05.01.2013 Views

Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

Mac OS X Leopard - ARCAism

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

278<br />

CHAPTER 16 iLIFE ‘08<br />

GarageBand<br />

GarageBand (Figure 16-6) is Apple’s entry-level DAW (digital audio workstation). GarageBand<br />

lets you record, mix, and edit multiple audio and MIDI tracks together and then save them as<br />

audio files in a variety of formats. While GarageBand lacks some features of Apple’s other DAWs<br />

(Logic Express and Logic Studio), it provides a number of professional-quality software instruments<br />

and effects coupled with reasonable track editing abilities (including volume, panning, and<br />

new track automation abilities) that can easily create professional-sounding recordings.<br />

Figure 16-6. GarageBand ’08 with the Track Info and Loop browser visible<br />

Each track can contain either a software instrument track or a real instrument track. The<br />

software tracks contain MIDI information that is translated into sound based on the software<br />

instrument associated with it. Real instrument tracks contain actual sound files that can come<br />

from prerecorded music or loops, or can be recorded on the fly in GarageBand through an audio<br />

interface (including the built-in audio inputs if necessary).<br />

GarageBand ’08 allows you to record up to eight instruments (or eight tracks) at one time<br />

(provided you have an audio interface that supports this).<br />

NOTE If you are serious about recording, you should probably look into purchasing an audio<br />

interface for your computer. A decent two-channel USB2 or FireWire audio interface costs<br />

around $200 or so, and will provide you with much better sound quality than using your <strong>Mac</strong>’s<br />

built-in audio port. Obviously, there are more expensive audio interfaces as well that include<br />

more features. Some companies that make good audio interfaces include TASCAM, <strong>Mac</strong>kie (or<br />

TAPCO), M-Audio, Digidesign, and MOTU (Mark of the Unicorn).

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!