Drums / Piano Roll in Logic Express?

[gvdv]

Hi,
In considering whether to start with Garage Band or Logic Express for my audio sequencer, the ease of creating non-loop based drum patterns is a consideration for me.

This is based upon the idea that loops are far less editable in terms of shifting pitch, lengthening or shortening notes, and so on, in comparison to using a piano roll/MIDI set up to create drum patterns - please correct me if I have the wrong idea here.

As I said above, I'd like to be able to use a piano-roll type editor to edit/tweak drum patterns that I have created either in step-time or real time.

I know that it is possible to create a drum editor in Logic Express (7, I think - there's a Sound ON Sound article about this here http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar06/articles/logictech.htm) but I really don't want to have to go to all that trouble.

Is there any kind of piano roll feature in L.E. (7)? Or is there any kind of graphical editing process for drums and other software instruments that uses a graphical interface that allows a combination of step and real time?

Thanks,
GVDV

 

[gvdv]

Hey,
Thanks for all of the replies.

 

[Ibanez Strummer]

Hey,

To answer whether you should get garageband or logic, i would immediately say logic. I haven't had it long and have little production skills yet, but the drums have been one of the stand out improvement from garageband in my experience.

I own logic express 8 which isn't quite what you are after, but pretty much I create a basic beat along the lines im after in Ultrabeat, move it into the track and then use the piano roll editor in order to add in extra notes etc and expand it a bit. Therefore I get the real time editing of ultrabeat (with the sequencer going, changing bits around) as well as the step edit of the piano roll to tweak lengths, pitches etc. and get it exactly how I'm after. I'm not sure this answer is exactly what your asking for, but thought would at least try and give you a reply!

Jamie

 

[gvdv]

Hey,

To answer whether you should get garageband or logic, i would immediately say logic. I haven't had it long and have little production skills yet, but the drums have been one of the stand out improvement from garageband in my experience.

I own logic express 8 which isn't quite what you are after, but pretty much I create a basic beat along the lines im after in Ultrabeat, move it into the track and then use the piano roll editor in order to add in extra notes etc and expand it a bit. Therefore I get the real time editing of ultrabeat (with the sequencer going, changing bits around) as well as the step edit of the piano roll to tweak lengths, pitches etc. and get it exactly how I'm after. I'm not sure this answer is exactly what your asking for, but thought would at least try and give you a reply!

Jamie

Hi Jamie,
Thanks very much for the reply; I really appreciate it.

I've been getting to grips with, and enjoying Garage Band, but tonight I struggled with mixing a track and produced a result that was worse than I had with my little Zoom PS 04 4 track recorder before it was stolen several years ago. That unit had better drum sounds than GB has, and a wonderful built in mic. (unfortunately, it recorded on Smart Media cards, which are no longer made, and which had a finite, short length).

Cubase LE was bundled with my Presonus Firestudio (I bought the Presonus a few weeks ago), and I haven't really gone into it yet, but will do so because I think that there may be some drum sounds and the like in there which are better than in GB. I do, however, really like some of the guitar sounds in GB.

I have found working with the piano roll in GB to be a bit limiting considering some of the tweaks that I would like to do; one has to go about these in a bit of a cumbersome way, but it's a lot of fun overall.

Given the recent drastic price drop of Logic (full version) I think that I'd be more likely to go for that rather than Logic Express, but I very much appreciate your comments.

Thanks for your help,

Geert.