Any GarageBand users?

[Gamera]

I've been inspired to once again think about recording some stuff and I've been playing around with getting some good tones for recording guitar in GarageBand. So far I've just plugged directly into my Mac and let GB do all the amp simulation, effects, etc with varying success. How is everyone else recording their guitars through GarageBand?

• Do you let GarageBand do it all? If so, any settings you care to share? I'm hoping for some fuzzy, Stratty tones (Robin Trowery) and some good, moderate lead gain stuff (Satch maybe?)
  
• Do you mic your amp and record that with GarageBand? If so, what equipment do you use and what's your setup like?
  
• Do you use any other gizmos to get your recorded tone? Maybe a POD directly into GB? Maybe a multi-effects processor (I have an ME-50 which may be an option) direct into GB? Any other goodies?

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

Get a Toneport imo. Solves all your problems and doesn't sound terrible.

 

[scottish]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

1. i do mike my amp. i use TC electronic konnect 8 (2 stacked) as an interface. I use sennheiser e609s to mike any amps.

2. i dont use any effects in garage band, i record my own sound made by my pedals and my amp. i use GB to apply low and high pass filters where needed. i might tweak a few things, but generally im trying to record and stay as true to the tone as im producing.

overall results are good. it takes a while messing around with mike placement for the amp and what not but once you have it down, its easy going from there on

 

[Gamera]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

Thanks for the responses. I may look into that Toneport thingamabob. I was hoping GarageBand alone would get me there but, as always, it looks like I'll have to spend a little more. Actually reading about the Toneport it looks as if it's really just the software that makes the difference. Too bad you have to buy that gizmo and you can't just buy the software.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

I've been inspired to once again think about recording some stuff and I've been playing around with getting some good tones for recording guitar in GarageBand. So far I've just plugged directly into my Mac and let GB do all the amp simulation, effects, etc with varying success. How is everyone else recording their guitars through GarageBand?

• Do you let GarageBand do it all? If so, any settings you care to share? I'm hoping for some fuzzy, Stratty tones (Robin Trowery) and some good, moderate lead gain stuff (Satch maybe?)
  
• Do you mic your amp and record that with GarageBand? If so, what equipment do you use and what's your setup like?
  
• Do you use any other gizmos to get your recorded tone? Maybe a POD directly into GB? Maybe a multi-effects processor (I have an ME-50 which may be an option) direct into GB? Any other goodies?

Thanks for any and all advice.

I use GarageBand. I really like the interface - it's easy to make loops and I like the MIDI patches and the prerecorded drum parts (great for when you don't have a band around).

I need to see if there's a way I can get more drum sounds out of the program because they are limited, but it is a very cool program and it's the easiest I've ever used (I like it better than Cool Edit Pro 2.0 that I used to use back in the day).

I do my recording through a Tascam US-122 USB interface. It's a very basic, two XLR output, phantom powered dealie (for some condensors) with your basic volume controls. I record with just a Shure SM-57 right now, but I gotta look into finding a condensor mic to add some more depth to the tone (the SM-57 sounds pretty darn good solo, but I'm looking to get some borderline professional sounds on the cheap).

I've messed around with the built in GarageBand tones and they're passable for demo purposes. A buddy of mine has the Line 6 TonePort and he's gotten some great tones out of it so I'd definitely going that route if you don't want to mess with the mic/rig setups.

My rig is pretty big at this point, but that's my extremely basic recording setup. I really dig GarageBand. I'll probably opt for something fancy like Pro Tools, but I'm afraid of getting lost due to its more complex options.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

I need to see if there's a way I can get more drum sounds out of the program because they are limited, but it is a very cool program and it's the easiest I've ever used

What drums are you using? The real audio samples or the software (MIDI) drums? The samples are limited but you can buy more. The MIDI drums are totally programmable and the latest version of GB lets you drag MIDI files directly into a track. Helpful if you find and download some midi backing tracks or drum patterns.

I bought a Toneport GX and have started playing around. Honestly so far I'm not real impressed. Although that's after only playing around for an hour or so. I'll reserve judgement until later. But so far it's a hundred different preset flavors of digital fizz.

I blame you guys on the Duncan forum. Once upon a time I had no clue what tone was. And I was blissfully happy in my ignorance.

 

[stevie ray]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

ive used garage band. i really like that it stays true to the mac idea of simplicity. very intuitive, simple, but very good. thus far ive only recorded direct line in, with descent results.

in the next week or so im going to try and run my amp thru it and see what happens, and maybe mic it later on as well. i would say the built-in effect are very usable, but i definitely, definitely prefer using the tone i get thru my own setup with my amp :bigok:

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Any GarageBand users?

What drums are you using? The real audio samples or the software (MIDI) drums? The samples are limited but you can buy more. The MIDI drums are totally programmable and the latest version of GB lets you drag MIDI files directly into a track. Helpful if you find and download some midi backing tracks or drum patterns.

I bought a Toneport GX and have started playing around. Honestly so far I'm not real impressed. Although that's after only playing around for an hour or so. I'll reserve judgement until later. But so far it's a hundred different preset flavors of digital fizz.

I blame you guys on the Duncan forum. Once upon a time I had no clue what tone was. And I was blissfully happy in my ignorance.

I've been using the real audio drum samples that are in the looping section. Pretty cool for jamming with although they're not very fancy. I suppose I could always get a MIDI keyboard and just make up some beats with the software drum kits. It is cool you can purchase more though and drag MIDI recordings as well