Welcome. In this video, we'll cover how to apply effects, also known as plugins, to your tracks in GarageBand. No matter what type of track you're working with, whether it's a software instrument, audio recording, or guitar input, the process for adding plugins is essentially the same. GarageBand offers an extensive library of plugins from basic versatile plugins like EQs and compressors, to more specialized plugins like modulators, delay effects, reverb, pitch adjusters, and distortion effects. Today we'll walk through the basics of adding plugins and take a closer look at two of the most commonly used ones, the EQ and compressor. Let's start with a simple example. Here I have a GarageBand project with a single software instrument track. I've already recorded a simple melody that I would like to apply some basic effects to. To begin, I'll first toggle the Smart Controls window by clicking this dial icon in the top left corner. Next, I navigate to the Smart Controls window and I select this Plugins dropdown. Now we see this top panel, indicating the software instrument I'm using, and this blank space underneath. This blank space is where I can begin applying and layering various effects plugins. Note that since this is a software instrument track, there are no plug -in presets populating this panel. However, if I had selected a mic or line audio track preset or a guitar or bass preset, then I would find a few plugins already populating this panel by default. To add a plugin, I simply click into the blank space to reveal the list of effects categories. In this case, I'll apply a few basic plugins that are useful for most recording projects, those being the EQ and compressor. First up is the EQ, or equalization, which you can see is its own plug-in category. I'll hover over the EQ category and select the channel EQ. The channel EQ gives us a visual of the full spectrum of frequencies playing in our track, with the far right being high treble frequencies and the far left being low bassy frequencies. This EQ allows us to either amplify or reduce specific frequencies using these band buttons spread across the top of the window. If you're new to the EQ, a great way to start is by using one of the built-in presets. In the top left of the window is a dropdown of presets to select from. For example, I would like to make this electric piano track sound brighter. To do so, I can select the preset dropdown, navigate to the keyboard presets, and select Piano Bright. As you can see, this preset boosts the higher frequencies, giving the piano a clearer, more vibrant sound. If I also want to enhance the bass, I can grab the second band and drag it upwards to amplify the low end as well. One issue that you may run into is that your recording has background noise in the form of either a high -pitched static noise or a low-pitched rumble. A channel EQ could help to suppress these background noises with its inclusion of a high and low-pass filter. A low-pass filter reduces any high-pitched background noises or static, while a high-pass filter reduces any low -pitched rumbling. To toggle these filters, I simply click the band 1 and band 8 buttons. Then I can make further adjustments to these filters by moving the band buttons. The next plugin we'll cover is the compressor. For the compressor, I've moved to this acoustic guitar loop. The compressor is great for if you would like to have a more consistent volume in your track. For example, if your voice or instrument track has random peaks of loudness followed by softer areas that are harder to hear, then a compressor can be applied to smooth out these peaks and quiet portions. To apply a compressor, I'll first click the plugins area and hover over dynamics, then I'll select compressor. Like with the EQ, this plugin offers several presets. I'll select the acoustic guitar preset. Now I can fine tune the compressor settings to best fit my track. The compressor threshold controls when the compressor will kick in. I'm going to set it to negative 30 decibels. Since it's set to negative 30 decibels, the compressor will activate if any sound of your recording is at least negative 30 decibels loud. Next, I can set the ratio, which I will set to 3 to 1. This means that the compressor will increase the gain of the sound by 1 decibel for every 3 decibels the sound is above the threshold we set. For example, if I play a note that is 9 decibels over the threshold of negative 30, the compressor will compress that note at a rate of 3 to 1, meaning the note will be played at 3 decibels instead of 9. Lastly, the attack indicates how fast the compressor will kick in once the sound meets our threshold, and the gain makes up for any volume that is reduced from our other settings. In other words, the first three settings balance out the volume of our recording, while the gain increases or decreases the volume of our entire track. And that's it. You've just learned how to apply plugins in GarageBand and how to use two essential effects, EQ and Compressor. These tools are helpful for any track type, whether you're mixing vocals, instruments, or full arrangements. Try experimenting with these effects yourself at the SMDC, where GarageBand is installed on all public Mac computers. Thanks for watching and happy mixing!
Adding Effects to Garageband Tracks
From Ellie Parcells May 15, 2025
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No matter what type of track you’re working with—whether it’s a software instrument, audio recording, or guitar input—the process for adding plug-ins is essentially the same.
Garageband offers an extensive library of plug-ins, from basic versatile plug-ins like EQs, and compressors, to more specialized plug-ins like modulators, delay effects, reverb effects, pitch adjusters and distortion effects.
Today, we’ll walk through the basics of adding plug-ins and take a closer look at two of the most commonly used ones: the EQ and the Compressor.
[Video]
Try experimenting with these effects yourself at the SMDC, where GarageBand is installed on all public Mac computers.
Thanks for watching, and happy mixing!
This video is part of the weekly series “Multimedia Tips and Tricks,” which shares content in response to frequently asked questions from the Student Multimedia Design Center. We’d love to hear from you. Please share your feedback with us by filling out our survey.
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