Garage Band? Worth the effort?

[loudriver23]

The title pretty much says it all. Is it worth even playing around with this tool, or just go with a Pro_Tools setup or similar and not waste time.
Primary use is to make demo's and my own little CD.
Opinions? Experiences?

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Get the real deal, Logic (Mac) Pro Tools or even one of the others Cubase, Ableton Live etc.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

I haven't used it much myself but reports from others have said it's suprisingly good. I also just mixed a record for a guy who tracked his whole band to Garage Band and sent it over for me to mix...I never would've thought that if he hadn't told me...but they spent a good deal of time getting the tones & performances together & really, that matters WAY more then the software.

I guess it depends on what you want to do.

It's most likely great for demos & stuff...will it be advanced enough for you?

Maybe.

It wasn't for me but it was damn close. But I need all those crazy 'features' that some people might not.

Cubase is another great program...I'm running SX3 and couldn't be happier...it does everything that Toolz does (for my purposes anyway) but at a fraction of the cost.

 

[Kev]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

I'd get a nice copy of cubase/nuendo and have done with it. If you later set up a studio, maybe you'd wanna expand then- but pro tools holds its own when it comes into using it with its outboard stuff i think

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Unless you're pirating it, the price of Nuendo and Cubase is ****ing REDICULOUS!

If you're on a Mac, get Digital Performer. DP > * (besides PTHD).

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

I agree with J Moose, like usual. It's YOU and YOUR talent that matters. The tools you use are just tools. There's carpenters that use pre-fab materials to build a house, and carpenters that could make a house with some trees, a saw, and a hammer.

 

[B2D]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Granted, I'd love to be using a more advanced program but GB 3.0 that comes bundled with iLife '06 is alls i can afford right now after i get done repairing and upgrading guitars to my specs.

I can make it work for me OK. It's a little frustrating to work around the limitations sometimes but it's definitely not a bad program.

 

[Kev]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Unless you're pirating it, the price of Nuendo and Cubase is ****ing REDICULOUS!

If you're on a Mac, get Digital Performer. DP > * (besides PTHD).

:dance:

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Just checked the price on Cubase SX3 - not that bad at all. DP Still pwns it!

 

[Gamera]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

I think it depends on how much learning you want to do. GarageBand is easy. After playing around with it and the included demos for about an hour I feel I'm fairly comfortable with it. It is limited in what it can do but the trade-off is you don't have to spend countless hours "programming" and understanding all the subtleties. It's been a great, simple tool that allows me to concentrate on playing guitar...not computer.

 

[DeadSkinSlayer3]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Yeah, Garageband is definitely an amazing little composition/idea creating tool.

For actual editing and audio work, though, it suffers, as you can't use VST's, many plug-ins, etc, etc.

 

[vinterland]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

I have garage band as it came with my ibook and I also have pro tools. Garage band isn't all that bad the few times I've messed with it. Its all about what your trying to accomplish.

And about DAW prices, think about what your getting, and how much of a niche market it is. Its like buying a USA handmade guitar in terms of software. These programs are behemoths in terms of what they are doing.

 

[loudriver23]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

If I already have my guitar tone i'm happy with, and have a basic drum machine to hold down the skins, wouldn't it suffice for idea capture and getting my ideas acrossed to musicians that have potential to join my project?

 

[Gamera]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

Absolutely. If that's all you need to do, GB is your tool.

 

[Mkf411]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

If it comes installed, use it. But don't go out and buy it. It's a good starting place if it already comes on the computer, but not something I would go out and buy.

 

[MattPete]

Re: Garage Band? Worth the effort?

It's worth playing around with. If you can spare the dough, I would upgrade to Logic Express. Same underlying engine, but handles higher bit rates and has a more flexible interface.