales, only increase them. Jobs said "We at Apple hope that COCK will be as important as our switch to G3 based computers. As such, our marketing staff are fully committed to convincing every one that COCK is the best."
Now that Steve Jobs released COCK(R) onto the world, he hopes sales will increase steadily. One mac fan stated "COCK is the best IO device in the world. Even the milky error substance tastes great!" Apple's stock has not significantly dropped or risen. However, Apple's online store estimates that sales of COCK(R) will rise in the next two weeks.
A friend brought over his Midi/USB keyboard, and it worked great in GarageBand. But I'm not that much of an audio head to drop significant cash on a Midi/USB keyboard...
The built-in Keyboard thingy in GarageBand kind of sucks, because you have to use the mouse to hit the keys... or do I? Does anyone know of a way to use the actual (qwerty) keyboard to record in notes?
I hope its not an obvious solution, because I looked around in the docs and couldn't find it.
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
Does anybody know if there is a (cheap) Midi keyboard to USB converter that will work with a Powerbook? Having already got a MIDI keyboard I don't really want to go buying another.
Has anybody found a good place to buy the M-Audio Keystation 49e? The King of Prussia Apple Store never has it in, and the estimated ship date from the online Apple Store is 4-6 weeks. I want that keyboard, God Dammit! For $99, it's a nice USB Midi keyboard.
... here:
...)
http://virus.info/
(That's Virus as in the hot synthesizer not the Microsoft kind
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Don't need any third-party tool. Just drag your MIDI files into the iTunes Library (literally), then select the newly added song and convert to AIFF. Finally drag this new version of the song as a new track to GarageBand. Mind you, all the MIDI information is lost in the process, so make sure you're satisfied with it.
j1
Hi, I've been downloading loops from these guys for years. I've been bugging them to port Acid to the Mac since, oh, 1999? Recently, Mike told me they weren't gonna port it -- because their lead programmer moved over to Apple to write SoundTrack and GarageBand.
They put out an 8pack of loops every two weeks usually. I've got like 1000 loops now, and I've been thinking of writing a Konfabulator widget to automate the downloading, organizing, etc. of my loops.
www.acidplanet.com/loops/8packs/
I'm not normally an irrational zealous dickhead, but I figure "When in Rome..."
Isn't that site missing the main reason for GarageBand's success??
What do you know about World Politic? Find out in this quiz
I was Toys'R'Us checking out the keyboards. FOr about 150$ a yamaha keyboard, touch sensative keys (58 keys I think) and midi out. I think any of these inexpensive keyboards would be a good-alternative as they also work as stand alone players as well.
The main feature I miss in GarageBand is "tap tempo", which is to say, you can tap a key on the keyboard in a 1... 2... 3... 4... rhythm and the software will extrapolate and average the tempo from your tapping. Does anyone have any recommendations for any little utilities that might offer this?
~jeff
I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you Mac fanatics? I have recently upgraded from a Mac 8600/300 w/64 Megs of RAM to a new G5 dual 2GHz with AGP 8X and PCI-X to help me at my freelance gig where I copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. On the G5 I spent about 20 minutes trying to install GarageBand. 20 minutes. At home, on my Pentium Pro 200 running NT 4, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this Mac, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.
In addition, during this file transfer, my iTunes will not work. And everything else has ground to a halt. Even Safari is straining to keep up as I type this.
I won't bore you with the laundry list of other problems that I've encountered while working on various Macs, but suffice it to say there have been many, not the least of which is I've never seen a Mac that has run faster than its Wintel counterpart, despite the Macs' faster chip architecture. My 486/66 with 8MB of ram running Windows 95 is faster than this G5 dual 2GHz machine at times. From a productivity standpoint, I don't get how people can claim that the Macintosh is a superior machine.
Mac addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a Mac over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.
A friend of mine, a long time amateur of low budget, Mac-based rap recording that usually manages to leave his listeners rolling in their seats, has an interesting/funny short review of his first experience with garage band. It's worth a read and a listen if you have 3 minutes and headphones at work. He talks about the actual program and the realistic target audience of Garage Band without the Steve Jobs and Cheryl Crow spin.
How about doing the same for Logic users? I bet there's a lot more quality material out there. Of course, I use Pro Tools, but I'm definitely curious about giving Logic a try. Unfortunately, I can't seem to even find a demo...
c-hack.com |
It's fun to pipe Garageband's output into other more robust sequencers and apps - check out Jack for OS X: http://www.jackosx.com
Right now it is just a PB 12" 867. You can check out 3 songs I made here (my blog). I have a Roland USB MIDI keyboard, but it is at home, and I am also going to get my electric guitar from home to make more tracks.
GB is pretty cool, but just like iMovie, I am finding the limitations really fast.
Non-apple loops can't be effectively transposed...
All the loops included don't show up if you start a song in either not-4/4, or not-C.
None of the included loops are transitions, they are all groves or effects.
On my computer the recording is too laggy... If I just want to bump all the notes to the nearest quarter note it is all-good, but it doesn't put them close enough to bump them to smaller notes.
Like anyone can even know that
A publicly traded company exists solely to make profits for shareholders.
The absolute best site for GB fans had to have been AppleGarage.com. But it (as well as others) experienced a DoS attack very early on, so I can't take any GB site seriously anymore.
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
The link in the blurb is to the second part of the article. Here is the actual link.
I almost shot coffee out of my nose when I heard MacBand.com's #2 rated song, "Bounce". Definitely needs more cowbell!
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
Check out a review of Symphonic Orchestra samples. It has AU for OS X now.
http://www.soundsonline.com/revEW-155.shtml
More info:
http://www.kvr-vst.com/get/771.html
And of course, let's not forget:
http://www.osxaudio.com/
I've been using an Oxygen-8, which works fine, and I've been hanging around with a friend who is using a 49-key machine.
I also have plugged a bass directly in (electric bass guitar) when I teach lessons, then had my student play along with a keyboard MIDI and drum loop. I record it, then burn it to a CD and have them listen critically to what they've done. As always with recording, they notice good and bad that they don't hear when they're "in the moment."
I also use Garage Band to make other practice loops for myself and my students. Most of them don't have macs, so they get burned CDs, where they can't change the tempo as they could with an original GB file. But they do love them.
A great teaching tool. Now all they have to do is some optimization so it isn't such a CPU hog!
Watch out; I ordered a Keystation 49e from Apple in January just after they launched GarageBand. (Shipping to US address.)
a mily&ID=usbmidicontrollers ) it will do more for you than the bare bones 49e.
Couple of weeks later, Apple sent me an email saying it would not ship until March 15 - an almost two month delay!
Then, last week, they shipped me one. Problem is, the box didn't contain a Keystation 49e. Rather, the 49e box contained an *eKeys 49*, which appears to be functionally the same thing... but just try sending *that* back for a warranty repair down the line!
Worse, the box didn't include the promised software or USB cable.
My question: did M-Audio make a boo boo at the factory, or did Mac send me a refurb or a returned item without disclosing this? Either way, I'm pissed.
Also: if you need the best keyboard available, get one with knobs (see http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=products.subf
...
Selective hiding of loops that might not be appropriate to your project is a preference setting; you can turn that feature off.
I play Nerd-Folk!
Im a Logic Platinum user myself. Finally decided to try out the Garageband I paid $50 for a month ago just this weekend.. Damn is it sweet. Plugged my Gibson SG direct into my MOTU 828MKIIs preamps, used the Garageband Amp Simulator and got the gnarliest dirty tone, almost like my favorite amps, the Oranges and Green Matamps.. Just started the click at 85bpm and jammed out some super heavy stoner sabbath riffing for 15 minutes.. This thing blows away any Tascam portastudio I used to use before moving to a Mac and Logic hehe. Its the perfect little 'scratchpad' for those of us mainly using the big sequencers like Logic, DP, etc.. Equipment used so far: MOTU 828MKII MAudio Oxygen 8 Emagic AMT8 Midi Interface And every Audiounit on my mac as well: Absynth, FM7, Waldorf PPGWave, etc.. Too bad my G4/800 and 1Ghz TiBook are still a little lagging but I can do quick little 4-8 track jams with on problem which is what I plan on using it for!!
Best 'strangling a ca'' cover I've heard this week.... I'm serious man, that Martin has to be in some L5 pain.
Do NOT quit your day job, if you have one, that is.
By default, searches only show sound clips within two semitones of your song key. Uncheck that box and you get all of them. It's also worth noting that if you're in the button view and drag the center divider up so the window gets bigger, you'll see many more buttons.
I play Nerd-Folk!
Sadly, I can't use it with my much nicer 15" PB. :(
For midi input - I recently got a M-Audio Radium 49 which is $150 at musician's freind.com (though I had to wait for 2 months to get it), and it's very nice with sliders and knobs that can be assigned to organ drawbars or pretty much anything.
Frankly, I didn't like garage band that much - maybe it's the time I have invested in Acid, maybe how GB seems too simple at times (I find myself trying to find things in the menus that aren't there), or maybe the fact I don't have a proper interface for my powerbook.
I agree with another poster how the pianos are great and the amp modeling is cool, but for my needs, soundtrack or Protools with an Mbox is probably where I'll need to go.
Or maybe I'm not giving it a chance? I've wanted Sonic Foundry to port Acid over forever, but now that sony's got it I'm sure I'll never see it.
Anyone working with Soundtrack out there? How does that compare to Acid, Protools or GarageBand in your experience?
Granted, I'm not the 'target market' for GB, and I will most likely use the midi instruments on some things here and there, so I'm happy for the most part.
Shameless plug: If you liked the CD I linked to, I'm selling them for a fiver and shipping. You can read my Journal for more about that. :)
Save your self some hassle.
Launch Terminal.app or iTerm or whatever:done
Surely all this hype cannot be merely because Mac users finally have a low cost music creation program comparable to what PC users have had for a long time (CMC is about $30).
Anyone connect their guitar to GarageBand yet? Apple sells an adapter, the Monster Instrument adaptor. However it's a bit pricey at $20.
I was checking online in radio shack and noticed that the specific combination of the adapter: mono to stereo, isn't easy to find. There's plenty of mono to mono and stereo to stereo.
Additionally, while looking in google I saw advice that went along the lines of: the input would be too low, and that maybe the monster adapter does a better job.
So, has anyone connected their guitar yet? What adapter did you use? Has anyone compared the monster to the run of the mill mono to mono $2 adapter? Does the simulated amp pick up overtones and the like?
I really loved Garageband! 5 years ago, on my pc, when it was called ACiD.
It's a great way to make crappy repetetive music really quickly. Gay porn soundtracks, soundtracks for home movies of the dog taking a shit...you know, typical mac user stuff
I tried Garage Band the other day and was very impressed except for the lack of a dedicated MIDI drum editor like Magix Music Studio has. Is there a stand-alone MIDI drum editor for OS X that I can create files with to then import into GB? That's my main gripe with GB. Loops for me is not enough since my drum tracks tend to be fairly busy and very seldom do I have two straight identical drum bars next to each other..
The perfect sig is a lot like silence, only louder
I've just been to a great demo of GarageBand by the producer Steve Levine (Beach Boys, Culture Club, lots of others - http://www.stevelevine.co.uk/ - which has various free stuff to download) at the VideoForum/SoundsExpo exhibition in London.
He thinks its a serious recording tool, good enough to produce records on. The pieces he'd recorded (in just a few hours) were complex, multi-layered, and did show how much it could do, and that it didn't need to sound like just another GarageBand composition.
He built up massive rythm sections (using multiple tracks), often taking just a snare or high-hat from a loop (open it and delete the other parts of the drum kit you don't like). He also made great use of the different effects to make them sound very unlike a straight-forward loop.
The audio tracks are similarly easy to cut bits out of and use to set up your own riffs.
He also showed off The Hit Kit (published by Dorling Kindersley [Mac and Windoze], which includes a cut-down version of Logic, a microphone, a CD of samples). It provides a very cheap (UKP25 - about $40) next step for GarageBand users - most of the power of Logic (including synching to video), less of the complexity. As he said, it is easy to move tracks from one app to the other.
df
I found a barebones 37 key mini-keyboard for $50, but it looks like a throwaway.
Free the West Memphis Three!
In fact, there are 10 iPods in the top 20 best sellers!
Here is the link.