Apple Loops and iPad GarageBand

We love GarageBand, that's why we write loops for it. We also love our iPads. When Apple announced that GarageBand was coming to the iPad, we were delighted, they were combining two of our favourite things.

We looked at the launch as a double win for us. We would get to use a great portable version of GarageBand and also we might be able to offer our GarageBand loops to a new audience. Well the later seems to be an issue.

Our Apple Loops are fully compatible with iPad GarageBand however installing them is a different matter. This is the same for everyone producing Apple Loops and not just Tune-Up. Apple did include an import feature in one of the latest updates however it fell far short of delivering a solution for users wanting to add third party Apple Loops. 

At present the only way to get third party Apple Loops into iPad GarageBand is to use iTunes to import them. This does load the loops onto your iPad but don't expect them to appear in the loops browser within iPad GarageBand. The imported loops will simply sit hidden in the file system somewhere. To get a loop into iPad GarageBand you must open a new or existing song and then tap an empty audio track. This brings up a dialog box that allows you to import a file. You are then presented with file selection screen which let's you choose a loop, be warned though, there is no previewing of files so you must know the name of the loop you want. This will then bring the loop into GarageBand and give you the same flexibility of any other preinstalled loop. If you expect that loop to then appear in the loops browser you'll be disappointed, the imported loop will live in your song and that's it.

Now we have heard of other methods that are possible but because they involve jail breaking and accessing the inner workings of the iPad file system, we don't see them as a serious suggestion and seem rather extreme for just adding a few extra loops.

Why Apple chose this method is a bit of a mystery. Our guess is that the App Store has something to do with the limited importing. We can see them providing third party loops as in-app purchases in the future offering the same 70/30 split with providers as they do with other App Store purchases. We'd be happy with that however we have a funny feeling that initially the only extra loops available would be cut down versions of Apple's own Jam Packs. While these are excellent packs it would great to see a little more openness.

In the meantime we will keep our eyes peeled for an update or an easy way to get Tune-Up onto iPad GarageBand. Stay tuned.
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