For Craig, a real question & thread

[dlbmusic]

Hey. I am a fulltime studio operator/engineer... and am using Logic LAP 5.5 for my main system/seq/recorder. I am a Windows user, so you know where I stand. Over the next year i will be having to move on to another system as logic for windows is officially done, (with Logic 6 release) in as LAP5.5 becomes unable to deal with newer technologies. So my question to you, since you are a big supporter and user of Sonar, 1. how do you handle all the industry pressures to use ProTools? Clients and such asking or insisting on Protools, The Buzz word... 2. How do you compare the audio summing qualities between the two? Logic and Sonar, that is. 3. VST plugs. I use a UAD-1 card. so, VST? Delay compensation? Thanks And take care. And take care.

[Alndln]

I'm not Craig but I'll throw in my 2 cents.Since Iv'e played/recorded pro for many years I don't feel or care about peer pressure,never have never will.But if I was a an engineer type just starting out I might feel some,but if your work is good,regardless of what you use that's more money in the bank than tool choice.Sonar now exports/imports OMF as well as any app.Also UAD(3.0) now has Dir-X,but was already working with the latest incarnation of FXpansions DX-VST adapter pretty good from what I hear.I don't have any VST problem thanks to the adapter,which now supports multiple outs as well.I love Sonar,I'll take the internal ouput summing bus up against anything out there,and have enjoyed as low as 1.5ms(thanks to WDM) with live input of "inserts" and "sends" and full delay compensation for DX for a while now.More midi than I need.I would like a redesigned floating mixer and slighty more precision editing,but since I have Wavelab,it's just a click away from bringing in a file.The one and only thing that Logic has that I want is the I/O plugin that lets you choose hardware inputs as an insert plug allowing for hardware integration that's plug-in like.

[gtrmac]

You should also consider Nuendo and CubaseSX. Both have advanced audio editing features and probably compare favorably to the features of Logic. I use them both and I also use Wavelab for CD editing and burning. I think that if any program is giving Protools competition it's probably nuendo since many well known producers and engineers have become Nuendo supporters. The RME hardware that Steinberg markets for use with their products is also superior. I'm using the HDSP System with the Multiface interface and the Zero Latency monitoring with the Totalmix monitor mixer is extremely flexible. I am now able to connect my inputs directly to the Multiface and I don't even use my external mixer except as a volume control to the monitor speakers. I actually don't even need to do this since the TotalMix software gives me control over the analog output but it's just convenient to have a fader and a volume control. Check it out before you decide.

[Ethan Winer]

Tim, I'm not Craig either, but I have some good answers for you. > how do you handle all the industry pressures to use ProTools? < The [i]vast majority[/i] of home recordists record either themselves or local bands. A good friend of mine has a semi-busy home studio, using Sonar. Not one client has ever even asked what program he uses, let alone requested a particular program. Nor do they care. All that matters to them is how it sounds and how much it's going to cost. There certainly are some larger project studios that do industry work, and maybe which DAW they use matters to some of their less-informed clients. But I know a [i]lot[/i] of people who use Sonar, and as far as I know this has never been an issue for any of them. --Ethan

[dlbmusic]

Thanks for the responses. I don't are about peer presure,But I have clients all the time ask if we use Protools, and I have lost a few just on my answer, oh well. That will always happen. I see the news about DirectX support with 3.o for the UAD-1 card, so cool. About the Delay compensation, is it on tracks? Busses? Also, I am really acustom to a few things in Logic, 1 in the mixer. I used to have Cakewalk proaudio 9, before I moved to logic, the mixer was bad. just bad. I can't find any info or screen shots of the mixer at the cakewalk site, or any mention of it in the 4 articles I read last night in verious mags. how is it now? How is the Audio editing? Nuendo is a top consideration, but something told me to look further into Sonar. That and the fact that Stienburg just got bought out, and you can imagine how gun shy i am now about that subject.

[Anderton]

Hi -- just got back from NAMM, gotta just give a quick response... 1. Sonar is great, I love it. The other main program I use is -- Cubase SX, which is also great, but the two programs do things differently. 2. The main pressure to use Pro Tools would be with respect to covering it for EQ. However, Mitch is a Pro Tools wizard, so he has that angle covered. As far as clients are concerned, most of my work involves mastering, so the multitrack thang is irrelevant. 3. I wouldn't worry about the Pinnacle buyout. There was a press conference at NAMM where Pinnacle very pointedly laid out their plans for Steinberg, and they were there mostly to reassure the user base. I talked to Manfred and Steve Garth from Steinberg and they were very happy about the arrangement. I don't think Pinnacle bought Steinberg to bury them. 4. Have you considered switching to the Mac? Remember, I use both platforms. And while most of my work is being done on the PC these days, I am very impressed with the progress concerning OS X and Audio Units. Surely Logic will continue to fluorish on that platform, and there's much to be said for having both a Mac and PC, as many useful programs will run only on one or the other. The main Mac problem right now seems to be Motorola's inability to deliver ultra-high speed chips; OS X really seems to be getting solid, and the CoreAudio and CoreMIDI protocols mean that finally, FreeMIDI and OMS are history. Read the Sonar and Cubase SX reviews I wrote for Keyboard, I think they delineate the differences between the two quite clearly. Also, check out the how to buy a DAW article in the January EQ.

[dlbmusic]

Thanks for the response. more info is welcomed. See my questions in my 2nd post on this thread. thanks