VST plug-ins are probably one of the greatest things about using a digital audio workstation, in addition to the fact you can go back to your work at any time and fix whatever you have to make your song sound good. GarageBand, like many other DAWS, comes with the ability to install plug-ins and they’re fun to use.

If you’ve landed on this article in 2018 looking for a fix that will let you use your AU Plugins in GarageBand 10.3 (released June 21st 2018), CLICK HERE Since the release of Garageband 10, there’s one problem that’s plagued new users and old hands alike.

Presets of this type are stored as.pst files. You can download a zipped copy of my 'El Sabado.pst' file. Copy the unzipped.pst to the appropriate place in your GarageBand install, which should be PATH-TO-'Instrument Library'/Instrument Library/Plug-In Settings/Amp Simulation/El Sabado.pst. Can't Find My Presets in GarageBand. BIAS FX 2 Blocks the Audio/Sound from other Softwares. Last builds of BIAS Amp / FX for Apple Legacy OS.

In this tutorial, I’m going to lay out a step-by-step process for installing plug-ins into GarageBand as well as a brief summary on how to do it. At first, I struggled to make this work, but it became like second nature after a few tries. it’s really quite simple.

To install plugins in Garageband, drag the plug-in’s component file into the “Component” folder after selecting Go > (While Holding Option Key) > Library > Audio > Plug-ins > Components. Go into the Security and Privacy Settings in the General tab. Select “Open Anyway,” and then restart Garageband.

Where Do I Find Plug-Ins?

First things first: If you want to get your hands on some solid VST’s, check out Plugins4Free, Plugin Fox, and Plugin Boutique. These are great places for all kinds of plug-ins. On Plugins4Free, many of them aren’t compatible with Mac, however, there are still some great ones on there.

In this article, I’ll show you some of the more popular plug-ins to use in Garageband, including the ones in my other list, so more on that later.

One of the great thing about VST’s is that you can find them all over online. Many YouTubers show you what plug-ins they use, and where to find them, so finding a great plug-in is as simple as just going on YouTube or Google to find them.

Without further ado, this is how to download VST’s for Mac in GarageBand.

How To Install Plug-ins In Garageband

For this tutorial, I’m going to be using the DSK Dynamic Guitars Plugin from Plugins4Free.

On this page, you can see the different options for downloading the plugin. We want to use the Mac AU version.

Garageband Legacy Presets Free

1) Click on the Mac AU file and download the Zip File. I prefer to put it all on the desktop, that way it’s easy to find later when I want to drop it into the library.

It shouldn’t take longer than a couple of minutes for it to download.

2) After it’s finished downloading, you can open up the Zip File, and it’s going to show you the components for the plug-in.

3) Now, go to your computer’s home screen, then into the settings on the top left-hand side, and click on where it says “Go.”

4) During this part, you have to hold the “Options” button on your keyboard so that it brings up “Library” in the drop-down menu. You have to hold the “Options” button, otherwise, it’ll disappear.

5) Go into your “Library,” and find the folder that says “Audio.”

6) Typically, it’ll bring up four different folders, “MIDI Drivers,” “Plug-Ins,” “Presets,” and “Sounds.”

7) Open up “Plug-ins.”

8) Open the file, “Components.”

9) If you’ve followed the instructions I’ve laid out, you’ll have the Dynamic Guitars Component sitting on your home screen, that way you can simply drag and drop the component into the “Components” file.

10) In most cases, getting access to this plug-in simply requires you to open up GarageBand and you’ll find your new plug-in in your Smart Control’s plug-in settings.

However, some people struggle with this part, because, for whatever reason, they have to turn their computer on and off in order for the plug-in to show up.

11) So turn your computer on and off just to be safe.

12) Now open up GarageBand.

13) Go into your Smart Controls and find the plug-ins in your options.

14) Open up the Available plug-ins.

15) If you’ve downloaded Catalina, you’re going to run into an error.

From here, you just have to hit cancel.

16) On account of the Catalina update, now, what you have to do is go into the System Preferences at the bottom of your computer’s dashboard.

17) Once this is open, go into the section that says, “Security and Privacy.”

18) You have to hit the option, “Allow anyway.”

19) Now open up Garageband, and go into the plug-ins and try and open it.

Garageband will give you this prompt:

Just hit “Open,” and then you’re good.

20) Then go into your plug-ins and open it up.

It should say, “Dynamic Guitars,” and you just click on the “Stereo” option that it brings up afterward, and now you’ve successfully uploaded your new plug-in and it’s ready to use.

16) In some instances, you might have to adjust the octave, otherwise, the plug-in won’t work correctly depending on the VST.

However, with this particular plug-in, you won’t have that problem because it’s a guitar, and the designer of the VST made it so that you can play the guitar at many different octaves.

With my DrumPro plug-in that I always use, that isn’t the case, and it has to be at Octave 3, or “C3,” as GarageBand refers to it.

Why aren’t my Plug-ins showing up in GarageBand?

Like, I mentioned above, most people can’t find their plug-in in GarageBand because they haven’t turned their computer on and off. I’ve noticed that other tutorials forget to mention this.

How To Install Lepou Plugins in GarageBand?

If you want to get your hands on LePou Amplifier Plug-ins, just click on this link here.

On the right-hand side of the page, you can scroll down and see where it says, “Amp Sim Pack,” and underneath that, “Mac AU (Universal Binary).”

You want to click on that, and then download the 5 different components listed in Google Drive. There’s a download button on the right-hand side of this page where you can download all of it.

After that, just follow the steps that I laid out above. Just as a quick refresher, you’ll have to unpack the downloaded ZIP file and then open up the file and drag and drop the individual “component” files into your library.

When I was having trouble, I turned my computer on and off, and then I had to reboot GarageBand in order for the LePou plug-ins to show up in the “Audio Units” file.

These are quite possibly some of the best Amplifier plug-ins that you can use in Garageband in my opinion. The Clean setting in the LePou plug-in is pretty great.

What Are The Best Plug-Ins for GarageBand?

Like I mentioned at the beginning of the article, there are a ton of free plug-ins on the internet that are a lot of fun to use. I’ve scoured the internet looking for the best VSTs, and I came up with this list.

As a side note, even though they’re paid plug-ins, I included Superior Drummer and Amplitube 4 because they have such a good reputation.

Superior Drummer, especially, is a great program for people interested in making rock and metal songs (my Garageband metal tutorial). However, I’m sure that hip-hop producers can put it to good use as well.

Additionally, for this list, I polled users online and asked them what some of their favorite VSTs are to use, so I can’t vouch for all of them personally.

Without going too far off topic, here’s the list (I provided links to where you can find each one):

This is a synth plug-in made by U-he and based off of the Roland Juno-60 which came out in 1982. It’s a classic. This plug-in has quite a bit more functionality, however, and it’s powered by Amazona.de. U-he has a reputation for imitating analog models well.

This is a collection of 28 plug-ins that are extremely popular with not only GarageBand users but for other DAW users as well. You could also pay for the license on Plugin Boutique for the Complete Bundle, which will give you almost every plugin you could ever want with top-of-the-line features and functionalities.

This package includes reverb, mixing and mastering tools, modulators, filters, compressors, flangers, phasers, tremolos, tuners, vibratos, limiters, loudness analyzers, notepads, oscillators, and shapers.

This plug-in is known for its “classic” stereo reverb which is very simple to use but sounds great. It also has a bunch of different presets that you can use.

LePou guitar amplifier simulators are pretty awesome. However, I actually like the clean version of the amps they give you, rather than the distorted channel.

It comes with five amplifiers: the Hybrit, Le456, LeCto, LeGion, and LeXtac. Each one is great for its own reason. I would say that my favorite, thus far, is the LeGion and the LeXtac.

• Crystal Synth

This is an old-school synthesizer plug-in that has been around for a long time and comes with all kinds of effects. The effects, honestly, sound pretty authentic for a free VST. Some users claim there are better plug-ins and there probably are, but this is great for what it is.

Made by TAL, the purpose of this plug-in is for voice processing, but it can be used for a number of different functions. From what I understand, it’s not compatible for Mac’s that are 10.10 and higher, unfortunately. But I’m sure there is a way to make it work.

The Blue Cat audio plugin comes with a range of different modulation effects, including a 3-band equalizer, a gain-suite, a chorus, phaser, flanger, and a frequency analyzer.

This is an EQ plug-in that is now compatible with almost every DAW, depending on whether you get the professional version or not. It’s styled after the Pultec EQ.

• Amplitube 5 (Costs Money)

Amplitube 5 (on Plugin Fox) is a great plug-in for many users because they have an official Mesa Boogie Amplifier pack, including the dual rectifier, the triple rectifier, the Mark-III, and the transatlantic TA-30.

It has more features than that, including a cabinet section where you can choose microphone placement and a bunch of other settings. Moreover, Amplitube has worked with a bunch of other companies, including Orange Amplifiers.

You can actually get a free demo version of Amplitube though with the purchase of an iRig HD 2 from Amazon, which you should get anyways (if you’re a guitar/bass player).

• Superior Dummer 2.0 (Costs Money)

Created by ToonTrack, Superior Drummer (also on Plugin Fox) has a great reputation for being one of the greatest drumming software. It has over 50 GB of drum kits and samples that you can choose from, and like Amplitube, companies worked with them directly in the creation of the samples.

Also created by u-he in 2005, this is a fairly old plug-in, but is considered as a classic synthesizer that comes with a ton of different presets. It comes with a filter, an oscillator, an envelope, an arpeggiator, and a sequencer.

This is another legit synthesizer plug-in created by Archetype Instruments. It’s fairly simple to use, but can be used for a wide range of effects, including filters and distortion.

Another polyphonic synthesizer plug-in compatible for both PC and Mac. Modeled after an old Roland synth, the settings are adjustable with sliders rather than knobs, which some people prefer.

The SGA1566 is a virtual pre-amp that is used for boosting particular instruments and channels.

• EZ Drummer (Costs Money)

EZ Drummer (again, on Plugin Fox), like Superior Drummer, is also created by Toon Track, but it’s simpler, less expensive (about half as much), and doesn’t come with as many drum-kits and settings.

The Nova-67P is another equalizer plug-in paired with a compressor. With this, you can input a side-chain signal.

This is akin to the Digitech Whammy Pedal, which you can see in the image for this blog post. Nonetheless, you can use this to make pretty bizarre sounds.

Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine is known for using the stomp-box from which this VST takes its inspiration. Essentially, the Pitchproof plug-in is a pitch-shifter and harmonizer.

I actually own the Digitech Whammy Pedal, and obviously, the real analog model is far superior to any form of a plug-in that you can use. It’s a great little piece of equipment for guitar playing. You can probably check it out on Amazon and get it for a good price.

Multiply is a nice little chorus effect that I like to use for guitars, piano, and vocals, primarily. Garageband comes with a chorus effect, but it isn’t quite as good as this one.

The Voxengo Marvel GEQ is a 15-band equalizer that allows you to really take control of the EQ of your track. I actually own an MXR 10-Band EQ, and it’s very similar to this plug-in, albeit, superior.

You can also grab one of those off of Amazon if you’re interested in a legit piece of equipment.

This is, basically, a super powerful and useful compressor that allows you to do more than the compressor that comes with Garageband. It’s pretty cool and worth checking out.

This, like the M-Audio FX Bundle, comes with over 20 effects and processors, 24 to be exact. It’s a fairly old set of plug-ins, but I’m sure it can be quite useful.

I use this one quite a lot whenever I can’t get ahold of my real acoustic and nylon string guitar. It’s superior to the guitars offered in GarageBand, but still, not quite as good as the real thing, of course. For what it is, it works great.

I use this plug-in almost every day, especially the Trap Kit setting it comes with. It comes with over a dozen drum-kits, which makes it pretty handy for hip-hop producers.

Melodyne, as I explained in my comprehensive guide, is a very advanced audio editing tool from the company, Celemony, and it’s easily the best pitch-correction software that’s compatible with Garageband.

For more tools, books, and software, check out my recommended products page.

What Plug-Ins come with GarageBand?

When you download stock plug-ins in Garageband, it comes with a plethora of useful VST’s, including all of the software instruments.

Software Instruments

Garageband comes with 15 different categories of software instruments: bass, drum kit, electronic drum kit, guitar, mallet, orchestral, percussion, piano, synthesizer, vintage B3 organ, vintage clav, vintage electric piano, vintage mellotron, world, arpeggiator.

Each category has a number of different software instruments within it, especially the arpeggiator, which must have close to 50-70 models.

Plug-ins

In the plug-in settings, there are 12 categories of plug-ins with a ton of different sub-categories:

Amps and Pedals, Delay, Distortion, Dynamics, EQ, Filter, Imaging, Modulation, Pitch, Reverb, Specialized, and Utility are the main categories.

Amps and Pedals – Amp Designer, Bass Amp Designer, Pedalboard.

• The Amp Designer has 26 different Models, 26 Amps, and 26 Cabinets. As I argued here, Garageband’s Amp Designer is actually pretty solid considering it’s a free program.
• The Bass Amp Designer has 4 different models, 3 amps, and 8 cabinets.

Pedalboard – The pedalboard comes with 36 different effects. It pretty much has everything you could need for playing guitar, including overdrive, wah, a whammy pedal, delay, chorus, overdrive, and so on and so forth.

Their quality isn’t quite as good as some of the plug-ins that you can download or buy, but they’re sufficient, nonetheless.

Delay – Delay Designer, Echo, Sample Delay, Stereo Delay, and Tape Delay

Distortion – Bitcrusher, Clip Distortion, Distortion, Distortion II, Overdrive, and Phase Distortion.

Dynamics – Compressor, DeEsser, Enveloper, Limiter, Multipressor, and the Noise Gate.

EQ – Channel EQ and Single Band EQ.

Filter – AutoFilter, Filterbank, Fuzz-Wah, and the Spectral Gate.

Imaging – Direction Mixer, and the Stereo Spread.

Modulation – Chorus, Ensemble, Flanger, Microphaser, Modulation Delay, Phaser, Ringshifter, Rotor Cabinet, Scanner Vibrato, Spreader, Tremolo.

Pitcher – Pitch Shifter, Vocal Transformer

Reverb – EnVerb, PlatinumVerb, SilverVerb, Space Designer

Specialized – Exciter and Sub-Bass

Utility – Gain.

Audio Units – This setting has a ton of different dynamics tools, including AUBandpass, AUDelay, AUDistortion, AUDynamicsProcessor, AUFilter, AUGraphicEQ, AUHighShelfFilter, AUHighpass, AULowpass, AULowShelfFilter, AUMatrixReverb, AUMultibandCompressor, AUNBandEQ, AUMultibandCompressor, AUNBandEQ, AUNetSend, AUNewPitch, AUParametricEQ, AUPeakLimiter, AUPitch, AUReverb2, AURogerBeep, AURoundTripAAC, AUSampleDelay.

Where are the Plug-ins in GarageBand?

When you first open the program, Garageband shows you all of the 15 software instruments on the left-hand side, and as I mentioned above, there are a ton of instruments and pre-sets within each category.

The other plug-ins are located in the bottom within the Smart Controls area, including within the plug-ins option as well as within the Amp Designer, Bass Amp Designer, and the Pedalboard.

Whenever you download plug-ins through the way I showed earlier in the article, the plug-ins will often appear in the Audio Units tab.

The plug-ins are in several locations, but it also depends on how you define plug-ins. If we’re talking about the plug-ins that you’ve downloaded, then you’ll find these in the “Audio Units” tab within the Smart Controls plug-in settings.

YouTube Video Tutorial

That’s It!

That’s all for now. Be a trooper and share this on social media.

Garageband is arguably one of the more popular DAWs on the market, especially for the price: free. Despite what a lot of nay-sayers have to say, Garageband has many functions that are extremely useful for the regular musician, regardless of what genre or instrument you play.

You can do many things with Garageband, including:
1) Create musical projects from scratch
2) Record vocals & other instruments
3) Use and create samples
4) Edit and Transpose music, whether in MIDI or Audio format
5) use a database of royalty-free loops
6) Download third-party plug-ins

And this is just a short list. While Garageband might not be quite as good as a more serious DAW like FL Studio 20 from Plugin Fox, it has a tremendous amount of capabilities for free software. Interestingly, Apple has lost a lot of money maintaining and updating Garageband over the years, but I imagine they’re aware that it’s just another selling point for the brand.

1) Create Musical Projects From Scratch

What I mean by this is that you can use the plethora of available presets, instruments, plug-ins, and other VSTs to create your own music without owning a single instrument.

The software comes with a variety of VSTs, also known as virtual studio technology, ranging from synths, drum machines, drum kits, flutes, violins, cellos, guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, arpeggiators, vibraphones, and mellotrons, and so on and so forth.

Many of the software instruments are great to use, however, some are definitely better than others. Each VST typically comes with its very own set of parameters for customization, so you aren’t limited to just one type of sound.

Many of the VSTs also have multiple settings inside them, for instance, an arpeggiator might have a variety of synth types within it, including presets and helpful functions like reverb, delay, glide, and so on.

How you intend on going about making music is up to you, but part of what makes it such a great software to use is the fact you’re aren’t that limited in terms of what can be done. For instance, if you don’t own a single instrument, you can still figure out how to make music on your own.

Obviously, it’s great to have actual instruments, but it’s not 100% necessary, which brings me to my next point.

2) Record Vocals and Other Instruments such as Guitar

If you have access to an external microphone like my personal favorite, the Samson Q2U on Amazon, it’s very possible to record high-quality vocals using Garageband. Truthfully, it’s possible to track vocals even without a proper microphone. All you would have to do is click on the Red Record button and start speaking into your computer.

Additionally, you have the option of recording literally any other instrument you want if you have a microphone, it really doesn’t matter, whether it’s a cello, violin, a flute, you name it.

3) Create and use Samples for Hip-Hop and other Genres

A lot of people out there aren’t aware of how great Garageband can be for hip-hop producers. For instance, there is a common misconception that you can’t use a sampler in Garageband, but you actually can, and it’s called the AUSampler.

Essentially, sampling just means you’re grabbing a selected portion of an audio file, whether it’s another song, a movie, an audio recording, and you chop it out and load it into the sampler, which can then be adjusted at various tempos and key signatures.

As I explain in my sampling guide, you can also adjust the tuning, the panning, and the volume, right in the AUSampler.

Without question, sampling is done primarily in hip-hop and rap music production, with Kanye West being one of the most famous examples of sampling.

4) Edit and Transpose music, whether in MIDI or Audio format

Using the Piano Roll and the Workspace, Garageband users can conveniently edit music in post-production (my guide). Furthermore, it’s entirely possible to change the velocity of each MIDI note, the position of the note in the song, as well as the pitch, duration, etc.

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It’s definitely worth mentioning that the same thing can be done for Audio format as well, with a few exceptions. As I recently wrote about in my article on why Garageband is very easy to use, it actually comes with a series of Commands that make it convenient and quick.

For instance, there is the (Command + Z) function, which allows you to eliminate mistakes or go back to where you were before, in case you added something by accident, or deleted something by accident and think that it’s gone. As long as you don’t open a new file, Garageband has the ability to remember exactly what you had just done.

Furthermore, it’s also possible to copy and paste Drummer Tracks, which are in a file format colored yellow, into a new software instrument track for MIDI Files. As I explored in my drum editing guide, Garageband will actually convert the drummer track into a MIDI File and allow for more customization and changes

For example, if you wanted to add in a few more snare drums, or maybe even change the style of snare drum entirely, you could if you wanted too. Regarding transposition, it’s fairly simple to transpose music you’ve created in Garageband using either the Transposition track or through a pitch-altering plug-in.

5) Has a database of royalty-free loops

For the most part, Garageband’s database of royalty-free loops is something that I avoided in the beginning when I first started making music with Garageband.

The reason for that was I wanted to figure out how to create my own melodies, without relying on an external library of sounds.

It also helped that I already had been playing guitar for fifteen years, so it was pretty easy for me to make melodies right away without much trying. However, after perusing through the list of melodies and rhythmic pre-sets, I realized the loops it comes with are actually pretty amazing. A lot can be done with them.

For instance, in my one song that I made during the summer, “Cosmo Canyon,” which you can hear in the YouTube video below, I used the drummer track for the introduction to the song.

In the same song, I used a string section loop as well. The rest of the song is my own creation, however.

As I’ve mentioned before in my loops tutorial, Apple Loops are divided up into three main categories, Instrument, Descriptor, and Genre. Within each one of these categories, there are other subcategories as well, including sub-genres, different types of instruments, and so on and so forth.

Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that each loop is color-coded according to its format, and is also identified by its tempo and key signature.

6) Download third-party plug-ins

If you ever peruse the beat-making side of Instagram, you’ll countless memes about plug-ins, and for good reason: plug-ins are amazing and fun to search for, download, and then try out.

Just the other day, in fact, I discovered a brand new 808 plug-in that I’m obsessed with. It’s Initial Audio’s 808 Studio II Synth from Plugin Boutique, which is great.

Most DAWs have the capability to download third-party plug-ins, and Garageband does as well, despite what some people in the industry think.

To download and install plug-ins, use my guide There is also a list of plug-ins as well near the ending of the article. Downloading plug-ins is as simple as dragging the components file into the Library > Audio.

Truthfully, there aren’t many limitations to Garageband on account of the fact you can download third-party plug-ins. If the stock compressor isn’t good enough for you, you can always move on to a much better one, free or not.

7) Create custom drum patterns and drum kits

Like other DAWs, Garageband has the ability to separate each part of the stock or plug-in drum kits and turn them into its own software instrument track for better mixing and panning.

For instance, you can have the Kick from the Beat Machine plug-in, but the hi-hat and snare from the Drum Pro Trap Plug-in.

It’s up to you what kind of instruments you want to use, and the user isn’t limited by what kind of instrument they can create. In other words, you can make your very own custom drum kit using all kinds of sounds and settings.

8) Use the Automated Drummer Track

The automated drummer track is fantastic for almost everything, including for compositional purposes, making your own backing tracks, or just getting a song started.

Additionally, one of my favorite parts of the drummer track is that you can actually convert the drummer track audio file into a MIDI one, for the sake of customization and also analyzing.

In other words, if you’re struggling to figure out how to make your own drum beats, for instance, creating drum fills with the toms and snare, you can actually use the drummer track as a tutorial.

If you copy and paste the drummer track audio file into a MIDI software instrument track, you’ll notice it turns the file into a MIDI file.

This allows you to actually see how the drummer track is created. That way you can see how the toms actually look in the piano roll and then go on to re-create those sounds on your own, without using the drummer track.

In other words, it’s like you have an in-built teacher for learning how to program drums which I explained in my drummer tracktutorial as well.

9) Export files to popular streaming/sharing platforms

Another handy feature of Garageband is it comes with an option where you can export the files directly to your streaming platform of choice, for instance, to SoundCloud, iTunes, or YouTube.

It’s very easy to use and is done in just a few seconds. I especially like the one for iTunes and Soundcloud, because Garageband does it in such a way where the track is named perfectly and everything.

In the case of Soundcloud uploads, it also allows you to determine whether people can download your music from your page or not. It’s very convenient.

10) Time Quantize

As I’ve mentioned before, the time quantizer is something I first skipped for whatever reason. It’s the feature where you can snap all of your midi and audio notes to the grid without doing much work.

Garageband’s time quantizer has two different parameters, the strength of the quantizer in numbers, and then the type of note it relates to. There are other functions which I’ve explained more in detail in my quantization guide, but the most changes are made with the “Strength” slider and the type of note.

It’s worth mentioning that the time quantizer is one of those things that many people hate and many people love. Some argue the quantization of music is what robs it of its soul. I know Rick Beato – arguably the best music YouTuber on the internet – would make that case.

11) Use the musical score (standard notation), editor

This is perhaps one of the least often mentioned features of Garageband’s awesome interface. I love the score editor. Just the other day, I used it to figure out how to play my very own composition on the guitar.

I created it using a MIDI keyboard, and when I got my hands on an actual nylon string guitar, I just checked out the score editor and I had the sheet music right there in front of me.

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One of the reasons the score editor isn’t mentioned often is many music producers don’t know how to read music. If you do know how to read music, the score editor is an incredibly useful feature that you’ll really enjoy using especially if you’ve already read my guide on it and you know what it’s capable of.

12) Adjust the tempo, time signature, and key signature

You can also adjust the tempo, time signature, and key signature using the controls in the top-center of the interface.

It’s worth mentioning that it’s probably not a bad idea to set these right from the beginning before you’ve created your music because it can change the MIDI and Audio notes sometimes if you do it after the fact.

In other words, if you’re in the key of A Minor, and you select the Key of D Minor instead, Garageband will actually transpose all of the notes to the new key signature, and thus change the music. However, using the Command + Z function, you can undo these changes.

You can read more about using these features in this article here.

13) Adjust transposition

Garageband also comes with a transposition track, where you can adjust the pitch of certain notes by the desired number of semi-tones or whole-tones.

The Transposition track is something I admittedly don’t use very often because I just write the music the way it needs to be right from the beginning.

However, other users might find a better purpose for it.

14) Use auto-tune and pitch correction software

Garageband comes with a very simple version of pitch-correction software, often called auto-tune, and it honestly works pretty well as I explained in my pitch-correction guide.

A lot of people have the misconception in their mind, however, that pitch-correction is a software program that allows producers to make a bad performance sound great. But this isn’t the case.

The truth about auto-tune and pitch correction is that it makes a great performance even better.

There are three parameters of the pitch-correction software, including the strength of the pitch correction, the key signature, as well as the “Follow Key Signature” option which will actually apply the changes. It doesn’t have as many features as the critically acclaimed Melodyne 5 from Plugin Boutique, but it’ll work fine for people who are just starting out.

15) It also has a note-pad for making notes as you create music

This is a feature I almost never use, but it’s one that others might find useful.

Garageband Presets

In the top-right hand side of Garageband’s interface, there is a notepad icon where you can bring up an in-built notepad for writing notes or noting other important information.

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Now that I think about it, this could actually be quite useful. For instance, you could write common chord progressions for a guideline, or notes of the scale, or the notes of particular chords and how they sound.

You could also use it for reminding yourself the following day what has to be done with the song.

16) Use standard dynamics, effects, and other audio processing units like compressors, channel eq, limiters, and multipressors, many of which come with presets.

As I mentioned above, Garageband comes with a plethora of plug-ins, many of which function quite well.

For instance, it comes with a compressor, channel eq, limiter, multipressor, exciter, distortion, stereo spreader, direction mixer, filters like fuzz-gates and noise gates, delays, reverbs, phasers, and other effects.

It also comes with a list of AU plug-ins that are more sophisticated in their parameters.

Many of these also come with a spectrum analyzer or a waveform analyzer that many people, including myself, like to use.

17) Has a library of amp modelers and effect units for bass and guitar players, in addition to a huge variety of presets.

Garageband’s Amp Designer (my tutorial) is another great thing about the software, similar to the drummer track.

The Amp Designer, essentially, is a library of pre-sets, amp models, guitar pedals, and speaker cabinets that are meant to simulate something more serious like Blue Cat’s Destructor/Axiom from Plugin Boutique, except you don’t have to pay for the actual simulators.

One of the great features of the Amp Designer is the ability to change the microphone position on the amp. It works pretty well, to be honest.

Garageband Legacy

I would say my favorite aspect of the amp designer is the presets, which are innumerable. Each amp comes with a large collection of its own presets catered to it specifically. There are many of them.

18) Automation functions for volume and any plug-in you want.

And finally, Garageband comes with automation. Using my guide, you automate the volume, compressor functions, the Channel EQ, fade-ins, and fade-outs, phasers, flangers, and so on and so forth.

This is useful for a number of things, including changing the dynamics, and more commonly, the volume at particular sections of the song. For instance, when mixing tracks for my client, I’ll often increase the chorus volume by 1dB just to add a bit of intensity to the choruses.

Garageband Legacy Presets

Additionally, you can even automate things like EQ sweeps, kind of like what we hear a lot in EDM music and even metal in some cases. For instance, some engineers will scoop out the lows and highs at the beginning of the song as an introductory effect to the rest of the song.

A lot can be done with automation, so it’s worth looking into.

YouTube Video Tutorial

Conclusion

That’s all for this article. As you can see, there are a lot of things you can do with Garageband. The software isn’t quite as limited as people often say it is.

I hope this was helpful to you, and if it was, make sure to drop it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or wherever to share it with your friends. I’d appreciate that a lot.