Easy recording setup for Garage Band user

[LBS-bass]

Briefly: I have a friend who is an excellent guitarist and I'd like to help him get set up to record remotely so we can swap tracks. He doesn't have recording gear but just plays along with stuff using Garage Band, which tells me that he has a Mac of some sort.

I use Logic, but the learning curve is a little steep. My questions are:

1) since he knows Garage Band, will Logic be an easier thing for him than if he didn't?
2) if not, what's the most user-friendly thing out there? Number of tracks and other bells and whistles can be limited; I just want him to be able to send me clean, single guitar tracks. Of course, he may want to ultimately do more than that, but those are the current needs.

No need to advise on hardware, I already know what I will recommend for that. Thanks.

 

[DirkP]

What is a bit tough regarding Garageband: you can't send those projects as email-attachments or via Dropbox or other Cloud-services. They look like one folder or file, but they are hidden folders with a complex structure and Dropbox for example doesn't get this. IIRC you can send entire Logic projects if you zip them but this doesn't work with Garageband. Using garageband you have to do a right click on the project, show content -> media. And then only copy the single audio-tracks.
And if the user recorded more than one take on a track, maybe because he made a mistake and corrects it/overdubs it, he has to know how to bounce a track. Otherwise you find the single parts in the media folder.
This can get a bit complicated with some users.

If Garageband is too complex, he could try the free audacity.

 

[filmtex]

Briefly: I have a friend who is an excellent guitarist and I'd like to help him get set up to record remotely so we can swap tracks. He doesn't have recording gear but just plays along with stuff using Garage Band, which tells me that he has a Mac of some sort.

I use Logic, but the learning curve is a little steep. My questions are:

1) since he knows Garage Band, will Logic be an easier thing for him than if he didn't?
2) if not, what's the most user-friendly thing out there? Number of tracks and other bells and whistles can be limited; I just want him to be able to send me clean, single guitar tracks. Of course, he may want to ultimately do more than that, but those are the current needs.

No need to advise on hardware, I already know what I will recommend for that. Thanks.

AFAIK both Logic and GarageBand are merely GUI's (Graffic User Interface) for the engine that drive audio and video in Aplle devices, specifically desktops and laptops, as opposed to iPads and iPhones. If your friend is already familiar with GarageBand, then it might be best for him to stick with that. IMHO.
You mention that he doesn't have "recording gear" but "just plays along with stuff using Garage Band" which seems to indicate that he's not actually laying down an accompanying track. If that's the end game, then he will in fact need some form of interface-recording gear. THere are plenty of options, but be sure to check stock before you order. I just waited almost 4 weeks for an interfact to be delivered. I guess they're in pretty high demand.
Here are some recommendations FYI:
Single input Behringer $48
Two input Presonus $99 This is the one I just bought- highly recommended.
Two input Focusrite Scarlett $109 These are highly recommended as well
YMMV
BTW-Since you are a Logic user, I believe you'll find that helping your friend with GB will come pretty easy.

 

[LBS-bass]

AFAIK both Logic and GarageBand are merely GUI's (Graffic User Interface) for the engine that drive audio and video in Aplle devices, specifically desktops and laptops, as opposed to iPads and iPhones. If your friend is already familiar with GarageBand, then it might be best for him to stick with that. IMHO.

I asked him today if it would be possible for him to use Garage Band to record a track and send the single track back to me for mixing in, and he does not believe that it has that capacity. What I'm hearing is that maybe he's wrong or I misunderstood.

I have the Scarlett 2i2 interface which is what I will recommend to him. It's pretty plug and play. But he will need software if he is unable to do that with Garage band. Perhaps the lack of an interface is what is preventing him from doing this. I do not believe he is recording anything complex but I've not seen his gear so I don't know. He usually comes over here to play, but of course we haven't done that for weeks now.

I know the Scarlett interface is bundled with S/W but if he buys it used he might not get that, and if he doesn't it might be hard for him to master. He's an older guy; great player but not computer savvy.

 

[JKos]

. He doesn't have recording gear

What does he currently play through? Does anything he already has work as an interface?

- John

 

[LBS-bass]

What does he currently play through? Does anything he already has work as an interface?

- John

I don't think so. I think he just plays along using his amp.

 

[filmtex]

I asked him today if it would be possible for him to use Garage Band to record a track and send the single track back to me for mixing in, and he does not believe that it has that capacity. What I'm hearing is that maybe he's wrong or I misunderstood.

I have the Scarlett 2i2 interface which is what I will recommend to him. It's pretty plug and play. But he will need software if he is unable to do that with Garage band. Perhaps the lack of an interface is what is preventing him from doing this. I do not believe he is recording anything complex but I've not seen his gear so I don't know. He usually comes over here to play, but of course we haven't done that for weeks now.

I know the Scarlett interface is bundled with S/W but if he buys it used he might not get that, and if he doesn't it might be hard for him to master. He's an older guy; great player but not computer savvy.

I just did a test with my Presonus and GarageBand and it's pretty easy to create a track, choose an interface, add a drummer and record a bass track/loop. Took me about two minutes to figure it out. You'll have no problems helping him get things going. Here's a screenshot...

 

[dannylectro]

I do exactly this all the time.

1. Have the guitarist record his track in GarageBand. When done, from the menu bar choose Share-Export to Disk
2. Fill in the dialog box with file name, disk location, and file format. (We use WAVE Uncompressed 24-bit). Click Export
3. Move the resulting .wav file to a Dropbox or similar thing. Then you can drop it into Logic or GarageBand or pretty much any DAW.
Hint: the GarageBand click track is very useful in the early scratch phase of your project.
Good luck!

 

[seamonkey]

I use GB on IOS iPhone and iPad all the time. It works great.
No Mac around.