I run The GarageBand Guide on YouTube and the web, helping beginners and hobbyists make better music with Apple gear through clear tutorials, honest reviews, and practical guides.
Most musicians are buying the wrong gear...
|
Hi Reader, I get asked gear questions almost every day. Which Mac should I buy? Which audio interface is best? Do I need studio monitors? What headphones should I get? The problem is that there are now so many options available that it's surprisingly easy to spend hundreds on gear you don't actually need. For example, I think a lot of home studio musicians are buying far more computer than they'll ever use. And I think many beginners would get better results spending less on their Mac and more on other parts of their setup. So I put together a video walking through the Macs, audio interfaces, MIDI controllers, microphones, headphones and studio monitors I'd personally recommend in 2026. Watch it here: The Mac Music Production Setup I'd Buy in 2026Even if you're not planning to buy anything right now, it'll hopefully help you avoid a few expensive mistakes when the time comes. Cheers, Patrick The GarageBand Guide PS - If you're finding these messages helpful, please consider supporting The GarageBand Guide by buying me a coffee! |
The GarageBand Guide
I run The GarageBand Guide on YouTube and the web, helping beginners and hobbyists make better music with Apple gear through clear tutorials, honest reviews, and practical guides.
Hi, Reader Two new videos for you this week, covering quite different corners of music making. Turn your GarageBand tracks into sheet music GarageBand for Mac’s Score Editor is easy to overlook. It lets you edit your MIDI notes as musical notation, then print your part or save it as a PDF. Handy if you read music or want to share a part with someone who does. Watch here: GarageBand Can Do THIS With Your MIDI Tracks? A closer look at VocAlign 7 If you record doubled vocals or harmonies, you’ll...
Hi, Reader Apple’s latest updates are here. But if you use your Mac, iPhone or iPad to make music, I wouldn’t rush to install them just yet. The issue isn’t necessarily macOS 27, iOS 27 or iPadOS 27 themselves. It’s everything else in your setup. Third-party plugins, AUv3 instruments and effects, music apps, audio interfaces, MIDI controllers and even licence managers can all potentially run into compatibility problems after a major OS update. And while something being unsupported doesn’t...
Hi, Reader If you use a Mac or iPad to make music, you’ve probably noticed that buying Apple hardware has become considerably more expensive recently. Price increases have hit Macs and iPads across the lineup, sometimes by hundreds of Dollars/Pounds. And that’s before you start looking at what Apple charges for additional RAM and storage… Now, there ARE legitimate reasons behind these increases. The global RAM and storage supply situation has affected the entire tech industry, so I don’t...