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Garageband "like" software

#21
Luke73 said:
That's very true...I'm a Mac user, and a Windows user too (in fact I'm a Microsoft Instructor).

Windows based PCs are of course very capable of recording, and used in many professional situations....but right out of the box, with Garage Band included with every new Mac as part of iLife, Windows PCs don't come close for home recording.

:)
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If he doesn't suffer from a head injury or record drunk 100% of the time he will be able to master the shallow learning curve. I wouldn't worry overly about it.
 
#22
stratology said:
Spotlight, Expose, spring-loading folders, column view, Automator, Stickies, Smart Folders, Labels, Services, Core Audio, Core MIDI, iTunes & iDVD & iPhoto & iMovie & Garageband free with every new Mac and fully integrated with each other, Dashboard, pdf integration, FileVault, Keychain; free Developer Tools; open source Unix foundation; ...
System Folder is owned by root & OS X comes with all ports closed & installers require admin authorisation -> no spyware; no viruses as of today; ...

No offense, but if you use both and don't know what's better about the Mac, get a good introductory book like David Pogue's 'Missing Manual' for OS X - it will turn you on to lots of interesting things...

Frank
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thats silly. 90% of what you list is either personal preference or has a free PC equivalent, or can be changed with 5 minutes of setup. Go cruise around the many sites like sourceforge.


Sorry to further derail with more ******** PC vs Mac crap but this post was really off the wall.
 
#23
Spotlight, Expose, spring-loading folders, column view, Automator, Stickies, Smart Folders, Labels, Services, Core Audio, Core MIDI, iTunes & iDVD & iPhoto & iMovie & Garageband free with every new Mac and fully integrated with each other, Dashboard, pdf integration, FileVault, Keychain; free Developer Tools; open source Unix foundation; ...
System Folder is owned by root & OS X comes with all ports closed & installers require admin authorisation -> no spyware; no viruses as of today; ...

No offense, but if you use both and don't know what's better about the Mac, get a good introductory book like David Pogue's 'Missing Manual' for OS X - it will turn you on to lots of interesting things...
Click to expand...

Like I said, specifically with graphic arts, there is no difference. All the major graphic arts software is totally cross platform - Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXpress, etc. XP offers many of the things you mentioned. And on the digital audio side, N-Track is under $100 and does anything that all the other software based audio programs do, and then some.

I agree with Blisshead that the Mac vs PC is silly. It's been silly for a while. It's been Macophiles who have perpetuated the "Macs are better" meme for some time. Someday soon it will all be irrelevant.
 
#24
Blisshead said:
thats silly. 90% of what you list is either personal preference or has a free PC equivalent, or can be changed with 5 minutes of setup. Go cruise around the many sites like sourceforge.


Sorry to further derail with more ******** PC vs Mac crap but this post was really off the wall.
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:spit: :spit: :spit:

Sorry, man, there is NO way to replace OS level technologies like FileVault, Smart Folders, Core Audio, Services, spring-loading folders etc. with 3rd party products.

I guess you misunderstood my post. I'm definitely not trying to start a Mac/PC flamewar. I probably spent more time on PCs than on Macs, and have tried to replace some of the missing things, often with little success - lots of apps around, lots of them are crap, install spyware, mess up the Registry, etc. Been there, done that.

I'm using things like Labels and Services all the time. To be able to create a good workflow on a Mac, you have to be familiar with how things work. The more familiar you are, the more you can appreciate the advantages.

Now how about getting back on topic? :hmm:
 
#25
jonrey said:
Like I said, specifically with graphic arts, there is no difference. All the major graphic arts software is totally cross platform - Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXpress, etc. XP offers many of the things you mentioned. And on the digital audio side, N-Track is under $100 and does anything that all the other software based audio programs do, and then some.
Click to expand...

I agree that the apps are the same, and that working with the same apps on different platforms makes very little difference.

The difference is in your workflow: having things like Spotlight or a customisable sidebar in an open/save dialog box, being able to put a red label on your favourite mix, having a single location for plug-ins for all audio apps - these are examples of things that can really speed up your workflow, and there are lots of these little things.

Your point that all major apps are cross-platform is partly true. The main pro audio DAWs, for example, are Cubase, Nuendo, Protools, Logic and Digital Performer, Logic and dp are Mac only.

jonrey said:
I agree with Blisshead that the Mac vs PC is silly.
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I agree with that as well.
I was trying to point you towards a few things that can make you really appreciate your Mac. The intention was not like 'Services are BETTER', more like trying to get you to say 'hm, Services, never really did anything with these, let me see what I can actually do with them..'


Frank
 
#26
jonrey said:
And on the digital audio side, N-Track is under $100 and does anything that all the other software based audio programs do, and then some.
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Just had a look at their website, out of curiousity.


Looks like N-Track is a really nice app, but very different to GarageBand:

- look at the screenshots of the user interface - much more complicated than GarageBand
- GarageBand comes with lots of good sounding loops, N-Track doesn't come with any
- GarageBand comes with lots of softsynths
- and has a lot more plug-ins
- whereas the plug-ins in N-Track have a MUCH better user interface: compare their multiband compressor with the one in GarageBand (which is just rows and rows of generic sliders)
- no music notation in N-Tracks (correct me if I have overlooked it)
- no Podcasting support
- N-Tracks has advanced audio features like support for surround, video sync, better automation,...


I think GarageBand targets a very different user group - people who are new to digital recording, who want to work with loops, or who want to do podcasts. Apples and Oranges. :)
 
#27
Your assuming everyone else has the same preference as you do. You also throw in things like the tired virus/spyware argument, assuming people can't find clean/free/cheap apps or pay for whatever choice they want.

I only take issue with the fact that you present your likes and dislikes as fact, instead of opinion. I've used Macs, we use one now at the singers, where the band practices. He knows how to use his machine, and we both prefer the workflow and recording setup I have up on my PC. Does that make it inherently better? No. I've always felt folks should try out both, see what feels more natural to them.


(I fully realize that apps built in to the OS, specifically OS's as different as OSX and XP are going to run differently, I'm talking only about attainable results and whether everyone has to like the same thing or not.)

Sorry,
I'll stop derailing the thread now.
 
#29
Blisshead said:
Your assuming everyone else has the same preference as you do.
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Nonsense, actually it's the opposite - I assume that everyone has their own ideas in how to set up a workflow etc.


Blisshead said:
You also throw in things like the tired virus/spyware argument, assuming people can't find clean/free/cheap apps or pay for whatever choice they want.
Click to expand...

What makes you think I assume that?

If you use a an OS that does not allow spyware because of a few simple, common sense security measures, you don't have to find free or cheap apps that you have to install. I didn't realise this is difficult to understand.

I do assume that there are more people like me out there who do not want any hassle with spyware and viruses.


Blisshead said:
I only take issue with the fact that you present your likes and dislikes as fact, instead of opinion.
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When I list Mac-only technologies, what does this have to do with opinon or likes/dislikes? I listed FileVault, for example, because it's a technology you find on Macs, not on Windows, but I don't use it. Doh.
 
#30
fourplay said:
I think you need an M-Audio Interface to use it (it comes bundled with some of them).
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That's possibly one of the best ideas - most external audio interfaces (USB or Firewire) come with bundled audio software (like Protools LE, stripped down Reason etc.), so if you don't have a good soundcard yet this might be an option.
 
#31
David Vector said:
I don't know about equivalents at an entry-level price range, but Sony Acid Pro 6 goes quite a bit beyond what Garageband has to offer, especially with version 6 (which also comes bundled with a special version of NI Kompakt loaded with various instruments). It's definitely more of a pro-level app you wouldn't as easily outgrow. Many of Acid's features might be irrelevant to you at this point, though, so it might be overkill for now, but as someone suggested, you could always start with one of the "lite" versions and upgrade later.

I have both a PC and a Mac in my home studio and Macs are very elegant, cool computers, no doubt (I used nothing but Macs for several years). But ever since the arrival of Windows XP, all the talk of PC's being hard to configure for audio work is greatly exaggerated and either platform is equally viable for making music.
Click to expand...


My keyboardist gave me Acid Pro 6, there are no loops :confused:, isnt it supposed ot have 1,700 built in loops :confused:, it says i have to install a media library, I installed one of the Sony site, cool, there are loads of loops now, but wait, i cant use the, i have to buy them :confused:

This pissed me off, god, im so angry right now...
 
#32
bassist 4 life said:
My keyboardist gave me Acid Pro 6, there are no loops :confused:, isnt it supposed ot have 1,700 built in loops :confused:, it says i have to install a media library, I installed one of the Sony site, cool, there are loads of loops now, but wait, i cant use the, i have to buy them :confused:

This pissed me off, god, im so angry right now...
Click to expand...

this all depends on what you mean by give. Go to the store and wrap it with a bow give, or burn the one he grabbed online give....
 
#33
Yep, the 1,700 loops come on one of the two DVD discs that ship with Acid Pro 6. If it's anything like the content that shipped with the version I currently have, it's probably a "taster" collection with a handful of loops from each of their commercially available libraries.

At only $40 each on average (some of them less), the Acid Loop libraries are a pretty good deal, I think (certainly beats the days when I used to fork over $400 a pop for sample libraries for my Kurzweil). Very useful stuff that Acid makes easy to chop up and customize to your needs. Then there are all the third party sources of Acid format loops, including subscription services where you can go on and snag as many loops as you like for a flat fee.
 
#37
Back to your original question. You should check out Invalid Link Removed for around $70 US. It comes with 1,700 loops and you can get more when you're ready. You might also want to look at Invalid Link Removed for free. Very limited functionally but what do you want for free?[/QUOTE]


Is Acid, Ableton etc. as easy to do like Garage Band? Is it drag and drop like GB? I've also toyed with Garage Band and marvled how easy it was to do.


Just curious
 
#38
Back to your original question. You should check out Invalid Link Removed for around $70 US. It comes with 1,700 loops and you can get more when you're ready. You might also want to look at Invalid Link Removed for free. Very limited functionally but what do you want for free?
Click to expand...


Is Acid, Ableton etc. as easy to do like Garage Band? Is it drag and drop like GB? I've also toyed with Garage Band and marvled how easy it was to do.


Just curious
 

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