Advice On Audio Equipment???, I had been suggested the digidesign 002 Options

[andrew_70]

Hello to all of you knowledgeable musicians-

I am a college student who doesn't have much money to spend on a personal home recording system. I am a guitarest/singer/songwriter who wants to expand to being able to record more then one track at once. A friend in the music industry suggested the digidesign 002 rack, but unfortunately it's a little out of my price range... I'm hoping to spend under $700, because all the rest of my money is going towards important things such as an education . Does anyone else have any suggestioons on what to purchase? I have a G4 933 w/ 1.25 gigs or ram and all that good stuff... Thanks!!

Andrew Barden

[rickenbacker]

Grek30 - not at all. Logic and Pro Tools are developed by two completely separate companies. However, studios often use Pro Tools hardware for their audio with a Logic front end for Midi and the GUI visual on-screen side of things. You can use Logic without Pro Tools and Pro Tools without Logic, but you can also use Logic with Pro Tools (if you have a lot of money). Does that make sense?

As for the cerithom/pesji debate, can I just say that IMHO Pro Tools is the standard in the music industry the way Quark is the standard in the publishing industry. They're both good and their adoption is widespread, but it doesn't automatically mean they're the best. They just got there first, so people keep using them. But now Quark is facing a serious challenge from the likes of InDesign, like Pro Tools is facing competition from Nuendo, Logic Platinum, DP4 etc.

Nothing wrong with Pro Tools, but a lot of the time people use a product either because everyone else does or because the place they work uses it or a friend recommends it. I spoke to Elbow (UK band) recently - they're big Pro Tools fans, but when I asked them why, they told me it was just because the producer on their first LP used it. Had he used Cubase on an Atari, something tells me that's what Elbow would be using now!

To andrew_70's original post, I'd say that if you really want to choose Pro Tools, get an Mbox to start with and see if you like it. Or download Pro Tools Free first and get a really cheap interface.

But for the money you mention, why not source a secondhand MOTU 828? You get AudioDesk software with that, so you can lay tracks down straight away without spending another penny (no Midi, though) and you've got an excellent box for routing audio into your Mac. You wouldn't need another mixer and the mic preamps (2) are actually very good.

Plus you can switch to another sequencer app at any time and still use the 828, which I don't think is true of any Digi hardware - you're stuck with Pro Tools LE. Plus any nice plug-ins cost a bundle for Pro Tools compared to VST or AU versions.

Nothing wrong with Pro Tools, but...