Which software?

[zircon]

I recently purchased a whole new setup courtesy of AVAdirect.com and Costco. $2000 got me a top-of-the-line PC from Ava (complete with soundproofing, tons of storage, very fast processor, etc), while $550 paid for *2* brand new, 20.1" widescreen LCD monitors. Been using the system for a month now... it's beautiful!

[brandont]

rock-itbwhat type of things are you live tracking? vox, drums, keys, gtr?since you already have and are comfortable with PTLE, you might want to go for some outboard stuff. good hardware will make the software "sound" better. upgrade a mic, upgrade a pre, get an awesome EQ (all 3 is better but one can make a huge difference!). software may not matter so much - because you won't have to use it as much (this assuming you are tracking a bit and not working completely ITB.) sometimes outboard brings a character that can't be duplicated by software.Digi has much better intergration with Windows than it used to so i think PC's are fine (and i use mac).go to www.gearslutz.com to see how much hoopla is raised about hardware!massenburg had a great quote in tapeop -"follow your bliss...."

[booker]

Quote:rock-itbwhat type of things are you live tracking? vox, drums, keys, gtr?since you already have and are comfortable with PTLE, you might want to go for some outboard stuff. good hardware will make the software "sound" better. upgrade a mic, upgrade a pre, get an awesome EQ (all 3 is better but one can make a huge difference!). software may not matter so much - because you won't have to use it as much (this assuming you are tracking a bit and not working completely ITB.) sometimes outboard brings a character that can't be duplicated by software.Digi has much better intergration with Windows than it used to so i think PC's are fine (and i use mac).go to www.gearslutz.com to see how much hoopla is raised about hardware!massenburg had a great quote in tapeop -"follow your bliss...."Get on another music board? Perish the thought! Away from me Satan! Just kidding. I'll check it out. I really can't spend much on outboard till I get my puter/software problem fixed.I track everything live. I don't even begin to understand midi. I like a live sound though.

[aubreyz]

My two cents on software - Logic and PT are the only platforms I am well versed in so that's all the experience I can offer.Logic is great. Some of the features were not real intuitive for me, like the environment setup, but can't beat the bang for the buck. With complex midi sequencing it offers some things that PT doesn't. I used to do all my sequencing in Logic and then port to PT... but...The latest versions of PT, midi has improved. It's still not the top dog in that area, but for what I do it works great. Audio editing, I prefer it hands down to anything else I've worked with. There is a reason it is still the most widely used DAW software/hardware. Part of it is just market saturation and brand loyalty, but the functionality is arguably the best out there. Since version 6.9, I now do all midi in PT as well. It cleans up my workflow and the advantages of Logic for me are so minor that it's not worth the hassle of two steps. I still use Logic for external midi triggering, like a big sound module or a Giga PC, but everything else is PT.One advantage of PT for me has been the support, not so much from Digidesign, but from other users. The forums are frequented by pros who know the ins and outs. I've seldom had a question that wasn't answered quickly.Though everyone is loyal to what works for them, I would recommend sticking with what you know. Nothing is that much better than PT, if better at all. Facing a new learning curve is something I would only want to embark on if the advantages were very substantial. IMHO, they are not.Aub

[matto]

I'm with Aub, unless you're doing SERIOUS midi sequencing (meaning your stuff is essentially midi with one or two "real" instruments/vocals put on top) there's no reason to switch from (current) PT to a more "midi savvy" program like Logic/Cubase/DP/Sonar. Each of these may offer a few small advantages over PT, but will also have some disadvantages...and the advantages will pale in comparison to the hassle of learning a new DAW.So, unless you're unhappy with the PT way of doing things, I wouldn't switch.As far as PC or MAC, generally speaking there's no reason to switch to MAC unless you wanna use a specific piece of software (DAW or otherwise) that's MAC only.matto

[sgs4u]

Matto, once again you dole out perfect advice - Quote:I'm with Aub, unless you're doing SERIOUS midi sequencing (meaning your stuff is essentially midi with one or two "real" instruments/vocals put on top) mattoThis is exactly what i do, so my opinions are based on and biased because of that.Rock - As much as i do love Logic, and my Mac, there's just too much clear info here to argue with... Stay with ProTools on a PC! Come to think of it, I wish I'd learned how to run it a long time ago, just because there are so many more users. So for songwriting & pre-production, I choose Logic, for mixing, I would choose ProTools, if I could. FyI - One of the things I love about Logic is its ability to transpose and quantize audio (not only midi) tracks I record. Not always perfect sound, but at least i have a quick way to check out new keys and tempos even while singers are here to record. Can ProTools do this kind of thing? Logic is really great for detail work with midi triggers, and sampler players (Stylus RMX and so many awesome soft synth programs) But if you don't actually need that - who cares! It must be exciting to go shopping for a new rig!Good luck,steve

[booker]

Yeah... if I just had the money now....My wife's gonna audition for the "American Inventor" show, so we're going to Chicago at the end of the month. So much for savingsWhat do you folks think about "Autotune"? Good, Bad, or never tried it.

[prez]

Quote:Yeah... if I just had the money now....My wife's gonna audition for the "American Inventor" show, so we're going to Chicago at the end of the month. So much for savingsWhat do you folks think about "Autotune"? Good, Bad, or never tried it.Never tried Autotune. I'm a purist so I like my singers to get it right or we do it until it is right. But I've heard it can also be a kind of effect deal.As far as software recording, I'm going to be the odd man out and suggest you looking at Cubase. The new one is not bad. Nuendo is another viable option also.

[booker]

I have a friend that uses Cubase, and he likes it. I know theres a ton of effects for VST (?) There is a software that changes VST to RTAS... so.... I could do PT and still use some of those FX's.

[matto]

You're not really the odd man out Prez, I've been using Cubase since the Atari ST days . I just don't think it makes sense for rock to switch DAWs...unless he really dislikes PT.Rock, Autotune is good. However there's a newer software called "Melodyne" which does just about all the thing ATT does but with considerably better quality, and does even a LOT more.I don't use Autotune too much anymore since I got Melodyne.matto