Seq. To Record Analog Hard, What to chose for trance... Options

[CatloveX]

Hi all,

I'am building a studio to produce trance and I need a sequencer. I am on mac.

The fact is that I want to use analog hardware gear; I have an andromeda that I will use as a controller/synth and I now I will buy some other analog hard for bass and effects, if I find something that convinces me and my pocket.

As I am using a Powerbook I thought of Logic for the perfect integration but this one seems an integrated studio with all the VA synths and drum machine, and I wonder if I need all these features as I already will have my hard gear.

Digi 002 PT LE seems another option as I am going to record audio, and the interface seems a bit less complicated and white clear (vs. brown/dark in Logic); I won't have much time to study my soft and I don't want to lose my creativity with a mouse and midi.

Get DP, not so many plugs, cover the basic for recording, audio core rivals Logic quality I imagine and still have access to midi features if needed?

Please, what would be your advice?

Thanks.

Blue

[cornutt]

Have you looked at Metro LE? It sounds like it will do what you need, and the price is right.

I have a lot of hardware synths too, including a couple of pieces of vintage: JD-800 (also serves as my master keyboard), Juno-106, Matrix-6 and 1000, EML 101 and modular (via a JKJ CV-5 MIDI-to-CV converter), etc. I use the full-blown version of Metro (main differece is the number of tracks allowed). I record both MIDI and audio; I just finished a song that needed 17 MIDI tracks and six audio tracks including the mixdown.

Don't knock the plug-ins. I'm like you; I like to get my hands on hardware, but even if you don't think you will ever use virtual instruments, there are plug-ins that can be handy problem solvers in the studio. One more nice thing about Metro is that it can accept both VST and Audio Unit plug-ins natively. I'm using a hardware/software mix now, and every time I turn around there seems to be some new and really inexpensive plug-in that does something cool that I couldn't do with my existing hardware. It allows you to build a collection of specialized things cheaply. That way, instead of spending money on hardware that only does one thing, you can get it cheap in the form of plug-ins, and save your money for the really good hardware bits. (I'd love to have an Andromeda, but I'm building a house right now... talk about the ultimate money-sucker...)

Have you picked out your audio and MIDI interfaces? If you're going to have a lot of hardware synths, a good MIDI interface is important. Mine are both MOTU: the 828 for audio and the MIDI Express XT USB for MIDI. The 828 is probably overkill for what you are doing; you can get something like a 2-channel USB interface and save money over the 828. But get a bigger MIDI interface than what you think you need right now. If you only get a single-port or 2-port unit, you'll regret it once you have 4-5 synths in your studio.