Topic: Mac users . .Logic?

[hummat]

Hey Ya'll,

New to this whole recording thing and am looking for some software reccomendations.  This place seems to have all of the answers (and then some!).

For the handful of recording I've done thus far, I 've been using the trial version of SoundStudio and have been really pleased.  I find it much easier to use than Audacity.  In the future I will have a need for a multitrack application.
 a) I have a box of old 4-track recordings from college of some friends and I jamming that I would like to move off of cassette soomer rather than later and the ability to line out/in track for track is a must. 
b) On rare occasions, 'lappy' may come out to do some multichannel recording. 

A while back I grabbed the demo copy of Logic because I thought I;d have time to give it a real test drive.  Well, of course I was able to transfer one of the old cassettes, then the next thing you know, 30 days have gone by.  From what I saw, I liked.

I am ready and able to spend a little cash and am wondering what the general thought is on Logic/ProTools/Cubase/etc. . . .

I am a video guy by nature and based on the awsome-ness of Final Cut Pro, my first thought would be Logic.  but I know that Apple has dumped much more into FCP than Logic.

Sooooooooooooo. . . . . thought/opinions/suggestions?

-jay

[Wiggle]

I've used both Audacity and Cubase SE for field recording and I have to say that I liked Audacity more. If only for the pure simplicity of it. That and the better metering. For post, I've been using Cubase SE exclusively for just over a year now.

PTools would be a pain in the field because you'd have to have that MBox with you, no?

[hummat]

Going multichannel in the field I'd need the break-out-box (m-audio Firewire 1814) anyhow to get that many ins.  And this will be a rarity.  Pretty much just localized to my local venue, where I won't be sketchy about lugging out and setting up that much cash  I mean gear!

It may be the UI, but Audacity just doesn't seem real intuitive to me.  Cause I;ve tried. Free is always the first option.

[keytohwy]

I think Logic has always been a solid sequencing app, with less focus on live recording.  ProTools and others have focused on live recpording and less sequencing.  That said, the last couple of years, things have come closer together (Logic getting ebtter at live and PT better at sequencing).

If you are a FCP guy, you might also note that SoundTrack Pro (a part of Final Cut Studio) has gained great ground since 1.0.  I don't think you can record into it directly, but it does nice multitrack editing, and if you are used to the FCP UI, you'll be right at home.

Don't forget that GarageBand can record multitrack, and depending on needs, might do the trick.  Also, if you are a FCP/S owner, you have QTPro.  QT can be used to capture audio from any number of tracks and sampling rates.  Just setup a default device in the Audio MIDI setup and you are all set.  You can even aggregate devices in AM setup and QTPro will follow that.  Of course after recording, you'll need an editor, so that brings us back to your original question.  But, for quick on it's feet multitrack recording, QTPro is pretty solid.

And a little background on Apple-branded audio tools.  You mention that Apple has focused on FCP and not audio.  I disagree.  Apple has put tremendous effort inot FCP, you are right.  But bear in mind that Apple's main competitor in that space is Avid, who also happens to own ProTools.  So Apple has set out to compete and has done so very well, first with the aquisition of Logic, and then the creation of apps such as Garageband, SoundTrack Pro, and a CoreAudio.  Apple is better poised to be the choice of a complete package in this space, moreso than Avid.  The interoperability between these apps is awesome, to boot!

Good luck and let us know where you land.

Me?  Record with QTPro, and edit in SoundTrack Pro.  Logic was too cumbersome for me to get my head around, and I didn't need all of the plugins/effects.  Also, take a look at Logic Express.  Main diff is the set of plugins you get.

keytohwy

[hummat]

Totally forgot about QTPro!  I'll give that a look/see this weekend.