GarageBand for iOS makes it incredibly simple to play, record and share your music, no matter where you are. Tap into a wide range of instruments from around the world. And now with the Sound Library, you can choose and download more free instrument and loop packs when new sounds are released, to help you easily craft songs in your favourite styles — all directly from your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
The world is your stage. This is your instrument.
I’m running both apps on iPad through iRig HD 2 and I have bias ultimate pack if that makes a difference. In GarageBand add a new track and scroll over to 'External' then select 'Inter-App Audio'. You should have a Bias FX option there. Top 5 iOS Guitar Apps It’s never been easier to record on the go – there’s a huge market for portable instrument interfaces nowadays aimed squarely at mobile music makers. Since the inclusion of Inter-App Audio in 2013 (and through Audiobus before that), savvy GarageBand iOS guitarists have been rocking out to and recording with many. Nestled away in Apple’s newly updated Garageband iOS app v2.0, Inter-App Audio Apps function aims to bridge the gap between all your audio creation apps. On paper, it’s a fantastic idea – emulate the functionality of 3rd party programs like Audiobus and Jack, but make it Garageband native, improving stability and essentially “cutting out the middle man”. 1) Launch Garageband, create a audio track. 2) Go to View - Open Smart Control. 3) Go to the Smart Controls panel, then drag down the scroll bar to find Audio FX slots. 4) Click on the Audio FX slot and find BIAS Amp from 'Audio Units - PositiveGrid - BIAS Amp' 5) For recording in GarageBand, please refer to the video below: GarageBand. BIAS/JamUp/BIAS FX/BIAS Desktop/BIAS FX Desktop would work a lot better than the built in amp sims in Garageband, but I'm not that big a fan of JamUp/BIAS at all. Consider looking into Scuffman S-Gear, POD Farm, Amplitube, and Guitar Rig (or free VSTs), as they all sound better than JamUp/BIAS to my ears.
Play Make music. With or without an instrument.
The moment you launch GarageBand, you can start making music. Play stunningly realistic Touch Instruments, instantly build big beats and create music like a DJ — all with just a few taps. The all-new Sound Library lets you explore and download sound packs tailored to help you build your tracks with just the right elements for the style you want.
Live Loops makes it fun and easy to create electronic music. Simply tap cells and columns in the grid to trigger musical loops and then build your own original arrangements. You can even use Remix FX to add creative, DJ‑style transitions with Multi‑Touch gestures or by just moving your iOS device.
If you can tap, you can play.![]()
GarageBand comes with beautiful and highly expressive Touch Instruments that sound and respond just like the real thing. Play keyboards, guitars and bass, as well as sounds designed for EDM and Hip Hop. Smart Instruments make you sound like a pro — even if you’ve never played a note. And now you can explore the sounds of Asia with traditional Chinese and Japanese instruments, including the guzheng, the koto and an array of taiko drums.
When it comes to how you make your beats, the choice is yours — from jamming live on virtual drum kits to instant drag‑and‑done Smart Drums. The all‑new Beat Sequencer lets you easily build rhythms using sounds and a workflow inspired by classic drum machines. And Drummer gives you access to a team of virtual session drummers, each playing a popular electronic or acoustic style with a signature kit.
A deep collection of electronic drum sounds from a variety of genres can be stacked and layered to create your own grooves. Simply tap to activate any combination of steps on each track. Add or subtract to experiment in real time, all while the sequencer plays.
Virtual drummers representing specific genres automatically play along with your song, while simple controls let you fine‑tune their performance. Drummers can even listen to your riff and come up with the perfect complementary beat. And GarageBand now includes three percussionists who each have their own signature nine‑piece kits.
Tap out your groove on hardware‑style drum pads inspired by vintage beat boxes to create an electronic drum part.
Sit behind a virtual acoustic kit and perform your rhythms from a classic drummer’s point of view.
Instantly create a beat by simply dragging individual drum parts onto a grid. Choose the sounds you like and let ’em rip.
Plug it in. Tear it up.How To Use Garageband Ipad
Plug in your guitar and choose from a van‑load of amps and stompbox effects that deliver the perfect feel — from dreamy soundscapes to stadium‑sized rock.1 Our bass amps let you hold down the bass line with clean or distorted rigs modelled after vintage and modern amplifiers.
GarageBand includes Alchemy, one of the world’s most advanced synthesisers. Explore hundreds of Apple‑designed Patches, perfect for EDM, Hip Hop, Indie, Rock and Pop music. Use the expressive Transform Pad to morph between sounds in real time, or just have fun using the simple Chord Strips that help anyone play like an expert.
Sound Library. Your all‑access pass to a world of sounds.
With the new Sound Library, you’ve got instant access to an incredible and expanding collection of free loops and instruments from directly inside the app. Explore and download Apple‑designed sound packs that include Touch Instruments, Apple Loops, Live Loops templates and instrument presets that will help you produce tracks in a wide variety of genres and styles. You can easily manage your library as it grows, and GarageBand will even notify you when new sound packs are released and ready for you to download.
Record A full recording studio. To go.
With its powerful and intuitive interface, GarageBand makes it easy to capture, adjust and mix your performances into a finished composition. Build a complete song using any combination of Touch Instruments, audio recordings and loops.
Work with up to an astounding 32 tracks with GarageBand for iOS.2 With a compatible third‑party audio interface, you can even plug in the entire band and record everyone simultaneously on separate tracks. Take multiple passes to nail your performance using Multi‑Take Recording — just choose any Touch Instrument, tap Record, and play continuously over a looping song section. GarageBand automatically captures each one, and you simply choose your favourite.
Fine‑tune your tracks and record each tap, swipe and twist of the knobs. Draw and edit volume automation for precise control over your mix. And let the Simple EQ and Compressor keep your tracks sounding crisp and clear. For even more detailed control, take advantage of 10 track‑mixing effects directly from Logic Pro, like the Visual EQ, Bitcrusher, Vocal Transformer and more.
Audio Unit Extensions let you use your favourite compatible third‑party instrument and effect plug‑ins directly in your GarageBand song. Browse the App Store and download your selections from leading music app developers like Moog Music.
iCloud GarageBand everywhere. Tweak your tracks. On any device.
iCloud allows you to keep your GarageBand sessions up to date across all your iOS devices. Using iCloud Drive, you can import song sketches to your Mac and take them even further, then share your finished piece on any of your devices. You can also import a portable version of a Logic Pro X project and add more tracks. When you bring the project back into Logic Pro, the original tracks are all there, along with the new ones you’ve added in GarageBand.
GarageBand for Mac
Your personal music creation studio.
GarageBand for iOS
Play, record, arrange and mix — wherever you go.
Music Memos
An app to capture your song ideas. Whenever inspiration strikes.
With their earlier JamUp app, Positive Grid made a splash with guitarists. Now with BIAS FX, they hope to bring on a flood. Matthew Loel T. Hepworth takes the plunge to find out more.
The year was 1980. I was 13-years-old and had just spent fifty hard-earned bucks from my paper route on a used electric guitar. My old man helped me buy a small guitar amp, and then all I needed was a stomp box, preferably an Ibanez Tube Screamer. Alas, I’d need to deliver papers for another year before I could buy that green machine. Fast forward to today, and a mere $29.99 buys BIAS FX: an entire virtual pedalboard for iPad (with Desktop access coming soon). It includes a wealth of stomp boxes, but also has amplifiers, cabinets, and other effects I could only dream about in 1980. But really, how good can it possibly sound? I’ll discuss the sound later, but let’s look at the basics first.
Bias Fx Garageband Ipad 2Getting the App
BIAS FX can be purchased from The App Store and runs on iPad 2 and above, and the iPad Mini, all of which require iOS 8 and Internet access should you wish to connect to Positive Grid’s online pedalboard library called Tone Cloud. (Login required.)
Making Connections
Because iPads don’t have audio inputs, you’ll need some sort of audio interface, as well as Apple’s Camera Connection Kit, which basically gives an iPad a USB port to connect the interface. The audio interface replaces the audio output of the iPad and provides audio inputs for guitars, basses, and other audio sources. In my tests, I used a Steinberg UR44 in Class Compliant mode and it worked flawlessly.
However, to use BIAS FX properly, you’ll need to make sure the input signal from the guitar is not mixed with the processed signal generated by the app. For interfaces that have an ‘‘input-DAW’ knob (or something like it), it’s as easy as turning it all the way to one side, usually clockwise. For interfaces like the UR44 that offer more exotic monitoring capabilities, you may need another app to disable the monitored input signal of the interface. In my case, I needed to download Steinberg’s free dspMixFx app and hit the ‘mute’ button on channel 1. Consult the manual of your audio interface for more information.
How it Works
BIAS FX can run either as a stand-alone app, or as an Inter-App Audio program inside another audio app. The latter gives you the ability to use it in a DAW app along with other audio and instrument tracks. I started in stand-alone mode first to learn the user interface.
Figure 1. The BIAS FX main window.
At the top of the screen you’ll see a left-to-right (or right-to-left if so desired) depiction of the pedalboard signal flow, along with all the components of the currently loaded preset, the order of which can be changed by tapping, holding, and dragging the icons. Taping on any component will reveal a skeuomorphic depiction of its controls. In other words, tapping the 808 OD pedal icon brings you up close and personal with the virtual controls of a virtual Tube Screamer pedal. This allows you to enable or ‘stomp’ on the box, as well as adjust the controls. BIAS FX currently has 25 different stomp boxes, as well as 5 studio processors based on rack-mounted effects. Positive Grid has also promised to increase those herds as time goes on.
For amplifiers, there are 12 models to choose from, as well as the ability to import new models designed in BIAS AMP (purchased separately). You can also add a splitter that gives you the ability to use two different amp models in parallel, then use the mixer component to balance and pan the outputs of both. This is great for creating complex tones like the great Stevie Ray Vaughan and Brad Gillis did with real amps. As with the stomp boxes, accessing the front panel controls of the amps is done by tapping their icons.
At the bottom of the window you’ll find input/output meters and controls, as well as the tuner and a metronome for practicing your chops. There’s also a Live View window which lets you assign presets to four large onscreen buttons, the idea for which is to give you quick access to your presets in a live situation. Switching presets is fairly quick, but you will experience a short (25 ms or so, depending upon vintage of iPad) pause during the switch, as well as a noticeable ‘pop’ even when you aren’t playing the guitar. Underneath the preset buttons are four additional buttons for turning off the Drive, Mod, Delay, and Reverb components of the currently loaded preset. You can also make selections via MIDI, which gives live performers with MIDI-compatible pedalboards hands-free access to their patches and components.
Bias Fx Garageband Ipad 2
Figure 2. The Live View display.
Output Settings
Next to the Live View is the Output Settings panel. This gives you four different ways to use BIAS FX with real amps and cabinets, as well as having those components generated virtually inside the app. Those four Global Settings are Amp Front, Combo Poweramp, Stack Poweramp, and Direct Out. Since I was connecting my audio interface directly to studio monitor speakers, I chose Direct Out. But If I wanted to use BIAS FX with my guitar amp with only the front input, I would choose Amp Front—the result being the removal of the virtual amp and speaker characteristics from BIAS FX. Basically, since a real guitar amp inherently has those tonal characteristics, BIAS FX won’t try to recreate them virtually. (Note: When using BIAS FX with a guitar amp or any monophonic audio system, make sure to disable Stereo Mode in the Settings window.)
Bias Fx Garageband Ipad 4
Figure 3. The Global Settings window.
Bias Fx Garageband Ipad Pro
If you have a later-model iPad, I highly recommend going to the Settings and enabling the Ultra Low Latency mode. This makes it much more responsive and playable, with the trade-off being increased CPU usage. (More on that in a moment.)
How it Sounds
Even though the user interface of BIAS FX is extremely slick, gorgeous, easy to use, and user-friendly, I was fully prepared to be disappointed by the sound. But I’m happy to report that it truly looks as good as it sounds. (Note: Version 1.01 made some serious improvements to both the app and the sound quality, so make sure you keep it updated.) I played with BIAS FX in stand-alone mode for hours and had a blast making my own pedalboards. Unlike some other virtual guitar modeling apps and hardware products, I could even use the volume knob on my guitar to alter the crunch of the amps and stomp boxes. However, any preset (like 80’s Metal or USA Metal) that uses high-gain components will probably have a noise gate in the signal flow, and that will negate the effectiveness of the guitar volume knob. I tried removing the gate to see if that would help, but the resulting deluge of gain hiss made using the gate compulsory.
I also tested BIAS FX in Inter-Application mode with Cubasis and it worked just as it should. However, the Cubasis CPU indicator really lit up when I put BIAS FX on an audio track. Because I’m using an iPad Air 2 (the fastest iPad available at the time this review was written), it’s possible that projects with lots of virtual instruments and effects may not have enough room on the CPU for BIAS FX. If that happens to you, try disabling the Ultra Low Latency mode. However, in Cubasis and some other iOS DAW apps, it’s easy to freeze the track and then turn off the plug-in, thereby sparing the CPU from being driven so profoundly. Also be aware that only one instance of BIAS FX can be run in Inter-App mode, which would also require you to freeze each guitar track before using it again on another track. This isn’t a limitation of BIAS FX, rather it’s the way Inter-App mode works in the iOS 8 world.
Is it Worth $30?Bias Fx Garageband Ipad Pro
Provided you already have an iPad, an audio interface, and an Apple Camera Connection kit, BIAS FX is cheap, cheap, CHEAP! It gives you tons of high-quality virtual pedalboards, as well as access to Tone Cloud for even more configurations. It sounds great and only has a few minor issues. It will be interesting to see what more Positive Grid will bring to the BIAS FX pedalscape, especially considering it’s very young at version 1.0.1 Until then, I have no doubt that BIAS FX will give guitarists unique and creative ways to make more music with their iPads.
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