Logic Pro

[Mark Schmieder]

8 hours ago, jarrell said:

 

Just checking - do you use the Audio MIDI Setup app, and if so, are you using a configuration that has the Babyface, not the Fireface, current?

Yep, but I always go for redundancy so every possible place I can find to set things, I do. And I am fully up-to-date with everything, clean installs, trash preferences, etc. Nevertheless, I think a lot of crus started creeping in during recent major releases of macOS, so I have been manually deleting stuff that clearly is mothballed, such as old 32-bit stuff that somehow stuck around on my system. I also try to rout out any demos of plug-ins -- sometimes hard to find -- as those can corrupt a lot of things. I now have a policy of never trying demos due to their tendency to do deep damage thanks to the mechanisms of anti-piracy that they employ.

 

If I ever get caught up to where I am at least where I was pre-COVID, I may have incentive to put more effort into it, but as I can still use Logic successfully for running my personal MIDI transform scripts that are 100% essential to my work with VSL as I must convert Note On Velocity to MIDI CC, I'm OK for now. And due to portability, I would emphasize learning Cubase first anyway over Logic, if Digital Performer ever goes away. I definitely admire what they've done with Alchemy. I have no interest in the plug-ins or other stuff as I'm all set in that department. I no longer use MOTU's built-in stuff either, although it's pretty good (even if they charged extra!).

[nursers]

2 minutes ago, Mark Schmieder said:

Yep, but I always go for redundancy so every possible place I can find to set things, I do. And I am fully up-to-date with everything, clean installs, trash preferences, etc. Nevertheless, I think a lot of crus started creeping in during recent major releases of macOS, so I have been manually deleting stuff that clearly is mothballed, such as old 32-bit stuff that somehow stuck around on my system. I also try to rout out any demos of plug-ins -- sometimes hard to find -- as those can corrupt a lot of things.

Such an important point. I'm a rabid Mac user of 30 years standing but I hate how MacOS doesn't do a little more housekeeping behind the scenes in this regard.

[Docbop]

7 minutes ago, Dr Nursers said:

Such an important point. I'm a rabid Mac user of 30 years standing but I hate how MacOS doesn't do a little more housekeeping behind the scenes in this regard.

I wish Apple would offer a bare bones install for OSX similar to Unix and Linux have.   Only the OS and necessary apps needed for configuring and basic tasks.     When I worked for aa large bank we had a lot of Windows servers and even the server install was lighter weight than the desktop.  Then if you really dig down you can modify and customize the Windows installer and make things lean and mean.     With all the audio and video production houses that use OSX it would be great to have an install option for a lean and mean OSX install. 

[nursers]

2 minutes ago, Docbop said:

I wish Apple would offer a bare bones install for OSX similar to Unix and Linux have.   Only the OS and necessary apps needed for configuring and basic tasks.     When I worked for aa large bank we had a lot of Windows servers and even the server install was lighter weight than the desktop.  Then if you really dig down you can modify and customize the Windows installer and make things lean and mean.     With all the audio and video production houses that use OSX it would be great to have an install option for a lean and mean OSX install. 

Abso-bloody-lutely - there are some real blind spots Apple have and I don't see it getting much better  

[ElmerJFudd]

For sure there is no shortage of DAW options which is amazing.  A testament to software developers’ love of music and a desire to build something that people will make music with.  

 

Could the market really be so large that all of these DAWs have scratched out enough users to continue developing updates, adding new features and paying the bills?  I’m honestly not sure - I know at least a few of these projects are subsidized by hardware sales - Apple sells computers, Presonus sells audio/midi hardware, as do Steinberg,  MOTU, Ableton, etc.  Many sell virtual instruments and sound packs as add ons.   
 

While it’s true that they all have shared features, competition continues to spur development of capabilities that are at least for a brief time absent from the others.  User interface and workflow are certainly quite different one to the next.  These days they tend to copy popular features from one another.  

[Reezekeys]

I know how this is gonna sound but I can't help it. I'm a Mac user who runs their computer into the ground, using rubber bands and baling wire to keep an antique going as long as possible. I just got a new 15" Air after 10 years with my late-2013 MBP. Migration assistant really pulled its weight imo. I was up & running very quickly. Passwords, email settings, etc., everything went over. Same deal years ago when I went from my 2007 Santa Rosa MBP to the late-2013. This time however, with the new chip architecture I elected to migrate my user folder only - no apps. That meant extra time downloading Apple Silicon versions. It was also an opportunity to start fresh, since I had a lot of crud taking up space; apps I never use or hadn't in a long time. The result has been a pretty painless transition and some SSD space reclaimed. Mark, I wonder if some of the issues you had were from migrating old system prefs?

 

I really don't consider myself an Apple fanboy, I just have to give some props to how they make these major transitions - from PPC to Intel, OS9 to OSX, now Intel to AS - fairly painless. Now, if you want to talk about the MacOS bugs sometimes introduced with new versions or point upgrades, that might be a different story! Of course anyone using a Mac to make music - and especially if you're making a living making music - never rushes to apply an update! You wait for the consensus as to whether it's safe or not.

 

Now, back to Logic! I'm discovering the "Drum Machine Designer"... and the "Drummer Track"... whaaa?!!

[Muad’Dib]

this has certainly, given me a lot to think about? Thank you all!

[Stokely]

Drummer is really cool.  It's a different beast, as I understand it, from the loop-based "drummers" like EZ drummers.  You could say it's "AI" I guess   It makes choices based on the various settings, which might drive some people crazy, but as someone who almost never has set parts in my head, I love it.  Tweak the settings, see what Drummer does with it   You can always have the Drummer notes play different sounds--I don't care for most of the Logic drum samples, I like to use a few Kontakt drum libraries.  It's a bit of a pain to set up the first time, but then you can save it as a template or maybe a channel patch etc.    I use a "track alias" to have Drummer play another sound source, this is also useful for other midi instruments as you don't have to make a copy of the original.   And of course you can always render out the Drummer's midi notes for fine editing, though you then would lose being able to make changes through its interface.

If you set up your song sections (at the top, I think it's called the arrangement track--not markers) then when you make a Drummer track it will set up regions matching those.  Also remember that you can make tiny regions with wildly different settings--like make one that is two beats long with the fill setting turned way up for a fill before the next section, or have the swing turned way up for a different feel,  etc.   

There are some excellent youtube vids on Drummer and pretty much every other aspect of Logic.