GarageBand instruments and JamPack...

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
I know I'm going to feel really stupid in about 30 minutes, but how do I know if I've truly got all the instruments and loops available to me?



I installed GarageBand, then - without spending any time with it to see what's what - I immediately installed the JamPack. But sometimes it seems like there are instruments missing that should be available.



I might just be confused in how I'm reading the settings and info windows.







With the two together (GarageBand and JamPack), how many instruments am I supposed to have? I'm trying to find a sitar, a bagpipe and a pedal steel (I've seen the icons for the last two in reviews).



Also (and this has been bugging me since Saturday), does GarageBand not have little "tool tip" info panels/windows that pop up when you hover over a certain button or feature in the app?



I would find that most helpful at this early stage ("What in the hell does THIS little icon mean?").



One more thing: I CAN use a loop, but change the instrument playing it, can't I? Or did I dream that? Say I've got a cool banjo loop that I like the sound of. Can I keep that riff but change the instrument from a banjo to, say, a 12-string guitar or cathedral organ?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    I checked in Library/Application Support/GarageBand/Apple Loops Index

    and there is an index for jampack thats as long as my leg so I'll have to guess that jampack installed all the file on my computer.

    Yes the button tool tips would be nice but they aren't there on mine either.

    If you are using a loop that is an actual recored instrument(not midi) then you wont be able to change the instrument type, you can add effects or amp simulation. if its midi, chane it all you want.
  • Reply 2 of 17
    Paul, if the loop is a MIDI loop, you can change the instrument playing it. if it is an audio loop you cannot.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Ah, I see...cool. Thanks!
  • Reply 4 of 17
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Loops can be unavailable for two reasons that I can tell.



    1. If you have "filtering" turned on in preferences -> general.

    2. If you pick a weird time signature, like 5/4 or 7/8.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    I ain't Stewart Copeland or that sumbitch from Rush. I wouldn't know what to do with 5/4 or 7/8 if my life depended on it.



    I'm a 4/4 man. And 3/4 when I'm feeling waltzy.



  • Reply 6 of 17
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    I usually can't walk when I listen to something with an odd time signature, like "Time Out" by Dave Brubeck. I usually just trip and fall on my face.
  • Reply 7 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BRussell

    I usually can't walk when I listen to something with an odd time signature, like "Time Out" by Dave Brubeck. I usually just trip and fall on my face.



    LOL!
  • Reply 8 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    I ain't Stewart Copeland or that sumbitch from Rush. I wouldn't know what to do with 5/4 or 7/8 if my life depended on it.



    I'm a 4/4 man. And 3/4 when I'm feeling waltzy.







    I tried to get our band to play "Subdivisions" (alternates between 5/4 and 4/4) because I wanted a kickass keyboard song to play, but they wouldn't bite. Guess nobody wanted to sing like Geddy Lee...
  • Reply 9 of 17
    dave k.dave k. Posts: 1,306member
    Apple does provide GB manuals here:



    http://www.apple.com/support/garageband/



    The application is pretty easy to learn. I did the same you did. Installed GB followed by the Jam pack. I wish Apple would mention the Jam pack is installed in the "About GarageBand" menu.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    pbg4 dudepbg4 dude Posts: 1,611member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by segovius

    pscates (or anyone) - can you tell me if you get an Oud (middle eastern lute) in that Jam pack or any kind of Arabic string instrument ?



    I'm thinking of getting GB but if it doesn't have stuff for world music there's not much point for me.




    There are at least 2 Oud loops with the base GB application that I have found (and used 1 of them). I don't have the jam pack but would love to see a list of what's included with it before I drop a C-Note on it.
  • Reply 11 of 17
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Yeah, there are two oud loops (as mentioned above). Also a Turkish something-or-other is present (it's actually in my song below in my sig...it's that zingy, swirly sounding thing that kicks in at the beginning, right after the main guitar riff). Sounds kinda exotic.



    Segovius, there are tabla drums and all sorts of percussion loops and samples. Latin bass and horns, African-sounding drums, Middle-eastern sounding loops and instruments (I don't know their names or style, just that, to me, it sounds like something you'd hear in a movie set in that part of the world).







    I think it's a VERY worthwhile purchase!
  • Reply 12 of 17
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Here is a file with the loops from Jam Pack, and here's one with the software instruments. Actually looking at it again, I think those are what you have when both the regular and the Jam Pack are installed.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Thanks!



    I was thinking of that kind of thing...the twangy guitar meets the exotic noodling of that Turkish instrument, sets a mood/tone. The drum loops and that feedback/vocal thing modernize it a bit, and the strings add to the "movie-ness" of it.



    That's the underlying idea of it, anyway.







    I like it. It was the very first thing I managed to cobble together after I bought it Saturday, so I can't complain.







    I usually mess with it a bit in the evenings, expanding on it and improving it the more I learn about GarageBand. Added a middle bridge section that's more string-based and "ooh, bad guys coming!" sounding.
  • Reply 14 of 17
    does GB have a theremin? or theremin loops?
  • Reply 16 of 17
    Quote:

    Originally posted by InactionMan

    does GB have a theremin? or theremin loops?



    I've been wondering this too. It isn't in the list of GB instruments somebody posted in another thread. I've always wanted a theremin but they don't come cheap.
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