Pro Tools vs Logic for a beginner

[GoldfishRT]

Which is better, specifically for software composition? Not planning on doing much recording but I'd like to get into composing EDM. Played bass guitar and violin for years for the record. I also know my way through GarageBand so I'd imagine Logic's interface would at least be more comfortable to start.

Just general advice would be great. Since I come from the land of analog music. This is all pretty new to me.

 

[SimonUK5]

EDM deffo Logic. ProTools suits someone wanting to track live audio, and thats pretty much it. It can do other stuff, but not at the level other DAWS can.

 

[ChrisA]

....
Just general advice would be great. Since I come from the land of analog music. This is all pretty new to me.

For computer generated music Logic is the way to go. It would be really good if you played keyboards even if just one handed and slow as that is a good way to input notes.

As you said GB and logic are a little bit alike. Logic just has a lot more options and features

 

[BigRed1]

Yes, definitely Logic over ProTools for EDM. I haven't looked in quite a while, but have you thought about ableton Live? I know Reason is made for this exact type of music, too, but I just really hate it's interface and workflow. You may think differently, though. Logic is much more flexible and expandable, however.

Edit - to clarify, I am a Logic user and don't plan on using anything else. I'm just a basement recorder for fun stuff. I like Logic, but I don't LOVE it. That being said, it's a great price for all of the included stuff you get with it.

 

[GoldfishRT]

For computer generated music Logic is the way to go. It would be really good if you played keyboards even if just one handed and slow as that is a good way to input notes.

As you said GB and logic are a little bit alike. Logic just has a lot more options and features

Yeah. I was looking into a few MIDI controllers to go along with it when I purchase it.

Definitely looks like Logic is the way to go for me, especially with my familiarity with the GarageBand interface and workflow.

 

[Macmark93]

i produce EDM, Hardcore, trance and a bit of breakbeat . In my opinion pro tools does not come close to logic. Logic has a unbeatable sound engine and just a great interface. Only thing is (especially as you want to produce EDM), don't get Logic X. Sadly and stupidly the only problem is with it is the fact that you can't run 32 bit plugins on it. All the biggest EDM plugins such as...
,Nexus,Massive,Kontakt etc are all currently only available in 32 bit. Unless your intending to use preset plugins for edm (which are very crappy, get logic 9.

Also Logic9 has the cool features like the ability to change the colour of your audio n midi files. This although is very simple & is extremely useful and just makes your life that much easier.

Also cubase is awesome to but if you got a mac and are a beginner you may as well give logic a shot.

 

[maplingstorie]

I personally would use Ableton for EDM and remixes. Fantastic automation and simple easy drag n drop plugins. I however do use Logic too (my first DAW) but more towards film scoring and recording audio. I have tried pro tools on my brother's mac but that iLok is an annoyance and there's barely enough features of it compared with Logic to really justify the iLok dongle and price.

 

[F1Mac]

EDM deffo Logic. ProTools suits someone wanting to track live audio, and thats pretty much it.

Not true. Besides, ProTools MIDI features have been hugely improved over the years. While the competition (Apple, MOTU, Steinberg to name a few) has unique features that can make them all attractive, ProTools still has an ease of use (and the interface is fast!) that the others can only dream of, and, it has some unique features of its own as well. I've been using Digital Performer, Logic and ProTools for more than 12 years and my main DAW remains ProTools , which is not to say I don't like the others. But to be honest, Logic has proven to be a complete mess between the 3 although I'm not familiar with the latest version. I'm doing film music and a lot of hardstyle/trance.

 

[barkmonster]

Not true. Besides, ProTools MIDI features have been hugely improved over the years. While the competition (Apple, MOTU, Steinberg to name a few) has unique features that can make them all attractive, ProTools still has an ease of use (and the interface is fast!) that the others can only dream of, and, it has some unique features of its own as well. I've been using Digital Performer, Logic and ProTools for more than 12 years and my main DAW remains ProTools , which is not to say I don't like the others. But to be honest, Logic has proven to be a complete mess between the 3 although I'm not familiar with the latest version. I'm doing film music and a lot of hardstyle/trance.

I agree. The Pro Tools edit window makes a fool of every other DAW for audio editing and mixing. Add Reason for synths and drums and you've got an excellent setup. They compliment each other perfectly. Not sure if you're into House at all but Jay J is one person who swears by Pro Tools. A lot of the Breaks, Trance and Progressive producers like BT, Darin Epsilon, Hybrid etc... tend to favour Logic or Ableton Live but you can't beat Pro Tools for audio. The idea it's just for tracking multiple mic positions of 3 or 4 instruments with a decade irrelevant timbre is really underselling how useful it is for creating electronic music.

 

[F1Mac]

I agree. The Pro Tools edit window makes a fool of every other DAW for audio editing and mixing. Add Reason for synths and drums and you've got an excellent setup. They compliment each other perfectly. Not sure if you're into House at all but Jay J is one person who swears by Pro Tools. A lot of the Breaks, Trance and Progressive producers like BT, Darin Epsilon, Hybrid etc... tend to favour Logic or Ableton Live but you can't beat Pro Tools for audio. The idea it's just for tracking multiple mic positions of 3 or 4 instruments with a decade irrelevant timbre is really underselling how useful it is for creating electronic music.

As I work with other studios I don't really have a choice of using ProTools anyway. I started with Digital Performer and to be honest I was reluctant of using ProTools for years. But DP always has incompatibilities for importing/exporting OMFs properly, which I use a lot, and its interface is heavier than Godzilla himself. I've come to love working on ProTools even for my "non-film music" work. I do have Reason as well, NI's Komplete and a few Vienna libraries. VIs in DP can make it quite unstable sometimes, while ProTools is always rock-solid. I'm really not familiar with Ableton Live although I've heard great things about it, it's just that I don't really have the time or will to learn how to use it.

...House is not my cup of tea

 

[barkmonster]

As I work with other studios I don't really have a choice of using ProTools anyway. I started with Digital Performer and to be honest I was reluctant of using ProTools for years. But DP always has incompatibilities for importing/exporting OMFs properly, which I use a lot, and its interface is heavier than Godzilla himself. I've come to love working on ProTools even for my "non-film music" work. I do have Reason as well, NI's Komplete and a few Vienna libraries. VIs in DP can make it quite unstable sometimes, while ProTools is always rock-solid. I'm really not familiar with Ableton Live although I've heard great things about it, it's just that I don't really have the time or will to learn how to use it.

...House is not my cup of tea

I do find 99% of House sounds like some kind of ultra-repetitive ADHD Jazz and the only "structure" comes from the beats

 

[SimonUK5]

I mean, i'm not saying that working with soft instruments with ProTools is impossible, but for me i've always found it awkward to work with compared to working MIDI in Logic and/or Cubase . Cubase being my favourite, regardless of the fact it runs like ***** on OS X.

As someone who is lucky enough to work constantly on large format Analogue desks, i will forever be a die hard ProTools fan.

ProTools for me = Digital Tape. Thats how i see it, and IMO although its powerful, thats how it should be seen.

 

[Alimar]

I have used both and prefer Logic. The amount of software included, and the cost differences for plug-ins between Logic and ProTools leans toward LP for cost effectiveness.

 

[kerochan]

Which is better, specifically for software composition? Not planning on doing much recording but I'd like to get into composing EDM. Played bass guitar and violin for years for the record. I also know my way through GarageBand so I'd imagine Logic's interface would at least be more comfortable to start.

Just general advice would be great. Since I come from the land of analog music. This is all pretty new to me.

Got NO idea what EDM means!? Been using Pro Tools for years, great, had a look at garage band, dreadful, Know nothing about Logic but would like to learn!

 

[F1Mac]

Got NO idea what EDM means!?

Electronic Dance Music

 

[kerochan]

Electronic Dance Music

ah, thank you Morpheo, not my scene exactly!

 

[audiokid]

No love for Adobe Audition? Just curious.

 

[kerochan]

No love for Adobe Audition? Just curious.

Never heard of Adobe Audition, will check it out.
Just tried Reaper, that is very good, similar to Pro Tools also.

 

[F1Mac]

No love for Adobe Audition? Just curious.

No MIDI in Audition if I'm not mistaken.

 

[ProjectManager101]

Logic is better than Protools for EDM. Protools was a software that was good in audio editing, for mastering and all that, Protools is awesome and fast. You can do EDM with Protools but that is not the strongest side at all. Logic Pro came from Notator Logic back in the 80's I believe. And not it has plenty of tools to do EDM. You can do audio editing with no problem but the interface is mean more for midi and soft synths manipulation. Not to mention Logic Pro is cheaper and somehow is Apple best and most reliable Pro Application. On the other hand you have Ableton Live but is more expensive and more towards live performance.

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

Honestly it's really, really hard to recommend Pro Tools now. It's unbelievably expensive and in many cases REAPER is simply better. I wholeheartedly recommend REAPER to anyone looking to get into music production.

With that said, Logic Pro's stock instruments and effects are fantastic and Ableton Live is probably my favourite DAW for anything electronic.

 

[F1Mac]

Honestly it's really, really hard to recommend Pro Tools now. It's unbelievably expensive

Well when was it cheap?

and in many cases REAPER is simply better.

Arguable. Even more so now that PT 12.4 has been released.

With that said, Logic Pro's stock instruments and effects are fantastic and Ableton Live is probably my favourite DAW for anything electronic.

Logic's instruments do not sound very good though, but yes they're a good starting point. And Live isn't exactly cheap either by the way.

 

[JoelTheSuperior]

Well when was it cheap?



Arguable. Even more so now that PT 12.4 has been released.



Logic's instruments do not sound very good though, but yes they're a good starting point. And Live isn't exactly cheap either by the way.

Well in terms of someone getting into music now, the presets in Logic Pro and Ableton are much better for someone working in the box than Pro Tools.

For the purposes anyone here is going to be using a DAW for, if they're the type of user who Pro Tools would appeal to REAPER is almost certainly a better option. No messing about with AAX plugin support (most of my plugins do have AAX versions but certainly not all), a much, much lower licensing fee, no silly hardware dongles etc etc.

Consider plugins for a moment - if I buy a plugin, I can pretty much guarantee it'll be available in VST and maybe even AU format. It might come in AAX format, or it might not. Meanwhile there's plenty of free VSTs as well.

The main reason I can see for using Pro Tools now is if you're interested in a Pro Tools|HD setup but odds are if they're asking about it here they're probably not. Otherwise Pro Tools very much feels like an example of something that's the industry standard for little more reason than because it's the industry standard, and recent years are giving the impression that AVID don't really seem to have a grasp on what they're doing.

If you need to exchange work between studios then Pro Tools is the obvious choice because it's what they're all using, and I completely understand why studios would opt for a complete AVID setup, but the reality is you're not them, and you'd probably get by just fine on something a whole lot cheaper.

I have used Pro Tools, admittedly after using just about every other option, and whilst I wouldn't say I thought it was by any means bad (it's a very capable DAW), my impression was very much one of "why would you use this when there's so many other great options out there". If you're using it already and you're happy with it, that's great - keep using it, but for people going into music now it's really difficult to recommend.

Regarding Logic's instruments, I'm aware that they don't compete with the top VIs, but compared to a lot of virtual instruments out there they really aren't bad at all. Alchemy is downright impressive and a lot of the stock plugins are fantastic. Personally I'm not too fussed about them - I have my own plugins that I use and I'm very happy with, but for someone going into music now, who doesn't necessarily know what they want yet in terms of third party plugins, Logic is an awesome starting point.

 

[F1Mac]

If you need to exchange work between studios then Pro Tools is the obvious choice because it's what they're all using, and I completely understand why studios would opt for a complete AVID setup, but the reality is you're not them, and you'd probably get by just fine on something a whole lot cheaper.

I do film music and I've been working with Pro Tools for more than 15 years now, so yes I do have to exchange work with other studios, so yes, I kinda "have to" use Pro Tools. Having said that, I know it so well now and I'm so comfortable with it that it would be hard getting used to another DAW environment. I'm using Digital Performer as well (which I started using years and years ago as well) and while I do love it for some of its unique features, its workflow is really not effective, and the interface is like an elephant, it lags as the project grows (number of sequences, audio files...)

Alchemy alone makes me want to try Logic again...

In the end, we always use what works best for us.

 

[oned]

Pro tools is best! Learn it, use it, master it, then learn about any other DAW of your choice.