getting a mac book pro, looking for advice

[Eduardo Apolonia]

If you're thinking of going to PT HD later, and if you want to change your Recording software my opinion would be to go to PTLE.
As soon as you have PTLE mastered (won't take long), you will not have this problem of braking your workflow when you step to PT HD.
And all the software/plugins you'll buy will be compatible with PT HD.

 

[brianhood]

with the # of tracks joey runs up, i don't think M-powered or LE will satisfy him

no offense to joey, but from what i've seen him explain on here about the amount of tracks he uses in a session, there seems to be a ton of unecessary tracks made. I think i remember him saying it was mainly due to the automation setup in nuendo sucking. This is easily solved by changing the workflow up a bit. That, plus pro tools easy automation, should make it a breeze keeping the track count down.

I have had absolutely no track count problems in LE since getting the production Tool Kit. Even back before i had that, it was fairly easy to consolidate multiple tracks(gang vox for example) into a single stereo track.

 

[joeymusicguy]

no offense to joey, but from what i've seen him explain on here about the amount of tracks he uses in a session, there seems to be a ton of unecessary tracks made. I think i remember him saying it was mainly due to the automation setup in nuendo sucking. This is easily solved by changing the workflow up a bit. That, plus pro tools easy automation, should make it a breeze keeping the track count down.

I have had absolutely no track count problems in LE since getting the production Tool Kit. Even back before i had that, it was fairly easy to consolidate multiple tracks(gang vox for example) into a single stereo track.

to explain it simply, i do mixing with effects like a solid state machine would function...

so if i want a quarter note delay on a vocal part, i drag the vocal into the "quarter note delay" track for that song. in the track is the delay insert, set at quarter notes....

as you can guess, this would get extremely confusing with automation / few tracks, when you start add a couple of doubles (takes), maybe even triples, then overlapping triples then you want them routed seperately from each other.

doing all of this with a few tracks is pretty much impossible

and now you're going to come back with, well why

i'll tell you why... because thats how i want it to sound. confusing? i know. its hard to explain, but if i showed you you'd be like, oh...

 

[joeymusicguy]

no offense to joey, but from what i've seen him explain on here about the amount of tracks he uses in a session, there seems to be a ton of unecessary tracks made. I think i remember him saying it was mainly due to the automation setup in nuendo sucking. This is easily solved by changing the workflow up a bit. That, plus pro tools easy automation, should make it a breeze keeping the track count down.

I have had absolutely no track count problems in LE since getting the production Tool Kit. Even back before i had that, it was fairly easy to consolidate multiple tracks(gang vox for example) into a single stereo track.

p.s. i consolidate a lot, and my drum tracks only take up 3 - 4 mono and 2 stereo tracks, these days

 

[updog]

I definitely do not like using PT after getting used to Logic... It kind of feels like there's a door between everything you want to do. Just isn't as fast and easy in my opinion. I know people who use PT probably think this way about Logic...

 

[greyskull]

to explain it simply, i do mixing with effects like a solid state machine would function...

so if i want a quarter note delay on a vocal part, i drag the vocal into the "quarter note delay" track for that song. in the track is the delay insert, set at quarter notes....

as you can guess, this would get extremely confusing with automation / few tracks, when you start add a couple of doubles (takes), maybe even triples, then overlapping triples then you want them routed seperately from each other.

doing all of this with a few tracks is pretty much impossible

and now you're going to come back with, well why

i'll tell you why... because thats how i want it to sound. confusing? i know. its hard to explain, but if i showed you you'd be like, oh...

I know EXACTLY what you mean. used to do this in Sony Vegas back in the day coz automation was a pig.
Started using a LOT more when i got on to L.E and started having limited tracks!!

 

[greyskull]

I definitely do not like using PT after getting used to Logic... It kind of feels like there's a door between everything you want to do. Just isn't as fast and easy in my opinion. I know people who use PT probably think this way about Logic...

correct. Logic is a pain in the arse for editing audio if youve used pro tools for any length of time.

 

[jval]

I've never used Cubase so this could be totally wrong - but maybe the reason you hate automation is because your DAW isn't very good at it??
PT automation goes pretty deep, especially HD... maybe you'd start getting into it more. For me it's a lot easier to automate an FX send rather than create a bunch of new tracks.. but hey, everyone's different.

 

[joeymusicguy]

I've never used Cubase so this could be totally wrong - but maybe the reason you hate automation is because your DAW isn't very good at it??
PT automation goes pretty deep, especially HD... maybe you'd start getting into it more. For me it's a lot easier to automate an FX send rather than create a bunch of new tracks.. but hey, everyone's different.

i think its a lot easier to just create all the effects you want in the song, then put the events in those effect tracks when and where you want.

call me crazy, but its literally one or two operations to make a part one of the effects, as opposed to changing every parameter on a buntch of inserts

 

[Ermz]

I'd agree. I've never really enjoyed automating in Cubase, and Joey's method seems to work pretty well. I'm too much of a masochist, so I struggle with the automation anyway.

 

[Charlie E.]

Like most others here I agree that if what you really wanna do is switch to Pro Tools then it's kind of pointless to switch to Logic first. Besides if you do get Logic you won't wanna get Pro Tools

I went from PC/Sonar to Macbook Pro/Logic and have never looked back. I'm actually looking into getting a Mac Pro this Christmas for the performance boost and comfort. So while I somewhat agree with people suggesting that you get an iMac or Mac Pro instead, it's nice to have a laptop sometimes
Might as well get a Pro later when you get HD etc.

Also, I don't think there is anything wrong with being well versed in both Logic and Pro Tools. Seems a lot of studios have both these days and I know several people who used both depending on the circumstance. Logic for sequencing and composing, Pro Tools for editing and audio etc
Although with the new Logic tools in version 9... :Smokedev:

 

[brianhood]

to explain it simply, i do mixing with effects like a solid state machine would function...

so if i want a quarter note delay on a vocal part, i drag the vocal into the "quarter note delay" track for that song. in the track is the delay insert, set at quarter notes....

as you can guess, this would get extremely confusing with automation / few tracks, when you start add a couple of doubles (takes), maybe even triples, then overlapping triples then you want them routed seperately from each other.

doing all of this with a few tracks is pretty much impossible

and now you're going to come back with, well why

i'll tell you why... because thats how i want it to sound. confusing? i know. its hard to explain, but if i showed you you'd be like, oh...

I'm a visual learner, so i'd have to see what you are talking about to understand it haha. Plus i have no clue how a solid state machine functions, nor do I have any idea how to run nuendo outside of doing the basics.

If i want quarter note delay on a vocal part, i just route that vocal track to an aux track that has delay on it and automate the send mute of the delay bus on the audio track on/off where i want it. It sounds like waaayy more work than it is(it takes literally 25 seconds to route a track and automate a part).

I have a center delay, a left delay, a right delay, and a stereo delay(one that i can automate the pan/feedback/spread of the delay) all on separate Aux tracks. I share all of them with pretty much any instrument/vocal track to save on busses.

I'm definitely not trying to argue which way is better, because i have no idea what you do, and i've only been doing this 10 months, so could have everything ass backwards and wouldn't know it. It just works for me

You>me

 

[Charlie E.]

The demo of Lily Allen's "The Fear" that comes with Logic 9 uses the Joey method of doing section delays on vocals in new tracks.
At first I thought that was kind of weird (I also simply use automation on aux tracks), but I guess if you have the machine to handle extra tracks and plugins, and like to be able to visually see and have control of the parts, then I see nothing wrong with that. Ultimately it's getting the same results. Hell I've done it before myself.

 

[chase with omg]

Wait, so Joey, you run everything from your laptop? So the two screens are just connected to your laptop as an extended desktop, or do you have an actual desktop computer as well?

 

[PhilTheBeard]

He has a desktop but he is looking into a macbook pro

 

[dkZero]

I have to agree with a couple of others here on the iMac.
Is there a reason you wouldn't look at the new iMac range over the laptop path?
Price for performance these things are way, way ahead of anything else in the Apple range.
That and you would have a 27" screen with 2560x1440 res, perfect for your craft.

 

[Charlie E.]

I have to agree with a couple of others here on the iMac.
Is there a reason you wouldn't look at the new iMac range over the laptop path?
Price for performance these things are way, way ahead of anything else in the Apple range.
That and you would have a 27" screen with 2560x1440 res, perfect for your craft.

But he wants to go Pro Tools HD later. Dunno if you can do that on an iMac. And I'm aware you probably can't on a laptop either but I'm sure the laptop can still come in handy for lots of things if he gets a Mac Pro with Pro Tools HD down the road. Of course I guess he could always sell the iMac when that time comes.

 

[dkZero]

But how much later is "later" ?
If he's planning on laying money down for MBP and Logic Studio, surely the move to PTHD can't be too close?
And as with all tech, by the time you go to move to PTHD, there will be some new hardware that he will want/need.

In my opinion, don't try to future-proof yourself too much because hardware will come and go faster than you think.

I don't know it all, I'm only starting out myself. Got a lowly Macbook with Logic studio 9 + EZDrummer + some guitar plugs so I'm no software master but I know that no matter what you buy now (hardware wise), you will want something else in 2 years so usually, bang for buck is the way to go.

 

[chase with omg]

I dunno, seems illogical to switch to a Mac just for Logic, until you are ready for PTHD. Because PTHD doesn't have to be ran on a Mac. But it is whatever Joey wants to do.