GarageBand file imports now sound terrible

[cloughie]

Anybody know why this has begun in the last few weeks? Any mp3 I drop into a track eg Brian backing track from a lesson, sounds great on my Mac in Music but in GarageBand it’s awful – tinny, trebly scratchy yukkk is the technical term.

Apple Support no help so far apart from telling me to update my OS which of course had no effect.

There’s discussion of this online so I’m not alone!!

Be kind to yourself (especially when you're trying to play this instrument!)
Brian Clough

“Got a lotta sinful ideas but they seem kinda sensible” Jim Casy the ex-preacher in The Grapes Of Wrath

[Jean-Michel G]

Hmmm… Garageband can be picky at times with mp3 files, or so it seems.

I think it must be Garegeband itself since everything seems OK in Music and these two apps use the native macOS sound libraries (no drivers).

Did Garageband get an update recently? If so, you could try reloading a previous version from your backup – you do take backup’s, don’t you? 😉

Do you have this problem with all mp3 files systematically, or only some of them?

One thing you could try is to convert the mp3 file into something else, e.g. AAIF or wav. You can do this with the QuickTime player for example (or with Music). Open the mp3 file with QuickTime and then in File > Export use one of the proposed formats.

Instead of dropping the mp3 file onto a track, try and import it via the menu’s… the drag and drop functionality has been problematic in Garageband in the past.

You could also try to reinstall Garageband… Just get rid of the entire .app package, download Garageband from the App Store and reinstall.

Sorry I can’t be more specific. I hope you’ll be able to solve the problem quickly.

[JoeD1]

You wouldn’t happen to have mistakenly applied some plugins to the imported track do you? I’ve had that happen to me before.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[John H]

Cloughie
Are you dropping the Mp3 file into a track that is already being used by an amp type? That most definitely will make the Mp3 sound like crap-tinny, adorned with other effects. I have had a similar experience accidentally doing that. I would call Mac Support and set up an appointment with whomever specializes in GarageBand with Macs. Any issue I have had with Garage Band I have called Mac Support and had reasonable success resolving the problem over the phone.
JH

[sunjamr]

I make a new Audio track and name it MP3, then I drag and drop the MP3 file onto it. Never had a problem. GarageBand is designed to accept all known codex types of MP3s. Plus if Brian made the jamtrack, he made it on Logic Pro, which is the 100% compatible big brother of GarageBand.

Sunjamr Steve

[cloughie]

Thanks mate. Your answer inspired me to figure it out.

I have to select the Mic Or Line option when creating a new Project. If I choose the Guitar or Bass option (which I’ve done since Adam play linebacker for the Israelites) it sounds yuk.

I’ve never noticed this problem in the past. Oh well onward.

Hope your recovery is speedy and melodic mate!

Be kind to yourself (especially when you're trying to play this instrument!)
Brian Clough

“Got a lotta sinful ideas but they seem kinda sensible” Jim Casy the ex-preacher in The Grapes Of Wrath

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