skilless Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hi all. I'm a guitarist with a visual design background trying to put together my first album. All the guitar parts & vocals have been written, I'm currently trying to sort out everything else . I've been playing with Ableton to create my beats and it's went reeeally well - I have a small collection of drum samples that I've turned into an impulse instrument I like, and used the draw mode to create some pretty solid beats (if I may say so). Now I want to write bass lines and it isn't anywhere near as simple. I want a double bass on one song and to get a good sound with Ableton I'm looking at one or two upgrades, to get the 'tension' string synth and/or to get the double bass instrument in one of their collections. On the other hand, Logic express *seems* to have everything I need already included, and if I ever need something else upgrades seem capped at $500 for Logic Pro. I'm wondering if my perceptions are correct? I have a few various guitars recording through a Line 6 x3 live, with one real (vox) amp and those provide every guitar sound I need. I just need good and easy bass/drum instruments for an indy rock sound. Would logic be anywhere near as easy as Live? Thanks for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeddigger Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 You'll surely be able to find a good amount of bass in Logic, but do you really need everything else Logic comes with? How about a sample pack for basses? Try looking for a plug-in for bass only. Doesn't have to big name to do the job. ... But Express is $200, and you might get a ton of stuff that you might appreciate. Like Ultrabeat or the ES2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilless Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 I doubt I need much of what comes with Pro as opposed to Express - I'm just happy that Logic Pro is $499 and that's as high as it can go - ableton live is $499, but the suite is $999 and that doesn't include all their instrument packs - to get all 3 double bass articulations would cost $189. Or I could use their string synth for $130 instead (sounds quite good in my testing). So I'm wondering if $199 for Logic Express would actually do more for me, or even Logic Pro. I don't know where to get sample packs like this, nor how they compare. I also couldn't find a list of which instruments and exs24 instruments come with Pro, it seems like a lot, but how many are solo strings like the double bass I want? I was hoping someone with Live experience could explain how Ultrabeat compares to impulse or drumracks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weeddigger Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Impulse and drum racks are different animals, but they play nice together... Different animals? Maybe... Barely... You could use UB to generate your sounds (tweak the hell out of samples or create percussive sounds from scratch) and then you could export these sounds to a drum rack/impulse instrument for further tweaking and playability. UB does allow you to bang on keys or pads to generate your patterns, just like the drum racks allow you to assign buttons/pads to each sound and bang out patterns. UB has it's own mini-sequencer... UB Responds to side chains (not sure about Live there). UB allows you to automate your drum sound changes, which is really cool. The racks definitely have more space for sounds, UB only lets you map 25 sounds per kit. ... I don't have that much experience with the EXS 24 to tell you what sounds it brings, but Logic Studio comes with a chunk of sounds. It comes with Apple's Jam packs, which Apple sells alone for like $100/pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilless Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 I thought I'd bump this thread instead of starting a new one. I decided to get Logic Studio and have been playing with it almost endlessly. I've already devoured the Apple training series book and a lot of online material. I'm back to wondering about the solo double bass sound I want. I really like the one that comes with Ableton Suite (http://www.ableton.com/eic) - ideally I could find a comparable exs24 instrument. Which makes me wonder why Logic Studio doesn't already have it. "1300 pristine-sounding EXS sampled instruments" and one isn't a solo double bass? To be honest, I have no idea where the 1300 sampled instruments are hiding. I seem to have a fraction of that. Did I install something wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilless Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 Just replying here since I've finally answered my own question. First, there is a solo double bass included with studio. It seems it doesn't appear in the library until exs24 is selected for the track. I'm obviously a big noob. Also, sculpture can do a really good impersonation itself. I started with the default cello and tweaked a few things - sounded excellent. Downside is my CPU was pinned immediately. I'll probably ask about that in another thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraze Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 When choosing a daw, petitessés such as if it comes with a certain sample instrument shouldn't be conisdered. Logic Pro is a great great enviroment for working with audio and midi. Everything from the earliest the to final processes can be done with it. If you want a double bass, buy a plug-in (aas string studio vs-1 is great and pretty cheap) or use samples (platinum loops has a 20 buck pack). I'm glad you chose Logic though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fader8 Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 I want a double bass on one song and to get a good sound with Ableton I'm looking at one or two upgrades, to get the 'tension' string synth and/or to get the double bass instrument in one of their collections. If you want a double bass, buy a plug-in (aas string studio vs-1 is great and pretty cheap) skilless, In case you may not be aware, Ableton's Tension plug-in is the AAS String Studio. Ableton is licensing the AAS Modeling Collection for use within Live, Ableton branded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraze Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 It is, i knew they did that with lounge lizard but that's great, problem solved for that guy then. When i need double bass i go with Nexus though, there's some sweet sounds hiding in there behind all the cheese trance crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkgross Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 dare I ask the stupid and obvious question?? do you not know any really good bass players/drummers to work on the project with you? if you really want to write your own drum parts, check out KitCore..Great sounding drum kits, ready to play via MIDI. For $100..it can't be beat (except with a real drummer) http://www.submersiblemusic.com/TemplateMain.aspx?contentId=70 - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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