Apple Logic Pro /LogicExpress Discussion

Hi there.

I'm shopping for a new studio environment, and I'm trying to figure out
whether logic pro will meet my needs.

Traditionally, I've been using sonar in an XP / 98 environment, but for
various professional reasons my next system will probably be an
intel-based mac, and I'm trying to figure out how to build out the studio
software / hardware effectively. It's been hard for me to determine
whether logic pro will do all this.

What I'd like to do, basically, is manipulate live inputs (line in
from synthesizers, mic ins, etc), VST's within the recording environment,
internal recorded tracks / samples, and midi events, all on one integrated
piece of software. I'd also like to be able to send effects loops, both
"real" (IE, through an effects processor) and "Virtual" (ie, through a
virtual effects processor.)  I'd like to be able to do this all in
software.

It looks like getting a multi-input firewire device and an external
control of some sort (mixer-style sliders) with logic pro might function
for what I'm trying to accomplish, but I'm interested in talking to anyone
who might have set up something like this. I'm particularly interested if
you can use logic pro for a "Virtual" live mixer, mixing down different
firewire mic inputs into a single output via either firewire or a
write-to-disk kind of a mix.

Traditionally, I've been doing mixing on a physical board (alesis studio
24), but you can't really easily control all of the volumetric elements on
a physical board, since you have VST's and multitimbral synths that have
separate level controls, and the only way to deal with this is assigning
every device you want to control a physical output line and mixing it in
analog. Then, at some point, you have to re-digitize it just to have it in
a clean digital form. I find this somewhat cumbersome.

Anyway, I'd like to talk to anyone who has done this sort of "virtual
mixer" setup on logic pro. Or any other tool, really.

Thanks.


                   Sean T. Lamont, Director Of Engineering
       Innovative Communications Technologies, Inc.  http://www.ict.net
              email: lamont@... / sean@...
          "Do not fear mistakes, There Are None" - Miles Davis