If you are shopping around for music apps, My question to you is this your first time using a DAW (digital Audio Workstation)?
If it is, GB is a GREAT place to start. Some of the pricier apps have a lot more to add, but if you are unfamiliar with DAW's why bother spending money? Use GB until you understand the basics, THEN decide if you need to upgrade.
Garageband is:
1. Great for the creative level.
2. O.k on the mixing and editing level
3. Weak on the Mastering level.
The pro apps add more plugins for each track, better editing tools for mixing, higher level output of the mix (24 bit instead of Garageband's 16) for the Mastering level.
That said, Garageband is
one of my favorite apps of all time, mostly because of # 1 above (the creative level). It is so easy to get all MIDI, Real Audio and loops to play together to make your own musical creation. Pros who have the other apps might even enjoy using Garageband to help them quickly jot down musical ideas and even to do a quick rough take to send to a friend. For people unwilling to brave the tough learning curve of the higher level apps, Garageband is a blessing.
GarageBand can't play external MIDI instruments. It can't record more than one track of MIDI (input from MIDI controller) at one time. It can't record more than eight tracks total at one time. Automation is limited. It cannot print scores/sheet music. I'm sure there are other things, but these are some of the major ones compared to Logic, etc.
If you are an advanced user, you many need some or all of these features. However, if you are just starting out, or need something fast and simple, the lack of these complicating features make GarageBand
better than the "more pricey music software." Here's a for instance. If you want to record MIDI, with GarageBand, you just plug in a MIDI device (probably thru USB) and it just works. You don't have to tell the MIDI device what channel to output on, OMNI mode or whatever, etc. and you don't have to tell GB what MIDI channel to look for data on and route that to this track.
When you record MIDI, that's called a Software Instrument in GB, and you simply select the built-in software instrument sound you want it to sound like. You are limited to what you have in GB (and I'm including 3rd party Audio Unit plug-ins you can buy), but these kinds of things sound incredible nowadays.
Choosing a built-in software instrument sound is WAY simpler than routing the recorded MIDI data back out to your hardware MIDI instrument with all the selecting channels and etc. And, you can even do all your work on your Mac with nearly nothing else. You can edit your mixes sitting in the park! (Yeah, you should check your mixes thru various speakers in different settings, but you get the idea.)
Bob LeVitus (Dr. Mac) started out working in recording studios, so he has experience with the real thing. He's said that he has tried every recording software for the Mac, and they were all too complicated and he never kept using them. It was just too much work to record and get an idea down. Now with GB, he can do just that. He started using GB when the first version came out, and still is using it today. I can attest to what he's saying. I've used several recording software programs, and they were a pain. GB makes it simple, and like someone said, it comes with your Mac or as part of iLife making it really inexpensive.
How good is the scoring aspect in these programs? I use Finale, which allows complete control over every aspect of the score. I wonder how these pro recording apps compare?
Simplicity encourages creativity. When you don't have to spend time setting up an app you can focus on the music itself. I love that I can can record a demo for my choir singers, complete with piano, drums and strings and burn it onto a CD ... all in about 1/2 hour.
Note also that there are also many advanced features under Garageband's hood. The au plugins which Apple gives you, as well as numerous free ones from the web, give you tremendous variety in your sound. My only complaint is that there are not enough pulldown menus in the details section to allow you to use more plugins.
Logic started out being a scoring program, IIRC. I don't know how it currently holds up. Some of it got into GB2, where you can view the Software Instrument part as notation view, but they limited it to just viewing, not printing.
You're right about how GB encourages creativity, Kurt.
When you record MIDI, that's called a Software
Instrument in GB, and you simply select the built-in
software instrument sound you want it to sound like.
You are limited to what you have in GB (and I'm
including 3rd party Audio Unit plug-ins you can buy),
but these kinds of things sound incredible nowadays.
If you get the free program SoundFontSynth (look on VersionTracker) it will enable you to access the QuickTime instruments which should already be hiding on your computer. They are variable - some are quite good, the more difficult ones aren't - but you have a very wide range which is useful for experimenting. They also include sound effects and singing dogs 🙂
