New: How is Live 5 for production compared to Logic 7?

[elektrovert]

Sorry folks, but it terms of "full on production" Logic wins hands down!
It's crap for jamming and it has a massive learning curve.
Sure you cant take it out of the box and expect to be writing masterpieces straight away, it's an extremely complex tool, it'll take you the best part of a year to get your head around it properly and even then you'll be still learning stuff.
It's an extremely powerful creative tool.
It seems to me that more and more people are looking for instant results.
Live gives you more of a free feeling when you use it, but once you get into logic you'll easily be able t owork as quickly with that as you can with Live.
I think you should g et them both.
Don't be put off by the steep learning curve in logic, it's a great tool.
I use them both together all of the time and I wouldn't have it any other way.

[mthomashow]

Just a few more thoughts on this one. I speak as an exerienced musician, but a hobbyist, not a pro. The great advantage (as LOFA suggests) of Logic Pro is the terrific instruments, esepcially Sculpture which is just about the clearest sounding, most transparent physical modelling synth available. I really enjoy Logic for its great plug-ins and also for composing. I probably use about ten per cent of its features. There are aspects of its complexity that don't phase me because I ignore them. The key to Logic Pro is just to use it for what you need it for.

Having said that, there is no question that Live 5 is superior for improvising, laying down song fragments and rearranging them, crafting loops to jam with, etc. I have way more song fragments in Live. Also, the various plug-ins with Live are terrific and I find that the Midi plugs and beat repeater open up my use of soft synths. I thionk Live is much easier to start with and if I had to choose on or the other, it would probably be Live

However, I really enjoy Logic, too.
When I have a specific project in mind I will often start with Logic.

Sometimes my choice of Logic or Live is simply a matter of mood. You don't have to disparage one to like the other!

[aj_kandy]

So to sum up a little, and also post some followup questions:

Just to reiterate where I'm coming from, I'm using Express, not Pro, so I don't have Sculpture or Guitar Amp Pro, Space Designer, or the more sophisticated EQs and dynamics options. (As an aside, if you buy Soundtrack Pro, which *does* include Space Designer and some of these, would those plugins work in LE7?). I'm much more familiar with Reason, which is simple on the surface but has surprising depth.

-Obviously, Logic "has it all," but has the steep learning curve, as more than one person has said, it may take the better part of a year to really master.
-Live doesn't pretend to do everything, but is very fast and intuitive for songwriting, rather like a "Reason for audio."

My goal is to be able to write songs quickly, not necessarily to mix and master records. I don't have piles of hardware synths etc, so something with Logic's extensive MIDI functionality might just be beyond my needs. I may be collaborating with people working on PCs (which makes Logic a barrier, right there), so Live is looking a bit better as a cross-platform solution.

While my primary need is tracking guitars, I wouldn't mind playing around with beat-matching, doing some Gorillaz-type stuff, so elastic audio is neat. I also don't have a year to spend getting up to speed before I can actually do anything!

Now, just to play devil's advocate, ProTools M-Powered seems to have a lot of these features as well. I've been shying away from it because it's potentially complex again, and also because of the hardware tie-in requirements. That said, it is "the standard," making it easy to bring projects into a pro studio...Would I miss Live's beat-matching tech? Does PT's "beat detective" make up for it? Anyone use both (or is there an existing thread on the subject?)

[mthomashow]

You'll be just fine with Live 5. It sounds like it will do absolutely everything you need and you can grow with it. Spend some time with the demo

[nebulae]

when i was using logic , i used to beat my wife and kids. now that i use live , i dont beat them. the lack of bruises says it all

Damn, dude, I only used to abuse my fluffy kittens with a combination of hair spray and a lighter. You really took it up a notch.

[supster]

I've been playing with the Live 5 demo for a while now and ... it's not as insanely configurable as Logic ...

no, your right it not

its much more insanely configurable than logic really, the more you get your head around it you will see that more and more -

dont let the straightforward design fool you, its how it all freely interacts that is the beauty of it
.

[MarkH]

To ramp up with Logic in a week just get macProVideo's Logic 7 DVD by Martin Sitter (the guy who wrote the official Apple Pro: Logic 7 book). He won't teach you about how to model synth sounds, but he will explain the functionality of audio, midi, automation, and lots of cool tips and tricks that make using Logic realatively easy. Logic will never be as "simple and straightforward" as Live, but I don't think one should expect it to given the additional functionality and versatility. However, it's not nearly as complex as it seems once you watch someone else working the tools which is what the DVD is perfect for. There are sample clips to watch on the macProVideo web site.

I think for the guy/gal who is less traditional in their music/producing and more experimental and has their own procedures for working, Live is perfect. It's the only app I know of where you can break all the traditional rules of how your "supposed" to compose music and still get creative results. For someone who needs to track a lot of vocals, do audio edits, etc., I think Logic, Digital Performer, or Cubase are a good way to go.