Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)
  • Plugin Week 2023
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist (opens in new tab)
  • Guitar Techniques (opens in new tab)
  • Total Guitar (opens in new tab)
  • Bass Player (opens in new tab)
More
  • Plugin Week A-Z
  • Best free lo-fi plugins
  • Top EQ plugins
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Free music samples
  • Best free music-making software

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News

GarageBand for iPad: guitar amps hands-on

By Chris Vinnicombe
published 21 March 2011

  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
GarageBand for iPad hands-on

GarageBand for iPad hands-on

With the UK release of the iPad 2 just hours away, it's time to take another look at the app that's already causing a huge buzz amongst music-making iPad 1 owners. We've already presented a hands-on review of GarageBand for iPad, now it's time to zoom in and take a guitarist's eye view of the onboard guitar amps.

For demo purposes, we threw together a simple little ditty using nothing more than a Gibson Les Paul Studio '60s Tribute guitar and sounds from within GarageBand itself. As you can see from the session file, it's not exactly Bohemian Rhapsody, but in addition to some lead and rhythm guitar, we used a drum loop, a shaker, some Smart Bass and the Soul Organ keyboard preset.

For each of the following examples, all that changes is the virtual guitar amp selected for the lead and rhythm sounds, with a little additional tweaking of gain and EQ levels to taste. The only exception is the Modern Stack amp model, which we felt deserved its own, more aggressive composition in order to do it justice.

Click through and let us know what you think of the sounds...

Page 1 of 10
Page 1 of 10
Small Tweed Combo
'50s Fender-flavoured tones

Small Tweed Combo

Page 2 of 10
Page 2 of 10
Blackface Combo
Classic '60s Fender tones

Blackface Combo

Page 3 of 10
Page 3 of 10
English Combo
Vox AC30-inspired raunch

English Combo

Page 4 of 10
Page 4 of 10
Vintage Stack
Marshall Plexi-style grind

Vintage Stack

Page 5 of 10
Page 5 of 10
Stadium Stack
Live At Leeds-style sounds from this Hiwatt-inspired amp

Stadium Stack

Page 6 of 10
Page 6 of 10
British Blues Combo
JTM45-style sounds from the British blues boom

British Blues Combo

Page 7 of 10
Page 7 of 10
Sunshine Stack
No prizes for guessing that this amp is Orange-inspired

Sunshine Stack

Page 8 of 10
Page 8 of 10
Small Brownface
Fender vibes circa 1959-63

Small Brownface

Page 9 of 10
Page 9 of 10
Modern Stack
Mesa/Boogie-style super high gain sounds

Modern Stack

For this final example, we felt that the Modern Stack sound deserved a demo tune with a harder edge. Check it out:

Liked this? Now read:

GarageBand for iPad: 7 things musicians need to know

GarageBand for iPad: first hands-on review

Connect with MusicRadar: via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Get MusicRadar straight to your inbox: Sign up for the free weekly newsletter

Page 10 of 10
Page 10 of 10
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
  • (opens in new tab)
Chris Vinnicombe
Social Links Navigation

Chris Vinnicombe worked with us here on the MusicRadar team from the site's initial launch way back in 2007, and also contributed to Guitarist magazine as Features Editor until 2014, as well as Total Guitar magazine, amongst others. These days he can be found at Gibson Guitars, where he is editor-in-chief.

  1. Fender
    1
    This new Fender Charcoal Frost Player Plus Strat with US pickups is giving us serious GAS
  2. 2
    "He got a lot of his style playing with Ringo, because Ringo’s a very basic drummer" - Denny Laine on Wings as a three-piece with Paul McCartney on drums
  3. 3
    Radiohead drummer Phil Selway cools reunion talk: "We have got together and we’re talking about future plans, but in the immediate future we’ve all got other projects"
  4. 4
    Best synth plugins 2023: synth VSTs to suit all styles and budgets
  5. 5
    Drum kit tour: Alter Bridge, Scott Phillips
  1. Nugen at plugin week
    1
    Nugen Audio at Plugin Week 2023: Award-winning mixing, mastering, and audio analysis tools
  2. 2
    Google says that its MusicLM AI model is the best text-to-music generator yet, and the audio examples might just prove it
  3. 3
    Rick Rubin on Paul McCartney's bass playing and 'simple' songwriting: "He’s using this technique that any child could do, then it morphs into one of the greatest songs of all time"
  4. 4
    Radiohead drummer Phil Selway cools reunion talk: "We have got together and we’re talking about future plans, but in the immediate future we’ve all got other projects"
  5. 5
    Best synth plugins 2023: synth VSTs to suit all styles and budgets

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab).

  • About Us (opens in new tab)
  • Terms and conditions (opens in new tab)
  • Privacy policy (opens in new tab)
  • Cookies policy (opens in new tab)
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers (opens in new tab)

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.