GarageBand '08 Power: The Comprehensive Recording and Podcasting Guide (Book) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is an incredible book for anyone diving into Garageband to produce their own music and podcasts. The author makes it super easy to understand how to get into all the features that Garageband offers. There are excellent examples and tips that will advance the knowledge of even the most experienced of Garageband users.
I particularly recommend Chapter 10 on Podcasting for anyone who wants to create professional podcasts with the greatest of ease. I had no idea Garageband could be so simple to use for podcasting, but the results speak for themselves and author, Todd Howard, does a killer job of teaching the process.
Chapter 11 is also great about mixing tracks and taking advantage of all the cool automation features you can use to get the best results from your recording sessions. Todd also demystifies the extensive library of Garageband effects and how to adjust parameters to get just the kind of unique sound you are looking for.
Garageband '08 Power! really does have it all from step-by-step procedures to serving as an instant reference guided to everything you want to know about Garageband.
This book is highly recommended to all Garageband users who want to produce professional results. And from an educational perspective, it also serves as a comprehensive tool for the novice musician to learn the basics about how to digitally record their own music with a Mac!

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GarageBand is one of the most powerful tools for capturing and manipulating sound that has ever been made available to the public. Although GarageBand has always been easy to use, it provides an amazing amount of power and sophistication to users who really want to dig in and get the most out of the program. GarageBand '08 Power! provides an easy to understand, detailed guide on how to make professional sounding music, podcasts, soundtracks, mixes, mashups, and much more with the newest version of GarageBand. Through the use of screenshots, tutorials, creative jumping-off points, and real world examples, the book teaches the reader how to use GarageBand to create music, record and publish podcasts and score their own movies. It's an ideal introduction for those with no prior knowledge of GarageBand, but also covers advanced topics and provides info an all the new features.

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GarageBand '09 Power Review

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(More customer reviews)"The simplification of anything is always sensational," noted G.K. Chesterton. Apple has continually simplified everything: made it easier, not harder, smaller, not bigger, cleaner, not more cluttered, more, not less accessible. Snow Leopard, for instance, has half the footprint of the previous operating system version. Everything in iLife '09, including Garage Band, is sensationally simple.
So why do you need this book? Maybe you don't. I went to a free Garage Band seminar at the Apple Store. There were two of us. One of us was familiar with Logic Pro, and asked very technical questions. The other wasn't familiar at all, and asked how to plug in a keyboard. While it's not obvious, I was the second guy. It was all so amazingly simple, until I got home. And there's an on-screen tutorial. But I'm a book guy. Isn't there a book? I asked. There was. Not at the Apple Store. At Amazon. This is it.
You don't need this book if you want to just dive in and play with Garage Band. But this book, which starts very simply, also answers all the questions of the tech guy who knows Logic Pro. I asked a lot of questions at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store which are answered in this book. Like, can I upgrade my G4 Macs to run OS 10 Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09? The answer is yes, and I did. The only parts it won't run is part of Garage Band called "Learn to Play" and iMovie, which need the new Intel processor in a G5. The latter is a great loss, as Garage Band and iMovie on a G5 work seamlessly together, but it's amazing a G4 could even run Leopard by simply adding more memory (Snow Leopard is designed especially for the G5). New Macs (G5s) come with iLife '09 (which has Garage Band) already included.
This book is really a workbook, a big, 400 plus page, oversize paperback with large print and lots of graphics and screen shots. The author answered my questions about what kind of keyboard and mike to buy, the different sorts of hookups like USB and firewire, and the simplest way to get started playing (you don't need to plug anything in if you want to play all virtual instruments). The author shows how Apple has updated GB from the first version (which I had on my G4s), and their genius for simplifying things: when you click on a tab, instead of more options engulfing the screen, you only get a few, the optimum ones for your instrument or settings. If you want others, they're all really still there, merely hidden, which makes it easy, clean, and classy.
The author continually explains Apple terminology, which makes the book redundant, but that's what you want. It increases the chances of leafing through it and finding the parts you want. There's a great index in the back, and a list of everything included in the various, optional, royalty-free Garage Band jam packs. There's also a list of keyboard shortcuts, a feature I liked so much in the Dummy and Idiot books for PCs and Macs.
Beginners can learn to play guitar or piano on Garage Band. Guys like me can plug in and play, add virtual instruments, mix, morph, and mess with the whole thing. My friends Matt and Dave, who are audio geniuses, could record their bands, and make entire studio albums and podcasts. This book will help music lovers at any level to experience and enjoy the simplicity and power of Garage Band.

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Ready to explore music composition, recording, podcasting, audio/video blogging, remixing/mashing, and sound design for video editing or DVD creation with GarageBand? Great! This book will show you how. GarageBand is one of the most powerful and user-friendly tools available for capturing and manipulating sound, and the best part is, it comes free with your Mac! Although GarageBand has always been easy to use, it provides an amazing amount of power and sophistication to users who really want to dig in and get the most out of it. GarageBand ?09 Power! provides an easy-to-understand, detailed guide for how to make professional-sounding music, podcasts, soundtracks, mixes, mashups, and much more with the newest version of GarageBand. Through the use of screenshots, tutorials, creative jumping-off points, real-world examples, and a conversational, personal tone, this book will teach you how to use GarageBand to create music, record and publish podcasts, or even score your own movie. Whether you?re just starting out with audio creation, or you are already familiar with GarageBand and simply want to take your skills to the next level, GarageBand ?09 Power! is for you..

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Jam & the Box Review

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(More customer reviews)As you may or may not have noticed, I am writing this review approximately three weeks before Jam & the Box's official release date. Lest you think that this is some sort of diabolical subterfuge on the part of the author -- or, worse, that I am a cyborg from the future trying to destroy humankind through the insidious abuse of Amazon.com's customer review system -- let me assure you that this is not the case. I am merely a friend of the author's who was privileged enough to obtain an advance copy of the novel, and have thus decided to kick things off here in the comments section. Before you decry my inherent bias (a fair accusation, I must admit), allow me to draw your attention to the fact that I have not arbitrarily given Jam & the Box a five star review. This is because I am an honorable and classy gentleman with an impugnable reputation whose literary integrity cannot be bought (or even rented for a few hours) no matter how many free copies of your book you throw at me, Bob. (Err, hypothetically speaking, of course.) In any case, why would I even bother to identify my relationship with the author if I only intended to underhandedly boost his Amazon score?
Now that I have allayed (or, potentially, confirmed) your suspicious about my objectivity in this matter, allow me to move on to the review. Though I don't intend to discuss the specific contents of the novel, as these are aptly summarized in Amazon's description above (suffice it to say, the butler did it), I would like to point out that, as a 25-year-old male, I am approximately the least desirable target among Jam & the Box's intended demographic. And yet, I found the story fairly appealing nonetheless -- even excepting the fact that I was and am friends with the author. First of all, the characterization is superb. The persons referenced within are fully fleshed out INDIVIDUALS, each with his or her own deliciously unique quirks and quarks. As the story revolves around a rather large ensemble cast beyond the titular Jamison "Jam" James, it is no small accomplishment to have made each character stand apart from the rest and become someone that you can easily envision meeting on any given day in this small New York town.
Second of all, though not a "comic novel" per se (a term that causes the author to shudder, I assure you), there is genuine humor throughout the telling, not the least of which is due to the ever-amusing failings and foibles of the local townspeople. It doesn't hit you over the head with obvious jokes, but you'll find yourself chuckling in the most unexpected places -- perhaps even out loud.
Finally, beyond the McGuffin-y (look it up) premise that initially unites this group of disparate citizens over a simple Macintosh computer, there is a legitimately intriguing story underlying the entertaining characters and vivid set pieces. I wouldn't go so far as to put the book in the Mystery section, but mystery it contains (and in the form of an attractive dark-haired stranger, no less). And if you didn't guess from that last line that there's a decent dollop of romance within these 272 pages too, then you, sir, need to bring your inference-ometer in for a tune-up.
So who should read this book? Well, frankly, I wouldn't get it for your kid brother. However, if anyone in your family is a certified Mac addict, they may get a kick out of it. And I have a feeling that your mother, grandmother, aunt, and/or older sister would probably enjoy the small-town antics of this multi-generational cast of characters, as well as the previously alluded to romantic intrigue. For that matter, friends and family in upstate New York are sure to recognize and appreciate many of the similarities between the fictional Highkill and their own personal places of residence (especially if they've ever lived in or even been to a certain New York town in which a famous concert may or may not have been held one fateful summer...).

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Veteran book editor Robert B. Wyatt in his first novel delivers a story about books, computers, cats, and friendships in upstate New York. Jamison "Jam" James, a bookstore owner discovers a carton containing a MacBook left behind after the death of his wife, Bay. At first reluctant to deal with the computer, he ceremoniously opens the box at the insistence of the Macs, a circle of his wife's friends devoted to Macintosh technologies. The opening of the box heralds a new life for the grieving bookseller as the motley Macs-a radio announcer, a musician, a writer, two students, and a businessman-share their knowledge of Jam's late wife, a charismatic village do-gooder who has concealed her past. Jam's increasing curiosity is piqued when Rosa, a glamorous stranger, comes to town in hopes of writing an article about Bay. Jam's life is beset by complications provoked by the Macs, Rosa, and other friends from Bay's past, as well as a couple of over-sensitive cats, who harbor additional secrets. As old memories merge with discoveries, Jam's quiet attraction to the young woman provides an unexpected understanding of his wife's amazing hidden life, bringing him back around to happiness. Website: www.wyattbook.com

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