Apogee One + Garage Band: All You Need for Recording Ideas

[Alexrkstr]

I am very happy with what I just discovered!

Even though I have had my MacBook Pro for over a year now, I have to say that I am impressed and very happy with Garage Band. I have been using my Digi 003 console with ProTools 8, plus several condenser mics, a Podxt, and other cool gadgets.

Apogee One
Since I will be moving into a tiny space, I still wanted to be able to record my ideas, so I bought the Apogee One, which has all I needed:
- a condenser mic for acoustics and vocals
- a line in for electrics
- an XLR for a condenser microphone if needed (I am happy with the built-in one)

GarageBand
- Drums: Even though I have Addictive Drums (AMAZING drum plugin), I did not even use it. The loops and built in midi drums are great to lay down a track.
- Bass: just plug in directly, no science to this.
- Acoustic Guitar: sounds great by just mic'ing the acoustic with the built-in condenser and adding some compression. No need for EQ if you mic properly.
- Electric Guitar: This is the best part. It is so fun to play around with the amps and different settings. And surprisingly enough, you can get very very cool tones, even rolling off the vol and tone you get realistic sounds that are very practical! Everything from a Vox, to a Marshall, to a Fender. They all sound very good. My favorite is the Vox AC. The stomp pedals are great too. I haven't upgraded to the latest version but I bet the orange is cool too.
- Plugins and instruments: haven't used much but the little bit that I used for reverb and EQ was great

In conclusion, if you are in a budget and want a small set up, this is it! I can't wait to play with my T5 and the different amps. I think the latest version should have a very clean amp too.