Go Garageband....

[smash]

So here I am on a Friday night - doing some remixes - just for a bit of fun with a DJ friend.

My Logic Dongle is currently in another continent... and basically I just couldn't be bothered with a Protools - cause we are playing with synths and things... so we thought we would have a bash with Garageband...

... Several Hours later... I stop and have a listen to what we have done - sounding not too bad - remember this is purely for fun - and I suddenly realise that Garageband can play heaps more simultaneous audio tracks that my several $K ProTools LE rig !

Now before I get flamed on the fact that LE "sounds better" or has a "more accurate interger maths computation engine thingy" or whatever, lets stop for a minute.

A free piece of software is more powerfull - in one aspect at least - than a semi-pro (supposedly) system.

Digiverb - VS Matrix Reverb - Matrix Reverb Wins too...

I thought it was interesting...

[Luke Garfield]

Hey Smash if this helps you feel better a mate of mine recorded a whole EP on garage band with an apple mic. I have just finished doing a "make it louder and clearer" (not mastering ;-) to some of the tracks.

He didn't ask me to do it but the vibe of the recording and the quality of the songs made me do it. It's not lo-fi and it's not "big studio" either but it is very very listenable. Okay so the songs are really good and the performances are really natural so that helps a bunch but that apple mic is a little winner. His vocals are really clear and cut through and are very pleasant to listen too. The acoustic guitar sounds very natural and except for some boom (which prob had more to do with the placement of the mic) it is a bloody good sound.

His previous EP was done in a "proper" project studio with a producer and it's cool but the vibe and sounds on this EP are brilliant. He engineered it himself and he really didn't have much experience. When he told me how he'd done it I was dubious but the proof was in the listening.

Now I can certainly see that this suited the vibe and genre of the CD (acoustic rock) and so certain styles wouldn't be able to put of the garage band and apple mic combo but heck it's great to see someone just get in and record and stop letting the limitations of their gear and experience get in the road.

Go garage band and an apple mic!

[smash]

Wow

Apple Mic? You don't mean the internal mic? Wow !! Haven't tried that.

I used a U67...

[Luke Garfield]

Haha. If he knew what a u67 was and owned one I'm sure he'd have used it too.

Oh of course a computer mic doesn't have the detail and finesse but it has a sound, and with a little EQ and I reckon if you threw it through a nice pre you might find it useful... that gives me an idea ...

The biggest issue with the recording is noise. But really it adds to the feel of the tracks and not all of them are that noisey.

I think what strikes me is the creativity someone can have when they're not limited by what they think they know about recording.

[toddd]

it all just goes to show that songwriting and arrangement are what makes good records.

case in point - i recently bought springsteen's 'nebraska'. i've never really been that into the boss before ... but ... the songs are incredible, really powerful tunes. one of the most influential records of the last 30 years...

recorded to a Ta@#$% 144 4track cassette.

garageband would be more hifi than that...

also, sebadoh comes to mind... as well as early pavement...

[davemc]

I think the tools for recording have come a long way in 5-10 years, although I think preforming, songwriting and engineering has suffered a lot in the hands of lets "just cut and paste it later" types

Where as when I started I used to do a lot of recordings down live through a desk to Stereo. The quality sometimes suffered although I spent time micing things and the band spent time rehearsing beforehand. So there was always a lot of vibe.

I had a client who record in a mid sized studio, then overdubbed at home with garageband. I threw away some of the studio guitar tracks as he recorded them better himself come mix time.
I also know a few clients who use garageband as it works for them.. If it works your productive.

[mfdu]

yeah - it works if you're productive.

half my clients have an MBox or whatever at home, but they've realised after an average of 1 year screwing around that they can't actually create and run the 'tools.

if you're productive, then the tools you're using are working.

i'm going more and more to direct-to-stereo tape with my tastes, where i can.

chris.

[Martin]

garageband is a good compositional tool i think, some of my clients use it to get their piano parts down and even demo vocals some time, its an inexpensive way to give them some tools that is more useful than a foggy cassette tape recording..

it means i get their parts in midi (should i want to use them somehow) or a semi-decent sounding part that i can compare to and work around when adding more instruments etc

a decent electric piano with weighted keys and good midi capabilities is all you need with a use midi interface, garageband and an ibook or similar...

pretty decent!

[Luke Garfield]

I understand what you're saying.... however. Tools like garage band are very powerful and you can turn out awesome productions BUT (!) I think the real case in point is that it often take a lot of fiddling (by someone who knows how to get what they want - eg a trained engineer/producer) to get something releasable out of a consumer product.

I have been working in cubase at the moment then flying rough mixes into acid studio so that I can try some loops out in a more creative enviromment. Then I find I want to use a soft synth and like to go back to cubase so I can control the MIDI section with more detail.

I guess it's whatever tool does the job at the time and with the least hassel?