GarageBand 3 has grown up, becoming a fully functional production tool that integrates recording, mixing, editing and distribution into one slick piece of software.
Offered as part of the
$79 iLife
06 package (iMovie HD, iDVD, iPhoto, iWeb and GarageBand),
GB3 features multitrack recording, new Apple Loops and Foley sounds,
iChat interview recording, waveform editing, vocal tuning, iMovie Scoring,
file compacting and a pretty decent guitar amp sound – among other
things.
Requirements:
Macintosh computer
with a PowerPC G4, G5 or Intel Core Duo processor; 733MHZ or
faster required for iDVD
256MB of RAM; 512MB
recommended
Mac OS X v10.3.9
or Mac OS X v10.4.3 or later; Mac OS X v10.4.4 recommended
iTunes 6.0.2 and
QuickTime 7.0.4 (included)
DVD drive for installation
10GB of
disk space to install iLife '06 applications
Previous versions
of
GarageBand
were definitely light on the features, but were aimed
at an audience who didn't need to dig deep into production. Now however, in classic Apple fashion, they've
updated the program to the point where those who are just getting
started can achieve professional results.
NERD
NOTE: GarageBand was originally
developed by the German company Emagic, developers of the
professional musical program Logic Audio, which was acquired
by Apple in July 2002. The first version of GarageBand was
announced during Steve Jobs's keynote speech at the Macworld
Conference & Expo in San Francisco on January 6, 2004.
Musician John Mayer assisted with its demonstration.
Let's jump right into a
few cool new features not offered in the last version:
iMovie
scoring: Just navigate to the Media Browser, hit the Movies
tab and drag your video file or import an iMovie into the project.
GB3 will let you watch the movie in the Video Preview window
while you create the soundtrack.
When finished, you
can save it as a QuickTime video, export it to iDVD for burning,
or publish it on the 'net using iWeb. Pretty damn cool.
One-click
Web Publishing: If you've rocked out a tasty Podcast (with
Video!) in GB3 and are ready for the world to see and hear
it, just click Send Podcast to iWeb under the Share menu.
The combination of GB3, iWeb and a .Mac account handle the
technical mumbo-jumbo, so you can easily send it out on the
net in a format that listeners can subscribe to. Within iWeb,
you can even submit your GB3 Podcast from to the iTunes Music
Store, complete with title, author and description tags. It's
a great way to get your band heard or movie seen by the masses.
Amp Modeling: After
purchasing Monster Cables' twenty-dollar 1/4" female to 1/8" mini
adapter, I was able to plug an electric guitar directly into
my PowerBook G4. Tuning up with the built in tuner, I clicked
on the 'Open Track Info' button and dialed in Guitars > Arena
Rock under the Real Instruments tab. Then I added some Gate (the
Mac's input is a bit noisy), Echo and Delay (tempo mapped to
your BPMs). It sounded rather good considering I was plugged
directly into a laptop!
Make sure
to set your System Preferences > Audio
to Line Input, or your Internal Mic will squeal like a hog when
going into record. Try the same thing with your bass and you're
rocking. You can use many kinds of audio interfaces including
FireWire, PCI, PC and USB formats, such as a Digidesign M-Box,
etc.
Enhanced
Tuning/Timing: If that singer you recorded is a bit out
of key, don't sweat it. Just double-click on the Real Instrument
track and open it up in the new editor window. Simply move
the Enhanced Tuning slider right to increase or left to decrease
the enhancement amount. It actually works!
If the drummer's
Kick is out of tempo, double click it (like the vocal), and
drag then Enhanced Timing slider unit it sounds correct.
A few more quick
hits on what's new and cool with
GarageBand
:
You can create
personal Apple Loops from your own performances, add metadata, and
have them show up in the GarageBand Browser.
One of my favorite
new toys is the Musical Typing feature, which lets you play Software
Instruments by typing notes on your computer keyboard. You can
even move the octave range up or down.
GB3 includes
a new collection of more than 200 royalty-free sound effects, such
as machines, noises and people. In addition, there are over 100
jingles in 7, 15, and 30-second version to help kick up your Podcast
- unless you want to record your own.
Add your art
with the Podcast art track. Just drag an image from the Media Browser
to the timeline exactly where you want to add it…. simple!
To set the
video and audio compression for a Podcast, just go to the Preferences
window and select Export. The compression
settings chosen are saved
as part of your project.
Whether you're
scoring an iMovie, composing a jingle or recording a local band,
the integration of GB3 with Apple's iLife 06 program
lets you get back to the art of actually having fun while creating.
Award
winning producer/engineer/mixer Rich Tozzoli is also a columnist
for such publications as Pro Sound News and Digidesigns' DigiZine.
A specialist in 5.1 surround sound, he has worked on DVD's for such
artists as Carly
Simon, Blue
Oyster Cult, Billy
Squier and David
Bowie.
This item is
available for purchase from Amazon.com
Apple
Computer, Inc. is an American computer technology company. Its headquarters
are located at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, part of Silicon
Valley. Apple was a major player in the personal computer revolution
in the 1970s.
Apple is known for its innovative, well-designed hardware and software, such
as the iPod and the iMac, as well as the well-known iTunes application
(part of the iLife suite) and Mac OS X, its current operating system.
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geek news, reviews and how to's
GarageBand 3 has grown up, becoming a fully functional production tool that integrates recording, mixing, editing and distribution into one slick piece of software.
iMovie
scoring: Just navigate to the Media Browser, hit the Movies
tab and drag your video file or import an iMovie into the project.
GB3 will let you watch the movie in the Video Preview window
while you create the soundtrack. 
One-click
Web Publishing: If you've rocked out a tasty Podcast (with
Video!) in GB3 and are ready for the world to see and hear
it, just click Send Podcast to iWeb under the Share menu.
The combination of GB3, iWeb and a .Mac account handle the
technical mumbo-jumbo, so you can easily send it out on the
net in a format that listeners can subscribe to. Within iWeb,
you can even submit your GB3 Podcast from to the iTunes Music
Store, complete with title, author and description tags. It's
a great way to get your band heard or movie seen by the masses. 
Amp Modeling: After
purchasing Monster Cables' twenty-dollar 1/4" female to 1/8" mini
adapter, I was able to plug an electric guitar directly into
my PowerBook G4. Tuning up with the built in tuner, I clicked
on the 'Open Track Info' button and dialed in Guitars > Arena
Rock under the Real Instruments tab. Then I added some Gate (the
Mac's input is a bit noisy), Echo and Delay (tempo mapped to
your BPMs). It sounded rather good considering I was plugged
directly into a laptop! 
Enhanced
Tuning/Timing: If that singer you recorded is a bit out
of key, don't sweat it. Just double-click on the Real Instrument
track and open it up in the new editor window. Simply move
the Enhanced Tuning slider right to increase or left to decrease
the enhancement amount. It actually works! 
Apple
Computer, Inc. is an American computer technology company. Its headquarters
are located at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, California, part of Silicon
Valley. Apple was a major player in the personal computer revolution
in the 1970s.
Apple is known for its innovative, well-designed hardware and software, such
as the iPod and the iMac, as well as the well-known iTunes application
(part of the iLife suite) and Mac OS X, its current operating system.
Radius Atomic Bass Earbuds
JBL
Encounter Speakers
Otterbox
for iPod Video
On
the run, in the car, or at the gym, our iPods have gone with
us to the ends of the earth... except places near water. But
thanks to the OtterBox Mini you can now safely take your
iPod Mini near or even underwater.
Wicked Lasers named their new flashlight the TORCH... and for good reason. The "TORCH" is technically a flashlight. It looks like a flashlight. Operates like a flashlight. But this is no ordinary flashlight. The TORCH is so bright that its beam can ignite flammable objects as fast as fire. 
If you're looking for an inexpensive, lightweight pair of earbuds with fantastic bass, then Radius' Atomic Bass earbuds are the earbuds of your dreams.
Is a weak arm or physical stamina keeping you from taking your Nintendo Wii gaming experience to the next level? Perhaps you should look into getting the Nintendo Wii Nunchuck Controller. This accessory adds even more innovation to the next generation of gaming and does it all with less physical movement.
What’s
the point of downloading your favorite songs on iTunes if they sound
like crap on your computer’s built-in speakers? The sound quality
and volume these little babies emit, much to the chagrin of my neighbors,
is truly phenomenal.
You may have heard of that new Apple product, I believe it's called the, uhh, Apple TV. I understand that newspapers, other blogs, and your Aunt have already reviewed this thing, but I thought I'd add my two cents.
Are
you a victim of the iPod's blossoming popularity? Feel like just another
pair of white headphones in the crowd? Maybe it's time you got
an iPod Mod.
H20 Audio has created a waterproof and impact
resistant case so that we can take our iPod Minis anywhere we
want… including the ocean free.
Why
give someone a single still framed picture when you can give them
an entire slide show? Most Digital Picture Frames can playback a
series of digital photos and videos on high-resolution screens.
