Making Custom Ringtones with GarageBand

December 16th, 2007 at 2:00 PM - Tips by Jeff Gamet

Appleis GarageBand 4.1.1 update added a cool new feature: The ability to make your own custom iPhone ringtones. Itis easy to do, and its a great way to customize your phone without spending any extra cash.

Hereis what to do:

• Create your own ringtone masterpiece in GarageBand. You can use Apple Loops, iLife jingles, or your own audio recordings. Be sure to keep your ringtone to 40 seconds or less.

Create your custom ringtone in GarageBand 4.1.1.

• Click the Cycle Region button.

The Cycle Region button is at the bottom of the track region.

• Click and drag in the time bar to select the part of your clip that you want to use as your ringtone. Everything thatis includes in the cycle region you just selected will be part of your ringtone. If your composition is longer than 40 seconds, be sure to select a cycle region thatis shorter than that.

Set the cycle region for your ringtone.

• Select Share > Send Ringtone to iTunes.

Your ringtone will automatically load on your iPhone the next time you sync.

To use your custom ringtone, youill need to select it from your iPhone. Hereis how:

• Make sure you are on the Home screen, and then tap Settings.
• Tap Sounds.
• Tap Ringtone.
• Select your ringtone from the Custom list.

You can also attach your custom ringtones to specific people in your iPhone contact list. I use this feature so I can identify who is calling without having to look at my phone.

Hereis what to do:

• Tap the Phone icon on the Home screen.
• Tap Contacts.
• Select the contact that you want to attach your custom ringtone to.
• Tap Ringtone.
• Select the ringtone you want to hear when that person calls.

There are a couple of limitations to making your own ringtones. First, you need to make sure you are using GarageBand 4.1.1, iTunes 7.5 or later, and that your iPhone has been updated to software version 1.1.2. Also, you canit use copy protected songs in your home made ringtones, which means youill still have to pay extra for ringtones if you want to use a song that you have downloaded from the iTunes Store.

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