How difficult is it to work between Logic and PT?

[Lewis Hollow]

Hey, I was wondering if anyone can shed some light on this...I'm considering getting Logic, but many people I'll be working with use Pro Tools. Does anyone have experience trying to move sessions between the two? I would guess that the options for this have gotten better, but I fear that it will still be a huge pain. Is there a way to keep automation / mix / plug-ins, etc.?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[quigleybc]

i don't think you'll be able to go back and forth..

it's one.
or the other.

 

[zimv20]

i think OMF is supposed to handle interpreting session files, but i've not heard anyone rave about it working right.

that said, you can certainly move AIFF files back and forth, just make sure they all start @ zero for ease of lining up.

if you wanted, you could also print effects and then move the AIFF, but i don't think that would be a desired first choice.

 

[WinterMute]

OMF is a pain in the arse, I work with Logic guys all the time, MIDI is handled with standard MIDI files, that works fine, audio is printed from Bar 1 beat 1 for all tracks individually and then re-imported to PT.

Sample rates need to be aligned to avoid unnecessary dithering, but otherwise it's easy.

Just takes a little time is all.

Going back requires the same process in reverse, the key is always to print you audio from bar 1 regardless of where the sound actually starts, so as to retain the sync, as Zim Pointed out. You can print reverbs and delays to audio if you want to but tbh it's just as easy to use the PT plug-ins.

 

[Plumbstone]

OMF files work OK for transfering files from one platform to another but there are several problems, no automation or plugin infomation is included, it is simply the layout of your tracks. It also has the effect of consolidating your audio and conveniently renaming it something totally useless - your nicely labelled "rhythm gtr 2 DT" becomes gobbledigook....

As long as you are not planning on going backwards and forwards again and again there are some easy options in both PT and logic for a quick transfer, logic has a "export all tracks as audio" function, and in PT you can select everything and consolidate (this will create audio files without any plug-ins on it as it simply glues all your regions together, the logic version however does an offline bounce so all your effects and automation are included in the mixed down files.)

I would say your decision should be based on what would suit your needs better; it can be said that PT is preferable for recording, audio editing and mixing, however logic is better for song writing, composition and sound design as it has better MIDI impementation and handles soft-synths/samplers really well. In fact having spent most of the weekend using Logic Pro 8 I can definitely say the whole audio side of things has come on leaps and bounds, and the sheer power of the new macpros mean that you can run huge sessions natively without any need for extra DSP....

Either way, good luck with your music making....🙂