Logic Pro 8 Suggestions Please!

[jonnyp]

ok brand new to mac and logic. and i am stuck. i bought a mac to do some demo recording but mostly to use mainstage for different live jobs. trying to avoid double buying gear... here goes..

1. i want to buy a 61 key controller and use mainstage for its piano, rhodes, and few tones and effects 3 times a week.. what board do i get?

2. i would like to use mainstage for my guitar effects and stop luggin 3000#'s of gear and effects around 2 other times a week with different band. what interfaces or whatever do i need?

3. i want to buy a few triggers for drummers sets and/or midi controler so every drummer i hire has the same effects for songs and also can trigger loops i provide.

4. want to do some basic demo recording at home. apoge duet?

5. would prefer a rack interface for durability but not concrete on this. it will be used 5 nights a week and if i could rack it or at least fit it in a drawer i could condense my power conditioner and wireless gear and i think i can have everything in 2 four space skb cases and have either one keyboard or guitar case, depending on the job.

any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! thanks guys!

jm

 

[zerobeat]

1. i want to buy a 61 key controller and use mainstage for its piano, rhodes, and few tones and effects 3 times a week.. what board do i get?

Even the cheapest 61-note controllers work at least 3 times a week nowadays. This is in stark contrast to 20 years ago, where only the most expensive controllers would work this often, and the cheaper ones would only work 1 time a week (2 if you were lucky).

All of m-Audio's current keyboards work 3 or more times a week. The Axiom series are especially good (they are guaranteed for 58 times a week). They also have nice feeling keys and other controls like drumpads and faders/knobs.

2. i would like to use mainstage for my guitar effects and stop luggin 3000#'s of gear and effects around 2 other times a week with different band. what interfaces or whatever do i need?

You need an audio interface with a preamplified Instrument input. But you might even be interested beyond this. Check out Apogee's new GIO:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/gio.php

3. i want to buy a few triggers for drummers sets and/or midi controler so every drummer i hire has the same effects for songs and also can trigger loops i provide.

These are 3 requests. Many "drumpad" controllers are meant for fingers or a light tap with drumsticks (or knitting needles) like m-Audio's Trigger Finger. MainStage can be setup with presets. You can also trigger loops.

4. want to do some basic demo recording at home. apoge duet?

It's a very simple interface but it sounds fantastic.