Somebody,
You and I were posting at the same time, apparently. You should spend some time looking over the forums at the Digi User Conference, Cubase.net and Sonikmatter to get a better handle on the pros and cons of each of PT, Cubase and Logic. I actually have spent a lot of time over the last six months evaluating each of these as well as Sonar, Traction and a couple others, just to see which I liked best.
For what it's worth, here's my bottom line conclusion (YMMV):
1. If all you want to do is audio -- go Pro Tools. In my view, it has the best imlementation of audio recording/editing, although all of the other major DAWs are not far behind. I really like the stacked cycle recording of Cubase SX2, but otherwise think Playlists do a terrific job of accomplishing much the same thing.
2. If you plan to do much with MIDI beside just an occasional drum machine or simple soft synth, then PTLE is probably not your best option. In that case, Logic, Cubase or Sonar are probably going to be far better for you.
3. If you are going to be on PC and never go cross-platform, Logic is out (or, at least, I wouldn't recommend it at all). On the other hand, if you are going to go Mac and never be cross-platform, Sonar is out. The only real options cross-platform are PTLE and Cubase.
4. Assuming you want good MIDI features as well as audio and are going Mac, you really need to try out both Logic and Cubase. I think Logic is superior, as it gives you the flexibility to work and setup however you want. However, more flexibility means you have to setup things the way you want, and that intimidates some folks (thus, Logic has a reputation for having a high learning curve). Personally, I found Logic a bit intense at the beginning, but have really grown to like it. There is an Apple Pro Training Series book that comes with a 30-day demo of Logic 6 which you might want to pick up (costs about $35-40). It will let you test drive Logic, as there is no downloadable demo. If you don't like Logic (or it isn't "logical" to you) give Cubase a go, as it's also top-notch (just not quite as good, IMHO, as Logic).
5. If you want MIDI and audio and are sticking with a PC, then you should test drive Sonar and Cubase. To me, this decision is a bit harder. Sonar 3 has introduced a ton of really cool new features (better Bus structures, Controller Lanes, and so on) and is now as good or nearly so as Cubase SX2 (I don't think you could have said that with Sonar 2 vs. Cubase SX). If you like looping, though, Sonar is hands-down better (again, as always, IMO). I tend to think of Cubase as being better on the audio side, Sonar and Cubase are roughly equal in MIDI, and Sonar is better for loops.
Caveat -- I've never really seen DP in action, so don't know how that compares to Logic or any of the other Mac sequencers.
Hope this is helpful. This is obviously one of those very subjective subjects, which make threads like this interesting.
Cheers,
RW
The pic says it all. Is it dark in here or is it just me?
