Logic First Impressions

[Conduit]

I recently purchased Logic to replace a less then legal copy of Ableton, I'll be updating this thread periodically with some pro's and con's of Logic. Remember that all of these pro's and con's are relative to my previous experience with Ableton.

Pro's:
-EQ has a built in visualizer
-EQ in general is much nicer
-Mixing interface is well thought out, and easy to use.
-Easy surround sound
-Automation curves
-Easy to set up multiple templates
-Easy to create scores, and work with actual notation
-Can create notes both on the entire project as well as individual tracks which would be helpful in collaborations.

Con's:
-Can't group tracks
-Using AU's (Apples form of VST's) requires a lot of clicking through menus
-Quantization is a bit hard to figure out / unintuitive. I'm sure this will improve as I figure out what I'm doing however.

[ChocolateChicken]

To quantize, simply select the midi notes in the Piano Roll you want quantized, and press the big "Q" button at the top of the Piano Roll. To select the value of the quantization, the quantize value bar is right next to the "Q."

To create track groups in Logic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhUojnKOKm4

As for using AU's, all you need to do is click on an empty plugin slot on a channel strip to select your AU plugin. What menus are you referring to when you say that it requires "a lot of clicking through menus?"

[Lavender_Harmony]

I recently purchased Logic to replace a less then legal copy of Ableton, I'll be updating this thread periodically with some pro's and con's of Logic. Remember that all of these pro's and con's are relative to my previous experience with Ableton.

Pro's:
-EQ has a built in visualizer
-EQ in general is much nicer
-Mixing interface is well thought out, and easy to use.
-Easy surround sound
-Automation curves
-Easy to set up multiple templates
-Easy to create scores, and work with actual notation
-Can create notes both on the entire project as well as individual tracks which would be helpful in collaborations.

Con's:
-Can't group tracks
-Using AU's (Apples form of VST's) requires a lot of clicking through menus
-Quantization is a bit hard to figure out / unintuitive. I'm sure this will improve as I figure out what I'm doing however.

You can group tracks. Go to the mixer, select what tracks you want to group using Shift+Click, then select a Group by clicking on the empty Group space, the dark one below the Stereo Out box.

AU is also simple. Click the empty space below I/O, go to whichever plugin you want. If you want a 3rd party, go down to AU Instruments, and they're all arranged by manufacturer.

Quantize is also simple. Select the notes you want to quantize, in the piano roll, then next to the Q button, select the division you want to quantize by, ie 1/16. Once selected, it will quantize for you.

Something to prevent headaches later, when drawing in the piano roll, go to the far right, and under Snap, select Division, then below that "Snap to Absolute Value". Then in the transport bar below the time signature, it will have a division. This will automatically quantize the notes you draw or move to that division.

[Conduit]

You can group tracks. Go to the mixer, select what tracks you want to group using Shift+Click, then select a Group by clicking on the empty Group space, the dark one below the Stereo Out box.

AU is also simple. Click the empty space below I/O, go to whichever plugin you want. If you want a 3rd party, go down to AU Instruments, and they're all arranged by manufacturer.

Quantize is also simple. Select the notes you want to quantize, in the piano roll, then next to the Q button, select the division you want to quantize by, ie 1/16. Once selected, it will quantize for you.

Something to prevent headaches later, when drawing in the piano roll, go to the far right, and under Snap, select Division, then below that "Snap to Absolute Value". Then in the transport bar below the time signature, it will have a division. This will automatically quantize the notes you draw or move to that division.

I guess I should have been a bit more clear, by unable to group tracks I meant you can't collapse a group of tracks into one folder. Not link tracks for mixing purposes.

As for the AU, it is fairly easy, I just felt like it should be in the media window or a similar menu. In Ableton the VSTs are listed along the side of the screen, and you can simply drag them onto midi tracks.

Thanks for the quantization help, I'm sure it'll be easy once I adjust to it.

[Lavender_Harmony]

You can group tracks. Go to the mixer, select what tracks you want to group using Shift+Click, then select a Group by clicking on the empty Group space, the dark one below the Stereo Out box.

AU is also simple. Click the empty space below I/O, go to whichever plugin you want. If you want a 3rd party, go down to AU Instruments, and they're all arranged by manufacturer.

Quantize is also simple. Select the notes you want to quantize, in the piano roll, then next to the Q button, select the division you want to quantize by, ie 1/16. Once selected, it will quantize for you.

Something to prevent headaches later, when drawing in the piano roll, go to the far right, and under Snap, select Division, then below that "Snap to Absolute Value". Then in the transport bar below the time signature, it will have a division. This will automatically quantize the notes you draw or move to that division.

I guess I should have been a bit more clear, by unable to group tracks I meant you can't collapse a group of tracks into one folder. Not link tracks for mixing purposes.

As for the AU, it is fairly easy, I just felt like it should be in the media window or a similar menu. In Ableton the VSTs are listed along the side of the screen, and you can simply drag them onto midi tracks.

Thanks for the quantization help, I'm sure it'll be easy once I adjust to it.

Oh you can do that too. Select the regions you want to put in a folder, right click, Folder>Pack Folder. Double click to get at those tracks, they are assigned their own mixer section also.

[JayB]

-Quantization is a bit hard to figure out / unintuitive. I'm sure this will improve as I figure out what I'm doing however.

Quantize is also simple. Select the notes you want to quantize, in the piano roll, then next to the Q button, select the division you want to quantize by, ie 1/16. Once selected, it will quantize for you.

That, if you definitely want a strict quantization. The arrange-windows offers a lot of more options for quantization, e.g. strength, which is useful if you want to keep a certain vividness. Just select the block you want to quantize and modify the options in the upper half of the bar on the left.