There is a small number of GN people using a Mac as their recording workstation, so I thought I'd start this thread in the hopes that people would:
A) Introduce themselves
and
B) List the software, hardware and resources they've found handy
Hopefully 6 or 8 heads will be better than one and we can help each other trouble shoot.
Both my digital keyboard and guitars (no amp) go in through an older Tascam 122 USB interface
I've recorded in Logic Express for several years, but still have Garageband on the machine. Logic is much more powerful than GB, both for recording and editing, but has a terrible, obtuse interface. The User Manual is the worst I've ever used. Absolutely nothing written in plain English...grrr. :(
Guitar modeling gets done either in Logic (standard presets) or through an external Podxt
Bass modeling in Logic (standard presets)
Handy cheap or free software:
There is a great shareware plugin called Ambience that simulates various room settings; sort of a poor man's Amplitude. The demo of it never expires, but there is a nag warning.
Melody Assistant is a commercial program but super cheap; about 20 bucks if I remember correctly. It's pretty clunky but very handy for a bunch of composing/editing features.
DGuitar is a freeware app for viewing and playing Guitar Pro files (up to version 4). No editing, but you can export files as midi and then edit them in Melody Assistant or GB or Logic
Audacity; primarily for the Change Tempo feature
That's it off the top of my head.
Don
:)
Don
Another Mac user here.
I use more or less the same software: GarageBand for recording, arranging, mixing, etc., iTunes for converting to MP3 and AAC, and QuickTime for reducing the tempo of some tracks when I'm learning/practicing that song or study. I have also installed Audacity, some tasks are easier with this software.
I have several programs which are not installed yet as for example Cubase LE. It came with the Zoom G2.1u which is the hardware I use to connect the electric guitar to the Mac.
Recently I have bought the Audio Kontrol 1 interface by Native Instruments. It brings a lot of software but I didn't have time for reviewing: Traktor 3 LE, Guitar Combos and Xpress Keyboards (and also a version of Cubase LE for Windows).
Sometimes I use Melody Assistant, mainly to read MIDI files and convert them to partitures. For writing partitures and tablatures I use LilyPond but mainly I use LaTeX classes and styles.
All I've used on mine is Audacity, and recorded straight in through a PlainTalk mic. Works.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
I just got a mac, so I don't know what I use yet :)
But it's likely going to be garage band, once I decide which interfaces I'm going to go with . . . my PC interface was a USB1.1 job, and I see no reason to cripple my bandwidth :)
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
Recent convert myself.
Currently using GB and learning the slightly more complex Logic Express. I also have Audacity installed.
Play through a PODXT Live into the USB on the Mac. I'm happy with the setup at the moment and should keep me busy for the next few months.
8)
I've had a lot of sobering thoughts in my time.
It was them that turned me to drink.
Hello
I have an Intel iMac but haven't really tapped into its capabilities yet. I've fooled around with Garageband and read: "MacAddict Guide to Making Music wth Garage Band" < http://macaudioguy.com/gbb/ > Good book to learn more about GB.
I have added several Audi Unit plug-in effects and synths (Crystal, Automat, FreeAlpha, Orca, Remedy) to GB. Go here to find various plug-ins and software: <www.macmusic.org>
I recently stumbled upon FretPet X software < http://thinkyhead.com/fretpet/ > which looks fun/useful but I haven't had a chance to play with it much yet.
I'd like to use Garageband to lay down chord progressions using loops that I can play over or create songs from. I can't see how to do this directly or easily but admittedly, I haven't gotten too deep into GB yet.
Another good shareware program is "Audio Hijack" < http://www.rogueamoeba.com/ >
I look forward to hearing from others about using their Mac for musical purposes....
Cheers,
l
"The details of my life are quite inconsequential." - Dr. Evil
Hey, this is great! Already more people than I expected. 8)
I forgot an obvious link, Apple's OS X audio page. Lots of links to new software, updates, free loops, etc:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/audio/
:)
Don
Also I'm a .Mac user. From time to time they give some loops for GarageBand.
Garageband is super easy to use and it sounds great. The built in amp sims are really good.
If you are more familiar with analogue gear there is Ardour which is as close as you are going to get to a free ProTools type app. It requires Jack and X11 to run on your mac. (OS X only).
Tracktion 3 Studio is another reasonably inexpensive option which supports the Intel architecture. It's a great single window interface. The learning curve is a bit sharp but also very short. Once you catch on to the simple concept it all falls into place quite quickly.
I'm a Mac user, made the switch last summer. I haven't dug too deep yet, I just use GarageBand and line-in to record myself right now, but I'm getting a Line6 Toneport UX2 USB interface sometime soon. I've got Audacity, but the only thing I've used that for so far is just to convert things to mp3 and simple editing. I have done a little bit of (not so serious) arranging and remixing in GarageBand and Sony Acid Pro (on Windows) before, so I'm at least familiar with those things.
Hopefully I can absorb some knowledge from you guys for when I get more serious about the recording =) Then sometime in the distant future, maybe I'll have some knowledge to give back! At least I'm a bit of a computer/software geek, so maybe I can help with any of the non-musical stuff. ;)
Cool to see there are a good number of Mac users on the forum here.
-- Voidious
I am a longtime Mac user (since 1984 almost continually), and have been playing guitar about a year and a half consistently, and started trying to record with GB about a year ago with a Griffin GB cable. I have recently purchased a Toneport UX2 and am just getting started with it. Would love to share ideas and hints. My first order of business is goint to be figuring out how best to use the Toneport with Garageband. I hope to update my Garageband soon with the new version with a new machine, and installing GB 8 on my old machines. Does anyone know of a good "Getting Started" guide to using a Toneport with GB on a Mac? The Toneport site has quite a bit of help, but a tips and shortcuts site would be cool. :D
I'm another Mac user, with Nuendo as my DAW (eagerly awaiting Nuendo 4) and a Tascam US224 interface. I have a bunch of random other stuff, like audacity and plug-ins, but I'm just putting my studio back together (a mix of travelling and my bro swiping some of my gear) so I'm not recalling many names.
I really want to try Logic, but don't know anyone who uses it (most of my mates are PC users) and can't justify the price if it just ends up being made redundant by Nuendo.
Looking to get a better interface in the next 12 months, and always looking for my next apple. :lol:
Logic is a bit convoluted. I used it in the very early days on the original power pc. I tried Logic Express 7 and found it difficult to navigate around. If you're accustomed to Nuendo, I would stick to it. I'm a long time Cubase user myself and have just recently moved over to ProTools. I miss the midi in Cubase. Steinberg just have midi down to an art. Besides, Nuendo has one of the best sound engines out there. If you don't concern yourself with midi much and you are willing to check all the compatibility issues ProTools really is worth a look over. I think in the end it's more about what you're comfortable with.
thanks hueseph,
I'll be using a fair amount of midi for the next 12 months at least, to generate any sound other than guitar, bass and vocals (the tascam is really crap as an interface and I'm short on mics and room to record) so I think I'llbe sticking with Nuendo for now. From what you said I gather Logic wont help me do anything that Nuendo can't and that Nuendo performs these tasks better (generally spkeaing) than Logic? Sweet, I just saved myself a bundle of cash and potential-purchase-stress (trust me, I have enough of that deciding on new guitars alone, lol). :D
I might look into ProTools if/when I get a better interface, though. I assume that you could get the best of both worlds by recording midi parts in Nuendo and then transfering them into ProTools?
I'll def. be hitting up this thread to enquire about interface options in around 6 months or so, just as soon as I have some cash for the purchase, lol. :twisted:
Don't get me wrong. Logic is a great program. When I did use it, it was in a pro studio for a video post production project. There are still plenty of studios out there that use it in that capacity. But, there are also plenty of studios that use Nuendo. It's easy to get caught up in the "upgrade" to newer and "better". It's like a disease. The only reason to upgrade to Nuendo 4 would be that you are using an Intel Mac.
Regarding ProTools: you have to remember that it's hardware dependent. There are also tons of compatibility issues that can crop up with ProTools and Digidesign hardware. For a lot of people it's a love/hate relationship. I have adedicated machine for ProTools. That's all it does. Everything else I do on a *cough* Windows*cough* Machine. I'm waiting to purchase my next Mac as a standard PC. And, yes you can import midi from Nuendo into PT. Or render to audio then import to PT. Only thing is that Cubase/Nuendo will not work with Digi Hardware as they will not release ASIO drivers for the Mac. Why? I don't know.
