Author Topic: Recording; Garage band? M Box? Line 6 (xt live)? Boss GT-8? (Read 3686 times)

gingataff · « **on:** April 30, 2006, 04:36:27 PM »

I've just got a new iMac (intel) and I want to do some (make that lots of) recording and want to know where I should start. is it worth bothering with garage band, and using something like the M Audio fast track? Or should I wait and get a digidesign M Box (when the intel compatible version comes out in a month or so), I want to be able to lay down some kind of drum/bass and maybe keyboard lines to jam and record with.
I also want to get some kind of multifx/amp simulator, I quite like the idea of a floor based unit such as the Boss GT-8 and Line6 XT Live, as I'll be using it primarily for recording what would be best? Or would a software option be better? (Guitar Rig 2 looks good but its a bit pricey, 50% more again than the Boss or Line6).

Andy

Underground_Player · « **Reply #1 on:** April 30, 2006, 05:13:39 PM »

I don't know much about this kind of stuff, but the last clip I recorded was with Garageband and one M Audio Fast Track. I think it sounds ok but I don't have experience with Logic or more upmarket ones. It would be possible to really go to town with the drum programming on this if you had the time; mine's all one 4 bar loop, over and over and over.......

I don't get on with any of the amp models in Garageband (although I believe carlaz got a pretty cool sound using them...see Players section again!) so IMO it would be worth going with an outboard thing like a GT-8 or similar as a tone-generator.

Searcher · « **Reply #2 on:** April 30, 2006, 07:35:24 PM »

I have Logic Express, which I bought from eBay for under £90. It's much more powerful than GarageBand, but ten times harder to learn. There are tutorial movies you can download online for about £20 though (I'm converting all the prices from USD).

GarageBand and Logic both have built-in amp sims. They're not as good as stand-alone modellers, but they're ok for posting stuff online most of the time. As far as which modeller is best, that's a bit of a matter of opinion, though it can be narrowed down a fair bit depending on what style of music you most like to play. For most heavy music I recommend Line 6 stuff; for anything else I like the Vox ToneLab.

bubchronic · « **Reply #3 on:** May 04, 2006, 10:39:58 AM »

The Gt-8 is good for direct recording as it has the digital out (spdif) which most good soundcards and audio interfaces for your computer should have.

carlaz · « **Reply #4 on:** May 04, 2006, 11:42:32 AM »

I use GarageBand a lot on my G4 iBook (a bit underpowered for GB, but if you've got a new iMac you'll be fine). I think GB is brilliant for most home-recording purposes. It's easy to get recordings that sound quite good; the simple controls are in plain view and you can dig quite a bit deeper for finer tuning as you learn more. The big pile of loops it comes with is very handy when sketching out songs. Overall, I think GB is extremely powerful and user-friendly.

That said, while the GB amp sims are usable, an offboard unit like a POD or whatever can easily improve on them (though sacrificing the ability to change the amp on an already recorded section whenever you like). Also, using lots of effects in GB (which amp sims basically are) will quickly eat up CPU & RAM! I would tend to use the built-in amp sims when sketching out a composition, and perhaps later re-record with an offboard amp sim (or proper mic'd amp, if you've got it!) once I had a better idea of the sound I wanted.

Logic Express is unquestionably more powerful and more complex. IMO, its most useful advantages over GB are the abilities to have songs with tempo and key changes. (You can kind of fake the latter in the GB, the former is more difficult). I've tried with the Logic Express demo, but haven't gone for the real deal -- though I also hadn't realized it could be had so cheaply off eBay. ;) But there's still a lot I can get out of GarageBand, and Logic Express happily imports GB projects, so perhaps when I upgrade to a snazzy new Intel Mac in the next year or so, I'll score Logic Express then too. :) In the meantime, GarageBand gets me a long way.

gingataff · « **Reply #5 on:** May 04, 2006, 01:11:20 PM »

cheers, I think I'll play around with GB and then see what I want to do. Logic Express looks cool but I'm tempted by the m-Box/pro Tools route as well.
At the moment its mostly academic though as the availability of drivers for intel macs is not so good, line6 are saying they wont have any until september!!!

carlaz · « **Reply #6 on:** May 04, 2006, 02:22:39 PM »

Quote from: gingataff

At the moment its mostly academic though as the availability of drivers for intel macs is not so good, line6 are saying they wont have any until september!!!

Huh, I have it in mind to get a PodXT now that they can run the bass amp models, too, but I guess I won't bother until there's an Intel Mac driver (not that I have an Intel Mac, but I will some day, so I ain't buying anything that won't work with one!).