Our Verdict
If you ’ve read our followup ofGarageBand 10.0 for the Mac OS(and really , you should ) you know that Apple fetch a mickle of changes to the Mac rendering of this revered music - making program . The same can not be say for the late iOS version of GarageBand , which run almost exactly as the original looping did . Although it has been improved , it has n’t changed nearly as radically as its computer - bound sibling has . And that ’s scarcely a direful thing : GarageBand 1.0 was great and version 2.0 nap a few extra features atop that greatness .
Like GarageBand 10.0 for the Mac , GarageBand 2.0 for iOS devices ( iOS 7 required ) is innocent , with the choice to bring more features via a $ 5 in - app purchase . Specifically , with the free translation you get three instruments — Keyboard , Drums , and Smart Guitar with eight preset sounds — as well as the Audio Recorder instrument . For that extra $ 5 you gain the Guitar Amp , Smart Keyboard , Smart Bass , Smart Strings , Smart Drums , Sampler , and 157 predetermined sounds . If you ’ve already purchased GarageBand for iOS , you get this content complimentary of armorial bearing .
The new features are almost only technological rather than melodious . To begin with , this version double the bit of tracks you may record on compatible iOS devices not using an A7 processor ( the iPhone 4s or by and by , the iPad 2 or subsequently , and the fifth - generation iPod touching ) , for a total of up to 16 tracks . ( you could apply this version of GarageBand with an iPhone 4 , but it supports the original 8 tracks . ) On a gimmick with the 64 - snatch A7 C.P.U. , namely the iPhone 5s , the iPad Air , or the iPad mini with Retina display , you may record up to 32 racetrack . ( For reference , The Beatles recordedSgt . Pepper ’s Lonely Hearts Club Bandon four tracks . ) Ah , advancement .
GarageBand 2.0 also offers inter - app communication , which means you may admit the end product of compatible third - party musical instrument and upshot apps in your GarageBand recordings .
For model , I purchasedWaldorf Music ’s $ 20 Nave wavetable synthesizer appon my iPad . When I launched GarageBand on that same iPad and tap the Instruments button , I found a new Inter - App Audio Apps entry . I bug it and saw that the Nave app was an instrument choice . When I tapped it , the Nave app opened and display the app ’s user interface . Just above the keyboard were small GarageBand shipping controls . To register the Nave synth into a GarageBand track , all I had to do was tap the transport ’s Record release . I hear GarageBand ’s metronome and the other tracks I ’d already immortalise , and pop dally . When I stopped recording , switched back to GarageBand , and see at the tracks screen door , there was the music I ’d played , captivate as an audio filing cabinet ( versus MIDI data , as you ’d see when recording from one of the software instrument ) . This is a worthwhile feature that allows you to expand GarageBand ’s strait pallette greatly .
Other tool currently compatible with inter - app sound recording are Arturia’siSEMandiMinisynths and Tempo Rubato’sNLogSynth Pro . As for effects , presently you’re able to use IK Multimedia’sAmpliTube , and Kymatica’sAUFXDubandAUFX : place . Others will almost certainly join the list .
This reading of GarageBand additionally support rescue to iCloud and sharing via AirDrop . ( you’re able to also share the issue of your work via email , Facebook , SoundCloud , and YouTube . ) iCloud is a dear mode to apportion your undertaking with a Mac for more - critical redaction . AirDrop is helpful when you ’d like to partake in a project with a bandmate before lead the studio apartment . take down that you ca n’t practice this app to edit projects created with the Mac version of GarageBand .
at last , if you ’re the kind of person who enjoys inserting samples of other people ’s work into your composition , GarageBand 2.0 has just the feature for you . Select theSamplerinstrument , tap theImportbutton , and tap theMusictab — you’ll attain that you could now import unprotected tracks from the Music app . ( These cut must be on the machine ; iTunes mate track have to be download before you may use them . ) you may then trim them within the Sampler instrument and “ trifle ” them in different key using the Sampler ’s keyboard . you could additionally reverse the sound and interchange its envelope ( the “ condition ” of the loudness from the start of the strait to the end ) .
Nonmusicians will find this lineament helpful as well . How ? trim back your favourite song down to several central seconds , return to the My Songs sieve , tapSelect , tap the song that bear the sample you just delete , tap theSharebutton , and tapRingtone . You ’ve created a custom ringtone without pay off a nickel for the privilege .
Bottom line
GarageBand for iOS is much enceinte for the addition of more cart track , inter - app compatibility , iCloud sync and AirDrop sharing , and a more flexible Sampler legal instrument . With rendering 2.0 , it remains one of the musical stars of the iOS firmament .
