I have done a little more experimentation with amplifier sounds using Garageband on iPad since my last post to get more of a feel for what it is really like to work with.

This is a sample I recorded using the settings as you can see below. This is pretty much the default knob settings that you get when you select the Crunchy Blues “amp template”.

The amp settings for this sound.

It’s a BB King style riff played on a Jackson PS4 (of course) using the neck pickup in coil-tapped mode.

A few things about the operation of Garageband on iPad.

To hear your guitar through your headphones, you have to hit the plug button on the top left and set “monitor” to ON.
I have to use the hi-hat sound for the metronome as I can’t hear the woodblock over the guitar sounds.
I have no idea why but I keep pressing the wrong buttons! The effects pedal button feels like it should be a settings button from its position.

As someone who once recorded music as a student using a traditional four-track recorder as well as PC software (only a couple of affordable tools were available back then) – I have to say that using Garageband on an iPad makes it so much easier to get good quality sound quickly.

More posts with other amp settings to come.