Apple Logic Pro /LogicExpress Discussion

Without knowing what you are going to be doing musically, I can't  
recommend specific products, but can tell you that I wish I had  
bought differently.  I have 5 audio interfaces that I have either  
sold or am storing, because they had a lot that I needed but were  
missing one or two things.   I've purchased extra keyboards,  
controllers, computers, software, everything because I couldn't  
afford everything I wanted at the time I wanted it.   Since you're in  
the enviable position of possibly not having to space out your  
purchases to a single $250 item each year, you should focus on fewer  
items that each do everything you want.

Some examples of bad buys for me:

76-key keyboard.  I'm a pianist, for god's sake.  76 keys is great  
for a lot of things, but not Rachmaninoff and other "big" piano  
music, and after years of my left and right pinkies slamming the  
edges of the keyboard looking for keys that weren't there, I had to  
buy another keyboard - this time getting the full 88 keys that I  
needed from the beginning.

iMac - yes, it is more powerful than my G4, but I miss the PCI bus  
more than I ever thought possible.  I can't use my Hammerfall audio  
interface, nor can I upgrade to FW 800.

Hammerfall Lite - yes, it was rock solid with super drivers and all  
that, but because I didn't buy the dsp version with the breakout box,  
I got stuck daisy-chaining different mixers and preamps together to  
get the number of mic inputs I needed.  So what did I do?  Replace it  
with a used MOTU 828 with only 2 preamps, to which I have my EZBus,  
Duo, Ozone and VC3Q patched in to get enough mic inputs to record my  
band.  Please see my "clock woes" post from earlier to see how that  
turned out.  For some extra cash I could've had a Pre 8 (sorry.  
couldn't resist).

So, if you are going to record a band, ask dad for a single interface  
that has all the inputs, outputs and mic pres you are going to want  
for at least the next few years.  If you're going to do a lot with  
virtual synths and the like, get the controller that has enough  
faders, pots, keys and drum pads to allow you to do what you want to  
do right off the bat.

If you ask him for a little piece of this; a little bit of that, you  
will not be fully satisfied with any of it, and will spend a lot of  
your own money upgrading to what you should have asked for in the  
first place.  So I recommend identifying your needs, and when you  
"accidentally" leave that music catalog out on the dining room table,  
make sure you've circled only the items that meet all your needs.

That's my only-partially-bitter 2¢

Gregory

BTW, the "buy before you graduate" advice is good.  I've seen  
academic pricing at AudioMIDI.com as well, and of course, apple's own  
website has an education store.

On Feb 19, 2007, at 9:07 AM, pete_buchwald wrote:

> Hey Guys,
>
> I'll be graduating from audio school and I like to think/hope my  
> dad will be up for helping
> me get some sweet gear as a graduation gift.
>
> I'm trying to think of some cool ways to kind of "supersize" my  
> Logic. Any thoughts?
> Maybe a control surface, or mega-input i/o .....
>
> The Control 24 comes to mind, but not sure if that interfaces with  
> Logic?
>
> Thanks for any input!
>
> Pete
>
>
> 



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