emusonacid!

i'm about to drop some loot on a new G5 and I'd appreciate any feedback you guys have about your current software setups and what u prefer, etc...

from what i've heard, logic 6 has spot-on midi timing if you use their proprietary unitor8/amt midi devices. and i've also heard that cubase when used in conjunction with steinberg's midi device is OK.

i used my mates digi002 with protools for a couple months and i noticed it had issues occaisionally with keeping the timing tight with multiple devices and that was *NOT* cool. when composing music the last thing ANYONE wants to worry about is timing being slightly off or other stupid problems.

also i've noticed that most PC users tend to have a bias towards cubase and mac users the same with logic. and taking into consideration things like logic's mixermaps and other things, it seems to be like the route to take, i'm just concerned how tight the midi is with external devices (since most users of logic i know rely heavily on it's virtual instruments)

anyhow, i'm just trying to get the most outta my little e6400 ultra and i only want to give this baby the best, so any feedback is much appreciated!

Pro Tools is great an the first choice if your recording real instruments. However, it would not be the best choice for sequencing. On the Other hand, PT makes for the best Audio Editor bar none other.

Personally i HATE logic, yes i did buy it and i have on many occasions tried so badly to like it. I simply think its the most over hyped piece out there. It fails miserably in almost every aspect of sequencing and audio, mind u it has the BEST automation for midi controller data without question. The timing is VERY tight tho with an AMT8 in OS X. Additionally, the 'Audio Instrument' implementation is easily the nicest out there....guess thats the only thing they really thought about logically :-(

Cubase, well, sequencing, u know editing midi notes etc is by far the most practical and smooth. Its so easy to use an takes about 10 mins to get a handle on it (unlike logic which seems to be uncontrollably stupid). Cubase's key editor lets u manipulate note data in a simplistic and effortless manner. I think this is very important for dance music. The downlside, is the midi controller data editing blows (compared to Logic), it hasnt changed since the Atari days. The audio side like all 'sequencer first with bolted on audio as an afterthought' apps i feel is pretty messy, although its more barable than Logic's dismal affair. Cubase's performance on OSX is pretty pathetic and rather buggy according to many if its users. Cubase had mixer maps b4 logic fyi. IM not sure why this is really very important to u anyways since u didn't really mention how u will use them practically.

Getting back to Midi timing. Do u intend to use the EMU for drums? If so then i can only vouch for Logic's timing. This is the only app i have afforded to real word testing .I'd hazard the guess that nearly all the OS X sequencers should be tight since they all use the OS's built in time stamping coupled with the interface from that same manufacturer.

Cubase/Mac used to be very big, however, since Steinberg have failed on many occasions to produce a quality product for the Mac an since Apple hijacked Emagic, many ppl have jumped ship thinking Logic will acquire some major redesigning. Thus far they have failed us, as a consolation or not they have provided us with some great marketing strategies to suck more money out of us for upgrades. Apple are the masters of the 'Bait and Switch' marketing tactic.

Sorry i couldn't offer a definitive clear cut winner.

To get the 'BEST' outta ya EMU may i also suggest 'ZoeOS' by Zuonics.com . This application currently is PC only. While iv'e always been a Mac guy, i built a PC for fun. I installed an old beta of ZoeOS on it to test out since at that point they planned to bring us a Mac OS X version. The app was clearly beta quality however i was in a complete tizzy after using it an thinking of the possibilities once the app had matured. im deeply enthused about this software and i honestly think this alone will bring a new life and a fresh start again for the EMU hardware. I am extremely pleased about the project and i can't praise the guy behind it enuff for vision and determination. I recently gave my newly built PC away, i just HATED every moment when using it. Anyone using OS X fulltime then using a WinXp machine can appreciate the huge step backwards.

Im still calmly waiting for a glimpse of the OS X version tho i tend to break out in an uncontrollable sweat sometimes :-) I dont think its expensive for what it does an will enable us to do with our EMU's that we have all wanted for years.

Please check it out.

i'll definitely be using my e-mu for drums among other things so the timing is going to be a priority. it seems logic may be the way to go. i personally could give a shit about the virtual instruments which make Logic Pro so expensive ... but there are a bunch of other features that make it worth while like you said... the automation and the in depth midi controller editing. my boy just showed me these dope ass non-destructive quantise features which were pretty cool as well.

i'd have agree with you though, i have used cubase SX before and alot of the midi aspects were waaaaaaaay more intuitive than logic in my experience.

that ZoeOS looks dope!!!!! if only they'd make an OSX version. heheheh only like 5 people signed up for that shit out of 100 needed?? damn.

but thanks for the info. i guess i'll just have to plunge into this logic bizniz headfirst and see where it takes me!

I use Cubase and slightly prefer it to Logic, though I was told - unofficially - by someone who works for Steinberg that there is basically no future for Cubase on the Mac platform. So that's something to bear in mind if you upgrade hardware often.

Cubase definitely lacks Logic's collossal frustration factor though.