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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    GarageBand

    Score9.7 out of 10
    N/AApple offers GarageBand, a digital audio workstation packaged with its operating system.

    $199.99

    Sibelius

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AAvid offers Sibelius, a musical notation, creation, and publishing application.N/A
    Pricing
    GarageBandSibelius
    Editions & Modules
    Logic Pro (GarageBand Premium)
    $199.99
    Garageband for Mac
    Free
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    GarageBandSibelius
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    GarageBandSibelius
    Considered Both Products
    Apple
    No answer on this topic
    Avid Technology
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    8 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Best Alternatives
    GarageBandSibelius
    Small Businesses
    Descript
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Descript
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    Adobe Audition
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    GarageBandSibelius
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.4
    (10 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.4
    (3 ratings)
    7.2
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    GarageBandSibelius
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Apple
    GarageBand is great for demo tracking for songwriting and and simple audio editing of spoken word or podcast applications. It is also great for making EQ adjustments on audio from other macOS or iOS programs for easy export back into those programs. GarageBand isn't well-suited for mastering, however, and it's a little difficult to get volume levels up in post-production if capture wasn't just right
    Incentivized
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    Avid Technology
    It is simply easy to use and serves the function that it needs to serve. Once you get the hang of the basic functionality and a few of the keyboard shortcuts, it will be extremely easy and quick to write out music. The option to go back and transpose to another key without writing the whole thing out again is crucial.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Apple
    • It is easy to edit in the way that you can highlight something and simply delete a part of what you are working on.
    • I love that I can drag two or more tracks together to keep them in sync when editing.
    • It's not difficult to add a click track when you need it.
    • I think the whole process of highlighting, cutting out parts and the basic editing doesn't take huge amounts of time because it seems intuitive.
    Incentivized
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    Avid Technology
    • User Friendly
    • Compatible with other software/music programs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Apple
    • Can't save the preferences for the tracks such as turning off reverb etc.
    • Project files are large, a 30-minute podcast episode with only 4 tracks is typically around 1 GB
    • Auto feature to silence guest not talking
    • Optimize for podcasters (I use the old version 6 as new versions hasn't had podcast options)
    Incentivized
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    Avid Technology
    • Barrier to entry could be a bit lower.
    • Options for types of arrangements are somewhat limited and the interface is a bit convoluted.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Apple
    It's dang simple for anybody who knows even a little about recording software. It's not something just anyone can open and immediately be a professional at, but things are clearly marked, the help documentation is great, and it's easy to explore and discover functionality that can aid in your production workflow.
    Incentivized
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    Avid Technology
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Apple
    I have never tried it. It's just simple, and you should be able to navigate most of it via self-exploration and Apple Help.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Avid Technology
    Once Sibelius is purchased, the user is given one year of unlimited free customer service to help in using the product. After that first year, users can either pay to utilize customer service with questions or use online helps, which are very helpful. One of the bigger issues I had was getting the sounds to work properly because my Internet connection wasn't consistently working well enough to accommodate the large files, which were taking up to 10 hours to download. The download would fail, and then I'd have to start over. I wanted to get a CD sent to me but was told this would be very costly, and so I declined. I wasn't happy with the lack of customer service in that situation but was eventually able to get the files to download and the software working properly.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Apple
    Adobe Audition is another great audio editing/recording software, in fact it is much better compared to GarageBand and has much more effects. However, it has a pretty large price tag while GarageBand is completely free. Also, Adobe Audition has a very steep learning curve which makes it hard for our staff to get used to the software. Considering all this and after deep analysis we decided to opt for GarageBand, well at least for now. We may change in the future depending on our needs.
    Incentivized
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    Avid Technology
    I have not used Finale exclusively, but I know friends/colleagues who have. In the past, it was complicated to transfer and edit any of the music they created for me because it would not transfer to Sibelius. As a result, I would have to request the edits I wanted and ask them to make the changes themselves. If I wanted to make any changes later, it was extremely inconvenient to do so, and I often chose not to, as I did not want to bother anyone other than myself to do any edits after-the-fact. Though it is now possible to transfer Finale files to Sibelius through creating .xml files and then importing as .sib files, the files still do not entirely retain all of the integrity of the original composition (as completed in Finale). Sometimes text and markings are missing, microscopic, or shifted once opened in Sibelius. Text fonts must often be edited. When working with other major music publishers, it has been extremely convenient and helpful to have the same software.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Apple
    • Amazing value
    • Very easy to get started
    • For novices and professionals alike
    • Loops library is simply awesome
    • Export capabilities very effective to share tracks
    Incentivized
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    Avid Technology
    • Digital files are easily distributed to customers/no shipping costs.
    • Collaboration with other sheet music retailers has been established and maintained.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots