The New Garageband 08

Apple has just released iLife 08, which features an updated Garageband. I’ve yet to play with it, but when I do, I’ll let you know what it’s like (I prefer Logic at home).
The main new feature that caught my eye was the Magic Garageband feature (pictured above), that allows you to assemble a backing band and play the instrument of your choice over the top. This seems to be a good thing for musicians needing to practice more regularly, especially in the area of improvisation.
The downside seems to be a lack of customization. From the videos I have seen, there’s no way to change the melodies or chords played by the backing band, and no way to override the genre settings which define a limited number of instruments for your use. Having not used it, I can only speculate, but this seems to be the case. And if it is true, the usefulness of this feature will be quite restricted.
More news coming when I can get my hands on a copy of iLife 08.

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