Logic Express vs. Logic Studio?

[wcap]

After several years of intending to do this, I'm finally getting serious about recording my music. I am planning to put together a CD of solo guitar, and also plan to do some overdubbing with me playing multiple parts on different instruments. Also maybe some recordings with me on guitar and my wife and daughter on flute and or violin and or mandolin.

I'm not planning on this being a commercial CD to start with, but I'd like to try to get as close to a professional sound as possible (recognizing that there may be some limitations given my recording setup).

I'm all set with a nice large condenser mic and a small condenser mic, and a Presonus Firebox, and I have a small recording "studio" set up in a small acoustically isolated basement storage room where my wife stores lots of yarn and fabric (floor to ceiling shelves packed with this sort of thing - good for me for sound absorbing!). I also to plan to do some recording in our church (during off-times when it is empty). I'm fairly pleased with some of my initial recordings using Garage Band on my mac laptop.

But it is clear I need something better than Garage Band.

I'm planning to get either Logic Express or Logic Studio.

My gut feeling is that Logic Express will probably be all that I need (and possibly it will even be a bit better for someone like me who is doing this on the side and will not be using this software every day?).

How likely am I going to be wishing I had Logic Studio?

Are there reasons (like a shallower learning curve maybe?) why I might actually be better off with Logic Express?

(Our experience with a similar line of software, video software, is that Final Cut Express has pretty much all the features we previously used in the full version of Final Cut, and we have not been handicapped in any significant way by not having the full program).

Any help you can give me with this decision will be most appreciated.

[wcap]

By the way, in addition to dealing with multiple tracks, and adjusting sound levels, sound quality, etc, I want to be able to correct minor playing mistakes by splicing together good parts from different takes, and I'd like to be able to make minor adjustments in timing (speeding up or slowing down entire pieces, or sections, or adjusting timing from multiple takes to make them match when spliced together or used together as multiple tracks).

It seems that both Logic Express and Logic Studio will do all of these things. But does Logic Studio do some of these things significantly better?

[moon]

I'd recommend you download and try out Ardour first. It's a heavyweight DAW which can do everything you want. Not enough people seem to know about it. It's donation-ware and so a cheaper option than Logic.

I use Ardour myself (on linux) and I'd be glad to help you get started, if that's what you end up choosing.

[moon]

PS: if you'd like to try it out you can download without donating by entering $0 in the form. This version won't be able to load or save AU plugins but everything else works as normal.

[KevWind]

I assume you are using a Mac computer ? With Mac, Logic is a reasonably seamless integration. I personally don't use Logic but know people who do and are quite pleased. I am completely unfamiliar with the Ardour daw moon mentioned, so cant really comment other than according to the link moon provided it is interesting that it has no bundled plugins which seems it could be a two edged sword. On the one hand you would be free to pic and choose and pay for only those plugins you would actually use. On the other hand using third party plugins has potential integration problems .. An interesting approach none the less And I am sure it probably is fine.

In answer to one of your questions would guess that either version of Logic would have a cut and paste type feature in it's editing section, for comping takes together. perhaps someone with direct experience can elucidate further.

[moon]

There's a ton of good, free FX plugins A nice CAPS plate, CALF compressor. One or two, like the Linuxdsp multi-band compressor, you have to pay for but they don't cost a lot.

Installation for some of the packages may be harder on Mac if binaries aren't available and they have to be compiled from scratch. It's not that hard.

On linux you just tell your package manager what to install and that's it. There's something called "ports" for mac which can do the same for at least some of the plugins.

If you're on a budget, it's worth looking at. Logic probably would be simpler to install though.

[Joseph Hanna]

I'd like to jump in first and respond to the Logic Express-vs-Logic question. There are several differences between the two all of which I don't recall at the moment. However from a strictly pragmatic perspective Logic Pro comes with the Space Design Reverb which is a very, very, very good reverb. It's not quite my Lexicon but 98% of it. It's absolutely and positively worth the extra beans for the reverb alone.

To get anything close to that reverb quality in Logic Express you have to spend SUBSTANTIALLY more than the cost of Logic Pro alone.

Further the learning curve for Pro-vs-Express is exactly the same..no difference on any level.

[mellowman]

I would think Logic Express would be plenty for the needs you're describing. You might also consider just using Garage Band. Our little combo used Garageband on a mac with a Presonus Firebox with a few decent sdc mics to record our first CD. We found that Garage Band did everything we needed and more. For some songs we recorded 15 or 20 tracks and did a lot of editing to pick out the best bits from multiple takes. We were really surprised at how much functionality Garage Band has.

If you're interested, you can hear a few tracks from the cd at www.therealplacebos.com

Have fun!

[Joseph Hanna]

Originally Posted by mellowman

I would think Logic Express would be plenty for the needs you're describing. You might also consider just using Garage Band. Our little combo used Garageband on a mac with a Presonus Firebox with a few decent sdc mics to record our first CD. We found that Garage Band did everything we needed and more. For some songs we recorded 15 or 20 tracks and did a lot of editing to pick out the best bits from multiple takes. We were really surprised at how much functionality Garage Band has.

If you're interested, you can hear a few tracks from the cd at www.therealplacebos.com

Have fun!

That's some really nice sounding and feeling recordings... which of course ultimately come from really nice sounding and recording people

Well done. I really like it!

[wcap]

Originally Posted by mellowman

I would think Logic Express would be plenty for the needs you're describing. You might also consider just using Garage Band. Our little combo used Garageband on a mac with a Presonus Firebox with a few decent sdc mics to record our first CD. We found that Garage Band did everything we needed and more. For some songs we recorded 15 or 20 tracks and did a lot of editing to pick out the best bits from multiple takes. We were really surprised at how much functionality Garage Band has.

If you're interested, you can hear a few tracks from the cd at www.therealplacebos.com

Have fun!

Your recordings are wonderful. As already said above, this is in large part because it was great music to record!

But the recording, mixing, etc all are great too.

Can you tell us more about your recording space?

[wcap]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

I'd like to jump in first and respond to the Logic Express-vs-Logic question. There are several differences between the two all of which I don't recall at the moment. However from a strictly pragmatic perspective Logic Pro comes with the Space Design Reverb which is a very, very, very good reverb. It's not quite my Lexicon but 98% of it. It's absolutely and positively worth the extra beans for the reverb alone.

To get anything close to that reverb quality in Logic Express you have to spend SUBSTANTIALLY more than the cost of Logic Pro alone.

Further the learning curve for Pro-vs-Express is exactly the same..no difference on any level.

Thanks for the information.

[wcap]

OK, maybe this is all a moot point anyway. The academic pricing (which I was counting on) is not as good as I had thought (unless the purchase is from the institution, which it would not be in my case). So, the price difference between Express and Studio is enough to make the decision for me.

It looks like Logic Express has all the features that I currently know I want anyway. Garage Band is almost enough really (and obviously can give great results as demonstrated above), but Logic Express looks like it will give me the extra flexibility and control over things that I am craving.

Thanks for the feedback.

[mellowman]

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

That's some really nice sounding and feeling recordings... which of course ultimately come from really nice sounding and recording people

Well done. I really like it!

Thanks for the kind words Joseph. We're sure had a lot of fun recording the cd.

Steve

[mellowman]

Originally Posted by wcap

Your recordings are wonderful. As already said above, this is in large part because it was great music to record!

But the recording, mixing, etc all are great too.

Can you tell us more about your recording space?

Sure. We recorded in my study which has carpeted floors, plaster walls, and wood ceiling. The room shape is kind of hexagonal which I've heard is preferable to parallel walls.

I did the mixing in Garageband on a mac and we sent the mix to Bill Wolfe in Nashville to have it mastered. Bill was great to work with and we were pleased with the result.

Best of luck with your recording adventure. It's a lot of fun!

[Rick Shepherd]

Really great music Steve, and nicely recorded!