Why “PROS” DON’T use GarageBand

Why the “pros” don’t use GarageBand for music production (10 reasons)

⏰ Time Stamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:50 1. Perception
01:40 2. Hardware Support
02:49 3. Plugin Support
03:44 4. Mixer
05:15 5. Buses & Sends
06:01 6. Compatibility
07:04 7. Handholding
08:08 8. Familiarity
08:48 9. Quality
11:13 10. Reputation

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[partymarty]

I am a professional musician and I use GarageBand iOS on the go. I hook up a portable midi keyboard to my iPhone and I use my iPhone as a sound module/MIDI recorder for the melodies I make on the go (I do not use my iPhone for recording/editing audio). When I get back home, I hook up my iPhone to my hardware synthesizers and send MIDI out from
my iPhone INTO any synthesizer that has MIDI (iRig Midi 2 with RouteMidi app all within GarageBand iOS).

[tgrimes]

These people who are dissing on Garageband like it is for amateurs or worst yet a toy, are people who are ignorant to the history of recording. I guarantee the Beatles would of killed to have Garageband in their day. Garageband is a very powerful and professional DAW. Just because it may not have all the bells and whistles like more expensive DAWs does not mean it is a toy. Garageband can already to more than any Reel to Reel or hard disk recorder could ever do. I was born in 1972, and by the time I was recording at age 18, I was using a Fostex X-26 4 Track Analog Cassette Multi-Track Recorder Portastudio. Garageband has way more capabilities and power than any cassette recorder, hard disk recorder, or reel to reel could ever do. Secondly, in today's music which is dominated by hip hop and rap music, you don't need expensive DAWs. Garageband or Bandlab is all you need to make professional sounding albums.

[KoryGilesMusicGroup]

I have produced almost 12 hours worth of music with GarageBand. It is user friendly, you can really do a lot with it, and I just love almost everything about it. The reason people hate on it seems to be because it is free, which is ridiculous.

[lamardoss]

The biggest reason I moved away from Garageband is because I was having to bounce so many tracks all the time. When i got 4+ auv3 plugins per track and looking at around 7+ tracks, things started becoming unpredictable. I found myself creating songs that were less like the way I wanted, just because I didnt want to have to deal with having to bounce everything. I want to keep the freedom of being able to adjust anything I need all the way till the song is completed, without having to bounce and create file after file after file after file after file.

[reppentertainment]

I got MPC61 Key and I still enjoy the workflow on the iPad, you can do so much with Garageband working with other daws as well, it’s still a winner!

[TheLillypillies]

Recorded our 2 albums in GB. They sound pretty good to me

[thedeadxtras]

I get why so many don’t like or wouldn’t use GB, as you said it’s perception. Sure it has its drawbacks and limitations, but I find it possible to achieve most things that you can in more Pro end DAW’s, by doing different processes.
I’ve recorded, produced, engineered, programmed music for over 30yrs, starting out at college in 1992 on a Music Technology, Recording & Production course here in the UK.
It all began on an Atari ST using Cubase back then which I learnt everything and used for years, then moved to the upgraded Mac & Cubase, Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton. Using all loads for years.
Originally I loved Cubase cos that’s what I was taught on and used for a really long time, I thought it was best, eventually I moved to Logic Pro and used solidly for years on Mac which was all great and getting excellent results as you would expect.
Unfortunately through some really hard, tough times over the last 6-8yrs, money being really tight etc and a lot of gear from my home studio built up over years got stolen leaving me with virtually nothing! Just my guitar, mic, audio interface and my own personal skills and creativity.
I had to resort to using my iPhone, GB, free plugins for quite some time before I could buy a new Mac and other hardware & studio gear.
I didn’t think I’d be able to achieve very good song / track results, I was so wrong if you have good skills, knowledge, creativity, good songwriting etc, it is possible to achieve excellent recording/ production results. Having to use things that are more limited makes you have to think about how you can achieve things that were easily possible on better Daw’s, so the majority of times I have been able to get those results I wanted but in different processes.
I never thought I’d say this but the overall quality & sound of most tracks I’ve recorded and produced using GarageBand and only free plugins are definitely some of the best tracks I’ve ever done. Sometimes simpler has limits but for me it makes me work faster and achieve quicker than in the past using the other Daw’s when I’d have plans and then 6hrs later not achieving what I wanted and going off on crazy mad tangents and down long windy roads creating many great things but not the original intentions, then thinking I’ve wasted so much time. Using GB now I work so fast no longer spending weeks and months on a track or tweaking a Synth, Bass, Vox part for weeks that slightly changes and hardly anyone listening would really notice the slight changes I would. Now I much prefer recording, producing, creating tracks really fast not dwelling for ages and churning out great sounding tracks in record time. I think many people wouldn’t believe many of the tracks I’d recorded on GarageBand and would think I had to have used Logic or Pro Tools etc.
Nice one Pete great episode as always touching on a narrative that so many wouldn’t dare, would frown and look down upon because of their initial perception and never having used and given it any time.
Cheers Pete all the best, wishing you a fantastic and Bonza weekend mate.
Thanks Steve (The Dead Xtra’s) @thedeadxtras

[cbromley]

I’ve ummmed and arrred over getting Logic for years. Not being a ‘pro’ was one factor in not stumping out for the cost…GB is a superb DAW, and all that power is totally free.

However, I’ve recently got a bit more serious again, and after tortuous deliberation decided to go for it…it’s actually incredibly good value.

The upshot imo, is that Logic provides a complete and seamless workflow, with all the, powerful, features easily to hand…you can make things as simple or as complicated as you like.

Both packages do the excellent job they’re made for.

I’m learning a hell of a lot from your videos on GB iOS by the way. Cheers!

[RolandDeschain]

A good song is a good song, whether it was recorded in someone's bedroom or in Abbey Road.

I use Reaper and it's an extremely feature-dense DAW, but I'd never look down on anyone using Garage Band to make their music.

[yvesroy]

I use it since 6 years in I have several songs on Spotify, YouTube and many others streaming platforms and I do everything with GarageBand and it’s a matter of experience an knowledge and this guy know what he is taking about really well, very very well 😘

[mrfomiatti]

Idea? Start song in Garage Band, then import to Logic Pro to finish...just to get off the ground quickly? What do you think?

[Darkside_VatoLoco]

Hey Pete, 1st off thanks for all the lessons. Because if your videos I’ve learned to mix like a pro. 2nd now I’m performing my music and though it sounds awesome on every platform. Accept large set ups like Dj and clubs. At these venues I’m finding it sounds like a whisper. How can I fix this?

[pieceworkstudios]

I dunno, I use Samplitude in my studio, Cubasis on the iPad, but still have love for GB and have done stuff that people have said they would not have thought it was done in GB, and a lot of that is thanks to all your tutorials, Pete 👍. I will say though that I haven’t mastered anything in GB. I always send the stems to Samplitude and finish the piece on the PC

[johnnyjohnn]

Regarding Quality in GarageBand on the iPad: in my opinion the sounds of the synth/instrument plugins don’t really compare with a full-on Windows PC VST. Example: The stock GB Grand Piano versus Noir Piano on Windows. Noir wins hands-down in terms of sample & sound quality.
Some of the AUV3 pianos on iPad are extremely good (e.g. Pure Piano). Nevertheless, Noir would still have the edge.
I’m now using my iPad really just to generate ideas, and the AUV3 plugins give me a very good overview of what to expect. But then I switch over to PC to produce the finished product.
That said, I’m using AUV3 and VST instruments only. I’m not recording real life instruments like voices, drums and guitars. I can’t imagine there’d be much difference in a live recording via a microphone through an iPad vs a microphone through a Windows PC.
Just my two-penneth. 🙂

[Zeisslermusic]

I use GarageBand but just for small projects. The big issue is, if you record a auv3 instrument and then record another auv3, often the 1 auv is not playing annymore. But my goto is ableton.

[c_c]

Great video! Big fan of Garageband, thanks for breakdown and explanation. You hit on a lot of great points.

[buxycat]

It's the music creation software for non-musicians."

I'm all in. I'm in my mid 50s and have some very limited music experience. I wanted something to do with my hands that wasn't reaching for tobacco. I looked at an Orba 2 and a Chorda, which put GarageBand back in my awareness. I've only had Apple stuff in recent years.

I've just ordered a Yamaha FGDP-50, because I want to get into finger drumming; I chose that because it's stand alone: It's a small box, no wireless, sit in my comfy armchair, tapping pads. I don't have to think about anything else other than teaching myself to drum, i don't want to have to learn complicated software, or sit up at a computer desk.

I'm now motivated to explore GarageBand, as I might want to create some backing for myself. I have it already, and there's plenty of resources on YouTube to help me get my head around using GarageBand.

If we don't already have well known talented musicians, who's first experience was GarageBand, we will do soon enough.

I wonder what George Martin would have thought of an iPad and GarageBand in 1967, when he was producing Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, on a four track...

A little story:

Somewhere in the early 2000s, I bought Rock Band Beatles and the Rock Band portable drum kit, for my Xbox 360. I had so much fun. A friend of mine had hired some rooms and built a studio. I sit behind a real drum kit for the first time. Within a few hours, I got to a point where I was trusted with "the good snare" and was able to hold a very basic beat for a few minutes, whilst three other semi-pro musicians jammed with me.

I achieved that through a video game and toy like pads.


Also, due to those videos games, I realised I have 100s of songs, by original artists, that I can turn the drum track off of, and tap along on my finger drum. That's going to make practising and playing so much fun.

[archangelroyalofficial]

I use GarageBand and I am a successful musician; and thanks to some of your tutorials 🙏🏽🕉️

[kiddynamite]

My first DAW was Studio One pro. That was an awful choice for a 1st DAW, as I have big eyes, and hadn’t started using Mac yet. GB is super easy to use, and it sounds great. It’s helpful to be able to play with a click, or music.

[TommyMGrecianMusic]

I have been recording with bands and on my lonesome since 1993 in Germany and Britain, I’m not so much a musician, I am however a lyricist and vocalist, GarageBand may not have all the “bells and whistles” found in a multiplex studio, but what the GarageBand has that I am working with is, my imagination, the sound I’m looking for, and more than enough “bells and whistles” for me to create exactly what I need and it’s brilliant, I am not tech savvy, but I get there…I am not being paid, I am not a “Professional” and I don’t need to hide behind “Bells and Whistles” to be a recognised artist, GarageBand is what it is, and it is Great, Blessings to you John ♥️🙏😎TMG (Tommy)