Recording An Album In Garageband

There are some great choices out there when it comes to DAW’s. Whether you roll with Pro Tools, Logic, Sonar, or anyone of today’s popular recording apps, you’re in good hands to make some killer music. The tools are there, it’s really just up to you to get creative. But one of my favorite things to talk about is when artists make great music with Apple’s Garageband (a free DAW that ships with every mac computer). One such artist is Ben Gortmaker.

Getting It Done With Very Little

Ben is an independent artist (and seemingly well rounded musician) out of Nashville and he just released his latest full length album All’s Lost, All’s Found. The best part about it…he recorded and mixed it entirely in Garageband. Joe Gilder of HomeStudioCorner.com featured him on one of his recent podcasts and you can listen to the interview over there.

He used a simple 2 channel, USB audio interface from M-Audio running straight into his laptop, much like the setup I recommend for under $300. He tracked drums, guitars, violins, bass, vocals, keys, percussion etc. all into Garageband using this simple setup. Despite the limitations of the software he put together what I think is a warm, big sounding creative work of art. It just goes to show that it’s not about the gear, it’s about the song, the artist, and the talent going into the studio.

Listen For Yourself

You can stream his album off of his site: BenGortmaker.com and you can then purchase a copy right there. Definitely swing over to his site, take a listen, and then get motivated to start making YOUR music right now.

If Ben can create and entire album as complex as his in a DAW with limited plugins, automation, and editing capabilities then people like me who right pop/rock tunes should have no problem making it happen with something like Logic Express or Pro Tools LE. It just helps put things in perspective.

The moral of the story… Don’t wait till you have that “better” DAW, or the “right” microphone, or better converters or preamps. Stop stalling and start creating. You’ll be glad you did!