Members honeyiscool Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 First of all, I'm not paid by Apple. One of the things I've always told people is that while Apple computers are expensive, that ultimately you end up saving time and money by using Apple for music production because the software is so competitively priced and hardware support is generally excellent. Now, Apple has gone ahead and proven that point for me by releasing MainStage on the App Store. I believe this is seriously the deal of the century here: Apple MainStage 2 This is an incredibly amazing piece of software. At some level, it's nothing more than a place where all your virtual instruments and effects reside, but in effect, it's so easy to use that it can replace multi-effects units entirely. You start the sucker up, and then you can instantly have a very user friendly interface to play and tweak your amp models. That's not all, it's also a full featured looper for all your creative needs and you can load up backing tracks onto its interface, straight from one awesome interface. And if that's not all, you can load up lyrics, play software instruments, control changes, all almost effortlessly. It's one of the few programs out there that lets you really think about how you can perform live with your software setup, not just record with it. And really, that's not all. And this is the most amazing part. When you download MainStage, you get 20 gigs of loops and EXS24 samples, the same JamPacks that used to cost $50-120 a pop, ALL OF THEM FOR $29. There are some seriously amazing sounds available to you, from old school drum machines to vibey drum kits and symphony orchestra and vocal samples and the like. And these things can be used in any program, not just MainStage. Seriously, this is the most value-packed $29 you've ever spent, I promise you. Even if you never use MainStage, just getting the 20 gigs of loops and instruments will make your GarageBand experience that much better, too. Consider the fact that Apple computers already come with GarageBand. Spend $29 on top of any Apple computer and you have a seriously badass audio workstation already, with fully capable amp models, several cool synths, a pleasing Rhodes simulator, drum machine, effects, etc., and 20 gigs of samples and loops (both audio and MIDI). That's value, I tell you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 Love my Mac. I'll look into this. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mistersully Posted December 21, 2011 Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 mainstage was part of logic studio... it's cool but i've hardly touched it... as far as loops go, i rarely use them as i'd rather play stuff myself... i can see them being very useful for a lot of people though apple have changed the way they're doing things... you can now download logic pro from the mac app store for a hellova lot cheaper than it used to be ($200 here in australia... not sure what it is over there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members honeyiscool Posted December 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2011 Yeah it's $199 everywhere. At first I was upset, b/c I'd actually purchased Apple Logic Express a while back. But then again, I was like there's nothing in Pro I need in Express, anyway, and buying MainStage has gotten me all the samples and such that I wanted. I don't really use loops or samples much, but occasionally they're useful, like when I had to make some jingles the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimash Posted December 22, 2011 Members Share Posted December 22, 2011 Good info. Thanks.I am revamping my Macs.It will run on my G5 yay ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted December 22, 2011 Members Share Posted December 22, 2011 We're already an Apple household so I'll definitely be looking into this one. Thanks for the heads-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joegrant413 Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 Downloading Mainstage files now... I don't have Logic, but have used GarageBand and Ableton Live (a lite version that came with the APC20). I'm looking forward to seeing if the MainStage looper is easier for me than Ableton. Also, would be real curious if anyone here has tips on the easiest way to have Ableton access the tons of Apple Loops from the Jam Packs. Cheers,-- Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliensporebomb Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 Mainstage is quite a good app. The soundtrack I was working on recently I had my guitar triggering the steinway grand in mainstage via midi over usb and it was lightning fast - it worked very well. I figured it would be an easy way to have a scratchpad of sounds available for triggering for the soundtrack project and it made it pretty painless. It basically came along with Logic Studio so it was no brainer to use it. If I get commissioned to do a soundtrack again I would not hesitate to use it, it's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jpnyc Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 My impression is that from a modeling/VST standpoint is this like Revalver or Amplitube but with a low price tag and a less annoying interface. Am I right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 I'm getting an iPhone towards the end of January so I'll be looking into a few apps... I'd definitely like to get some type of looping app where I can slow it down for learning parts of songs and I'd like to get some type of modeling thing that sounds at least remotely decent. You guys know anything worth looking into for that? Not interested in the looping thing unless I can slow it down without changing the pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 Yeah it's $199 everywhere. At first I was upset, b/c I'd actually purchased Apple Logic Express a while back. But then again, I was like there's nothing in Pro I need in Express, anyway, and buying MainStage has gotten me all the samples and such that I wanted.I don't really use loops or samples much, but occasionally they're useful, like when I had to make some jingles the other day. I'm in the same boat here. Bought Logic express, didn't seem worth an extra $200 for studio since the only added feature I really cared about would have been Mainstage.So thanks for the heads up on the app store availability. Quick question though.. Can you use third party AU plugins with it? -Kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scolfax Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 I have Logic Express, seems like a no-brainer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JRicoC Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 I just got back from an Apple store. I guess if I were willing to pay $1200 for a notebook I'd be excited about something like this. As it is, I'm guessing it's not compatible with my Mac mini, since it doesn't have Snow Leopard or Italian Ice Puma or whatever on it. And even if I were inclined to buy the notebook I'd likely need to spend another $800 on interfaces and controllers. It would be nice if Apple were to incorporate some of these features into GarageBand, but I'm sure they see this product as being aimed at a completely different market ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 If you were going to use this program in a live set-up, how would you hook up the guitar? What would the "chain" look like? I've never done any of this, so you're dealing with an amateur when it comes to this type of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kit_strong Posted January 1, 2012 Members Share Posted January 1, 2012 If you were going to use this program in a live set-up, how would you hook up the guitar? What would the "chain" look like? I've never done any of this, so you're dealing with an amateur when it comes to this type of thing. With a guitar, best signal chain would be Guitar->Apogee GIO->Computer. The GIO acts as the audio interface but also gives you foot controls for both stomps, transport controls (play, stop, etc..) and buttons for cycling through presets. The line out on the GIO could then run to a PA, powered monitor, or even a guitar amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Steadfastly Posted January 2, 2012 Members Share Posted January 2, 2012 With a guitar, best signal chain would be Guitar->Apogee GIO->Computer. The GIO acts as the audio interface but also gives you foot controls for both stomps, transport controls (play, stop, etc..) and buttons for cycling through presets. The line out on the GIO could then run to a PA, powered monitor, or even a guitar amp GIO=Guitar Interface Output? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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