by , 7:30 AM EST, December 17th, 2007

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

Here's 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 that's 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 that's shorter than that.

Set the cycle region for your ringtone.

• Select Share > Send Ringtone to iTunes.

Send your ringtone to iTunes.

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

To use your custom ringtone, you'll need to select it from your iPhone. Here's 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.

Here's 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 can't use copy protected songs in your home made ringtones, which means you'll still have to pay extra for ringtones if you want to use a song that you have downloaded from the iTunes Store.