Should it be Duet and Logic??? new mac user

K

Kerose

New member
i am looking at going from PC setup to straight Mac,

current setup,
P4 3.0Ghz, 1G Ram, XP SP3, yada yada
M-audio Fast Track Pro
software: Sonar PE7, Reason 3

eventual setup,
iMac 24 inch, 2.8 Ghz Intel core 2 duo
???????????

so i'm getting an iMac, I want to ditch the fast track pro even though testing on my wife's macbook it seems to work much better on the mac side versus windows, big surprise....

The Fast Track Pro has several features i DO NOT NEED, i don't need sends, inserts, SPDIF ins and outs, or even MIDI ins and outs as i use the M-Audio Oxygen 8 USB midi controller, so all i really need is 2 ins for mics/guitar, nice pres, a set of master outs for my powered monitors and a headphone out. That's pretty limited need wise on the interface, but i still want excellent quality. Every thing i look for it seems the price is ramped up for the ins and outs and extra stuff that i don't need, i want to pay for the sound quality only, not a bunch of stuff i'll never use. SOOO, I was looking at the Apogee Duet....has 2 XLR ins, 2 1/4" ins, 2 1/4 " outs, it's firewire, which i would prefer over usb, and i've heard nothing but great reviews about the sound. To me this seems to be the thing i've been searching for forever.

Now, on to the software, I only do my tracking of vocals and some guitar work with Sonar. I do hip hop and create all of my beats in Reason and import them as a wav file into Sonar or by using ReWire. So I do not require a bunch of synths and all that business, but i am very particular about the quality of the effects, such as for vocals and such. Instrument effects and plugins i can prolly do without, cuz my peoples got all the necessary pedals and stomp boxes i would ever need. I like that Logic seems to go hand in hand with Duet, from a control standpoint as i've read, but i fear i'm spending money on a bunch of loops, and samples, and synths and etc. that i would never use because of my using Reason for that sort of thing. Also the fact that Logic is Apple made and i'm using it with an iMac seems to be a big plus. Oh, and I would rather spend the 200 for Logic Express than the 500 for Logic Pro 8, if this is the setup that would work best for what i'm describing. If I could have found a Logic demo this would answer a lot of questions, but i don't have the Duet anyways and wouldn't really know the diff, between that and FT Pro. Any suggestions, sorry so winded, but I think that should prevent others from asking ME ?'s. Much thanks in advance.
 
I say anything as far as the Apogee interface as I only have experience with Presonus and MOTU (MOTU being the better of the two) but I can comment on Logic. I have used Cubase, Nuendo, and Logic, and out of these three, Logic is by far the best IMO. I used Logic 7 Express first and now have jumped to Logic 8 Pro. I'm not sure how dumbed down the Express 8 is, but Express 7 to Pro 8 was night and day. Knowing what I know about Pro 8, I would definitely save up a little more cash and go ahead and buy Pro 8. ;)
 
I currently use an Apogee Duet on my mac in my home VO studio. The Apogee is rock-solid. Great preamps, amazing converters. All the stuff I need and nothing I don't. Plus, the software integration with Logic is great (Logic has a software control panel embedded, so you can control the Duet without flipping over to Maestro).
 
KineticSound said:
I currently use an Apogee Duet on my mac in my home VO studio. The Apogee is rock-solid. Great preamps, amazing converters. All the stuff I need and nothing I don't. Plus, the software integration with Logic is great (Logic has a software control panel embedded, so you can control the Duet without flipping over to Maestro).
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yeah, i think that is only in Pro, i believe you have to use Maestro for Express from what i've read. I have a question about the monitoring, i have read in reviews that the levels for the monitor outs and the headphones are not independent, that whatever level you have the headphones set as is what you would have the monitor outs as, that would be a big pain in the arse. I've seen many mixed reviews on the Duet at musicians friend, even the supporters had some beefs.
 
Muyukiguki said:
I say anything as far as the Apogee interface as I only have experience with Presonus and MOTU (MOTU being the better of the two) but I can comment on Logic. I have used Cubase, Nuendo, and Logic, and out of these three, Logic is by far the best IMO. I used Logic 7 Express first and now have jumped to Logic 8 Pro. I'm not sure how dumbed down the Express 8 is, but Express 7 to Pro 8 was night and day. Knowing what I know about Pro 8, I would definitely save up a little more cash and go ahead and buy Pro 8. ;)
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i would definitely rather spend only the cash on Express, what are the improvements from that to Pro? Like I said, i am only concerned with the recording end of things. I will use absolutely NO synths, or any vst plugins or anything whatsoever, aside from effects and whatnot. So, If Logic is getting it's name from including all this software for music CREATION, then i think i would go a different route. I use Reason, and will with no doubt continue using it for all my beat creation needs.
 
Kerose said:
yeah, i think that is only in Pro, i believe you have to use Maestro for Express from what i've read. I have a question about the monitoring, i have read in reviews that the levels for the monitor outs and the headphones are not independent, that whatever level you have the headphones set as is what you would have the monitor outs as, that would be a big pain in the arse. I've seen many mixed reviews on the Duet at musicians friend, even the supporters had some beefs.
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In fact, the control panel is imbedded in both Pro and Express, as well as in GarageBand.

I believe you are correct in regards to the headphone/monitor level - I'll need to check this today. In my case, I have an independent level control on my monitors, so I've never run across it as an issue. I do know that you have the ability to independently mute the monitors / headphones; e.g. you can assign the mute function to the monitors only, the monitors and headphones together, etc.

Kerose said:
i would definitely rather spend only the cash on Express, what are the improvements from that to Pro?
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Express and Pro are essentially the same program. The Pro edition includes many times the library that is available to Express. As you state, if you don't need the loop library, instruments, drum kits, etc., then Express will likely fit the bill just fine.
 
KineticSound said:
In fact, the control panel is imbedded in both Pro and Express, as well as in GarageBand.

I believe you are correct in regards to the headphone/monitor level - I'll need to check this today. In my case, I have an independent level control on my monitors, so I've never run across it as an issue. I do know that you have the ability to independently mute the monitors / headphones; e.g. you can assign the mute function to the monitors only, the monitors and headphones together, etc.



Express and Pro are essentially the same program. The Pro edition includes many times the library that is available to Express. As you state, if you don't need the loop library, instruments, drum kits, etc., then Express will likely fit the bill just fine.
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excellent as far as Express being the way to go over Pro,

as for the level situation i would have a pain setting levels on my monitors, as they are in the back and i'd have to literally get up out of my seat, if i can mute then that would be fine, I'll have to look into that feature a bit more. I hope you are correct about the control function being available in Express as well. I thought i had read different.
 
Kerose said:
As for the level situation i would have a pain setting levels on my monitors, as they are in the back and i'd have to literally get up out of my seat, if i can mute then that would be fine, I'll have to look into that feature a bit more.

I hope you are correct about the control function being available in Express as well. I thought i had read different.
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First, on the muting, I can guarantee that the setup is easy, as I use it myself. It's a simple configuration option in Maestro, where you select what happens when you hit mute. When configured as "monitor mute only," the headphones stay live no matter what you do, and hitting mute simple toggles the monitors on and off.

As for the control panel in Express, I am running express in my voiceover studio right now and the control panel is definitely there (I don't have Pro on that computer at all, nor has Pro ever been on that machine). I like the Logic/Logic Express panel a little better than Maestro, as it's small and can run down in the corner all the time so that I don't have to switch between windows. It also lets me easily switch on phantom power to my VO mic and adjust recording levels on the fly.
 
Muyukiguki said:
I say anything as far as the Apogee interface as I only have experience with Presonus and MOTU (MOTU being the better of the two) but I can comment on Logic. I have used Cubase, Nuendo, and Logic, and out of these three, Logic is by far the best
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i have to agree. Logic is amazing. i've used cubase, nuendo, cakewalk, acid, protools, and logic beats them. its VERY user friendly and graphically it beats anything. in other words it could be equal to other softwares in its abilities and i would still like it better. its a very interesting program to use.

but ya as far as your needs i would suggest logic express. i would go as far to say you would be fine with Garage Band but logic has a mixer, line affects and it allows for more manipulation. you'll even find yourself learning more about recording using logic and you will get addicting to logic for life lol.
 
i've heard and seen amazing things about the apogee duet. i just cant bring myself to spend $500.00 on it. I mean quality doesn't ALWAYS come at a price. i have an Alesis Multimix 8 USB and it's been great to me.

Once the signal makes it to my computer the pan, gain, EQ, and in some cases reverb are already done. which i like because i've notice the less you digitally manipulate the sound the better it usually comes out.

plus i'm a drummer so the extra tracks and stereo tracks come in handy.
 
i ended up getting logic pro, i wanted the extra library of samples and such, also wave burner, i hated it at first cuz the controls were so much different than what i was used to, i read the getting started manual and am almost halfway throught he user manual, and now I FUCKING LOVE IT. It runs great on my macbook too, also my M-Audio Fastrack Pro runs just fine on the Macbook, better than with windows. I may just stay with what i got going on now, once i start getting some extensive recordings going I will see the full quality of it, but like I heard someone say, the 1's and 0's that logic records are the same as anyother program, but I can say the interface and all that shit is amazing, I LOVE the comping and takes features in combination, I haven't had a chance to use them yet, but it is EXCTLY what I have been needing in a software program, I just never knew it!!
 
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