quote:

Originally posted by palm and how is that one? im only talking about 320kbps, nothing else

I'm in no way an authority on this subject, so won't make any judgments on that codec.

It's a matter of taste really, do some google search on Fraunhofer vs LAME comparisons. As stated above, I've been using LAME for a long time, the quality is more than sufficient and it isn't a big hassle to use an external application...don't be lazy man

quote:

Originally posted by farris don't be lazy man

its not about lazyness, its about time, i need to find more effective solutions all places where possible so i can focus more on producing the few hours that i got. im a junky when it comes to searching for easy solutions for saving time.

I hope you know I was just kidding there a bit about laziness. The thing is that rendering out directly to MP3 from Logic or rendering out to WAV and then using an external application to do the conversion is just a matter of seconds. It is an extra step, but a small one in time and sacrifice if you want the best (or better) quality that you're used to with LAME. You'll eventually want to send labels your best render, be it WAV or AIFF. For preview purposes the difference between Fraunhofer or LAME in 320 won't be that big.

Have you already decided on going the Mac/Logic way? From what I get out of your posts over the last couple of years, you're still not entirely satisfied with your current DAW.

ive been trying various things without luck and I end up in Reason again over and over again. reason is just such an effective prog for me and im starting to learn some tricks to make the tracks sound better from it dispite its small lacks in soundquality (dynamics is most of my problems with it).

my next attempt is now to get an mac mini and logic express and start mastering my tracks in it. each channel rendered from reason as wav to save cpu in the mac mini, just adding logics eqing, compressors etc, i just hope its 1,87GHZ Core 2 Duo will be enough for these small actions. my tunes are rarely more than 12-15 channels. this is to see whether i can use mac/logic at all or not.

this way i hope to find out whether i later in life will go the mac/logic way and i realy hope i like it. Ive given up on hardware for a while, sold everything except the Waldorf MicroQ which is hard to get rid of after blofeld came. Fucking shit. Im also very tired of windows and I would love to be able to produce solely on hardware but that wont happen in this life it seems.

btw i use reaper to master my tracks in now and also render as mp3 with lame there, as it works directly with the .dll. i def like some parts of reaper, specialy wav handling. Ive tryed the Re-Wire thing but that wasnt a huge success, too much fiddling so by now ive just rendered the Reason file unmastered as 1 wav and put it into Reaper, adding some compression, eqing and limiting on masterbus, then render to 320kbps. this method works good for me but not as good as i crave for.

now Reaper is avaliable for Mac too ive just understand, but i dont know the lame.dll works on mac?

Last edited by djpalm on Oct-28-2008 at 22:44

I've been on Mac for almost 2 years now, and for everyday use I love it. Won't be going back to Windows anytime soon (read: this lifetime).
My main producing workstation is still Windows though. It's starting to show it's age now so I'm looking out for a new one soon. Chances are it'll be a Windows (XP) one again. Just a matter of preference I think.
But I'm weighing in the option of switching entirely to Mac.

I've used Logic for a little while because we had to and it is really nice. You'll get the grips with it soon. Nice layout, great plugins.

Instead of a Mac Mini you might want to have a look at the new MacBooks.
The plain ones and not the Pro's. Although the Mini will be sufficient for the tasks you intend to do, the new MacBooks are really powerful.
That and I think Apple is phasing out the Mini.
Seeing as you use Reason and I think it's a multi-platform DAW (both Mac and PC versions are on the DVD if I remember correctly) you can use it with ease on these laptops. That means the quality of Logic (Express) with you're familiar Reason rewired into it.

If you need to know more, just send me a PM or hit me up on MSN, I'm still on there occasionally

Yeah Reason is on both platform, again shows what fantastic company this is. Ive been looking on the macbooks a while realy but i find it too expensive. I was considering the black one untill i found out about the new ones. The new macbook seems better imo tho with alot better grapchiccard but no FW. also seems more solid that the plastic previous version. Anyhow I cant waste anymore money on shit-buyings now, and i need to try stuff first to be sure. I get the mac mini realy cheap second hand so this will help find out whether i like mac+logic or not. If i do Im gonna wait and save money for the next macbooks with more CPU+RAM and hopefully FW. MAcbook pro is not an option 13" is big enough when in widescreen as a laptop. If i end up hating mac/logic as workstation after my experience with the mini, the mini will still be used as a mediacenter on my TV, with Itunes and shit like that so i dont realy loose anything on it. Its a cheap plan based on many limitations such as money, space (im producing in my livingroom), time, lack of patience etc.. as way to learn and find it out what i really want to go for. Im pretty sure just by looking on pics from logic that I will like it but i need to be sure. I can never go completely away from a computer anyway as I do my webdesign/FTP, company-docs etc there. also ive recently became some kind of minimalist getting rid of all useless things i have and trying to just stick with stuff that has a purpose, and if it has multiple purposes then thats a bonus. Its the opposite of my previous state of mind as a materialist.

Last edited by djpalm on Oct-28-2008 at 23:10

The first black Macbooks where just rip-offs. They were almost identical to the white ones, but Apple charged $100 more.

Everyone says that Apple stuff is overpriced, as did I. Couple of months ago I was helping a friend out deciding on a new Windows laptop for him. The fact was that most options he had in his budget (just under the entry level MacBooks) had specifications which my MacBook had 2 years earlier. Anyway, he didn't want an Apple so he got some Acer thingie which probably suits his needs but hops along 2 years behind mine. In no way do I want to come off as a Apple fanboy as I stated in my previous post that for producing I still prefer plain ol' Windows.

You have a fair point though in wanting to test it first. For me it was a big gamble. I just went ahead and ordered one. Did some research beforehand, but own experience is much more worth.

Don't know about the current aluminum MacBooks, but the previous MacBook Pro's were prone to some denting. The 'plastic' MacBook I have now is more solid than it looks.

As for FW, don't know if Apple is bringing it back to lower end models. The Pro's still have a FW port, but it seems this is also slowly being phased out. Or they are just doing it on purpose to sell more higher end models as they are supposed to be more geared to...well professionals. Don't let this fool you as the plain ones are powerful as f*ck.

Good luck on your choices mate!

Yeah as I sayd Pros are out of question as it is big and nasty as hell! espceialy in widescreen, why the hell did laptops go widescreen anyway? speakers on the side of the keyboard? ugly... and i realy dont need speakers at all. So yeah the normal macbook 13" is the only option when it comes to macbook, but as i also said i think its expensive, but i didnt say overpriced caus i know u get a good comp, a good IBM is like 1,3X that again in price. what i meant is that im not going to have any money for a while and i have to stick with easy cheap solutions. so for now im gonna produce the tracks as normal in reason on my stationare PC (which is pretty good), and try master seperate channels wav in logic express on a mac mini. i hope it can be a solution for some time while learning mac+logic and saving money. Now i gotta go to bed so i can work tomorow. Thanks for all the input. Dont hasitate sending me material lol.

u can install OSX on PC

i wont try that again (hackintosh) lol, two HDs went to hell. Maybe it could work now that I have the original install CD???? anyone got info on that?

anyway Ive bought a second hand mini now and logic express for a good price. havent had time installing anything yet tho, ill post later how i feel about it all. id like to know which plugs in logic is CPU friendly, so I can start with those and see.

quote:

Originally posted by kooma u can install OSX on PC

Yes, we've established that by now.....that's not the point here though.
And besides, it's way more easy and convenient to install Windows on a Mac.

Palm, try out softsynth Automat, one of the better freeware plugins on OSX. Play a bit with it within Logic to get a feel for the system: http://www.alphakanal.de

But also the built-in ones like ES2 etc.