Garageband Instruments List
Garageband Legacy Instruments List

In this tutorial today, I’m going to run through some of my favorite instruments to use when making beats in Garageband.

Some of these are plug-ins you’ll have to download, some will require gear, and others just come stock in the software. The vast majority, however, are completely free. They won’t cost you anything.

Regardless, I’ll explain where and how to get the instruments that don’t come stock in Garageband.

Plugins give you the opportunity to throw effects, instruments, and utilities into the mix that you wouldn't normally have access to. Learn how to install pl. Apple's GarageBand contains scores of great software instruments and hundreds of audio loops. What it doesn't have is a sampler'a way for you to create your own instruments from audio files. Since GarageBand lets you use Audio Unit instruments, you can make use of samplers like Native Instruments Kontakt from within GarageBand. Control GarageBand and play any software instrument wirelessly on your iPad using the Logic Remote app. Use iCloud to keep your GarageBand projects updated across multiple Mac computers, or even import GarageBand for iOS songs directly from iCloud. Redesigned Interface. A fresh new look, designed for easy music making.

Im pretty sure theres a way-if you download the legacy/compatibility sound banks from the Library Manager section, i think those contain Garageband iOS instruments. I know i have seen assets in EXS 24 referencing Garageband for iOS, so maybe its worth a shot.
If you uninstalled any older GarageBand version before upgrading to GarageBand 10.1.2, you may need to reinstall any JamPack you used, or older instruments from GarageBand '11. The Harpsichord instruments will be showing in the Legacy section of your Instrument Library, if they are still installed.

Let’s jump into each one – they’re in no particular order.

1) The Steinway Grand Piano

This is the stock piano that comes with Garageband. When you first open up Garageband and select “Software Instrument,” and the interface opens up on your screen, you’ll be given the option on the left-hand side: “Piano,” and then “Steinway Grand Piano.”

It says on the left-side, “Bass,” “Drum Kit,” “Electronic Drum Kit” and so on and so forth. Click on piano, and then it says, “Steinway Grand Piano.”

Truthfully, stock pianos are never that great, however, with some reverb, delay, and a bit of ambiance, I find that a lot can be done with the stock piano.

For instance, using the Channel EQ on the piano can introduce an entirely different mood to the sound. If you click on the Channel EQ, you’ll notice that the mid-ranges have been attenuated (diminished) just a little bit.

What I like to do is actually boost the mids a little bit. I find this gives the piano a more natural sound to it, but that’s just me.

You can see what this looks like in the image below:

If you’re looking for a nice pre-set to try, try this one:

Delay: 3
Ambiance: 4
Reverb: 5

It’s also worth noting that this piano comes with a ton of different presets and patterns that I’ve highlighted in the image below.

These pre-sets can actually be used on every software instrument in Garageband, so give it a shot.

On the top-right-hand corner of the piano’s interface in the Smart Controls, you’ll notice there is a little icon. Click on it, and it brings up a ton of different pre-sets that are awesome.

You can adjust the note order, the rate at which they’re played (speed), and also the octave range.

2) 4 Front Piano

Let’s say that you hate the Steinway Grand Piano and you’re looking for something that imitates the real thing a little more. In that case, I would recommend picking up the 4Front Piano.

You can customize it using plug-ings the same way, including compression, EQ, reverb, delay, and so on.

If you don’t know how to install plug-ins in Garageband, I recommend checking out this article here, where I explained the process in detail.

If you want to grab the 4 Front Piano, click on this link which takes you to VST4Free.com

This is a really popular option, so I recommend checking it out.

3) DSK Dynamic Guitars

Due to the fact I’ve played guitar my entire life, I’m really not fond of the stock guitars that Garageband has to offer.

I love the Amp Designer, but the stock VST guitars are not good. Thankfully, we can download plug-ins to fix this issue.

I recommend grabbing the DSK Dynamic Guitars plug-in which you can grab at the same website I mentioned above, VST4Free.com. The link for the exact page is here.

If you don’t like this Dynamics Guitar plug-in, they have other ones which in my opinion are pretty amazing.

Here is the Nylon String plug-in.

4) “Drum Pro” Plug-In From Studio Linked

I can’t praise this plug-in enough, it’s my favorite drum machine plug-in to use, both for its Trap Drum Kit as well as it’s Hip-Hop drum-kits which are pretty sick too.

This plug-in comes with around 20 different kits, and it has some functions on it, including panning, decay, sustain, reverb, attack, release, and volume knobs.

It’s really worth your time to go through each one and figure out the kits and individual instruments that you like.

For instance, I like to mix and match different instruments together. I might use the Kick of the Beat Machine and then the Snare of the Hip-Hop 8 drum kit in Drum Pro.

To mix drum-kits, what I like to do is I create a new software instrument track for each part of the kit.

For instance, one Software Instrument track will be the kick and another one will be the snare. Make sure you remember to label them because otherwise your interface/workspace will be a mess.

5) “Beat Machine” – Electronic Drum Kit

This is a stock instrument that’s found in the electronic drum kit section.

This kit probably has my favorite electronic drum kit kick, and the hi-hats and the shaker sound great as well.

With customization, including reverb, EQ, distortion, compression, and perhaps a bit of a delay, a lot can be done to make these default instruments sound awesome.

Garageband Instruments List

An added benefit to using the stock drum kits in Garageband is that it comes with a helpful interface, including delay, reverb, attack, drive, crush, as well as a high and low cut.

As I mentioned above, the kick in the Beat Machine is my favorite, and it’s accessed through the Musical Typing at the C of the first octave, C1.

6) Boutique 808

The Boutique 808s are found in the electronic drum kit section as well, just a few options below the Beat Machine.

The Boutique 808 that comes with Garageband isn’t bad either, and with some compression and distortion, the sound can really be improved.

The vast majority of instruments in the Boutique 808, in my opinion, are useless, however, the bass and the hi-hats are great. I typically use the Bass which is in the third octave of the Musical Typing, C3.

As I just mentioned in passing, using distortion and compression on the Boutique 808s are going to fatten up the sound like crazy, so it’s worth trying out.

In terms of a compressor pre-set that you can try, go for “Type U Aggressive,” and then notice in the Smart Controls interface of the Boutique 808, there is the option to turn up the Distortion, turn it up to about 3.

If you’re looking for an article explaining how to go about making Boutique 808s, I’d recommend this one here.

I’ve written another one as well called 10 Tips For Better Boutique 808s in Garageband, which you can read at the link.

At some point, I’ll be making another tutorial on boutique 808s and bass-lines, because I feel like there is still so much to learn and implement.

7) Bass Guitar

The bass guitar is found within the Bass category, among a few other styles of the bass guitar.

Truthfully, it’s rare that I like to use this instrument in my actual track, however, what I do like to use this for is developing a nice bass-line that’s easy to hear, and then once it’s ready, I change the software instrument track to the Deep Sub Bass synthesizer.

If you’ve been reading my other articles, you’ll know that human beings can hear the frequencies between 20Hz and 20,000 Hz. However, the easiest frequencies to hear are around 1000Hz-5000Hz.

If you try and make a bass-line with a boutique 808 or a Deep Sub Bass synth right off the start, you might find that you’ve created a bass-line that’s off-key. And the reason for that is simple: you just can’t hear the bass as

Garageband Legacy Instruments