The Garageband Studio

Apple adds "Learn to Podcast"-tutorials to iTunes podcast directory

This is pretty neat. Apple just posted some "iLife '06 Multimedia Tutorials" as a video podcast. This takes you through all the steps to create your own podcast with GarageBand, iMovie HD and iWeb. It is pretty basic stuff, but it does give some good pointers and a nice way to get to know the new iterations of the iLife applications. It is also yet another sign that Apple takes user-generated content very seriously.  Go and get the podcast on iTunes.

[Via: TUAW]

New GarageBand, New Jampack, Intel iMac, Macbook Pro

Wow, lots of news at Macworld. First of, iLife '06 with a new GarageBand. Most of the new features are related to podcasting, including:

• Podcast Recording Studio. Easy Chaptering, add artwork to your podcast with the iLife media browser, and easily upload your podcast to the web/iTunes.
• Podcast Sounds. Over 200 sound effects, and over 100 jingles.
• Podcast Radio Engineer. "GarageBand lets you put the talk above the tunes with a dynamic “ducking” effect that automatically reduces music volume while you’re speaking. And a new Speech Enhancer makes the most of your mic skills by reducing distracting background noise, simulating a professional microphone, and using clever compression techniques to improve your voice."
• iChat Interview Recording. Very nice!
• iMovie Scoring. Better  integration between those two apps.

So not much for the musician but great news for the podcaster. The new Jam Pack: World Music is great news for the musician:

For this trip, feel free to pack light. Leave the luggage at home and bring your headphones to experience the sometimes unfamiliar and always mesmerizing sounds of music from around the world. With the World Music Jam Pack, you can assemble and create music from a collection of over 3,000 Apple Loops played by master musicians from nearly every corner of the globe. Or play 40 rare and exotic instruments from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, India, Europe, the United Kingdom, South and Central America, Cuba, and Jamaica.

More sounds is always better I say, and I could use a little more variety in my sonic palette. And then there's the new hardware...drool.. These promise to offer a significant boost in power and performance, and we all know how power-hungry GarageBand can be.

• Intel iMac
• Macbook Pro

All in all, a good keynote for the digital musicians and podcasters. I really want a new Mac now...

iLife 06: New Garageband!

There is a new iLife with a new version of GarageBand. It does indeed have new podcast features. This is from the Engadget Keynote coverage:

We have added a podcast authoring studio." It has: Artwork track, 200 royalty-free sound effects, 100 jingles, automatic ducking (?) for audio, and a speech enhancer." You can use iChat for remote interviews.

Nice!

Anticipating Macworld 2006

Macworld is just around the corner, and as usual the Apple rumor ciruit is working overtime. Of course, I'll be posting all the news related to making music on the Mac. So, what can we expect? Intel Macs appear to be right around the corner, and various rumor sites are claiming that we'll see Intel iBooks and an Intel-based Mac Mini. Both would be pretty significant for the mobile musician on a budget, especially if they live up to the promise of offering a significant performance boost. However, these are just rumors at this point.

iLife '06 does seem to be a given, so we'll probably see some improvements in GarageBand. Garageband 2 was a very significant update, but I don't expect as much for Garageband 3. My prediction would be that we'll see mostly incremental updates, and perhaps some features directly related to podcast creation.

Still, Steve Jobs keynotes are usually full of surprise so we'll just have to wait and see.

Free Apple Loops, Part 6

I've been out of the loop for a while (hey, I think it's funny, so I almost missed the new free Apple Loops pack at iCompositions. Here's what they have to say about it:

Perimeter Sound Arts, a newcomer to the Apple Loops market, and iCompositions are offering the largest free Apple Loops package in history, containing 264 Apple Loops!

Nice! You can find the loops here, but as always you will have to have an account for the iCompositions website to grab the loops.

For more free loops see: Free Apple Loops, compiled.

The Podcast Factory: M-Audio's complete Podcast solution

We all know that GarageBand is a great tool to make podcasts with (and Apple thinks so too), but to get a quality result you'll need at least some hardware. M-Audio's Podcast Factory has you covered with an all-in-one solution that includes a USB Audio Interface (a version of the Fast Track USB), a microphone, a stand, and some software. And all that for $179.95 MSRP. I'm on the fence on whether that is a good deal or not. I suppose it really depends on the quality of the microphone, I hope I get the chance to try one of these to see what it's like. Still, if you're thinking of getting into podcasting you might want to check it out.

What do you use GarageBand for?

Obviously we're all making some kind of noise with our Macs, but what are you using GarageBand for specifically? Here's what I do with GarageBand. I use it:

• To make "soundtracks" for presentations, photo slideshows, and video projects. I find that finding music for these kind of things often quite difficult. With GarageBand I string some loops together and create custom soundtracks that suit the mood of the project. These are not musical masterpieces, and they don't have to be, but they do add a nice touch of professionalism to your projects (especially if the audience is not made up of GarageBand users who can spot all the loops you've used).
• As a practice tool. I play guitar and I'll ofen use GB to make quick backing tracks, tune, and play drum loops to make scale practice more interesting.
• As a songwriting sketchpad. When I have an idea for a song I'll quickly record a basic guitar part, and do a vocal take. Then I add a little more instrumentation (Drums, Bass, Keys) to flesh it out and basically create the skeleton of a song. I hardly ever finish songs in GB but it is invaluable in my songwriting process.

What do you do with GarageBand?

Neat little Firewire audio interface: The Behringer F-CONTROL AUDIO FCA202

The FCA202 which was just anoounced looks like a neat little Audio Interface to use with my iBook and GarageBand. the price is right as well, $99. I think I'll wait until I see some reviews, but this does look promising. Here's the blurb from Behringer:

This ultra-compact FireWire® audio interface is an ideal companion for laptop musicians and ingeniously complements any studio. Its hot features include: Two ¼" connector inputs and outputs for connecting synthesizers, mixers and more; high resolution 24-bit A/D and D/A converters offer 96 kHz sampling frequency; volume-controlled headphones for discreetly working on your compositions, even on the road. Reliable Windows® XP and Mac OS® drivers guarantee low latencies. With the ultra-stable metal construction, the FCA202 easily defies the adversities of travel. And its small dimensions make it an ideal solution for laptop recording. Additional features include two 6-pin FireWire® connectors, a security port for Kensington® locks and the possibility to power the FCA202 via FireWire® or a mains adapter, which is included. The hot FCA202 package also comes with the coolest sequencing software for mobile music production: the BEHRINGER Edition of Ableton® Live Lite 4. Kristal and Audacity® are also included and will empower you to face any recording challenge.

I love that this thing is Firewire, but comes with a mains adapter as well. Oh and the fact that it's small. What I don't like about it is that it's from Behringer. Their reputation isn't that good and their track record is rather spotty. They make some good gear, but they've made some mediocre-to-bad stuff as well. We can stare at the specs all we like but you'd really have to try it out to get an idea of the sound quality and latency levels. Still, I'll be keeping my eye on this thing that's for sure. [Via: Music thing]

MacJams Five Weeks of Free Loops

MacJams has just finished their five weeks of giving away free Apple Loops. In total that's 120 mb of free loops! Get the loops from weeks 1-4 here, and week 5 here. Please be aware of the license for using these loops.

For more free loops see: Free Apple Loops, compiled.

Mini Review: M-Audio Keystation 49

I had a little time to play with the M-Audio Keystation 49 this week, and I thought I'd share some impressions. M-audio dubs the Keystation 49e as "the perfect USB MIDI controller keyboard for getting started with music on your Mac or PC", so naturally I was determined to test that theory. I plugged it into my iBook, and sure enough it was recognized instantly. Within minutes I was playing instruments in GarageBand. This controller is definitely easy to set up, a big plus for those just starting out. But, you ask, how does it play? Let me preface by saying I've had two years of piano lessons, which makes me very demanding in terms of keyboard playability. For the price (msrp $129, but you can get them for $99 at Amazon) it really isn't bad. It feels like some care has gone into the design of the key bed and the velocity response is decent. That said, it can't really compare with a piano or some of the more high-end controllers in terms of playability. For me the four octaves it offers is a little on the low side, but that's my piano background rearing its ugly head again.

The Keystation 49 doesn't offer much in term of knobs and faders, but it does have pitch bend and modulation wheels. It also has an input for a sustain pedal which I'd definitely recommend getting. It makes getting realistic piano sounds much easier, and is great for auditing sounds. The device is USB bus-powered, and also has a MIDI out jack to hook it up to other hardware. You'll need a power supply to power it when not connected to a USB port, but then you can use it to play hardware sound modules.

Playing around with the Keystation 49 was nice, but it won't replace my current set-up (an old Yamaha keyboard running through a USB Midi interface). It is however a good value for money, and I would recommend it for beginners who do not possess my level of keyboard snobbery. For those looking for a little more quality, semi-weighted keys, and an extra octave the M-Audio Keystation 61es might be a more tempting option.

Rating: 79/100