Mac / Logic

[khilla]

Re: Mac / Logic

if ya can afford it i would definatly go for a dual intel mac with lots of ram.

On the other hand you can get a beefed up pentium 4 with insane amount of ram and have logic and maybe even an Audiophile soundcard or studio monitors for the same amount of money that would just get you a mac and logic.

A pro soundcard is def a must have ! so i dunno ...but when you messed around with reason on ur pc did you have decent soundcard ? and what was installed on the mac ?

i went the P4 way and happy i did

[anonin]

Re: Mac / Logic

dosnt reason have a "mixdown" button? i dont know, but i find that hilarious,

"ok, i just finished the tune, let me click over here on this mixdown button and i can send it out!"

[Kamal]

Re: Mac / Logic

A thread like this can easily turn into a Mac vs PC rumble, So I?ll try to avoid that...

Ok 1st of all, comparing Reason to Logic is like apples and oranges. You can also get reason for Mac, but the thing is, Logic is a sequencer while Reason is what it?s called a "soft studio", meaning it?s supposed to provide you with all the tools to make a complete track, and while being good at many things, it doesn?t particularly excel at anything. That said, the mastering suite in Reason 3.0 made a whole world of difference to it?s sound. But a more fair comparison would be between Mac/Logic and PC/Cubase or even better (imo) Sonar.

2nd, I?d say if you have the money and are serious about music production, go for a Mac...it?s the standard in most professional studios around the world, so that would give you an edge in knowledge and compatibility. Personally, with some wise choosing and buying, I think it?s possible to build an audio-dedicated PC as good as any Mac, for a lot cheaper, but the truth is that Apple have always had an advantage in the audiovisual area, because they invest in that market, and found a huge niche there. Off-the-shelf, any Mac is better than any brand-name PC, like your Dell?s or HP?s (Mac?s have stuff like Core Audio, which is awesome, while with a PC you HAVE to buy a decent soundcard). Also, you immediately get Garage Band, which at leat gets you started somewhere. Final word : the majority in this business goes with Macs, so most people follow that.

On the other hand, you can costumize or modify a PC more easily and cheaper according to your needs, building-as-you-go, the cooler plug-ins are, very often, only available for PC, and you don?t have to put up with developing/transition nightmares like the switch from OS9 to OSX and now the whole Universal Binary updates for compatibility with IntelMacs...that kinda stuff makes me unconfortable on the Mac side...they keep coming up wth these big shifts, it?s like they want people to keep getting the latest stuff and not stay attached to their old machines for too long.

The best advice, however, is that you reseach enough to find the environament and software you?re more confortable with, select a strict ammount of tools and learn them inside out before starting to make too many expenses...it?s really easy to get lost in this music-making stuff, and soon you can find yourself immersed in toys and not really learning how to use any of them efficiently. And try a bit of everything : I mean, Logic?s great, but just because it?s the standard, does it mean that Digital Performer or even Ableton Live can?t be better, for your own workflow?

Personally, since I only do this as a hobby, I?d never get a Mac, but it all depends on what you?re trying to do.

Sorry for the long post, but this kind of topic interests me, so I guess i kinda went overboard with it...

Very educational, I guess right off the bat you realized that I am a novice in the path.

Assuming I was to go with the Mac, what do you recommend I start with to get my feet wet ? (strictly in terms of software)

[khilla]

Re: Mac / Logic

i'm sorry but garageband ... if you tried reason already then you'll be tired of garageband in 5 mins

nothing but loops... wheres the fun in that :s

[Kinetic]

Re: Mac / Logic

i'm sorry but garageband ... if you tried reason already then you'll be tired of garageband in 5 mins

nothing but loops... wheres the fun in that :s

Well, it´s included, why not try to see what it can do...and you can do audio tracking and you can use plugin instruments and effects with it, so it´s not really limited to loops. It´s not HipHop Ejay or some shit like that.

Kamal, i hope my post didn´t sound too patronising

Personally, since you´d be getting GarageBand with your Mac, I´d use that to grasp the basics (if you don´t know them already). But alongisde that, you´d need something a bit more serious...in my experience, I think I tred every major and even some minor sequencers and soft studios out there, before finally "clicking" with Ableton Live.

It can be as simple or complex as you want it, i.e., it´s a program you can grow with, you can just start by working with loops, and as you learn your way around MIDI, plug-ins, mixing, audio routing, etc., you can stay with Live and use some more of it´s capabilities.

The thing that throws some people off it is the interface, which is unusual, but once you get used, it´s just simple, logic and, very important, it´s a FUN program to use. Every program I tried, I ended up finding something that pissed me off so much, I´d end up dropping that program...with Live, I just stopped worrying about shitloads of technical stuff, configurations, endless menus that open into more sub-menus...it´s mainly drag and drop stuff, most everything can be easily synced to tempo so you have huge flexibility for the material you can use, it comes with a couple of decent instruments and great built-in effects, and if you buy the Operator synth, you get a very versatile instrument right there. Then, when you feel ready, you can one day jump to Logic.

Besides, with Live, if you find yourself not in a mood to make music, you can just have fun DJ´ing a bit too.

If you wanna spend a couple of hours getting lost in this shit, go here : http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/index.php

[neoee]

Re: Mac / Logic

Excellent posts Kinetic!

Kamal, both Ableton and Live are available in demo formats which basically disable the save feature (check their websites). It's worth trying it out on your PC before spending the big money on the Mac setup. Like Kinetic said the mastering suite in Reason 3 really can give you that professional sound. Also since you listened to whatever you did on studio monitors you probably heard the track the way it was meant to be heard.

[WilDFire]

Re: Mac / Logic

one thing to keep in mind, imho, Kamal is that with logic you have to spend some serious time getting to know it (like any other program) before it comes naturally. I bought the apple pro series book and I think it was a great investment because it really gets you up to speed quick. Once you do get comfortable, which will take, conservatively, about three solid 8 hour days or about a month or two of an hour every other day, then the sky is the limit. Seriously, you can do just about anything you want to a sound in logic. Bottom line - prepare to be frustrated, but it's totally worth it.

Maybe I missed it above, but osxaudio.com has about a billion threads on just about any factor you could possibly want to konw about logic.

[miketpoto]

Re: Mac / Logic

I Heart Ableton

[Kamal]

Re: Mac / Logic

Well, it?s included, why not try to see what it can do...and you can do audio tracking and you can use plugin instruments and effects with it, so it?s not really limited to loops. It?s not HipHop Ejay or some shit like that.

Kamal, i hope my post didn?t sound too patronising

Personally, since you?d be getting GarageBand with your Mac, I?d use that to grasp the basics (if you don?t know them already). But alongisde that, you?d need something a bit more serious...in my experience, I think I tred every major and even some minor sequencers and soft studios out there, before finally "clicking" with Ableton Live.

It can be as simple or complex as you want it, i.e., it?s a program you can grow with, you can just start by working with loops, and as you learn your way around MIDI, plug-ins, mixing, audio routing, etc., you can stay with Live and use some more of it?s capabilities.

The thing that throws some people off it is the interface, which is unusual, but once you get used, it?s just simple, logic and, very important, it?s a FUN program to use. Every program I tried, I ended up finding something that pissed me off so much, I?d end up dropping that program...with Live, I just stopped worrying about shitloads of technical stuff, configurations, endless menus that open into more sub-menus...it?s mainly drag and drop stuff, most everything can be easily synced to tempo so you have huge flexibility for the material you can use, it comes with a couple of decent instruments and great built-in effects, and if you buy the Operator synth, you get a very versatile instrument right there. Then, when you feel ready, you can one day jump to Logic.

Besides, with Live, if you find yourself not in a mood to make music, you can just have fun DJ?ing a bit too.

If you wanna spend a couple of hours getting lost in this shit, go here : http://www.bigbluelounge.com/forums/index.php

Good post Kinetic, looks like I have my hands full with toys / software when I get the Mac.

As you rightfully mentioned, a lot of the softwares have a seemingly complex interface until you've dipped your head into them for 2 days straight and you start getting the hang of things.

Though this time, I really want to proceed with it. I hope this motivation sticks with me long enough to learn and get comfrotable with at least 1 of the softwares.

BTW do you have any audio samples you've made that we can check out ?

[Kinetic]

Re: Mac / Logic

What, you mean full tracks? Bah, I have one yeah, it´s just so cheesy I´m almost ashamed of putting it anywhere to mass apreciation...it´s turned out a trance track, though I certainly didn´t want it to turn out that way!!! But I guess if you really want to hear it, we can arrange something, no problem.

I also collaborated with a Spanish friend on a couple of tracks (I even put vocals on one of them), but when I "ran away" from there, I lost it all.

Also, I have a bunch of self-made loops which I don´t mind sharing or even just giving away...maybe someone will be inspired..

I´ve been into this shit for 2 years and I´m the biggest victim of what I´ve talked about that you could find : I wasted so much time just trying out sequencers, synths and effects, that all I ever completed was that track...for the past few months I´ve been into DJ´ing with Live (there´s a set of mine in the Members section), but I certainly intend to get back to producing.

[Jenks]

Re: Mac / Logic

[Kamal]

Re: Mac / Logic

^^

[miketpoto]

Re: Mac / Logic

That machine came out in 2000.... get a fucking clue.

[Jenks]

Re: Mac / Logic

iHere's a iclue iPotato, it's a igeneral istatement about apple, read between the ilines.

[khilla]

Re: Mac / Logic

Also, I have a bunch of self-made loops which I don?t mind sharing or even just giving away...maybe someone will be inspired..

I?ve been into this shit for 2 years and I?m the biggest victim of what I?ve talked about that you could find : I wasted so much time just trying out sequencers, synths and effects, that all I ever completed was that track...for the past few months I?ve been into DJ?ing with Live (there?s a set of mine in the Members section), but I certainly intend to get back to producing.

hehe, 3 years into it .. and uhm 15 tracks finished (well sorta, they never really are finished) and then uhm .... 150 + unfinished loops

thats what you get when trying different plugins and sequencers each time, or when trying to find the right sample for that track