What's my next Mac-based recording software

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Mostess
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What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Mostess »

Well how about that for a surprise when Maverick tells me (after the upgrade) that Logic 9.0.0 will no longer work!

What's next for Hostess Mostess? Something free? Or at least cheap? And not loop-based (we don't do the FruityLoops or the Abelton stuff...or should we?!) And quick? It can be complicated and dull. Hell it can even be terminal-based. But I'm already jonesing for a new platform and it's only been a few minutes since I found out Logic was dead.

Help!
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Lunkhead »

Can you upgrade to Logic 9.1.8? This thread seems to indicate that it may be compatible with Mavericks.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5671426
This solved my question by The Art Of Sound on Dec 16, 2013 1:47 PM
Are you using Logic Pro 9.1.8 which is the only version of LP9 that is fully compatible with Mavericks?

Also, did you let LP9 rescan the plugins.. If you are not sure... open the Audio Units Manager found under preferences in LP9's menu bar...and see if any of your missing plugins are listed there..

If not, quit LP9, delete the AudioUnit cache and launch LP9 again so it does a full rescan...

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1086?view ... cale=en_US

(This is for LP8 but it works the same in LP9)
Assuming you want to switch anyway, though, if you're looking for something full-featured comparable to Logic (e.g. NOT GarageBand), Logic Pro X is only $199. Cubase Artist is $249 and is probably good enough for Song Fight! I use Cubase 6 (the full version) and like it a lot. Reason is a full DAW these days (not just a collection of amazing samples and soft-synths) but it's $399. I think ProTools is still pretty expensive unless you get a copy bundled with an audio interface.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by jb »

How is Logic dead? I love Logic Pro X.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by fluffy »

Logic X is awesome, yes. It's well worth upgrading from 9. The only thing I dislike about it is they got rid of the chord track (now instead there's a "transpose" control which is more general and powerful but also a lot more annoying to use) but that's hardly a dealbreaker. Also there's a handful of things you have to unlearn/relearn, but they're well worth it. Track stacks are wonderful, and I love that they finally turned MIDI effects into proper plugins instead of being weird things you have to set up in the environment (and they actually work on offline bounces now too).

X is as much of an upgrade from 9 as 8 was from 7, so while the lack of upgrade pricing stings a bit, I still think it's well worth it. Plus, the full price isn't much more than the old upgrade price was anyway, and Apple seems to have switched to a rolling-update model, too; X has gotten quite a lot more functionality since it came out (similar to how they've treated Final Cut X).

Logic's also still the only DAW software that works even remotely like how I think of audio working. Every now and then I do a survey of other music software with the thought of trying to get away from single-vendor Apple-controlled stuff, but everything else out there is fiddly and annoying and seems to get in the way more than it helps you out.

If you're already used to Logic, why throw everything out?
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Mostess »

I did zero research before posting this. You are welcome. :)

I like recording in Logic. I have (had) Logic Express 9.0.0 which was running under Snow Leopard. When I "up"-graded to Maverick it warned me about some other apps that wouldn't work but it didn't mention Logic. Probably because I haven't recorded in a while. Or Apple is trying to tell Hostess Mostess something...

In any case it looks like if I'd updated Logic Express to 9.1.something from Snow Leopard it would open in Maverick (though some people say it's buggy). But now it won't open at all and I don't see a way to grab an upgrade in my situation.

In any case, I'm probably due for a new laptop and so I don't want to invest in anything serious yet. I'll let you know if I can bend some freeware to my will in the meantime.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Mostess »

Well looky here!

1) Rename "Logic Express 9.0.0" as "Logic Express" in the Applications folder

2) Download the updater

3) Unzip and run it

4) Bring the world to tears by channeling astral-plane love with your musical genius

We have accomplished 1-3. So far.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by fluffy »

If your laptop is so old and frail, why even upgrade to Mavericks? (BTW do not upgrade to Yosemite - I've had horrific performance issues on my 2011 Mac mini, which Mavericks ran great on. It runs great on my 2013 MacBook Pro though.)

Logic X doesn't seem to take any significant more system resources than 9 did, at least when using the same features that you were using before. Track stacks can take a fuckton of CPU but that's just because where you used to have just one softsynth taking a chunk of resources, now you have 5 softsynths and a bunch of effect plugins and so on, so those can be pretty taxing.

Also, for what it's worth, GarageBand *is* Logic Express now. Apple didn't really discontinue Logic Express - it's more like they discontinued GarageBand and then renamed Logic Express to it. The current GarageBand is Logic X with a bunch of UI removed, and it's quite good for most songwriting tasks (as long as you don't need the score editor, anyway; that's pretty watered-down). I think it's a free upgrade if you already have GarageBand (and if not, it's pretty cheap). It even has Drummer and FlexPitch, my two favorite new features!
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Caravan Ray »

So..what's going on here? I forked out the cash for Logic about a year ago - Logic Pro, v9.1.8 - but have never actually gotten around to using it yet (imminent deadlines always means that Garageband is the easier option rather than learning something new).

I also haven't upgraded to Mavericks either - does this mean that if I do I will lose Logic?
I would like to get around to actually using it one day


...actually - that day may be soon. Garageband has recently been playing up on me. It is always freezing and telling me I have too many instruments or something - and this will be at the beginning of a project when I still only have a beat and one guitar track. Buggered if I know why. I have been using the same version on the same computer for about 5 years and never had a problem before. I have changed nothing - but something weird has happened in the last month or so.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Caravan Ray »

Lunkhead wrote:Can you upgrade to Logic 9.1.8? This thread seems to indicate that it may be compatible with Mavericks.
Oh..ok - looks like my question has already been answered.

...as you were
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by fluffy »

Caravan Ray wrote:So..what's going on here? I forked out the cash for Logic about a year ago - Logic Pro, v9.1.8 - but have never actually gotten around to using it yet (imminent deadlines always means that Garageband is the easier option rather than learning something new).
Logic Pro 9 isn't that hard to learn from GarageBand. X is even easier though, because of the way it manages presets. You might want to see about trying to sell your copy of 9 and just upgrade to X sooner rather than later.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Caravan Ray »

fluffy wrote:
Caravan Ray wrote:So..what's going on here? I forked out the cash for Logic about a year ago - Logic Pro, v9.1.8 - but have never actually gotten around to using it yet (imminent deadlines always means that Garageband is the easier option rather than learning something new).
Logic Pro 9 isn't that hard to learn from GarageBand. X is even easier though, because of the way it manages presets. You might want to see about trying to sell your copy of 9 and just upgrade to X sooner rather than later.
Huh?!? I downloaded it as an app. Is it possible to 'sell' something like that?
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by fluffy »

Oh, you bought it on the app store? Sorry to hear that.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Caravan Ray »

fluffy wrote:Oh, you bought it on the app store? Sorry to hear that.
Does it still actually exist as CDs in a box? I sort of thought that all software seemed to be an app nowadays.

The modern word is starting to confuse me greatly. Do people still wear onions on their belts?
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by fluffy »

Logic 9 still came on DVD (and I'd forgotten it had an appstore version as well). Logic X is appstore-only. There is no upgrade pricing from 9 to X, unfortunately.

But the full cost of X isn't much more than the upgrade from 8 to 9 cost, and that was a very minor upgrade that should have just been a point release IMO - as far as I could tell all they added was support for .caf loops and fixed a few bugs that would have been fixed for free normally. (And the .caf support was a strongarmed upgrade because they upgraded everyone's GarageBand for free which then replaced everyone's loop libraries with .caf. It was the biggest dick move Apple's ever pulled, as far as I care.)

Still sucks if you paid full price for 9 and never even got around to using it. At least the appstore version can be expected to continue to work for a while, though, and reinstalling it is WAY easier than on the DVD edition (which I never looked forward to).

9 is a perfectly reasonable DAW system, incidentally, and while I love the features X added, none of them are absolutely vital must-upgrade reasons (although Drummer makes a really good case for it). Unless you really want to spend another $200, either teach yourself 9 (which will still be useful if you upgrade to X later) or upgrade to the latest GarageBand and get all of X's best features and the same shitty UI you're used to already.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Mostess »

fluffy wrote:If your laptop is so old and frail, why even upgrade to Mavericks? (BTW do not upgrade to Yosemite - I've had horrific performance issues on my 2011 Mac mini, which Mavericks ran great on. It runs great on my 2013 MacBook Pro though.)
Old and frail is how we roll here in Middle-Aged, Middle-Western Hostess Mostess World!

Thanks for the tip about Yosemite. I've already heard the same thing from other corners. I generally like to put off upgrading until the beta-testers, gamma-testers, delta-testers,...mu-testers have all had their voices heard. I only "up"-grade to Maverick(s) because several websites were complaining that my browser was too old to reliably render their pages; that browser was the latest version of Safari that will run on Snow Leopard. In any case, Mavericks was slow for about 48 hours while I did a big backup and (I think) did some hard drive indexing or something in the background. Now it's as slick as old cheese. Just the way we like it around here.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by jb »

wait, why is old cheese slick?
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by Mostess »

Unless you refrigerate it, that is. Leave a slice of cheddar out on the counter and it will get all oil-sweaty and slippery and soft.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by fluffy »

Chrome and Firefox will let you run much newer versions on older OSX.

Also, my performance issues on my mini have resolved themselves more or less, so I wonder if maybe it was just crapping itself while it was reindexing something too. Yosemite's probably fine after all, although I'd still not recommend upgrading unless you have a compelling reason to.
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Re: What's my next Mac-based recording software

Post by ken »

I just noticed that the Harrison Mix Buss is available for $40 mac/pc/linux - no MIDI, but probably a kick ass audio engine.

http://harrisonconsoles.com/site/mixbus.html
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