Is Garageband too lo-tech?

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Permalink Reply by paul nicholls on July 14, 2008 at 7:21pm

I'm using it, it's oooookk but not great. I wish there was an upgrade with some decent filters etc.

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Permalink Reply by Podcastmatters on July 14, 2008 at 7:45pm

When did you get a Mac, Paul?

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Permalink Reply by paul nicholls on July 14, 2008 at 7:55pm

Just a few months ago Mark. I'm impressed, but not overwhelmed to be honest. I keep getting audio compatibility issues with my USB mixer, and it's driving me round the bend.

I love the video / graphics, but I'm not stunned by the audio.

Garageband is a more stable Audacity with a few less features as I see it.

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Permalink Reply by Podcastmatters on July 14, 2008 at 8:03pm

You mention filters, have you played around with the presets? When you click the 'i' over on the right hand panel it gives you the chance to apply a whole range of preset audio filters to any given channel? There's a drop down arrow below that section allowing you add custom settings on top that.

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Permalink Reply by paul nicholls on July 14, 2008 at 8:05pm

I've seen those, but they're not great and a little gimmicky to be honest.

GB is still a good introductory level tool, but it's not great is it really?

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Permalink Reply by Podcastmatters on July 14, 2008 at 8:08pm

It's not high-end, but I'd argue it's exactly what a podcaster needs. That being said, if you're having issues with the mixer it'll be a pain in the butt!

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Permalink Reply by Graham Holland on July 14, 2008 at 11:21pm

Just out of curiosity, have any Mac users tried Ubercaster for recording their podcasts?

Graham

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Permalink Reply by Podcastmatters on July 15, 2008 at 7:49am

Yes. I use Ubercaster extensively when producing podcasts that have telephone interviews. I almost always, though, export that resultant audio into Garageband. Quite often I'll run it through Levelator first, especially if the telephone conversation was a bit dodgy!

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Permalink Reply by Hotrod Cadets on July 18, 2008 at 11:35am

I reckon that for music, we've long since passed the point where it matters which tool you use. All that matters is the result.

Modern consumer recording tools are all A LOT more capable than high-end gear from a couple of decades ago. Whether it's Garageband or SONAR or Reaper or anything else, these tools provide everything you need to create top quality recordings.

Well, everything except talent. :)

The only effects you really need are EQ, compression and reverb. Other stuff is fun, but not essential.

I spend a lot of time at the Listening Room forum at recordingproject.com. It's a great place to listen to new music and offer your critique and suggestions. You can also put your own stuff up for comment. I used this a lot when I was mixing "Something in the Engine".

But I have been really struck by something - there are lots of beautifully recorded tracks, technically excellent, with nothing out of place, but sometimes these songs don't really touch me. Some of the best pieces of music I've heard, the songs that really move me, are technically all over the place. What really matters is the quality of the song, the energy and passion that the artists put in to the performance.

Same with podcasts. It's always good to be as technically proficient as possible - get rid of as much noise as possible, neat edits, sensible level compression, etc. But what really matters is the CONTENT.

A passionate podcaster talking about something they really care about will always grab your attention and keep you listening.

A technically perfect recording of a dull topic delivered in a passionless monotone, won't.

Use the best tools you can, but never forget that it's the content that really matters!

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Permalink Reply by Neil Fairbrother on July 24, 2008 at 8:33am

There's a difference between easy to use and low tech. I think garageband is an excellent tool, though for sure we focus exclusively on video podcasts and use Final Cut Studio. None the less I have used garageband and think its an excellent audio podcast factory. I like the ability to drop in images and to make podcasts interactive by way of building in urls that you can click on to take you elsewhere. The filters sound OK to me, but I'm not a professional musician so they may not be as good as other ones. For the vast majority of folk, I'm sure Garageband hits the mark.

Cheers

N

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Permalink Reply by Bob Cartwright on January 9, 2009 at 9:31am

I use Logic Express for mine as coming from a studio background I find the Garageband trendy approach far too confusing!!

I love Ubercaster, but the audio delay is just annoying even though I can turn it off. I've also lost count of the number of times I've finished a podcast only to find it hasn't recorded. I've used it on 3 different machines all with the same results, so I gave up.

However it is much more Radio Station in it's presentation and I do like it for that reason. However, most of my stuff are pre-edited clips which are compiled together and I can work very fast in Logic, faster than Ubercaster as I also have atendancy to make mistakes.

Ultimately I'm more of a studio producer than a live presenter, so hence my choice of gear.

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