Stream GarageBand to your iPhone

Made for checking demos

If you write songs in GarageBand, you probably check them the same way: export, AirDrop to your phone, listen, go back, change something, repeat. MixOutpost skips that loop. The Mac streams the song straight to your iPhone while GarageBand plays, so you can fix the vocal level and hear it on the phone a moment later. Take the phone into the kitchen or out to the car, and the song keeps playing with the screen locked.

It's not a mastering tool you have to learn. For a songwriter, the phone is simply a second opinion: does the vocal sit, can you hear the lyrics, is the guitar drowning everything on a small speaker?

Set it up in GarageBand

1. 01

   Install the Audio Unit

   Run the free MixOutpost installer and choose the Audio Unit. It's signed and notarized. Quit and reopen GarageBand so it finds the new plugin.

2. 02

   Add it to the master track

   Show the master track and open its plug-ins (the Master Track controls). Add MixOutpost from the Audio Units list in the last plug-in slot, so the phone hears the finished song. Exact menu names vary a little between GarageBand versions.

3. 03

   Start Sharing and pair

   Open the plugin window, press Start Sharing, and scan the QR code with the MixOutpost app or the iPhone Camera. You only pair once.

4. 04

   Play and tap Listen

   Play your song. It comes through on the phone speaker, AirPods, or whatever output you pick in the app.

Tips for songwriters

• Check lyrics on the speaker: if you can't follow the words on the phone speaker, the vocal is probably too low or too dull for most listeners.
• Mono test: tap Mono in the app. Plenty of speakers are mono, and wide stereo effects can make parts vanish. See mono compatibility.
• Keep a take: press Record in the app to save a WAV of the demo on the phone, then share it with your co-writer from there. See recording to the phone.
• Play it for someone: a bandmate can pair their own phone and listen at their own volume. See multiple listeners.
• Nothing changes in GarageBand: the plugin passes audio through untouched, and exporting a song doesn't send anything to the phone.

When you're ready to release

Before uploading, the loudness screen shows how loud the song is in LUFS and how a service like Spotify or Apple Music would adjust it. If loudness is new to you, start with LUFS explained. And if you outgrow GarageBand, the same plugin works in Logic Pro, where it's verified.