Logic Pro 9 Newbie User Migrating from Sonar

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Briody

New Member
Hello,

First post here. I'm a longtime Sonar user who is making the transition over to Logic. I do like Sonar, but I love working with Macs and I'm a big fan of some of the Mac-only hardware out there.

I've got some newbie type questions if you all don't mind.

My first project involves using some tracks from Sonar and Pro Tools. I assume I can just import wave files from these applications. Any 'gotchas' or things I should know about?

What do you all use to master your projects? I would typically use Sound Forge, but that's not out for the Mac. Is there a nice 2-track editor for the Mac? Or do people typically master in Logic?

What are some 'must have' plugins? I know that this is highly subjective, but I'm just wondering if there are any plugins in the Mac world that I'm just not familiar with.

Any info or tips appreciated!! I am a total newbie with Logic.
 
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I do audio mastering with Logic and CD mastering with WaveBurner. WaveBurner is part of the Logic Pro Studio so you may already have it.
 
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Welcome to the LUG and Logic :)

Briody said:
My first project involves using some tracks from Sonar and Pro Tools. I assume I can just import wave files from these applications. Any 'gotchas' or things I should know about?
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Logic can work with audio files up to 24 bit, 44,1 - 192 kHz, WAV, BWAV, AIF and apples CAF format. SDII is probably not of relevance coming from Sonar


Is there a nice 2-track editor for the Mac?
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Soundtrack Pro, another part of the Logic Studio package, while primarily an audio App for Video editors, has a number of Audio Editing features not available within Logic Pro and is as such worth spending some time exploring (perhaps once you are familiar with the basics of Logic's workflow). As a tip, when working in Logic, if you need to edit some audio file using STP, the easiest way is per Key Command. Select the AUdio File in Logic, and press Shift - W to open this in STP. Edit and save it in STP, then just switch back to Logic. At the same time, Logic offers plenty of audio editing features - not least of all since Logic 9 the time stretching and timing correction of flextime. I would suggest looking at and getting familiar with Logic first.



What are some 'must have' plugins? I know that this is highly subjective, but I'm just wondering if there are any plugins in the Mac world that I'm just not familiar with.
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The most important thing to be aware of is that Logic supports Apple's Audio Unit format. THere are literally thousands of Plugins from many developers available as AU, including just about all of the majors, such as Waves, UAD etc.

Maybe if you mention those plugins you used with sonar, we should be able to say whether they are available for the Mac or suggest alternatives?

kind regards

Mark
 
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Thanks for the warm welcome and all the info you've given me. Much appreciated!

Mark asked what plugins I currently use. It's funny, I had assumed that my favorite plugins were VST only. Not so! All my Voxengo plugins are available in AU. Dischord is too (I love that one).

I'll need to play with Logic's reverb to see how I like it. I use Wizoo on Sonar. It's good but it doesn't totally blow me away.
 
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I also use Sound Forge and have missed having a wav editor on my Mac, but in looking around for an alternative this morning (after your post), I found this, which seems very good: http://twistedwave.com/

I'm playing with it now and it's only $80.
 
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Since you guys are mentioning Sound Forge I can tell you that it is a fav of mine as well. I used to run it on my MacBook in a partition booting Windows XP. But when I upgraded Kontakt 4 I had to delete my Windows partition to make room for some new sample library patches I liked to have with me on stage. I mostly used SF for Acid tagging of loops, but I'm not sure I will be doing that much so Sound Forge installation files are on a well deserved vacation on the shelf at the moment...
 
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I am looking forward to Wavelab 7. I run Wavelab 6 on my studio PC, it will be convenient to have version 7 running in OSX.

kind regards

Mark
 
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This morning I purchased the Groove 3 training videos. They are outstanding! Not only are they bringing me up to speed on Logic, they are helping me learn the Mac in general.
 
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Markdvc said:
I am looking forward to Wavelab 7. I run Wavelab 6 on my studio PC, it will be convenient to have version 7 running in OSX.
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I too had an earlier version of Wavelab (I think 4?) many years ago on my PC, and I'm very excited about Wavelab 7 for Mac OS X!

My advice is that you don't worry about Soundtrack Pro. It's okay for sound design, but it's real strength is if you want to match Logic's output to a Final Cut Pro video. Apple includes it as an extra for sample editing but it's really awkward, in my opinion.

BTW-I run Parallels on my Mac, and if you want to use Sound Forge alongside Logic, that's how you can do it. Parallels is a virtual machine, and it lets you run Windows XP alongside Mac OS X. And I do mean "alongside"-there is a mode called "coherance" in which you don't even have a box representing your WinXP monitor running on your Mac, but Windows apps are completely distributed among your Mac apps. The WinXP "start" button is on your Dock like a Mac app, you double click a Windows file in a Mac Finder window and it opens up just like a Mac app-you can only tell the difference because it has the familiar XP huge "X" and window borders vs. the Mac OS X windows borders.

I've never run Sound Forge in Parallels, but I've run audio software, and it works fine. Just make sure you have an audio interface with Windows XP drivers devoted to the Windows virtual machine (BTW, I keep saying "XP" but Parallels works with Vista or Win7 too).

So you might want to get Parallels and run Sound Forge for now, then when Wavelab 7 for Mac OS X comes out, see if you like that better, and run it natively.

Orren
 
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I tried the virtual machine thing and hated it. All my files are on a network and I use synergy to connect all of my machines to my mouse and keyboard, it's easy to switch over to the PC and run sound forge. I have both the Mac and the PC routed through my mixer, so it doesn't take much. Still, I'd like to see sound forge on the Mac, along with Vegas Pro.

Never gonna happen, though.
 
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There is also Wave Editor from Audiofile Engineering. It is a very capable 2-track editor at a very good price - $79 from memory.

PS I moved from SONAR to Logic last year for very similar reasons to you. I think SONAR is possibly the most capable DAW out there but It was time for me to finally move up from XP and I decided OS X was the best path.
 
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Peak Express

I just picked up Peak Express 6 from their website for $20. It's a nice little wav editor that does about all I need. And you can't beat the price.
 
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Does anyone know exactly when Wavelab will be available for MAC OS X?? AWESOME 2 track editor, and one of the few things I miss about the Win platform...
 
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