[World Leader Pretend]

Ok, I am tired and fed up with the way that iTunes handles compression with GarageBand files. I make a good song in GarageBand, alter the bass on the 20Hz and 25Hz levels up, (which sounds great on GarageBand) but when I import it into iTunes, the bass and song get badly distorted to the point that I can't listen. On the show info bar, the GarageBand file is about 5MBs larger than the imported AIFF file in iTunes.

My question is really about how to get that unaltered sound onto my iPod so I can play it on my stereo system. As far as I know you have to import the song into iTunes, which skews my song. Is there a way to get iTunes to not compress .Band files? I have already tried setting my importing prefs to Apple Lossless, but that didn't do me any good. Can you use QuickTime to convert files?

I really want to listen to my songs that I have sharpened up without booting GarageBand up every time!

Can anybody help me???

WLP

[torifile]

ALAC should be lossless. Are you sure you're not just hearing things? I'd imagine that you could import into iTunes as an aiff, which is also lossless, by changing the import settings in iTunes. I haven't fired up GB in a while, so I don't know for sure...

edit: I just messed around with it and they do go into iTunes as .aiff files. 'course I didn't have any high rez samples to listen to to compare.

[World Leader Pretend]

I am very sure that I am not hearing things, in fact, when I play the song in iTunes I can't even hear the song, just lots of static and distortion.

[torifile]

Originally Posted by World Leader Pretend I am very sure that I am not hearing things, in fact, when I play the song in iTunes I can't even hear the song, just lots of static and distortion.

Do you have a place you can host the song? I can download it and see if the problem is reproducible if you'd like. Other than that, I have no clue what the problem could be.

[torifile]

Just for kicks, I imported a song from my library into GB and then re-exported it into iTunes. It sounded fine both ways.

edit: you know, if the file is less than say 100 megs you can use my public idisk. torifile. No password. Hell, let's be CRAZ-e and say you can put upto 500 megs there. I've got the space and it's not going to be staying long...

[doublem9876]

If you play the song in Garageband and use some direct audio recordering utility like Wiretap, you might get an AIFF file with the exact Garageband sound. I can't confirm that, though.

[julesstoop]

Also make sure that iTunes' Sound Enhancer and built-in equalizer are switched off.
By cranking up the basses, as you said you did, you might be simply pushing the limts of 16 bit audio. Any further digital amplification of low frequency components afterwards will cause distortion.

[World Leader Pretend]

Originally Posted by julesstoop Also make sure that iTunes' Sound Enhancer and built-in equalizer are switched off. By cranking up the basses, as you said you did, you might be simply pushing the limts of 16 bit audio. Any further digital amplification of low frequency components afterwards will cause distortion.

I checked this, but it didn't seem to do much. I think that I am puching the bass envelope for my headphones and computer, but I want to hear it on my real stereo system, which can handle the bass (<16Hz on the sub). My real question is whether or not I can put non-iTunes songs on my iPod. The bass is a lot better on GarageBand and it is right where I want it to be, but it is horrible on iTunes.

GarageBand ------======----=======-------- Fairly smooth and punchy

iTunes__--__==-_- =-=-- +-=--=-==l-=op-9=-h]lg- All over the place, you can't listen to it at all.


The problem may be the way that I import the songs into iTunes. Currently I save the GarageBand project onto the desktop and drag it into iTunes, which imports a copy of the normal song, then the project which is named "output". I am using iLife 06 and the most current version of iTunes. I can't find a "export to iTunes" command on the new GarageBand, where is it? That is what I really need, something that will help me export directly.

[Wrao]

They moved the 'export to iTunes' function and renamed it. Kind of a bitch move, but since they are trying to incorporate GB more into the iLife digital lifestyle thing, it makes sense. The new location is under the "share" menu.

[World Leader Pretend]

Whoa, cool! I never looked up at the top panel too much, thanks Wrao!

I think that I have finally given up, since directly exporting to iTunes doesn't work either... I'll just have to start again and tweak it a little less aggressively. I have no idea why GarageBand would have an EQ setting (bass boost) that doesn't work correctly in iTunes, but whatever.

It still seems strange that the playback in GarageBand is different than iTunes...

[torifile]

Wait. You mean to say you didn't know where the export to itunes command was?!? What were you doing to get it in itunes?

[Wrao]

Well, he said he was exporting the .band into iTunes, but in my experience , exporting .bands into iTunes separated each track and stripped them of effects.

[World Leader Pretend]

What I was doing was saving the GB files to the desktop, then dragging them into the iTunes library. It worked for me in the past, and up until now that was the way I transfered files.

[Wrao]

I haven't done that since GB 1.0, but I remember when I did it back then it separated the tracks of the .band into separate tracks in iTunes and it stripped them of effects. Does it not do this anymore?

[World Leader Pretend]

Ok, I tried again with a different song and it worked out a lot better. I might have accidentally messed with some setting on the previous song that caused it to become very distorted. Thanks for the help, and the iTunes export tip!

[oldmacfan]

Audio HiJack Pro

Well worth the money.

[World Leader Pretend]

Thanks for the link, I think that this should help me a lot in my future audio quests!

[crazychester]

Look, correct me if I'm wrong, but you lot all seem to have gone brain dead overnight. Robot are you on drugs? Something must be messing with your mind.

A .band file is a project file. An aiff file is a sound file. I would expect your GB file to be much smaller than the final export. I'm not sure how accurate this description is, but I think of project files as a list of instructions about what to do to the *original* files when you create the output. At the end of the process, you have the original file/s (be they aiff, wav, mp3 or anything else GB can open) -> your GB file, representing what you did to the original file/s to get -> your exported aiff file. When you save to the desktop, the GB file isn't mixed down as it is when you export it to iTunes. So that would explain the separate tracks. Presumably, effects are only applied when you export.

I have no idea why GarageBand would have an EQ setting (bass boost) that doesn't work correctly in iTunes, but whatever.

OK so you've kicked up some of the lower frequencies. That is, you've increased the strength of the signal for some Hz. If it's not peaking in GB, how could it be distorting in iTunes? Even if the file was being compressed (which it's not) that shouldn't create distortion if it wasn't there to begin with. You shouldn't be able to hear a difference between GB and iTunes after correctly exporting let alone distortion and static. Something's amiss. Of course, if you mix through headphones, the final version may well sound crap through your stereo. To avoid that you either need a set of stereo monitors or else hook up the stereo to the computer and mix through the speakers you want to listen through. But even mixing through headphones and playing through speakers, it shouldn't sound totally crap. Not to the point of distortion and static anyway.

[julesstoop]

would expect your GB file to be much smaller than the final export.

That's not necessaraly true. At least not when you've recorded several tracks of real audio in the project you're working on.

The .band file actually is a package (a special kind of folder), containing the list you describe as well as the recorded tracks in a specific structure understood bij Garageband.

[World Leader Pretend]

Eureka!!!

I found out what the problem was!

I figured out that I had the little volume slider on the actual track icon cranked to eleven, which didn't distort it that bad on GarageBand, but made a big difference on iTunes. I was recording the track way too high, and after messing with the volume sliders I found the happy medium to which iTunes and GB agree upon.

Make sure that in the future you don't let the volume graphics hit in the red or yellow areas, because that can only mean distortion.

Case closed!

Thanks everyone for the help on this issue!

[julesstoop]

I must really admit that I didn't think we should have to explained the fundamentals of audio recording and mixing to you .
Whatever. So much the better for you