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Guide · 2 min read

DreamSampler in GarageBand

Load the DreamSampler instrument on a track in GarageBand, play the live buffer, and export what you play.

Install DreamSampler first

Add DreamSampler to a track

  1. 1In the menu bar, open GarageBand > Settings, go to the Audio/MIDI tab, and check Enable Audio Units. If you just installed DreamSampler, restart GarageBand so it rescans your plugins.
  2. 2Create a Software Instrument track (Option+Command+S).
  3. 3Press B to open Smart Controls, expand the Plug-ins section, hover the Instrument slot (the top slot), and choose Audio Units > Daydream > DreamSampler (the current alpha build shows as DreamSampler - Alpha).
  4. 4Click Sign in and finish in your browser if you haven't yet, then load a source and click Connect. Once the live buffer fills, its waveform appears and the pads are playable.

Play it

  1. 1In Slice mode (the default), trigger slices from the on-screen pads, the z x c v … / a s d f … keyboard rows, or MIDI notes from C1.
  2. 2Switch to Classic or 1-Shot to play the whole buffer chromatically or as one-shots — both are MIDI-driven, so feed the track a MIDI clip or your controller.

Export the output

  1. 1GarageBand has no internal track-to-track routing, so capture your performance by exporting: record-enable the DreamSampler track, hit Record, and play — your take lands as a MIDI region.
  2. 2Solo the DreamSampler track, then choose Share > Export Song to Disk to render it to an audio file.
The buffer stays essentially the same until parameters change — a replayed MIDI clip sounds the same as long as you leave the controls alone. Once you tweak the prompt or a control, the buffer regenerates and the old audio is gone, so record takes you want to keep.
If DreamSampler doesn't appear after enabling Audio Units, restart GarageBand; on a Mac with an Apple chip you may also need to right-click the GarageBand app in Applications, choose Get Info, and enable Open using Rosetta.