Newbie advice pro tools/logic course.

[topgun072003]

Remember that Logic only runs on Macs so think about that before choosing your platform. Definitely take the Pro Tools class! I have used Pro Tools for awhile, but recently my friend needed a project mastered on Logic and I made the switch very easily! Logic is probably easier to start off with using and Logic 9 I hear is very powerful.

 

[gordiegords]

It seems that the duet is vvery highly rated indeed, now please forgive me if i come accross as stupid but i notice it doesnt do midi, i plan on using a midi keyboard for the vst's, would the lack of midi capabilities on the duet not hinder me here??

 

[deej999]

It seems that the duet is vvery highly rated indeed, now please forgive me if i come accross as stupid but i notice it doesnt do midi, i plan on using a midi keyboard for the vst's, would the lack of midi capabilities on the duet not hinder me here??

Hi goridegords,

I'm assuming by your forum name you are based in Newcastle, UK?
Digital Village and other UK retailers offer Apogee Duet and Logic studio as a package. Looks like a pretty good deal!

Duet is very very nice. I've been through a few interfaces and the duet is my favourite 2 in/2 out portable interface.

99.9% of MIDI Controller keyboards (ones without their own onboard sounds - only used to control Software Instruments in Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools etc) are USB.

If you want to use your own MIDI Synth or MIDI hardware then you can get cheap and cheerful MIDI to USB interfaces. Work really well and simple to use.



Ouch. Just got an email from macprovideo with a promotion which is amazing. They are offering 25% off their monthly subscription for life! So, $18.75 per month instead of $25 a month.

Here's the link incase anyone reading this is interested.
http://www.macprovideo.com/plans/new/pro25
It's good until Midnight (PST) February 24th, 2010

deej

 

[gordiegords]

Hi goridegords,

I'm assuming by your forum name you are based in Newcastle, UK?
Digital Village and other UK retailers offer Apogee Duet and Logic studio as a package. Looks like a pretty good deal!

Duet is very very nice. I've been through a few interfaces and the duet is my favourite 2 in/2 out portable interface.

99.9% of MIDI Controller keyboards (ones without their own onboard sounds - only used to control Software Instruments in Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools etc) are USB.

If you want to use your own MIDI Synth or MIDI hardware then you can get cheap and cheerful MIDI to USB interfaces. Work really well and simple to use.



Ouch. Just got an email from macprovideo with a promotion which is amazing. They are offering 25% off their monthly subscription for life! So, $18.75 per month instead of $25 a month.

Here's the link incase anyone reading this is interested.
http://www.macprovideo.com/plans/new/pro25
It's good until Midnight (PST) February 24th, 2010

deej

Hi, haha no i'm not from Newcastle, I'm from Scotland, Looks like i'll go with the duet, its reviews seem very good indeed, I take it it isnt restriced to logic? i know i ask alot of questions, i'm very new to mac recording so i need to get up to speed, i'm reading alot on tweakheads also, those apple courses seem like a good investment too

 

[deej999]

Hi, haha no i'm not from Newcastle, I'm from Scotland, Looks like i'll go with the duet, its reviews seem very good indeed, I take it it isnt restriced to logic? i know i ask alot of questions, i'm very new to mac recording so i need to get up to speed, i'm reading alot on tweakheads also, those apple courses seem like a good investment too

I was close... ;-)
The Duet is not restricted to Logic. It has some special integration with Logic, Garageband and Soundtrack Pro, but there's no interface around that locks you into Logic. However, I think it's a Mac only interface. And it works beautifully with great sounding results.
Yeah, definitely the macprovideo courses are top-notch. Good Logic forum there too.

deej

 

[gordiegords]

I was close... ;-)
The Duet is not restricted to Logic. It has some special integration with Logic, Garageband and Soundtrack Pro, but there's no interface around that locks you into Logic. However, I think it's a Mac only interface. And it works beautifully with great sounding results.
Yeah, definitely the macprovideo courses are top-notch. Good Logic forum there too.

deej

yeah i'll go with that one, now for the mac, i know next to nothing about them so i have been doing a fair bit of researching, i was looking at the 27 inch imac on the apple website, although it is a tad expensive but hey ho i will have to save up more than i would like, do you think it would suit my needs

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac

the cheaper of the 27 inch, does anyone else have any cheaper links?

thanks in advance

 

[mikes70mustang]

I am in sort of the same situation as OP not exactly, but looking to get a setup together in the next year-ish. I had a pro sound engineer tell me that Pro Tools seems to make more sense or be an easier learning curve to "engineers" or people who know all about compression, eq, etc., im not sure if you have such a background, but I figured the suggestion couldnt hurt.

 

[gordiegords]

I am in sort of the same situation as OP not exactly, but looking to get a setup together in the next year-ish. I had a pro sound engineer tell me that Pro Tools seems to make more sense or be an easier learning curve to "engineers" or people who know all about compression, eq, etc., im not sure if you have such a background, but I figured the suggestion couldnt hurt.

hey, i dont have that background but i'm getting the feeling i will stay away from pro tools although still take the course, those apple courses sound good too.

 

[deej999]

yeah i'll go with that one, now for the mac, i know next to nothing about them so i have been doing a fair bit of researching, i was looking at the 27 inch imac on the apple website, although it is a tad expensive but hey ho i will have to save up more than i would like, do you think it would suit my needs

http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac

the cheaper of the 27 inch, does anyone else have any cheaper links?

thanks in advance

Get the best you can afford now. Ideally a quad-core iMac will last you longer than a dual-core. But both machines will run Logic very well.

Get as much ram as possible. 4GB should be fine to start with and you can add 3rd party ram later on if you ever need it.

That's 'bout it. as big a hard drive as your budget allows. Not much else to choose!

deej

 

[gordiegords]

Get the best you can afford now. Ideally a quad-core iMac will last you longer than a dual-core. But both machines will run Logic very well.

Get as much ram as possible. 4GB should be fine to start with and you can add 3rd party ram later on if you ever need it.

That's 'bout it. as big a hard drive as your budget allows. Not much else to choose!

deej

i'lll just get what i can afford then, i dont imagine i will be putting loads of presure on the cpu so i shouldnt have any problems as you say, i would like to run a couple of programs with it, probably reason and logic (after getting to grips with garageband) i take it wont have any problems doing that, as well as being a home computer i.e web browsing etc, sorry but i knownowt about macs, i'am reading up on them though

 

[deej999]

i'lll just get what i can afford then, i dont imagine i will be putting loads of presure on the cpu so i shouldnt have any problems as you say, i would like to run a couple of programs with it, probably reason and logic (after getting to grips with garageband) i take it wont have any problems doing that, as well as being a home computer i.e web browsing etc, sorry but i knownowt about macs, i'am reading up on them though

Yes, you should be fine doing that.

If you try running an 80 track project using only soft synths and lots of effects and rewiring into Reason at the same time, sure you'll have problems

Logic can freeze tracks which makes them more CPU resource friendly and even in Garageband there are work arounds to avoid taxing the Mac too hard.

Macs can really be fun and fairly simple to use. There's always more to learn in the world of computers which is why I recommended the tutorial videos at macprovideo. Even knowing how to get around the Mac OSX operating system will be of great benefit and free you up to concentrate on making good music!

This free guide on switching from Windows to Mac may be good to watch -
http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/xpToLeopard

deej

 

[gordiegords]

Yes, you should be fine doing that.

If you try running an 80 track project using only soft synths and lots of effects and rewiring into Reason at the same time, sure you'll have problems

Logic can freeze tracks which makes them more CPU resource friendly and even in Garageband there are work arounds to avoid taxing the Mac too hard.

Macs can really be fun and fairly simple to use. There's always more to learn in the world of computers which is why I recommended the tutorial videos at macprovideo. Even knowing how to get around the Mac OSX operating system will be of great benefit and free you up to concentrate on making good music!

This free guide on switching from Windows to Mac may be good to watch -
http://www.macprovideo.com/tutorial/xpToLeopard

deej

yeah i'll check that out thanks man, so i have the mac, interface and software sorted, what about midi keboards, i'll do some research on them, i notice someone said (it might have been yourself) that the firewire plug is diferent from the firewire input on the mac, i pressume there are adapters for that?

 

[deej999]

There's two types of firewire connection.
FW400 and FW800.
The 800 is faster. Most audio interfaces use 400 still. Most current Macs have switched to FW800 ports. So you can get adaptor cables to connect a fw400 device to a fw800 port very easily. Like this -
http://www.apogeedigital.com/store/standard-cables.php

MIDI keyboards:

What's your budget?
How many keys do you need?
Weighted keys for a piano feel or would a more basic feel be ok?
Do you want knobs, faders and buttons so you can control Logic or software of your choice? (Good idea - it makes music production a lot of fun).

 

[gordiegords]

excellent, hmm yeah it would be good to controll the sofware through the keboard i guess, would make things easier, i'm no concert pianist so wieghted keys aren't a must, as for length, well i'll have to think about that, i'll do some research, again

 

[deej999]

excellent, hmm yeah it would be good to controll the sofware through the keboard i guess, would make things easier, i'm no concert pianist so wieghted keys aren't a must, as for length, well i'll have to think about that, i'll do some research, again

Often does not matter to get a full length or not. Depends on you. All smaller keyboards have octave up/down buttons.

Good luck withe the research.

M-Audio do pretty decent MIDI controller keyboards.

 

[gordiegords]

Often does not matter to get a full length or not. Depends on you. All smaller keyboards have octave up/down buttons.

Good luck withe the research.

M-Audio do pretty decent MIDI controller keyboards.

yeah thats cool, i did look at an m audio one, i seen it on flea bay, i would spend about £100 to £150 on it.

I'm really looking forward to it all, I quite fancy getting into Reason and being able to Re-Wire into logic sounds like a cool idea, Also there are some conflicting theories about weather you can Re-wire into Garagband, some say you can, some say you cant, i will have fun trying though, in saying that what is the harm in just mixing down a file then importing it to garageband, although i can see the benefit in being able to rewire one of the reason synths into your programe to then record, cant wait.

 

[gordiegords]

Often does not matter to get a full length or not. Depends on you. All smaller keyboards have octave up/down buttons.

Good luck withe the research.

M-Audio do pretty decent MIDI controller keyboards.

I'm thinking about a change of plan, I'm now considering going for a course to learn Ableton, there is a college near me that does this but i'm not sure if i should go for the pro tools course which will have the benefits of covering most things multitrack recording or going with a more specialist course i.e the ableton which would prpbabaly only benefit me if i had that software, which i'm thinking of getting.