Time to dump Vision...seeking advice

[Lancaster]

I'm getting a G4 soon and I was wondering if any of the peole on this forum have any insights into which of Cubase, DP or Logic a former Studio Vision user would feel most comfortable with?
I do a ton of midi and want to start using the full audio capabilties of the G4 when I get it.
As annoying as Vision is from time to time , one does get used to a certain way of doing things . Does Cubase still have that Logical Editor setup which I always found illogical ?:-)
Any advice as to which program is the most stable ? And what's the real difference between Logic Platinum and Gold, aside from the track count ?
Is getting 512 MB ram worth the $$$ ?
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Cheers.

[macmidi]

What you're asking is a very subjective question. people that answer are going to have different opinions and I think the best answer is how it feels to you.
Download the demo's or go to your closest music store and get the demo's. You can download Cubase. DP and Logic are a lot harder to find.
As far as Gold/Plat Logic, they are virtually the same aside from some midi and audio stuff. most significant is that Gold won't support 24 bit. Which is odd (to me) if your dishing out $350. DP and Cubase will at the same price and Cubase will support 32bit.
Here's a link for Logic:

http://www.emagic.de/english/products/logic/compare.html

Oh yeah, RAM is cheap and for audio, more is better. You can get 512M for less than $100 on the web.

[Boogs]

Logic is coming out with version 5.0 any day now which will support 24 bit audio across their "family" of products - Logic Platinum, Gold, Silver, and apparently Micrologic. This is a pretty BIG DEAL update so it's worth it, in my opinion, to see what it's about before you decide. Of course by that time Cubase will support time travel and Macs will be capable of Space Shuttle launches, such is our life! Also, look for a review and demo in Computer Music or the like in the next couple of months - good chance they'll have one. In any case, good luck.

[Taco]

I jumped ship from Vision recently myself. I ended up with DP mostly because I was impressed with their audio interfaces (2408, 1224, 24i etc) and I believed (and still believe) that there are fewer headaches when everything is designed to work together (so I bought a Midi Timepiece too).

MOTU's customer support isn't exactly award winning (Logic's is supposed to be much better), but they have been around a long time and their tech's are helpful if you actually get one on the phone (check out the excellent list/forum at www.unicornation.com). (http://www.unicornation.com).) DP is a different way of thinking from Vision but I think you get used to anything.

2 recommendations...Don't buy your memory from Apple or they will rip you off (meaning buy it from crucial.com or other world computing or something and install it yourself) and try to budget for the midi interface that's designed to work with the software. Its especially important with USB interfaces, and they will operate in what MOTU for instance, calls a "fast mode".

[Lancaster]

Thanks for the tips.I found demos of Cubase and Logic Platinum(Windoze only) and tried them out on the Windows box here at the office.First impressions are that Logic is beautiful to look at , and that Cubase looks almost shabby next to it.I've spent time fiddling with both of them but I'm drawn to Logic's attention to little details , editing windows and interface.I havent figured out the environments yet :-)
I wish I could find a DP demo....I also agree with getting as much as possible from a single source to guarantee compatibility , and as soon as I saw the MOTU 828 , I said "there's the ticket".
At the moment though, the choice seems to be between Logic Gold or Platinum.

[dhosek]

Originally posted by multitrack mind:
I wish I could find a DP demo....I also agree with getting as much as possible from a single source to guarantee compatibility , and as soon as I saw the MOTU 828 , I said "there's the ticket".

As far as I know, there is no DP3 demo. I went ahead and ordered it blind, but I've not done anything with it yet. First on the agenda is going to be some remastering work on previously recorded tracks. Then some mixing of stuff done on my hd recorder. Sometime next year I'll be picking up an 828 and powerbook for recording.

-dh

[r_nelson]

I wouldn't dump Vision out of your computer just yet.
I think that after you try doing some work on any of the other programs, you'll find yourself missing Vision for it's flexibility, elegance and intuitive interface....Especially for audio editing!
It still holds it's own extremely well when compared to the competition. I've used them all and come to the conclusion that Vision has come the closest to being the perfect sequencer. Too bad they killed it!

That said, I do wish that it could record more than one track at a time, and for those occasions I use Logic to track and then fly them into Vision for the rest of the work. It may not have this month's latest bells and whistles, but the bottom line is that it still does state-of-the-art editing and mixing VERY well!

[Lancaster]

"I wouldn't dump Vision out of your computer just yet. "
I think that after you try doing some work on any of the other programs, you'll find yourself missing Vision for it's flexibility, elegance and intuitive interface...."

I still like Vision, but... Back in the summer,one of their remaining tech guys told me that Vision and DSP wont run under OS 9. At that time, I decided to look around . Logic and Cubase both have compelling feature sets and are produced by , hopefully, financially stable companies that wont be bought out by Idiot Guitar Mfrs.I know I prefer the Vision way of doing things, which I've used since 1994 ,but it's obviously time to move on.
After all,OS X will be usable in a year or so.

[Taco]

2 other things related to MOTU.

One reason I went to DP after buying a MOTU audio interface was I needed to use 2 programs (the MOTU audio program and a different manufacturers sequencer) vs doing everything inside digital performer.

Also re: demo's. I'm quite sure that if you buy DP directly from MOTU, they give you a no questions asked 30 day money back trial if you don't like it. You can probably even get the competitive upgrade with Vision.

[lucere]

I, too had to make the switch from Vision. I kicked & screamed through the transition, too! I'm surprised you've been able to hold out this long. I'm now what you might call a die-hard Logic user.
Why? Because it never gives out! This has got to be hands down the most stable peice of music software I've ever used. I use it with a motu 828 without a hitch. The built in effects are really quite nice, too. After so many crashes w/ vision, I am so happy to have found something that stands up so strongly! The other cool thing about logic is that it utilizes system resources really efficiently. I can't wait to see version 5! Anyway, good luck with your search! It's all good...

[Lancaster]

Lucere, I found demos of Cubase and Logic and have decided to go for Logic.
I've heard nothing but good things about it, and the elegant user interface sold me on it.
Vision is maddening, but I've done some good stuff with it over the years , and since I have multitrack tape decks, I stayed away from relying exclusively on it's audio side to avoid crashes and such.However, it's time to move on.
As for sticking with it for so long , I didnt want to be bothered learning another complicated program.But I'm sure Logic will be a lot of fun when I get used to it :-)