MojoGuyPan Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 It's 2018. Is there something yet on the PC comparable in ease of use to Garageband on the Mac? This is for my 10 year old kid by the way who is a complete beginner. I had a Mac up until 2012 and loved Garageband and iMovie. Switched to PC and haven't looked back until now. My kid is 10 and wants to do some movie editing and compose some sound tracks for his movies. I've tracked down a good iMovie alternative. But the Garageband is trickier. He's going to want the loops and virtual instruments like Garageband playing them over a MIDI controller. He's not going to need external VST support or anything. Just some play some music over drum tracks, bring in audio files, record narrations. That sort of thing. I saw some threads from years back but there was no conclusion. Right now it seems like MixCraft 8 might do the trick. What are your thoughts? The other option is just to bite the bullet and get him an iMac (maybe a refurb 21.5 with Fusion Drive) since it looks like I'll be spending about $300 just for the PC software and my PC is due for replacement in the next year or so (3.4GHz i7-3770). Just looking for real easy stuff to get my kid started, something like Cubase LE would traumatize him for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Ward Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 FL Studio maybe? I've never used it, but I know it was popular with kids starting out a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Steinberg Sequel is the most directly comparable as far as included instruments and loops as well as simplified work flow. https://www.steinberg.net/en/products/sequel/whats_sequel.html Quote Yamaha CP88, Roland VR-700, Crumar Mojo, rebuilt 1910 Chickering 5'2", Fender Rhodes MKI 88k, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz1642606857 Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Microsoft shut down Windows Movie Maker On Windows 10 and Youtube shut down their Editor. Help! I need something, not just anything, Help! I need something, Help! Quote Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and also helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Harry spends his time teaching jazz piano online and playing solo piano gigs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Id go with Adobe Premiere Elements. Its good enough and has presets like iMovie to make it look great quick. Much less to fiddle with if you dont want to get into everything thats in full blown Premiere Pro. https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere-elements.html Quote Yamaha CP88, Roland VR-700, Crumar Mojo, rebuilt 1910 Chickering 5'2", Fender Rhodes MKI 88k, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanL Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Microsoft shut down Windows Movie Maker On Windows 10 and Youtube shut down their Editor. Help! I need something, not just anything, Help! I need something, Help! You can download Movie Maker as a standalone app to run on Win10, I have it on my pc at home. Quote Live: Korg Kronos 2 88, Nord Electro 5d Nord Lead A1 Toys: Roland FA08, Novation Ultranova, Moog LP, Roland SP-404SX, Roland JX10,Emu MK6 www.bksband.com www.echoesrocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Martin Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Microsoft shut down Windows Movie Maker On Windows 10 and Youtube shut down their Editor. Help! I need something, not just anything, Help! I need something, Help! Davinci Resolve - it is free. Quote -Mike Martin Casio Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MojoGuyPan Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 Steinberg Sequel is the most directly comparable as far as included instruments and loops as well as simplified work flow. Hey Elmer thanks for the heads up on Sequel. The description on the site sounds like it'd be perfect and it's just $80. I'm going to download the trial tonight. The Garagebandesque DAW is the hardest thing to figure out for the PC. Video editing has tons of options like Vegas Movie Studio, Adobe Elements, and Movavi. Hopefully Sequel is it for the music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElmerJFudd Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Hi, Ive used V2 and V3 with students. Its easy to get around. Audio and instrument tracks. Loop and instruments library you can load/drag and drop. The sound bank has a lot of stuff from Yamaha (light version of Halion). Also a useful GM sound set. Quote Yamaha CP88, Roland VR-700, Crumar Mojo, rebuilt 1910 Chickering 5'2", Fender Rhodes MKI 88k, Casio PX-560 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Ableton Live Lite. Quote This post edited for speling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midinut Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Refurb Mac Mini? Just sayin Quote Kronos 88 | MODX7 | Wavestate | Crave | KeyLab 61 | CPS SSv3 | MacBook Pro | MainStage | More VSTs than I'll ever figure out www.thehenrysmusic.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Acoustica Mixcraft, perhaps? There was even a book with lessons written in parallel for both GarageBand and Mixcraft. As far as I know it was never updated: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Music-GarageBand-Mixcraft-Book/dp/1435458702 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/making-music-with-garageband-and-mixcraft-robin-hodson/1100256474?ean=9781435458710 In addition, Acoustica has a teacher's guide and lesson plans for the current version of Mixcraft: https://www.acoustica.com/edu/ https://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/mixcraft-8-teachers-guide.htm Quote Michael Rideout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Lee Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 FL Studio maybe? I've never used it, but I know it was popular with kids starting out a few years ago. Yes, you do have better GarageBand Alternatives for Windows. Cubase is currently running its ninth version and over the year acquired considerable value among professionals. Here is the guide on that. http://garagebandonpc.com/ Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doerfler Posted April 28, 2020 Share Posted April 28, 2020 2 year old thread resurrected. Gotta love the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.