Garage Band for windows??

[FlatEric]

Hi All. 😊
I have done a search on here for anything relating to Garage band software for windows, but not found anything.

 

There are various bits of info on the net and I have even found a "Free Download", which I am quite suspicious of. . . . . .

 

Anyone got Garage Band or something very similar on a Microsoft Windows system?

 

Cheers, 😎

[Woodinblack]

There is not and never will be a GarageBand for windows, but there are quite a few other DAWs that are sort of similar if you look around, depending on what you want. Don't download anything that tells you it is GarageBand for windows!

[MichaelDean]

Wot @Woodinblack said. Garage Band is mac specific. If you're looking for a low cost DAW, I'd suggest Reaper. It's really good. You get a free trial for 60 days, but you can also just keep on clicking the "Keep evaluating" button indefinitley after those 60 days without any reduced functionality (ask me how I know 😉).

 

https://www.reaper.fm/index.php

[FlatEric]

1 minute ago, Woodinblack said:

There is not and never will be a GarageBand for windows, but there are quite a few other DAWs that are sort of similar if you look around, depending on what you want. Don't download anything that tells you it is GarageBand for windows!

Thank you, just as I suspected. Cheers.

 

Anything that could be recommended to run on windows 10, that is simple to use and effective?

 

Cheers. 😊 

[FlatEric]

3 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

Wot @Woodinblack said. Garage Band is mac specific. If you're looking for a low cost DAW, I'd suggest Reaper. It's really good. You get a free trial for 60 days, but you can also just keep on clicking the "Keep evaluating" button indefinitley after those 60 days without any reduced functionality (ask me how I know 😉).

 

https://www.reaper.fm/index.php

Taaaaaaaaaaaa.

Will take a look. 😊

[ahpook]

9 minutes ago, MichaelDean said:

Wot @Woodinblack said. Garage Band is mac specific. If you're looking for a low cost DAW, I'd suggest Reaper. It's really good. You get a free trial for 60 days, but you can also just keep on clicking the "Keep evaluating" button indefinitley after those 60 days without any reduced functionality (ask me how I know 😉).

 

https://www.reaper.fm/index.php

 

Another vote for Reaper

[asingardenof]

If you want a free DAW I can highly recomment Cakewalk: https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk?lang=en

[Dad3353]

2 hours ago, FlatEric said:

... Anything that could be recommended to run on windows 10, that is simple to use and effective?...

 

There will be a 'learning curve' with any 'effective' DAW'; Reaper is no different. Many years ago I looked into the various offering for a Windows PC, and ended up choosing Reaper. I've looked since at later software, but have retained Reaper, as it does everything I need/want to do, for a price I'm able/willing to pay. Try it for free, ask any questions here or on the Cockos Reaper forum and decide for yourself. It's no harder or more difficult than any other, and 'makes sense' (to me, at least...) in the way it presents stuff. Hope this helps. 

[neepheid]

Agreed, there is no such thing as a "simple DAW" in my limited experience.  Quite daunting on first open...

[Woodinblack]

There is such a thing as an 'easy to pick up' DAW, but as Dad says, there is a learning curve with any software. GarageBands ease of use when starting up is one of it is major advantages and the fact the curve is pushed back quite a way, not many offer quite that level of ease of use.

Cakewalk is probably the closest, especially now it is free (used to be quite expensive), user friendly, runs everything.

Reaper is a very good and comprehensive DAW, but doesn't have the beginner ease of use vibe that GB has.

As people say, pick something and obviously they can all do the job, and all involve some effort learning what you can do but the resources are out there with youtube and the documentation

 

 

[rushbo]

37 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Agreed, there is no such thing as a "simple DAW" in my limited experience.  Quite daunting on first open...

Very true. When you first start using it, be prepared to spend a lot of time getting your head around it.

I'm still using Cubase LE4, which I think came bundled with a Zoom recorder. It's absolutely perfect for my (fairly basic) needs. 

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

Agreed, there is no such thing as a "simple DAW" in my limited experience.  Quite daunting on first open...

This is true . It seems lbest to don't fear the reaper ( or one of the others ) 😬

[FlatEric]

Thank you all for your input.

I had forgotten this but I had Cakewalk YEARS ago, running on Windows 95 or 98 and struggled with that.

From memory (it was a very long time ago) it certainly was not straightforward and certainly not intuitive.

I think that is why I was attracted to GB, as all I knew who had tried it, said it was pretty easy to get on with.

 

With that in mind, I may have a go with Reaper, as there is the trial version and see how I get on.

I don't think this will happen until the new year, with everything else going on, so sit tight and I'll report back.

 

Would I need anything else to connect - I seem to recall that I just went straight into the sound card before, on a micro jack.

 

Cheers. 😊

[neepheid]

17 minutes ago, FlatEric said:

Thank you all for your input.

I had forgotten this but I had Cakewalk YEARS ago, running on Windows 95 or 98 and struggled with that.

From memory (it was a very long time ago) it certainly was not straightforward and certainly not intuitive.

I think that is why I was attracted to GB, as all I knew who had tried it, said it was pretty easy to get on with.

 

With that in mind, I may have a go with Reaper, as there is the trial version and see how I get on.

I don't think this will happen until the new year, with everything else going on, so sit tight and I'll report back.

 

Would I need anything else to connect - I seem to recall that I just went straight into the sound card before, on a micro jack.

 

Cheers. 😊

 

I would advise an external USB sound interface of some kind - the built in stuff to most computers is fine for listening to tunes, but not very good for recording with.  Plus an external sound interface will be able to accept full size jacks and probably XLR too so you don't need to faff around with converters

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, FlatEric said:

I had forgotten this but I had Cakewalk YEARS ago, running on Windows 95 or 98 and struggled with that.

From memory (it was a very long time ago) it certainly was not straightforward and certainly not intuitive.

 

Nothing is going to be quite the same as GB, but remember Cakewalk has had over a decade to change, so I doubt it is the same. But it is free so easy to try. I would mention I haven't used it, I use logic and garageband, but I  watched the 'first 10 minutes with cakewalk' video and it doesn't seem that tricky, compared to my memory of getting used to reaper (that I have used).

 

But as people say reaper is free to try (although not actually free) and if you can get into it people who use it seem to like it

 

And yes, although you can use your input jack, chance are its not going to be great so something with decent inputs (with actual levels and jacks / XLRs) will save you a lot of hassle.

 

 

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, FlatEric said:

... Would I need anything else to connect - I seem to recall that I just went straight into the sound card before, on a micro jack ...

 

Very much more important to choose wisely the audio interface you'll be needing, if you're at all serious in your desire to record stuff. For a modest outlay (second-hand is fine, if guided in your choice...), the ease and quality of your recordings will be ample reward. Ask for advice if/when you go down that route, but you'll thank us all for it. 

As for Cakewalk v Reaper ... I tried Cakewalk a short while back, but I have already my way of thinking modelled on Reaper, and could get nowhere with it. I must admit to finding Reaper very easy to work with for simple things, which is what I do, but able to extend much, much further if required. Simple things are simple with pretty much any model software, I'd say, but not all are capable of more than that, once the initial 'honeymoon' is over. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Dad3353

[lowdown]

Most Audio/Midi interfaces these days come with free software to get you up and running pretty quickly (including a DAW).

It will be cut back and basic, but certainly enough to make some noise while you get you feet wet and investigate the prospect of opening your wallet and never closing it again.

[FlatEric]

Once again, thank you all for the info - all good stuff.

 

Cheers. 😊

[asingardenof]

17 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Nothing is going to be quite the same as GB, but remember Cakewalk has had over a decade to change, so I doubt it is the same. But it is free so easy to try. I would mention I haven't used it, I use logic and garageband, but I  watched the 'first 10 minutes with cakewalk' video and it doesn't seem that tricky, compared to my memory of getting used to reaper (that I have used).

 

There are different versions of Cakewalk coming too which will probably be paid versions, but if you're willing to tinker with things then the current free version isn't that hard to use as long as you're not doing anything too complicated.

[lowdown]

6 hours ago, FlatEric said:

Once again, thank you all for the info - all good stuff.

 

Cheers. 😊

 

I've been a die-hard Steinberg user for many years so won't be jumping DAW anytime soon but, something caught my eye that my youngest has been trying out and I'm quite impressed.

The free version has plenty to offer and worth consideration to anyone starting down the Recording route.

 

Waveform Free | digital audio workstation band editing software - Tracktion

[meterman]

If you’re definitely going to stay with Windows, there’s Ableton as well as Reaper, which is as easy to use (or as complex as you need). Many musician friends I know recommended Ableton to me when I was changing laptops. 

 

Otherwise, just get a reconditioned MacBook Air from Back Market or another online dealer and a get a used Focusrite Scarlet and crack on with Garageband. It’s not really an expensive solution 👍

[Cliff Edge]

Just after GarageBand came out I watched a demonstration in a London Apple Store. Some guy came on stage with a Stratocaster, plugged into an interface and proceeded to put together the basics of a song from scratch with drums and bass keys in half an hour. Yes he’d obviously done it before, but nevertheless it was very impressive and did look quite easy. Sold it to me, although I have since moved on to Cubase, GB is very easy from the get go. Plus its drum samples library is especially good. And you can’t argue at the price, if you ready have a Mac that is. 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Cliff Edge

[meterman]

2 hours ago, Cliff Edge said:

Just after GarageBand came out I watched a demonstration in a London Apple Store. Some guy came on stage with a Stratocaster, plugged into an interface and proceeded to put together the basics of a song from scratch with drums and bass keys in half an hour. Yes he’d obviously done it before, but nevertheless it was very impressive and did look quite easy. Sold it to me, although I have since moved on to Cubase, GB is very easy from the get go. Plus its drum samples library is especially good. And you can’t argue at the price, if you ready have a Mac that is. 

I’ll admit I’m biased as I’ve used Garageband since 2018 to make records with and put radio shows together with and I’ve earned actual money from it, despite it being supposedly super basic. I had Pro Tools and hated it. Had Logic and rarely used it as it was way more feature packed than I need, and found a lot of it got in the way when all I wanted to record some drums and guitars and bass, etc. 

 

I’ve never bothered with any of the drum samples or virtual instruments in Garageband but only because I play drums anyway and I’ve got all the keyboards I need. Occasionally I’ll re-amp an organ or synth or something but otherwise I just plug in and record with as little fuss as possible 
 

It might be a bit wonky but I recorded  an album in a day on a 4-track, and then a UK label heard it and put out a 7” EP of songs from it. And it was mixed and mastered in Garageband. It works for my needs 👍

[mcnach]

I'd add a vote for Reaper. It can do a lot, but if you just want basic functions they're generally pretty intuitive and there's a few great tutorial videos on youtube.

 

I'd like to add also this thing called n-track. I used that back in the 90s! They're still going and of course grew with the times. I used it a couple of years ago when I wanted to use a tablet/mobile phone to do some recording while on the move, there's android, mac and windows versions. It's probably the simplest but still nice to use multitrack recording software I've come across.

 

https://ntrack.com/features.php

[ambient]

I did my PhD using Reaper and hated it. I was pushed into using it by my supervisor. Saying that though, many use it and like it.

 

I've used ProTools and hated it too.

 

I've used Logic for years and like it. I find it works how I want it to work. It's the main DAW at the place I teach at.

 

Quite a few of the students at work use and recommend FL Studio. I quite like Ableton too. You can get free ‘lite’ versions free of charge when you buy bits of equipment.