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Garageband missing groups of sounds (guitar and bass) from library after latest Catalina update

I have upgraded to OS 10.15.17 and am still missing access to bunches of sounds from the Garageband library, such as all guitars and basses.

I have done the following troubleshooting:

  • Reinstalled GB
  • Downloaded all additional sounds
  • Restarted GB
  • Restarted my computer

All to no avail. They're gone.

I had mistakenly deleted them when I was going through my memory and trying to delete large and old files. I had been enjoying a large bank of wonderful sounds, including legacy and sounds used by Logic Pro from when I had the older version. These sounds all went away and I've been unable to re-install them.

Any suggestions?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 28, 2020 1:50 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 28, 2020 2:45 AM

The legacy sounds are not a part of GarageBand 10. They have been installed by older versions of GarageBand '09 and GarageBand '11, by the Jam Packs, or previous version of Logic. The method to preserve them is to never make a clean install, that wipes the installed sounds and loops, because the sounds of loops of GarageBand 10 are different.

  • Try to recover the missing sounds and loops from your Time Machine backup, if it goes back to the time before you erase the sounds and loops. Look at these folders to find the missing Legacy sounds in your Time Machine backup:
    • /Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Instrument Library/
    • /Library/Application Support/Logic/
    • /Library/Audio/Apple Loops/
    • and the corresponding Library folders in your user library in your home folder


Another simple way (but not free) is to get yourself MainStage 3. With MainStage 3 you can reinstall the Legacy sounds of the Sound Library:

MainStage is installing the Sound Library and the Loops in the same directories as GarageBand or Logic. So GarageBand will see them. But not all sounds and loops are compatible with GarageBand. Mainly the JamPacks and compatibility loops and sounds will work, but that plenty of very useful software instrument loops and sounds.


After installing MainStage 3, launch it and use the command "MainStage 3 > Sound Library > Open Sound Library Manager".


When the Manager opens, scroll down to the "Legacy" section and click the disclosure arrow.

select the Jam Packs you want to use. I installed all from the Legacy section.


Click the checkmarks to the left of the JamPack you want and then "Install". The packages are gigantic. You will see the size when you select them. Start with the ones you really want. The download may take a very long time.


After installing the sounds and loops, restart the Mac. Then launch GarageBand and use the command "Loops > Reindex All Loops" from the Loops Browser.



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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 28, 2020 2:45 AM in response to Schmoodli

The legacy sounds are not a part of GarageBand 10. They have been installed by older versions of GarageBand '09 and GarageBand '11, by the Jam Packs, or previous version of Logic. The method to preserve them is to never make a clean install, that wipes the installed sounds and loops, because the sounds of loops of GarageBand 10 are different.

  • Try to recover the missing sounds and loops from your Time Machine backup, if it goes back to the time before you erase the sounds and loops. Look at these folders to find the missing Legacy sounds in your Time Machine backup:
    • /Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Instrument Library/
    • /Library/Application Support/Logic/
    • /Library/Audio/Apple Loops/
    • and the corresponding Library folders in your user library in your home folder


Another simple way (but not free) is to get yourself MainStage 3. With MainStage 3 you can reinstall the Legacy sounds of the Sound Library:

MainStage is installing the Sound Library and the Loops in the same directories as GarageBand or Logic. So GarageBand will see them. But not all sounds and loops are compatible with GarageBand. Mainly the JamPacks and compatibility loops and sounds will work, but that plenty of very useful software instrument loops and sounds.


After installing MainStage 3, launch it and use the command "MainStage 3 > Sound Library > Open Sound Library Manager".


When the Manager opens, scroll down to the "Legacy" section and click the disclosure arrow.

select the Jam Packs you want to use. I installed all from the Legacy section.


Click the checkmarks to the left of the JamPack you want and then "Install". The packages are gigantic. You will see the size when you select them. Start with the ones you really want. The download may take a very long time.


After installing the sounds and loops, restart the Mac. Then launch GarageBand and use the command "Loops > Reindex All Loops" from the Loops Browser.



Sep 29, 2020 3:20 PM in response to Schmoodli

You need to install the sound files you found in your backup in the same path in the Library folder.

  • On your Mac open the folder Library at the top level of your Macintosh HD, open the sub folder "Application Support", then "GarageBand", then "Instrumental Library"
  • Check, where files are that you found in your backup, compare them to the files in your current Instrument Library and copy them to the corresponding folder, where they are missing.
  • Do the same with the folder /Library/Audio/Apple Loops/

Once you have moved the missing files to the matching folders, restart the Mac and launch GarageBand.

The missing sounds should appear in GarageBand in the Sound Library at the bottom under "Legacy".

Garageband missing groups of sounds (guitar and bass) from library after latest Catalina update

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