Also wondering if anyone has any experience with Apple Garage Band?

[wstandis]

I think this may be my answer?

I am looking for something to use while I practice the guitar. In
simplistic terms I want a machine that will play rhtytm while I learn
to solo and play lead. I play mostly blues.



I have looked at drum machines but don't have the patience to learn how to program them. If they were preloaded with more songs maybe I would consider one. When I play midi files on my PC they sound awful. like a bad 80's video game.
I know NOTHING about MIDI so I may be way off here. There are a ton of files on line where other people have already created the wheel. So I want to download them and play them without having them sound like a bad 80's video game. I am looking for a machine to play these MIDI files. Is this possible and Can you recommend anything?

[Wilko]

I've never tried to import a midi file...

The samples in Garageband are great for using. They have either midi drum/instrument loops, or "real instrument" loops.


Now I gotta find some time to see if it will import midi files...

[wstandis]

Sorry man....... I pulled the trigger tonight. Seemed like a no brainer. I could buy a drum machine and struggle with the interface or I could buy one of the new Mac Minis for about the same price. Should be here by the 27th.

Does anyone know of any forums where people share their garage band files?

[seagate]

Sorry man....... I pulled the trigger tonight. Seemed like a no brainer. I could buy a drum machine and struggle with the interface or I could buy one of the new Mac Minis for about the same price. Should be here by the 27th.

Does anyone know of any forums where people share their garage band files?

Try Apples discussion area...

[pc]

Actually wstandis, after reading this thread last night I wondered the same thing, because I'm always looking for new things to practice over. I found www.macjams.com last night which seems to have a wealth of stuff for GarageBand and Logic7 for download.

[Mikey]

It's a little late, but...
Did you look at the Fender G-Dec unit?

[wstandis]

I did look at the Gdec. It only has a select few blues jams and no MIDI processing capabilities, only pass through. Neat idea but needs more jams or the ability to update them

[pc]

Okay, so I was wrong. Lots of really cool things to listen to at macjams.com, but they aren't downloadable in garageband format, just MP3.

It's still a cool site though.

[Wilko]

Apparently, Garageband won't let you import midi files as midi language.

IMNSHO, it more than makes up for that "shortcoming" by making it really easy to make new files that sound a hell of a lot better in a very short time.

It has loops that are in both midi and sound formats.

[seagate]

Apparently, Garageband won't let you import midi files as midi language.

IMNSHO, it more than makes up for that "shortcoming" by making it really easy to make new files that sound a hell of a lot better in a very short time.

It has loops that are in both midi and sound formats.

Hmm, works for me. Open a new song and drag the midi file onto the track...

[Gravity Jim]

There you go.

There seems to be a misconception in this thread, that "MIDI" is cheap and sounds bad, but "GarageBand" doesn't. let me clear this up.

MIDI doesn't sound bad. It doesn't sound like anything. It's a set of instructions that tell MIDI capable devices what to do. In the case of MIDI instruments, like synthesizers and samplers, MIDI sends messages - like the holes in a player piano roll - that tell the synth when to start and end a note, and lots of other things.

So, it's not the MIDI files that sound like an bad 80's video game. That's the General MIDI synthesizer on your soundcard, which was designed only to let you play back General MIDI files in the least expensive way, not to sound good. If you play those MIDI files through my Kurzweil samplers, it will sound great... like a Kurzweil.

So, GarageBand doesn't really let you create something that sounds a hell of lot better than a MIDI file. If you played a Midi file back in GarageBand, it will sound exactly the same as any other MIDI file created in GarageBand... because what you're hearing is a software synthesizer built into GB, and it sounds better than the nasty one provided in the Mac OS.

We now return to your previously scheduled thing.

[Wilko]

OK.

General MIDI sounds bad.

[Gravity Jim]

No... a bad synth sounds bad.

Genral MIDI is an agreed upon set of parameters that soundcard and synth makers could use to provide a standard set of instruments that would always be found at the same MIDI numbers. The drums would always be on channel 10, for exmaple, the first of the 128 instrument patches would always be Grand Piano, the second would always be etc, etc. This way, people could play each other's MIDI files without having to figure out, okay, did he want a piano or a trombone section playing these chords?

If you play a General MIDI file through the General MIDI set up in a great synth, it sounds great. The above-mentioned Kurzweil has a GM setting, and when you play stuff through it, you get Kurzweil piano samples.

I'm just making the point that MIDI is nothing but ones and zeroes... it isn't sound. I always recommend Craig Anderton's long-in-the-tooth MIDI For Musicians as a good starting point for understanding what's happening under the hood.

[Wilko]

Gotcha. that's good info. thanks GJ.

So remember kids... Just make sure your midi is going throgh the best available synth.

Damn shame my old version of Garageband won't import midi via drag and drop or importing... I need to upgrade.

[seagate]

Damn shame my old version of Garageband won't import midi via drag and drop or importing... I need to upgrade.

Ahhh, you failed to mention that...
Anything from V2 up will import midi, the latest version is 3.0.1

[Wilko]

yeah. I failed to upgrade the last 2 times! Ha!

I'm too busy working to play with music anymore (except gigs and rehearsals).

[seagate]

I'm too busy working to play with music anymore (except gigs and rehearsals).

Tell me about it...

[curt1lp]

http://www.thefenderforum.com/forum/...ad.php?t=24460

midi drums

[Wilko]

This was done with Garageband midi drums "software instrument"

keepin' ahead song sample

[curt1lp]

This was done with Garageband midi drums "software instrument"

keepin' ahead song sample

Top piece Wilko!