GEAR UPDATE ADVICE

[windowman]

Hi folks- I haven’t been around much lately, but I’d like to ask for some advice from some of the pros here. I’ll do my best to keep this short & simple.First of all, here’s the gear that I have-Yamaha AW4416A for recording audio, etc. I guess you would call it my DAW.My drum module is an ALESIS DM5.Keyboard sounds are an M3R, basically the brain of an M-1.My sequencer is a very old ROLAND MC-500 MK 2. (My 2nd one. Man, remember when things actually lasted? It’s been through more physical abuse than me!!)The keyboard I use to program with is an old KORG DW-8000, which I sometimes also use the sounds from.My guitar processor is a POD XT.Mastering program is WAVELAB 5.Mics, speakers, power amps etc. aren’t my concern right now.I’m trying to integrate myself into the computer recording world gradually, so that I don’t waste too much time on learning curves which ceases my writing process. One thing at a time, so to speak.I would like to ask about what kind of ‘puter to buy. I could use my home computer, or as I like to call it the ‘PORN’ computer, but I’m afraid of having a ‘puter that’s been on the net. Is this warranted or am I listening to too many music store geeks? I know MAC’s are preferred, but the cost scares me. If it’s viable though, what would be a good MAC to start with for music? Also, if I found the parts I needed on a regular PC, I could get a friend to build it. First of all, I’d need a decent DAW. A free one might work for me but I don’t know what kind of limitations come with those. Pro Tools/Cubase/ Sonar anyone? For software, I want to start with drums, ADDICTIVE DRUMS, from what I’ve seen & heard. I like BFD, but I’m concerned about the RAM usage. I’ve programmed & worked with BFD in other studios & found them fairly user friendly. From there, I would be looking at piano-organ-synths-orchestral etc., but the first step is definitely drums. LOOPS are OK, but I need the ability to manipulate & write my own tracks.I’m sure I’ll have more questions, but this is the gist of what I’m looking for.Thanks, thanks & thanks in advance.Wade

[elser]

Hi Wade, I would recommend an intel based iMac and Logic Express for your DAW. Go into an Apple store if you have one and you'll be able get a feel for it. It would be much more streamlined than your current system and Logic comes with a ton of plugins built in. It would also be more stable than a Windows system, I'd avoid Vista at all costs. You could get into it for about $1500-1700 (I think) depending on which imac you get.Happy shopping, Elser

[mojobone]

I'm on a PC, and I'd say Mac is the way to go for the foreseeable future, Vista will eat up too much of your precious RAM, and XP, while stable, will soon be no longer available. (not sure about in Canada, though.) A Macbook Pro would take you a long way, IMO. Having done some research, it's on the wishlist as MY next computer. Your DAW choices are either Logic or Digital Performer, which depends on how you work and whether you need virtual instruments. (I'm guessing not so much, other than drums, having heard some of your work, but there's plenty available, even for those of an orchestral bent. AW4416 has a convoluted operating system, most modern DAWs are easier to learn. That said, expect a learning curve. MOTU interfaces integrate well with DP and Logic, BTW, though Apogee is sweet. HTH, good luck.

[milfus]

no no no, stay xp and pc, in the long run, the way it is right now, you can build an 8 core servered out oh my frickin god power pc, for half of what an 8 core mac costs, specially if you are going into pro-tools, this is a pretty extreme system, wont have to upgrade for a looong while, just remember when you get a daw, read the manual, no one ever does, but it cuts the learning curve so hard its not funny, its like you can fart around for four months, or actually spend a week reading, and be running in a week. what I would do, is just record how you noramlly do, and learn how to track it out to your daw first, that way, if you get stuck, you can still use your old methods on stuff and just port it over, till you are fully on the new way.

[mazz]

If you insist on going with PC, I strongly suggest you get one that is custom built and tweaked for audio. I use both and I've never had a problem setting up a Mac myself for audio, it's basically always been truly plug and play for me. After a horrifically frustrating experience trying to configure a PC myself a few years ago, I decided that I'd rather make music than tweak on computers, so both my sample playback PCs were purchased fully assembled and tweaked by folks that do it for a living. I've talked to computer folks that say that they can build a powerful PC from the ground up for cheap but I've never taken them up on it because, while they may know computers, they don't know DAWs and I'm willing to pay for peace of mind and zero downtime.Good luck!!Mazz

[marcblack30]

if you stick with PC and XP, check out http://pcsforeveryone.com/i built a great machine for right at 1K, nothing super monster like an 8 core but it's more than what i need with plenty of headroom.check it out if want to get an idea, i haven't ever had any issues with it.peace

[windowman]

Thanks everyone. I'd love to go the MAC route, but $$$ is an issue. I was thinking more along the lines of Milfus' idea, but I'm not sure what parts I would need. If I knew what to get, I have someone who could build it. And I don't want VISTA.If I were to go the Mac route with Logic, which one would be advisable to buy & what other parts would I need to get to make it all work?Sorry about my complete lack of knowledge on these things.Wade

[mojobone]

Don't see how eight cores help if you can only access up to 4 gigs of RAM under XP(or is that per core?), but if you go PC, definitely select your software first and have a system custom built, or off-the-rack from a specialty retailer such as Sweetwater. You'll probably want three drives. (one for OS and programs, one each for audio and samples) Max out the RAM. If you go Vista, the only DAW that's believed to have mature drivers is Sonar. Maybe Nick will chime in, here, I'm more of a music/MIDI nerd, myself.The problem with a music computer being net-enabled has less to do with viruses than the anti-virus software; virus scanners and DAW hosts are both considered 'background services' by Windows. Means they fight each other for resources. For example, on my machine, Gigastudio and Norton hate each other. I'll be switching to Kaspersky, soon, I'll let everybody know how that goes.You'll want to budget for a nice interface: MOTU, RME, Presonus, M-Audio, Tascam, well, pretty much everybody makes one, get one with ADAT input and you can use your Yamaha as an input expander, I think. I use the Tascam FW-1884, it includes a control surface (you might could use the Yamaha for this, as well) but it cost as much as my computer.Oops, left out that ProTools runs on Mac also, above

[ernstinen]

I bought a VisionDAW a couple years ago, tweaked for EWQLSO Gold. It's running XP and is rock solid.BUT, It was about as much as a high-end iMac. I sequence on a Mac, and ALMOST bought a 24" iMac. But for about $1k, I decided to buy a 24" monitor AND got my G4 upgraded. Works great, and the 24" monitor is a must for me because I work on scores a lot. Most people wouldn't need one that big, methinks!HTH,Ern

[milfus]

3.75 gigs of ram for 32 bit only, 64 bit allows more, you can split up your cores, and the over all size of your projects get bigger, I had mine built, low noise, decked out completely, cost was like 3.5 but at the same time, its gonna be about 4 years or so before they can even harness my specs, let alone out date them, so it will be cheaper in the long run, also multiple drives helps with the disc speed loading, I normally record to one, house samples on another, and then run the program and "system" stuff off a third, to stop any bottlenecking. 8 core systems are pretty severe over kill right now, but thats the point, it is so you dont have to buy a new computer for a good long time, quad cores are still being expanded, but with my clocked system, and in 32 bit mode, I clocked out at an equivalent hd9 system roughly, little more, considering it was 3.5, add 1.8 for the 003 console (le allows themulti core access you need) thats a 32 input (with a lightbridge) console, multi daw system, capable of hitting its max program allowment, (which could individually mix a small orchestra, with full dynamics) for only 5.3, so I mean, its whatever, I dont really go that big, but I know that plugin's and daws are going to keep increasing system demands, so I should be good and not have to upgrade for a good chunk of time, it basicly evens out in the end if you upgrade sequentially, but this way theres no down time, and you start with the power youd end up with 4-5 years from now.