ALBABE  Garageband 5. doesn't seem to work on a lot of people's G5s (Certainly not my 3 year old G5) even with 10.5.7.

It's so slow it's completely impossible to use... and almost impossible to uninstall.

If you are on a G5 and having problems, google "Uninstall Garageband" and reinstall the last version (4.1.2)  
(Version 5.0.2)

SAM5  Fantastic entry level quality recording software. Managed to persuade the head of music at school to buy 6 intel imacs by showing him GB on my iBook! The podcasting studio is so simple to use. The GUI make over is well worth getting the upgrade!  
(Version 3.0.2)

AFMAC  This update fixed some of my performance issues on my duel 1 gig Thanks!  
(Version 3.0.2)

3ABNPUB  I was surprised that no one had commented on GB since last summer, 2005. Was the current version even out then?

GB is a great app, although to use it productively you really out to have a MIDI device (like a keyboard) connected, and having a little musical ability doesn't hurt either.

I think the iLife 06 version is a major improvement over the previous one.  
(Version 3.0.2)

ANONYMOUS  Great Update!!! Best thing for being creative!

sam  
(Version 2.0.2)

MOJO  update install has rendered the Band unable to initialise on both my macs (PB 17" 1.67 GB, 1G Ram; + G4 Quicksilver). Reinstall of Band 2 and 2,0,2 updater not resolved the issue.  
(Version 2.0.2)

ANONYMOUS  I can't install samples on another disk than the boot drive: stupid!!!!!!  
(Version 2.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  I bought GarageBand 1 in hopes of composing my own music, but the synthesized instruments sound like smeg. Is version 2 any better?  
(Version 2.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  i have a simple midiman interface that doesn't work with garageband in Tiger! how am i to get this thing to work again under tiger?  
(Version 2.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  Great for quick "sketches". its nice to be able to have an idea, plug in a guitar, play against a couple simple drum loops & save the finer details for later. I still prefer something like DP or Cubase for a finished product. Garage band is sort of like my sketchbook while other apps serve as an actual canvas.  
(Version 1.1)

ANONYMOUS  Says 10.3 or higher but the web site says 10.2.6. Installed it on 10.2.8 and it works...  
(Version 1.1)

ANONYMOUS  GarageBand 1.0.1 also includes performance improvements and rewire technology.

Unfortunately it still doesn't allow the creation of notes from the keyboard in either sequence or TR style stepping :-(

sigh...

The only reason why I still don't use it.  
(Version 1.0.1)

PORTHOS  Garageband put quite simply.......is a marvellous piece of audio software, appealing to both beginners and professionals in the music industry. Extreemly user freindly, I found Garageband to be my choice for music creation on my Powermac G4.

I have Allways been interested in making music since i was knee high to a grasshopper and other software is either too complicated or to simple for that professional sound genre you want to achieve. With Garageand you can just chuck in your loops, drum kits, vocals you name it they have almost everything in there. I was quite into Dance Ejay but found it to be to repetitive and had hardly any variation in what you had to choose from regarding loops.

The features are GREAT, pro audi effects, doubble pass filters (no i dont know what half these are either but they sound great!) and many many more.

My only problem was that sometimes my imported wave display for the voices and certain effects dissapeared while it was playing.....other than that there are no performance issues as long as you stick to their minimum requirements.

With Garageband you get what you pay for and so much more. Excellent piece of somtware for fun, the familly and anybody who wants to start out in making music that sounds professional....thanks to the very high quality sampled instruments ;)

ABSOLUTELY BLOOMIN MARVELLOUS!  
(Version 1.0.1)

ANONYMOUS  Did you copy the files to the hard drive as directed by Apple? Any Cd drive will have trouble reading the data quickly enough.  
(Version 1.0.1)

G.C.  Apple's new GarageBand, included with the iLife bundle, gives Panther-users the ability to create, edit, mix, and burn their own recordings or their synthesized creations. I was skeptical when I first heard about it, fearing that it would be geared towards heavy-duty DJ's or audio engineers. I expected to be overwhelmed by foriegn terminology, or be hindered by a hard-to-understand interface. When I started the program for the first time, however, I found none of that. Instead, I was greeted by a sleek, but to the point interface, with a (literaly) hardwood finish. Within 2 minutes of playing around with the menus, I was able to get a pretty good grasp on the way things worked. So it looked cool, and the interface was nice, but I was ready to create some music. So I added the first track, and started recording. After laying down the track I listened to it again, and was amazed at how good it sounded. I was using the built in mic of my iBook G4, and it simply sounded wonderful! After playing it back, I decided to add some effects. This is when I learned that not only does the interface look cool, it is very easy to use. Fading in and out was a matter of point and click. Finally, I wanted to mix it. I expected this to be the most difficult part, as I had no previous experience. However, after listening, common sense should tell you basicaly how to do it. Is the guitar not standing out enough over the bass? Move it some to the left speaker. Drums overpowering all the other instruments? Turn them down some. There are, on the other hand, some things that I didn't like too much. The syntesized instruments open up endless possibilites. That is, if you have a MIDI compatible keyboard. The keyboard built into the progam is point and click, and, even with a regular mouse, I still found getting the right notes out highly frustrating. Also, I recomend you have some pretty good headphones. Otherwise, the computer will record itself playing, which gives the tone a low quality sound. While I wouldn't recomend this software for professionals, this is a great start for beginers or if you just want to mess around and have fun.  
(Version 4.0)

EFSTATHIOS FILLIS  Purchased iLife'04 after carefully considering the required hardware. I have an iMac 17inch 800MHZ G4 with IGB RAM and 80 GB hard drive.

I was really keen in trying out Garageband only to be disappointed time and again when I tried playing the reflection project file supplied in the GarageBand G4-G5 Projects folder. On opening and playing the file it ground to a halt after 5seconds into play with the following error message,

Hard Disk too slow

The hard disk is not fast enough to deliver all audio data in time.

Try muting some tracks.

What more can I say but Apple has once again delivered on empty promises.   
(Version 4.0)

JEFF  There are a couple of things that come from Apple that have turned my eye, G4 1.25Ghz, Panther, iTunes, and now Garageband. What a brilliant piece of kit!

2 hours out of the sleeve, no manual, and I've created the best choon I've heard in a long time. Which is surprising because the last choon I made was over 30 years ago on a recorder in primary school.

A hearty slap on the back to the developers, for making it such an easy app to use.

Of course this means I'm going to have to shell out for the Jam Pack, but i've a hunch that it'll be worth it too.

www.j3ff.co.uk/themp3/myfirst.mp3  
(Version 4.0)

PETRIELM  GarageBand 4.0 is a very user friendly application (well, it is made by APPLE, so it is of course, user friendly). The interface is easy to understand and it's "vintage" look makes the person using the software comfortable enough to be creative.

GarageBand 4.0 is the perfect tool to make easy music for your videos, or even for a little personal CD for your lover for valentine's Day. However, do not think that you will make a PRINCE album with GarageBand 4.0. It is not REASON 2.5 or some professional music software. You have a limited control over the sound that you might create, for there is only one nob to balance the music left or right.

Also, the use of samples is made easier with the "loop browser" capability, and makes the whole experience of creating music as easy as say... MAC!

Garageband 4.0 is a good application overall. We will be listening to "Reasy-home-made" music that will change the entire music industry. Thank you APPLE, once again!  
(Version 4.0)

PETER BEDDOW  It begins. Right on cue, it appears that Apple Computer has once again taken a hard look at its visionary priorities, and they've turned a corner that most of us never expected. If Apple's almost comically predictable history repeats itself, then the rest of the computing industry is sure to follow, and we'll soon see Wintel home music recording studios marketed as "the first" to endeavor in such a groundbreaking direction in personal computing.

Garageband, despite its newness, now stands a conspicuous post as the only music production application that is accessible to anyone who has basic software-navigation skills. Apple must have heard the murmurings of users who've been complaining for years that producing an entire digital movie with sound and visuals has been easier than recording one basic song using Cubase or Protools, and on this premise, they went ahead and reinvented the wheel.

I, myself, just invested in approximately $800 worth of microphones, mike stands, cables and an audio interface so I can finally realize a little dream I've had since I first bought my Powerbook G4 in July of 2002.

Sure, you can cry a river about small issues with the interface or slowdown with multiple tracks, but find me another full-function application for under $50 (and I got mine for $29 'cause I'm a teacher.) Also, try to remember that this is Version 1.0; our ever-faithful Apple will surely provide us with an update soon enough.

My first album should be completed shortly. It won't be available in record stores, but you might be able to catch it if you're taking your dog for a walk past my house when I happen to have the windows open. If you like it, I'll sell you a copy for the price of a blank CD-R.

Regards,

Peter  
(Version 4.0)

JOHN ANDERSON  Superfun.

This app is really easy to use, but at the same time powerful enough to create some great mixes.

The interface is really clean. Finding loops is made easy by the thumbpad-type button layout. And because the program is laid out under a timeline, its easy to move things around and see what is going on - even while the piece is playing.

I really liked how intuitive the user interface was: if you want something longer, you stretch it. Moving and changing voices is click-and-drag. My wife created a piano piece (by herself) using the loops in about an hour while I was out on on a call.

I did some recording as well, which came out really clean from my Tayor guitar. The amps that ship with the app are also really nice: but I wish there were more. Combining loops with live recording also works great, except when you try to change tempo...

It is processor intensive - I can't run under

'reduced performance' mode on my PowerBook, so make sure that your machine has some guts. The only other thing that I didn't like was that there weren't as my voices and loops as I would like, and the expansion set is pretty steeply priced ($100).

It's well worth the money - especially since you get the other apps all for a $50 price.

--John  
(Version 4.0)