Building a Mac based recording rig..unsure of what to get.

[chase with omg]

I'm considering going the Pro Tools route,( purchasing a 002 or 003 rack)

But..

I'm also considering going a Logic Studio route..I'm not sure of what interfaces to use with Logic..I know most are compatible, but I'm not sure which ones work the best.

Basically, I want the best bang for my buck..to start my studio, I have around roughly 2,500 to 3,000 dollars.

 

[darthjujuu]

i'm presuming you're collaborating with our best pal zakk, and IIRC you guys have a firepod and very little experience. you should maximize your usage out of that before wanting to drop 3 G's on a PT rig, dontcha think? if best bang for your buck is what you're after, mac is not a good place to start. a nice dual core desktop PC blown away with a fresh install of windows, firepod, and reaper, is more than enough for you guys. reach the point where you KNOW you need protools to increase your productivity, and not just because it's "the best" and what everyone else uses. send the extra cash towards preamps, mics, cables, cable testers, accoustic treatment, shart like that.

edit: by "blown away" in pc terms, i mean anything you buy off the shelf at best buy should be immediately formatted, and place a clean stripped down windows install on there instead to dodge all the bloatware crap.

 

[MEGA DAVE]

+1

 

[chase with omg]

I am not collaborating with him on this one..OMG is very much his thing..not mine..My goal is to have a rig up and running within the next 7 to 8 months. I'm building a different type of setup here. I'm aiming at one thats focused on scoring for film/video as well as recording artists..I'm not gonna fuck around with PC like he and a fellow producer from my town, Joey Sturgis (yes I know ) I shoulda clarified this...Joey has been using Cubase and Nuendo for years..he cannot open files on Cubase from like 4 months ago, The entire new Prada record is a giant corrupt file on his PC. I want a stable environment for my clients and my own work..If i can afford a PT/Mac setup, I want to go ahead and jump those tracks..with looking both ways of course I plan on going to college to study Production and Engineering further in depth..having knowledge and hands on experience with PT will help me with my career.

I do get what your saying..PC+Firepod+a couple mics= bam.

 

[darthjujuu]

yea, totally. and PT on a big sexy mac, + you with a giant question mark floating over your head = dud. yar we saw joeys thread, i think you missed his point. look at the point he's at in his career and how many gigantic albums hes produced UNTIL the point where he decided, ok NOWW i need to switch to protools. that's what i'm saying. wait til you feel the necessity, don't just do it because joey did it. cubase is not unstable. lots of people use it. he's also switching to a TDM rig with DSP rendering of all the digirack plugs... which in his case is necessary cause he's running a hundred gazillion tracks and instruments at once. you will not be doing so. for a long long time.

 

[Charlie E.]

If you have a firepod already and are considering going apple then why not simply get an iMac and Logic Studio?
That should only run you around $1600 total. Logic 9 is packed with instruments, plugins, amp modelers, a great sampler, audio to midi tools and new flex tools etc Talk about bang for your buck.

 

[Josh.bodnar]

I've been running a Mac setup for 2 years now, currently i have a 2.4ghz core2duo, 2gb ram, 160gb HD macBook and Logic Pro 9 with a Focusrite Saffire Pro 10 interface. It runs pretty good and can handle lots of tracks/plugins... although lately i have been noticing when using Superior Drummer, its starting to slow down a bit, but thats when i also have 28 tracks full of plugins and amplitube on 6 of those haha. I could always bounce my tracks... Im upgrading my system to a 27" 2.8ghz quad core i7, 8gb ram, 1tb HD iMac. I feel the need to do this because ive been starting to use some very processor intensive plugins and my track count is growing Im very excited to order it next week.

 

[iHate]

dude don't use protools, nuendo has way clearer highs and gives you that big oomph punch.

 

[dani]

whilst iHate is entirely incorrect, i also recommend not using protools, for now

thanks,

 

[greyskull]

dude don't use protools, nuendo has way clearer highs and gives you that big oomph punch.

does it give you the booM?

 

[gabriel g.]

A good backline, good mic-pres, good Mics, good cables, a good room, good acustics will bring you much more then a mac and protools (I have a mac and I´m using logic 8)

And stuff like that wont go down in value like a Pc or Mac

 

[digitalmikey]

Logic 8 user here as well. It's more preference on a DAW than anything. Like XGabrielX said, a good backline is a great place to start.

 

[lilhermiejobo]

does it give you the booM?

I have the very first version of Nuendo and it DOES bring the boom!!!
If you pay the bucks, you should get the boom.

 

[sk8ersick666]

I'm so glad I read this post

My noob ass was saving up to get myself a Mac and a digirack cause my PC set up has been slowing down on me.

I always go with what the pro's on here say...fuck the Mac, I'm gonna get myself some mics or something..hehe

 

[Ionei]

I'm considering going the Pro Tools route,( purchasing a 002 or 003 rack)

But..

I'm also considering going a Logic Studio route..I'm not sure of what interfaces to use with Logic..I know most are compatible, but I'm not sure which ones work the best.

Basically, I want the best bang for my buck..to start my studio, I have around roughly 2,500 to 3,000 dollars.

I spose cause joey just did it....


I've heard bad things about the 002 and 003 onboards vs other units in the same range. also just 003 vs any other thing in its price range.

although i am planning on getting a 8 core pro sometime next year just because then i am guarenteed no stutters or shit and also looking into going all out and getting a HD setup just cause i can.

Also, why not get something better then an 002/003 and use a different program but also pick up like an mbox or something and learn pt on that?

I recently did a pt class at a conference i went to and it wasnt drastically different from anything else i've used(although i have used PT before, once or twice when i first got given my 001 and that was like pro tools 6.4, it was SO much worse on my CPU then Reaper was)

Get something better sounding then a 003 and spend whatever left over you have on upgrading your computer or buying some more nice gear.

 

[greyskull]

there is nothing vastly superior to the 003 at the same price point. it sounds great, and you get free software with it
Bargain.

 

[darthjujuu]

a buddy of mine allowed me to "hang on" to his 002 board after he graduated school and never touched the thing, i've been using it with a digimax ever since and either it's in my head or my firepod sounded better. no experience with the 003, though. i can't really think of a reason why you'd want an 003 (besides the board) over a profire2626.

edit: and the 003 comes with PT8, profire does not.

dude don't use protools, nuendo has way clearer highs and gives you that big oomph punch.

this is the weirdest debate. one DAW sounding differently from another can only come down to the coding of the summing matrix, and the here-say is just the opposite, that protools adds a bit of a bright shimmer. honestly, i think this is hogwash, and just something in peoples heads. it's more likely a result of using digirack plugs and psycho-accousticaly fooling yourself into thinking it's one DAW against another.

i suppose if someone wanted to test it, they could try to make identical mixes in PT and in cubendo and then try to phase match them and see if it cancels 100% or if a little shimmer shadow is left behind. i bet gearslutz has done this hundreds of times.

 

[Metaltastic]

I can only hope he was trying to make a Tad joke (and butchering it in the process ), rather than being serious...

 

[-Loco-]

I'm not a PT user but, What the guys are trying to say kinda sounds in comparison to someone who's just started guitar picking up an Invader as his first amp. I've got an intel mac pro and have spent my whole time trying to get a configuration for a windows setup to record my music because mac didn't cut it. Didn't get to use any of the freebies. Believe me they go a LONG way! People say 'Oh yeah everyone that knows how to record properly uses macs' that is totally bs. It's all about preference and yes bang for buck.There are SO many free plugins/tools that can help you on windows platform that will be the foundation of your SE knowledge which I totally recommend before you go for this PT stuff. Doesn't matter if your mac or PC is slow with that budget you can afford to upgrade. Get a basic interface, Cubase and some songs.

Whatever you do, dont go in search of those shitty versions of Cubase that are available to torrent because that will be the source of all of your latency and corruption issues.

 

[zackpennington]

Logic 9 is nice. Profire 2626 works with Logic and Protools M-Powered.