Garageband iOS vs Ableton Live

Following on from my initial Garageband for iPad Review, reflections on the completion of my first song produced solely in Garageband for iOS.

First of all, here is the finished song:

Overall, I’m really happy with it (let me know what you think). But, one song in, what’s Garageband iOS really like to work with?

I’m definitely missing markers and more advanced transport controls

As detailed in the original review, Garageband for iPad/iOS doesn’t allow you to simply mark a point in a song (e.g. verse 1, chorus etc) and instead gives you sections, which are far less intuitive to the point of being downright confusing. Sections force you down the road of manually needed to add-in song parts as the song builds and it’s length increases.

It’s all a little silly and unnecessary, with the only reason for it being perhaps it needs to be designed this way to get around the lower specs of iOS devices when compared to a desktop.

Another annoyance is the inability to set up auto-punch ins/outs from the transport controls. The quickest way around this to duplicate a track and merge your takes together. It works but it’s a slower workflow.

The drummer, instruments and the guitar/bass amp models are all great

With Ableton, I spent a great deal of time and effort in researching various hardware and software options to get me the sounds I wanted. With Garageband, everything is under one roof, and I’ve only just scratched the surface. Check out the track for an example, all recorded in Garageband with its standard instruments.

No performance issues, for my needs

When You’re in Love consists of the following tracks: Drums, Bass (Both Garageband instruments), Lead vocal, 3x Backing vocals, Keyboards, Guitar (Both Garageband instruments),2x lead guitar (Garageband Guitar Amp). That’s 10 tracks on a 3-minute song.

Yes, I got the odd optimizing message, and towards the end performance/capacity warnings, but once I’d cleaned up my tracks it was fine.

All in all, the Garageband spec seems to be aligned with my production needs.

Garageband for iOS is a joy to work with

The iPad’s physical form feels light years away from my days of sitting down at a desktop, allowing you to create music literally anywhere at any time. Software-wise, everything I need is provided in Garageband, meaning a simpler, more intuitive, and more performant interface.

But the real magic comes when the hardware and software combine with the touch screen and the virtual instruments to create a truly inspiring environment for creating and producing music. Garageband for iOS/iPad is already leading me away from my standard mindset of drums/guitar/vocal, and down the road of experimenting with loops, synths and a whole library of sounds I really couldn’t be bothered with before, all in one tiny device.

Garageband vs Ableton Live

I used a desktop PC with Ableton Live and a BOSS BR-800 audio interface for years. So how does a finished recording with this setup compare to Garageband for iOS? Well, here’s a song I recorded in Ableton Live:

Final Master

Now, you’ll notice this appears to be quite a bit louder than the Garageband song, but don’t be fooled, Everything’s Alright was mastered far too hot, meaning that, yes, it’s louder, but on closer inspection, the vocals are, in fact, quite distorted. When You’re in Love is a much cleaner recording.

Garageband for iOS Drummer vs Toontrack EZ Drummer

The drums do sound better in Ableton (Ez-Drummer). They’re crisper and stand out more, but that’s purely a compression/EQ thing. I’ll fix that next time in Garageband.

Bass

Bass wise, you’re talking a real bass into a COSM bass amp (Ableton setup), verses a Garageband Smart Bass track. The Garageband sound is obviously going to be tighter and more accurate in this scenario vs the looser feel of the Live recording.

Tough one to call really, I like both. Real bass is obviously more organic and flexible though.

Note: Garageband for iOS is perfectly capable of recording a real bass too, should you chose to do so.

Feel

If I’m honest, the Ableton song does have more impact and confidence about it, but I think that’s more down to the fact I was so well versed in the Ableton Live workflow and toolset at the time, whereas with Garageband I’m still learning the ropes.

Conclusion

What do you think of the final product when compared to Ableton Live? Personally, I had a lot more fun producing something in Garageband then I ever did in Ableton Live, with the end result being really close. I was at the end of the road with Ableton but I know my work with Garageband will only improve with time.

The truth is I was a little disappointed with the final master of my first Garageband track. I was really hoping for an immediate step up in quality compared to Ableton Live, but the differences are much more subtle than that. That’s no fault of Garageband, that’s down to almost 10 years Ableton Live experience vs 2 months with Garageband.

This is only song #1, with song #2 already in progress.

Finally, and most tellingly, Garageband for iOS/iPad de-couples me from the desktop, the mic-stand, the monitor, and the keyboard. All those things I always thought I needed.

Now? I work on ideas on the sofa, in bed, in fact, anywhere the kids aren’t. I can boot up and be ready to go in 10 seconds. I don’t even need to be plugged in. I can even sling my iPad in a bag and go to a friend’s house to work on ideas together!

Oh, and if I hadn’t mentioned it before, it’s FREE!! (if you’ve got an iPad or an iPhone).