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Does Garageband make me a noob?


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Everyone seems to be talking about their PCs... I'm pretty much computer illiterate. And a Mac user. Just sort of wondering if anyone else uses Garageband or Logic, or knows of better things for a Mac user to be using, or if it's just a lost cause :)

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Everyone seems to be talking about their PCs...

Market share.

I'm pretty much computer illiterate. And a Mac user. Just sort of wondering if anyone else uses Garageband or Logic

Garageband is the gateway drug to Logic. When you run into GBs limitations, you're supposed to look into either Express or Pro.

Using it does not make you a newbie; it's always the result that counts.

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I've been really disappointed with Garageband's lack of support for MIDI.

My girl uses Garageband, and I tried to remix one of her albums and it turned into a big todo with getting someone to import her band files into logic to export them into MIDI just so I could get her piano performances and rerender them with my piano vis.

Pain in the ass.

Garageband would be better if they didn't hose their functionality--give me an external MIDI port for crying out loud.

Ultra lame.

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noob, no, newb, maybe. Don't let that stop you, there are several remixes here that are made with GB. Let me cite someone who said it well:

it's always the result that counts.

I used GB for a few years before upgrading to Logic. It's probably the best introduction to computer music that I can think of, since it comes with a little of everything: samples, synths, sequencing, mixing... And when you find something missing, there are usually ways around it. Haven't used it much lately, but with the automation support and all the other stuff in the newer versions you'll have a lot of fun making music before coming across any of the limitations the program does have.

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you're mistaking me here, yoozer. you're saying it's a brilliant marketing ploy. i happen to agree with you. i also think that garbageband is complete shit, because the thing they removed is not something like saving or writing more than ten minutes of music or printing or something - they removed midi functionality, which is something that more than 75% of the people that ever touch garageband don't even know exists. which is really lame. if it was something a little more basic, they'd have a lot more people gateway-drugging up to the next level than already do. this is why logic is illogical.

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you're mistaking me here, yoozer. you're saying it's a brilliant marketing ploy. i happen to agree with you. i also think that garbageband is complete shit, because the thing they removed is not something like saving or writing more than ten minutes of music or printing or something - they removed midi functionality, which is something that more than 75% of the people that ever touch garageband don't even know exists. which is really lame. if it was something a little more basic, they'd have a lot more people gateway-drugging up to the next level than already do. this is why logic is illogical.

So save-disabled demos make you want to support the guys who made the program that didn't let you save your first masterpiece? I know I hate stuff like that. GB worked fine for me for years. For most of that time I had no need to export midi, so the absence of that function wasn't bothering me. I've made a lot of fun tracks with what's essentially a demo for Logic, whereas I've stayed clear of save-disabled demos because I couldn't create anything lasting with them. I don't get why leaving out functions that most ppl don't use and might not even know about is lame since GB isn't a pro-level DAW anyway. ppl can create their songs without problem, and if they decide to go serious, they can upgrade to Logic.

Besides, there's some midi data in the end of midi-made Apple Loops aifs in /user/Library/Audio/Apple Loops/User Loops/ , someone with more experience in how midi is written could probably figure out how to make a working midi out of that.

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Haha, thank you so much :)

I'm not entirely sure if I'd want to invest in Logic yet- for now, I'm still playing around and I'm afraid I'd spend a good chunk of money on a program I wouldn't know what to do with. And I haven't encountered anything that makes me think GB isn't good enough yet. But, in terms of how I use it, like menus or format, is Logic radically different from GB?

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Well, they should have Garageband Plus or Garageband MIDI or Garageband Pro or some shit.

The problem is that Garageband is made for ease of use, which is great. It's simplified, but it's also totally hosed.

My girlfriend isn't techno-savvy at all, she's just a good musician who writes good music. She told me that she wanted to use the sounds from her stage piano because she liked the sound of them more than the ones included in Garageband (she's got the latest, version 5 or somethinger).

So I was like, you just have to set up the MIDI out to your Piano and record the audio.

She didn't understand.

So then I tried to take a look at GB for her. Bam! No go, can't do it. Garageband supports MIDI input but not MIDI output?

How f'd up is that?

If I stretched my arms as far as I could, they would not get close to measuring how f'd up that is.

She just wants to make music and make music that sounds good.

All I could do was buy her the Orchestral Jam Pack. I couldn't even lend her my JV-1080...

Garageband sucks, period.

The tech, now, on the new versions is based off of Logics engine, and it is totally hosed, and it's not just tiered marketing--music software should support MIDI, period.

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  • 4 weeks later...
If you want to upgrade but don't feel like using Logic, go to PC ;) there's programs like Reaper (which is free) and FL which are very budget savvy. Plus you can use VSTs :D...just don't use Reason cuz that's a real piece. Just kidding!! Sort of.

Reaper is on Mac as well. And there are plenty of VST's on Mac as well. There are a few VST's that aren't ported to Mac, namely z3ta+. But then again there is always Rapture which is very similar to z3ta+. Most of the major software synths are coded in VSTi PC/Mac and Audio Units. (Mac Only)

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GB is a gateway platform DAW, NOT a pro-ended-DAW. You will pay for what your software can do. If you want your software to do one thing specifically you buy that specific software. You don't due your taxes with Reason do you? GB is home-brew consumer level software don't expect to do everything with it; if you wanted it to do everything you should've bought a more pro-ended DAW. I won't argue which pen (DAW) for audio Engineers is "better" than the others; a pen is a pen, it is what / how you draw / write with it.

Garage Band is consumer grade; if you can make everything you want with it you are a mighty engineer / artist, but most people perfer to use different 'pens.'

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