MusicRadar

GarageBand's GUI has remained remarkably similar since its Inception in 2004.

View in gallery

Despite only being around since 2004, Apple's entry-level DAW GarageBand is firmly established as a favourite software package for beginners and professionals alike.

The story of GarageBand starts with Apple's purchase of Emagic in July 2002. Apple's acquisition of the German software company also led to the arrival of co-founder Gerhard Lengeling as senior director of software engineering (music applications).

At the time, the stage was nicely set for Apple to expand its interest from professional music applications to home users and beginners.

"The simplicity of Garageband's effects makes them far easier for beginners to master."

The first-generation iMac, released in 1998, had revitalised Apple's profile in the home computer market so it made reasonable sense that Apple should also target consumers with their audio software.

On his arrival in Cupertino, Lengeling didn't just set about working on Logic 6 for the Mac, he also took charge of a team developing a new product based on a simplifi ed version of the same audio engine.

The new software, known as GarageBand, was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo in early January 2004. Featuring digital audio recording, MIDI sequencing, plus support for plug-in effects and virtual instruments, GarageBand offered a taste of pro music software in a friendly, intuitive style.

The horizontal timeline setup was familiar, but more importantly it was simplified just enough to make it appeal to beginners.

Back in the garage

Regardless of its audio capabilities, for most users the single most important feature of GarageBand was its price - or rather, the absence of price.

From the introduction of version 1.0, every new Mac has included a full, unlimited copy of GarageBand as part of Apple's iLife software suite, which also contains iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD and now iWeb. The latest version of the iLife suite is also available as a £45 upgrade.

Although GarageBand offered many of the features found in much more expensive DAWs, its critics argued that a handful of omissions marked it out as a toy for amateurs rather than a serious music production tool.

Most notably, the maximum recording quality of 16-bit resolution and 44.1kHz sample rate was markedly lower than most of the competition, and GarageBand was only capable of recording one track at a time. Nevertheless, there was no doubt that underneath the fun user interface lay a powerful sound engine.

Around the web: