Post up YOUR idea of a great Mac related home studio

[brettk7]

For doing demos, etc. Maybe with programmed drums or not.

I am going to start getting the pieces to get my own studio going. But, I'm not for sure what the essentials are in this scenario and what I should look to spend.

I plan on using a Mini-Mac as my platform, and then getting Pro-Tools or something equivalent (I'll probably just start out on Garage Band though to get my feet wet)... Lets hear some ideas. I am a complete noob to this.

[Big Boss Man]

Mac + Apogee Duet + Logic Studio + EZDrummer for the computer related stuff. Then you will also needs mics, monitors, headphones, and cables. That will be about $2500 for what is a good quality setup for just tracking songs on your own.

[brettk7]

Mac + Apogee Duet + Logic Studio + EZDrummer for the computer related stuff. Then you will also needs mics, monitors, headphones, and cables. That will be about $2500 for what is a good quality setup for just tracking songs on your own.

Hm...

Logic over Pro-Tools?

[Big Boss Man]

What is so special about Protools? Mac, Logic, and the Duet were made to work together. They make a super stable and reliable recording system.

[Audioholic]

I'm a big pro tools user, and now that you can use any hardware with PT, I would say go PT. I find the audio related stuff much easier to do in Pro tools over logic. granted it is what I am used to and others may feel differently. Since PT has switched to allow you to use any interface, I feel PT will have a big resurgence, as if it didn't have a strong foothold already. As a pro, I swap Pro tools session WAY more then any other format, so it makes life easier. In fact, every studio I have EVER worked with, has been on Pro tools, or at least has it.

Logics good to, I just find it more complicated. Its pretty deep, and comes packed with features.

Think of how many inputs you will need at once. then base your interface around that. Get a decent pair of studio monitors and some good mics. This all depends on your budget, its very easy to spend alot of money, specially when starting up.

for electronic drums, I prefer addictive drums over EZ. But also check out BFD2 and superior 2. You can trigger with an ekit if you like, or program yourself

don't forget a good reliable hardrive with lots of space and some plug ins for efx that you feel you will use regularly

[re-animator]

mac - logic - duet is tried and true. it sounds good and its very stable. also, logic out of the box is probably the most complete sequencer in terms of plugins, synths etc. (though you could make the argument for cubase as well, it doesn't run as smoothly on mac).


If you need a little more flexibility i would look at:

Mac - TC electronic Impact Twin - Logic

The impact twin comes with a light version of ableton, which you can run as a plugin with logic to give you even more flexibility. The impact twin has 2 pres, stereo line in, s/pdif and ADAT (for up to 8 more tracks). also onboard DSP comp and reverb that can be used for monitoring or as a plugin. I have the konnekt 24d that i run with my pc sony laptop and it sounds excellent and gives me everything i need and more. They are essentially the same interface, but the impact twin has newer pres and is bundled with ableton instead of cubase.


If i was using a mac the only sequencers i'd even consider would be logic and ableton (preferably some degree of both). Though i know a lot of people are pretty happy with MOTU/Digital Performer combo.
Personally, i'd go duet if i just need 2 tracks at pristine quality, and i'd go with TC if i needed a little more flexibility and abletone live. Though its kind of a wash in terms of sound quality as the TC converters are very good.



of course, i hate protools

[Nelson89]

Mac - Logic - apogee anything...

In the PT vs Logic debate...there's no real difference nowadays...its just a matter of what you wanna use. There's nothing special about Protools...but to that point, there's nothing overly special about Logic...Logic IS made by apple though...so you can almost guarantee stability. I'd be perfectly happy with either...

Mac wise...any mac will also do nowadays haha...

[LSchefman]

>>In the PT vs Logic debate...there's no real difference nowadays...its just a matter of what you wanna use. There's nothing special about Protools...but to that point, there's nothing overly special about Logic...Logic IS made by apple though...so you can almost guarantee stability.<<

Agreed, the best DAWs all handle the same basic functions, but it's also true that there are differences between the DAWs that slightly favor different uses, and/or appeal to different users. For example, it's rare for a film scorer to use PT for composing, though many switch to PT or something else for recording the orchestra, etc. Different functions are involved.

My recommendation to everyone isn't to buy a particular DAW, but to try them all, and see which one(s) whose features and personality appeal most.

There are good reasons for using Pro Tools if that's the way one likes to work, and if PT's feature set is essential to what one is doing! There are equally good reasons to choose something else if something else appeals to a user for any of a variety of reasons.

As to exchanging tracks, I've been printing tracks for mixing in audio post and music sessions at other studios for 20 years, starting with analog tape, and moving on to DATs, DA-88s, CDs, and ultimately various file formats. This wasn't a big issue in 1990, and it's an especially tiny one in 2010.

It's simply much more important to work creatively at your own place and get the ideas and necessary tracks down.

IMHO, this is also true of ancillary gear, computers, and anything else that is a recording tool. I love Apple computers, have been using them for recording since 1987. But my partner uses a PC. I use Logic and DP, he uses Cubase and PT. We exchange files on a daily basis, and work together just fine. I like to mix down using a summing mixer, into a mastering recorder; he prefers to mix ITB. Our very, very picky clients are happy either way.

We create music and do sound design for national ad campaigns. Sound quality is important, as is speed of work (the ad world moves REALLY fast) yet none of these differences in choice of tools impact our work or flexibility at ALL. I should also point out that we work with outside studios on every single project, without exception, since every project goes elsewhere for audio post/layback/mixdown.

Bottom line: choose software and gear according to your own preferences, don't worry about what anyone else thinks or is using, and make music.

When's the last time you heard anyone say, "Gee, if only that person had recorded using DAW X this would have been a great project?"

Or, "too bad this project wasn't tracked with a Frazzawahtsmis interface."

Or "Wow, you can really hear that this record was made using a Blogimpress Bejeezus Preamp!"

While it's true that people might say, "This record/film score/ad sounds great," it's my humble opinion that the person(s) using the gear have more to do with that than the names on the equipment boxes. A particular piece of gear is only useful if those creating the works decide it's useful, and then employ it in a way that makes the project better. And even if they don't have what others consider the best stuff, really good music creators still manage to make really good music.

[kludge]

A 13" Macbook Pro. And then I'd buy Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, MN.

Wait, you didn't set a budget, did you?

[Wolf Static]

Mac + Apogee Duet + Logic Studio + EZDrummer for the computer related stuff. Then you will also needs mics, monitors, headphones, and cables. That will be about $2500 for what is a good quality setup for just tracking songs on your own.

+1 on that BossMan... Good call! I like EZ Drummer so much better than BFD2, which is now collecting dust in a closet somewhere.

[Nelson89]

+1 on that BossMan... Good call! I like EZ Drummer so much better than BFD2, which is now collecting dust in a closet somewhere.

It depends on what you're doing i guess...BFD2 is a much more powerful program...but much less intuitive than EZ Drummer...if i'm trying to just lay down a groove so i can come up with some riffs and what not, i'll use EZ Drummer, but if i'm actually recording a high quality demo i'll choose BFD2 any day...BFD2 is more of an engineers toy i think.

[Wolf Static]

It depends on what you're doing i guess...BFD2 is a much more powerful program...but much less intuitive than EZ Drummer...if i'm trying to just lay down a groove so i can come up with some riffs and what not, i'll use EZ Drummer, but if i'm actually recording a high quality demo i'll choose BFD2 any day...BFD2 is more of an engineers toy i think.

Agreed - BFD is definitely way more powerful, but yeah for quick n' dirty EZ Drummer will do the job! Just out of curiosity, how do you go about 'bettering' your drums from an EZ track to a BFD track? Do you just redirect your MIDI track to BFD and do enhancements?

[Nelson89]

Ummm, to be perfectly honest, while its in EZ Drummer form (well midi for both...but you'll understand what i mean as i progress). I just come up with a general beat or whatever, maybe a fill or two, and EZ does the rest. When i decide to then take it to BFD, i will just turn off EZ, and turn on BFD and put it on the same midi track. I will then go through and move a hit here and there...change velocity here and there...make a more interesting fill etc etc. So that the midi is more realistic.

Once i'm in BFD, the first thing i do is set my output channels...even before i select kit pieces...depending on the song i might have a different arrangement, but i picture what i would have mic'd if i were recording the drums for that song in a studio. So straight away i start off with an Overheads stereo output, a kick output, and a snare output...from there i'll decide whether i'd be likely to mic anything else for that song. Lately its just been Overheads, Kick, Snare, Room (stereo output), so i've just been doing it that way.

I then go into BFD and select my kit pieces i want with absolutely no effects turned on and try to get the best sounding combination for the song from just the kit pieces and only the overheads turned up....funnily enough it ends up being matched kit pieces...but i spend a lot of time on getting the right snare.

From then on i go into the BFD mixer and set the outputs properly, i generally set the "kick in" to the kick channel, i choose either snare top 1 or 2 for the "snare" channel...ones a dynamic, the other ones a condenser i think, i just choose whichever one sounds the closest to what i already want. (i also leave the bleed on...call me crazy but i like it). Set overheads to stereo 1/master(renamed Overheads channel) and room to stereo 2(Room Channel). The ACTUAL master channel i just set to nothing...cause i don't use it...

Once i got all the channels set properly, and i'm happy with the overall groove (without effects), i will then fine tune with the master dynamics or whatever maybe, and also the "humanize" usually set to about 15%. Then i bounce the stuff down to individual tracks.

Probably sounds like a hell of a hassle...but i find it easier to get a real drum sound this way, cause i end up with raw tracks that sound like it was an actual kit recorded, and as a result, i treat it the same way. (With plug in gates, compressors, EQ etc)

Obviously i would rather a real drummer...but this works for me those times i don't...and if you know what you're doing, you get there a lot faster than my description might seem haha...

If i were to mix entirely in the program itself, i'd do something similar, and turn everything down, and only turn up the tracks i feel i need because most of it should already be in the overheads...

Hope that helps anyone haha...i guess i just do things my way...whether its right or wrong, it gets me what i need...but for obvious reasons, there's still a good use for EZ when all i want to do is track when the idea's are flowing.