Logic Studio Retail Review

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(More customer reviews)I use to use Logic Pro back in the day of Atari Falcon and STE1080. then i went to PC and used Logic 4.7. Though i never used the audio with it back then due to the instability of the product. It was easier to use a Mackie HDR 24/96 with midi clock to sync.
Before obtaining Logic Studio i was using Ableton Live versions 5,6,7 and now 8. The reason i bring this up is that i am now back to Logic Studio Pro on a MacPro 8 Core. The major reason for this change back to Logic was for 3 main reasons that blow away Ableton 8:
* Midi control for external and internal instruments
* Clean, Tight, Dynamic Headroom, clarity of sound. Audio Engine is far better then Ableton even at 44.1 (though i use 96k)
* for the price and what you get, this software is incredible!
The new features of Logic Studio 9 is the Flex and Guitar suite. Though i have not been impressed with the flex (perhaps because i am not sure how to use it correctly yet) the Guitar suite is AMAZING. I have owned a Line 6 pro and a Line 6 bass pro and this Guitar Suite is amazing if you run it under 96k.
The Logic Pedal board has a great slew of guitar stomp pedals that sound amazing and better then most other emulations i have heard. the distortions are warm and tube like, unlike more software emulations i have heard. it rips just right even with a guitar straight into the A/D and processed by Logic. They have a Tape Delay that emulates the Roland 201 tape echo or EHX Memory Man Deluxe and it sounds sweet and mixes very well.
The automation features are tight and crisp as well. Though it takes a bit more time to get setup on Logic for controller setup then Ableton, it is tight once you get it there.
User friendliness is not as good as Ableton but then you are getting a more PRO engine then Ableton has thus been able to deliver. In Ableton it seems the 'warp marker' technology seems to 'fuzzy' then audio in such a degree that the clarity is not tight. the dynamic headroom and stereo separation is not there. I was wondering if i was loosing my mind, but it is not the A/D Presonus firepod it was the engine of the Ableton 8. Once on Logic Studio 9, the clarity and tightness of the mix returned. This proving this engine is far superior to Ableton for a studio mix.
NOTE: if you can handle the disk space and processing power required to run 96k, do it. It will tighten your mixes amazingly.
Should you buy this? here is my suggestion:
If you run a Mac it is worth the cost. for what you get for such a pro engine and features and plug-ins this blows away the competition. At now version 9.0.2, the system on Snow Leopard is stable. very stable. It runs cleaner and crisp on snow leopard with the 64bit processing. It utilizes all the cores effectively as well. With the new imac @ 4 cores, it really could be a mini pro monster for recording.
If you own a PC, you can't use Logic, so you have to consider Sonar, Cubase, Ableton, ProTools.
I have not tried protools due to the cost of upgrades and truly to use it as tight as the industry standard, it takes a year for upgrades to happen after a new OS and the cost is outrageous compared to Logic.
I have not tried Sonar. I have used Cubase. the engine is clean though cumbersome to use.
Hope this is helpful.

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With over 200 new features and enhancements, the new Logic Studio delivers everything musicians need to write, record, produce, and perform on a Mac. The center of Logic Studio is Logic Pro 9, which makes it easier than ever to create your own compositions. Produce and play nearly any sound imaginable with a huge collection of effects, instruments, and loops, including the new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins. Use MainStage 2 to perform live with the instruments, amps, effects, and sounds you used to make your tracks. Logic Studio also comes with applications and utilities that expand your creative options into audio post-production and mastering, including Soundtrack Pro 3, WaveBurner 1.6, and more.

Logic Studio. A studio on your Mac as big as your ambitions.

Top Features New Pedalboard with an assortment of 30 virtual stompbox pedals inspired by the classics.

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Zoom H4 Handy Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)I got both the Zoom H4 and the Edirol R-09. The Zoom goes back, the Edirol stays, even though the Edirol cost $100 more.
Why, then, 4 stars for the Zoom? I'd really like to give it 3-1/2 stars, so it was a tossup between 3 and 4. However, if you know what you are getting into, the 4 stars are well-deserved.
The Zoom has a huge variety of features that the Edirol lacks. The Zoom may even sound the slightest bit better (more open, slightly better high end) when both are used to record with their built in mics. However, this functionality comes with a price--a much more complicated interface.
The Zoom does everything. It records directly to wav and mp3. It's a 4 track recording studio. It serves as computer interface for your guitar. It serves as an effects box. It can emulate four different types of microphones, such as the Shure SM57 and the AKG C414. It's even got a built-in metronome and tuner! If you go to the Samsontech website, you can download the manual in PDF format and be truly amazed.
In order to do all this, the Zoom H4's buttons and controls must necessarily be multi-function. On top of that, it adds a jog dial (like the wheel on a mouse: slide in either direction to change menu choices, push to select the current choice). It is necessary to go two levels deep in the menus to set recording levels manually. The Edirol R-09's interface is so simple and intuitive that many could use it without even looking at the manual. Since all I was looking for was a recorder, the Edirol was the easy choice for me.
The Edirol is quite rightly criticized for how awkward it is to insert and remove batteries. In theory, it's a lot easier to do with the Zoom H4. In practice, I found it just as awkward. I found the SD card much harder to swap out of the Zoom H4 than out of the Edirol R-09.
The Edirol R-09 has four very small rubber buttons on the back. They're too small to notice until someone bumps the surface the recorder is sitting on and the unit doesn't move! The Zoom unit has one rubber button on the back but it didn't seem to grip much.
As the side-by-side photo I uploaded shows, the Zoom H4 is a bit larger than the Edirol R-09. I did not find the H4 so much larger as to be a burden. I did find the Edirol's screen easier to read, however!
One other thing worth noting in the picture is the microphones. A quick glance gives the impression that the way the Zoom's microphones extend from the body makes them particularly vulnerable to damage. However, a closer inspection shows that there is a very stiff thick wire surrounding them, like a sports car's roll bar. They may even be better protected than the Edirol's microphones. I could imagine a problem if the Edirol were grabbed from the sides at the top in a forceful way to remove it from a carrying case.
One other Zoom plus: The Zoom has a true automatic gain control, where the Edirol's is a compressor circuit. The Zoom prevents clipping at high volume where the Edirol boosts low volumes without guarding against clipping.
A Zoom minus: Both devices have level meters. The Zoom has no peak indicator that I could find. The Edirol, in addition to its meters, has an impossible-to-miss LED that blinks when the unit peaks. This makes it very easy to adjust levels properly by using Up and Down buttons on the side of the unit, which can be done even while recording.
One final comment that won't mean much except to other die-hard MiniDisc users who stuck with the MiniDisc despite its shortcomings because its fidelity is so good. The Edirol R-09 is the unit that got me to finally abandon the MiniDisc. If you're a MiniDisc user looking for the features in the Zoom H4, I suspect you'll be very happy to abandon the MiniDisc in favor of the Zoom H4.

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The Zoom H4 Handy Digital Recorder fits in your palm and is ideal for recording live musical performances interviews podcasts meetings classes and seminars. The H4 allows you to record 24-bit/96 kHz digital audio as well as in MP3 format with bitrates up to 320kbps.

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Carl Martin PlexiTone Pedal Review

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(More customer reviews)There are several good analog pedals that replicate ( not model) the sound of a high-gain Marshall tube amp:
The Sansamp GT-2, and Sansamp "British" pedals, as well as the Sansamp PSA 1.1 all do a great job of that.
The Sansamp PSA 1.1 is best for rack-rigs where midi control and signal-routing flexibility are necessary.
The other two pedals are ideal if you must run with batteries.
If you want PURE ROCKIN MARSHALL TONE, PLUS a great boost feature ( up to 20 dB) then this Carl Martin Plexitone pedal is the best I've have ever heard in 40 years of professional playing. It has the TONE and FEEL of my Customized Marshall 100 watt head (circa 1969) that was modified by Jose Arrendondo in the late 70's.
The CM Plexitone has its own internal power supply, which is absolutely necessary for the massive headroom you need for authentic Marshal tone. That also means you do NOT need a "wall-wart" to run it, but it means you must find an outlet for it.
The three footswitches are robust and spaced so my size 12 boots hit the mark without problems. Bright blue LED lights give instant indication of what's ON. The high-impedance input helps reduce signal loss from cables. In effect, this acts as a buffered "front-end" for the rest of your chain... and it's a damn good buffer too.
If you like your basic amp sound, but need a better preamp for the front-end and could use a boost for solos, this is the pedal to get.
Over the last couple of decades, my friends and I have used various CM products. All of them are great. They build everything like they care. They are good at what they do and it shows. CM pedals are worth the extra dough.
Other than lucky auctions, I got the best price on a new one from Prymaxe, a dealer in New Jersey. The shipping was fast with no problems. Highly recommended.

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Electri6ity - Electric Guitar Virtual Instrument Review

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(More customer reviews)This is without a doubt the best sounding guitar sample based software today the sounds are extremely well recorded and the articulations are awesome. I firmly believe that you can emulate pretty much every kind of electric guitar sound with a combination of this software and the right effects. If you are a producer and keyboard is your instrument electri6ity is a must.
I have been using this software for the last 2 months and I found 2 cons so far:
1. effects are low quality. This is not big deal because like I mentioned before you can combine this with your own set of effects. I use it in combination with NI guitar rig 4 and it sounds AMAZING!!!
2. This thing is a CPU/Memory hog. electri6ity will take a decent processor and about 1 to 2 gbs of spare ram to run it I am running logic 9 studio on a i7 imac with 8 gbs of ram and there seem to be a bug with logic studio where i get spikes in cpu and audio drop outs when I use electri6ity as a plug in, the work around to this is to use it as an external instrument in stand alone mode and direct the audio output of kontact to a bridge like soundflower, again no big deal but kinda annoying to go through the extra steps. I also have ableton but I haven't done any testing with electri6ity in live yet.
So far the pros outweigh the cons on this so give it a shot once you hear it is definitively worth it.

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Native Instruments KOMPLETE 7 Software Review

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(More customer reviews)For what it is worth, If you need a good variety of MIDI instruments, This is an awesome package!
I submit this review from a Guitar Players perspective, Who plays/composes over MIDI backing tracks.
Be aware that the entire package took almost 8 hours to install!!!!!
12 dvd's Ouch!
To sum up, The highlights of this package are (in this users opinion):
1. Abbey Road 60's drums. These drums sound absolutely great IMO. It plays through Kontakt player and I trigger it with a Zendrum LT, and it is amazing. I use the vst version mostly so I can record the MIDI data inside Acid Pro. I am not a drummer, But to my ears the toms and cymbals in that package sound incredible, and the room mics and such are nicely tweakable. Professional, Kick Ass Quality to my ears!
Battery 3 is amazing also, And I use it for other stuff like Congas and Bongos.
Many of the included ethnic drums and percussion are very usable, And I will be using lots of that as well.
For me, As far as Rock/Blues/Jazz drums, I will stick with Abbey road for now because it is so clean!
I would consider the new 70's and 80's drums packages that NI offers, knowing how these sound for sure!
2. Guitar Rig 4.1. This puppy has been overhauled and it also sounds great and has many uses. re-amping your sound at post with this can produce very dramatic results. I use the DX plugin version in my DAW.
Combining other WAVES plugins/multiple instances and the like can enhance it all even further.
I also practice with the standalone version. I am actually playing it now as I type :-)
Again, vastly improved program from previous versions.
It rocks, And does allow you to get tones that would take a hell of a lot of good gear! I am a tube amp guy, And it is just hard to get a great recorded sound without the help of stellar studio mics/preamps/rooms etc...
This package can produce results that will fool many, guaranteed.
FWIW: Previous versions had an ANNOYING un-filterable noise from the noise gate! They fixed it! Thank you!
Another bonus is the new pitch shifting effects actually work on some chords, I am amazed!
3. Kontakt 4. This is really the heart of this package and it is endless because it is just such an awesome sampler, and many companies support this format.
The instruments in the "band" category are truly great sounding/usable instruments.
I love the Upright Bass, the fiddle, the sitar, and some of the horns just to name a few.
The new Pianos (Berlin, New York, Vienna, etc) sound very nice, And I will be using them quite a bit.
The String instruments (Violin, Cello, etc) are very nice and subtle. Lots of variation/articulation available.
I would also recommend the remainder of the included instruments that come with this mammoth package!
Too many to name and there is probably something here for everyone.
4. FM8, Absynth, Massive, etc: A large portion of Komplete is MIDI synth stuff, Probably targeted for trance and elecronica people, which is not my cup of tea... BUT, Many of the sounds are usable for many situations.
This stuff is highly tweakable which makes it useable in situations you may not normally get into.
I trigger most of my MIDI stuff with a Roland GR-30 (except for the drums), and you could spend eternity cycling through all the damn patches in these programs! insanity!
Combining different patches and instances of the many vst's available, provide a STAGGERING amount of musical creative potential, I assure you.
It may be worth mentioning, I am just using a Presonus Firepod, And my machine is just an Intel e6750 2.88ghz w/4 gig of ram, running Windows Xp Pro SP2.
The overall latency is very minimal for me and totally usable. Around ~4ms or so.
In summary, I would highly recommend this package and it was entirely well worth the $500 price tag for sure!
I have been eying this package since a few versions ago when it sold for over $1k! Now you get lots more stuff and I am happy. It is almost like getting a new computer, there is so much stuff in there, it will keep me busy for some time to come. I hope this helps someone looking for a great value. Some of your reviews helped me decide to take the plunge. Thank You!



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