Hands on with GarageBand for the iPhone and iPad

02.11.2011

From my experience, off presents a default sound with every tap; Low seems to more-or-less provide the same sound as when off; Medium offers two distinctions between taps, and ; and High offers , , and options. In English: Off--Loud; Low--Loud; Medium--Loud and Soft; High--Loud, Medium-Soft, and Soft.

Other instrument features include a transposition option for the Keyboard, Smart Keyboard, and Sampler: If you're unhappy with your track, or want a different sound, you can adjust it by half-steps and octaves. And if you're a drum enthusiast, you'll also find a new switch in settings to separate the bass drum from the cymbal.

GarageBand's instruments have gotten most of the new goodies in this update, but there are a few new general features out there, too: Two new time signatures, 3/4 and 6/8, join the default 4/4; you can change your song's key without automatically transposing your other tracks to the new key; and new quantization options allow you to correct your song's timing with swing and triplet notes. Finally, you can export your finished song in two new formats: AAC (from low-quality 64 kbs to iTunes Plus-quality 256 kbs) and uncompressed AIFF.

In short: This is a huge update. I spent several hours digging around, and even then, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. I certainly like what I see, though, and can't wait to dig around a little more. Who knows? There might even be some treasure lurking beneath the surface. For , you'll have to stay tuned for 's full review of GarageBand 1.1, coming soon.