recording setup

[fiatcoupe432]

Hello everyone, so......
i'm new to this and can't figure out the best way to setup a little studio .....
I have a new macbook logic x . my question is...... i want to keep my laptop free of plugins , vst instrument and recorded session . How do i set it up to so all the above goes on an external hard drive?
thanx
Antoin

[BigRedX]

Getting the audio files to go onto an external hard drive is easy simply save the Logic session file onto the hard drive and ensure that the recording path is set to the same folder.

Getting the plugins and VST instruments on an external drive only is more complicated as their default location is in the Library folder of your system drive. It might be possible to move them using aliases, but it will be doubtful if its ever 100% reliable especially with anything that has copy protection.

If you really have to have all your music stuff on the external drive it might be better to create a full system install on that drive just for music and boot from there when you need to do any recording.

Edited May 17, 2016 by BigRedX

[fiatcoupe432]

Thanks man that make sense . So is creating aliases efficient?

[RockfordStone]

i don't know how it works on mac, but on windows it saves the VST file in a file called VST's.

i just move these to which ever location i want, and then in the DAW just point it to search for VST's in that folder. only issue ive had with that is that sometimes the pc will reassign the external hdd a new ID (eg K drive instead of L drive) when i reconnect it.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1463570015' post='3052383']
i don't know how it works on mac, but on windows it saves the VST file in a file called VST's.

i just move these to which ever location i want, and then in the DAW just point it to search for VST's in that folder. only issue ive had with that is that sometimes the pc will reassign the external hdd a new ID (eg K drive instead of L drive) when i reconnect it.
[/quote]

The Mac works in a completely different way. All audio plug-ins where they are effects or instruments need to be in AU format and go in either Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components (the main Library folder) or ~Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components (the user Library folder). This makes them automatically available to any application that is capable of using them - not just DAWs. It might be possible to point some DAWs at alternative locations for the plug-ins but it is unlikely to be the case with Logic as being written by Apple is far more closely integrated with the system software than others.

To the OP why do you want to keep your plug-ins off the main drive? I can understand having the recorded audio files on an separate drive (in fact this is the recommended procedure) but why do you want the plug-ins there too?

[project_c]

You don't actually need any plugins, you can record straight into a free editor like Audacity if you have an interface.

Logic includes a huge array of plugins, you probably don't need any additional plugins other than those, they're excellent and more that capable of achieving all studio tasks. There is no need to store any of that stuff on an external drive unless your Mac is over 10 years old, and even then it's more effort than it's worth.

[ras52]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1463571027' post='3052398']
The Mac works in a completely different way. All audio plug-ins where they are effects or instruments need to be in AU format
[/quote]

Not so... AU is just one of several plugin formats that your DAW may or may not support. E.g. I use Studio One and Pro Tools: Studio One will work with AU and VST, while Pro Tools works with AAX.

[paul_5]

[quote name='fiatcoupe432' timestamp='1463513804' post='3052028']
Thanks man that make sense . So is creating aliases efficient?
[/quote]

If you're moving folders that are essential to OSX you might be better off using a symlink instead of an alias

http://www.scrubly.com/blog/how-to-mac/move-system-folders-another-drive-mac/

but it sounds like you just want to move the Logic app and its associated plugins and resources. Not sure how well that would pan out.

[RockfordStone]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1463571027' post='3052398']
To the OP why do you want to keep your plug-ins off the main drive? I can understand having the recorded audio files on an separate drive (in fact this is the recommended procedure) but why do you want the plug-ins there too?
[/quote]
agreed, the plug-ins themselves won't take a huge amount of space, the recorded audio however will.

the easiest way would be to leave the vsts on the main drive and just record the project to a secondary one

[BigRedX]

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1463573988' post='3052432']
Not so... AU is just one of several plugin formats that your DAW may or may not support. E.g. I use Studio One and Pro Tools: Studio One will work with AU and VST, while Pro Tools works with AAX.
[/quote]

Not if you are using Logic like the OP. Plugins need to be in AU format.

[BigRedX]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1463574727' post='3052439']
but it sounds like you just want to move the Logic app and its associated plugins and resources. Not sure how well that would pan out.
[/quote]

Which is why in my original post I suggested a fresh install of the OS and the music apps on the external drive. Boot from that drive when the OP needs to use the computer for recording and boot from the internal drive for everything else.

[ras52]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1463576499' post='3052460']
Not if you are using Logic like the OP. Plugins need to be in AU format.
[/quote]

Ah, I missed the bit about using Logic... as you were