GEAR UPDATE ADVICE

[mazz]

Jul 3, 2008, 2:38pm, milfus wrote:plus a mac 8 core is like 8 grand, *shudder*Jul 3, 2008, 2:38pm, milfus wrote:plus a mac 8 core is like 8 grand, *shudder*Not sure when you last checked but the 8 cores start at 2799 (and you can run Windows on it at the same time and drag files between the OS's. There's an article in the new EM about how to route audio between Mac and Windows on the same machine. Not a bad deal, two computers in one!). The MacPro towers come stock with 8 cores.http://store.apple.com/AppleStore/WebOb ... mac_proI'm starting to look at how to extend the life of my G5 and I'm seeing lots of cool outboard FW/USB boxes that run plugins, synths, etc. I like the idea of "hardware plug-ins". My UAD-1 card has been a real boon to getting great sounds with a small CPU hit and it looks like a combination of in and out-side the box is the wave of the future, at least at Mazz studios.Mazz

[milfus]

oh nah, I have been killin it with this thing, I cant even get it to flinch, its all been like me not being to fully harness it, but in order to do that, id have to do huge projects.but my comment about decking it out, isnt that it is necessary, its just foresight, I paid 3.5 for this system, the current rate of technology mean I wont have to upgrade for 5-6 years, thats no down time from transfers, no lost files, no stacking of things, and no being too underpowered for my project, now given that an older system will need to be updated sequentialy/replaced roughly every 2 years or so, or compensated for with equiptment, it was actually the cheaper solution in the long run. that was my logic.but I run reason, ableton, pro-tools, melo-dyne, waves diamond, the komplete 4 plugins, ewql plat pro xp, stylus rmx and a few other less memory intensive stuff, but I take it from note pad to publishing on this rig, and after like a week of installing everything, and a nightmare from native instruments (they pretty much shit a brick when they saw me renewing all my codes, and told me to screw off, and to buy new copies.......god i hate them.) I have been fully operational since, no compatability problems, nothin, I just read all the compatibility charts and stuff and worked out a system that was pretty much universally compatible, adk has a few nice ones with the same/almost the same hardware. but yeah, things a monster, it doesnt go down, havent had any issues, havent even been able to need more than 47% of my resources, and that was for a 3 song final, I am VERY happy with it, I would recommend the hell out of adk, it took a little while to get it built cause of the processor back order, but that was more the processor company than them.but yeah, I look at it like my computer + the next three upgrades I would have to makeso taking that in mind, its roughly 600-1000 cheaper and I am untouchable at current

[milfus]

and mazz, wow, they dropped a ton, the first month they where out, they where like 7950 or so, I dont really follow macs too much, just cause of the flip side argument, well that and cross compatibility on a pc for hardware/daws. though they might sort that out, but I like being able to use my console on all my programs *shrug*

[mojobone]

Used Macs are a great option, hadn't thought of it, still learning to harness a free G4 I acquired...Lotsa powerful PCI cards available for cheap on ebay, or so I hear.

[liamkelly]

WadeYou know.... when you're in the market for new gear sometimes it's easy to get distracted from what you need... and you end up going for what you want.Personally, I believe it's real important to identify what you need. And stick to that.If your real need is to keep writing the best music that you can, as quickly as you can, then maybe you don't have the time for a system with a steep learning curve. Maybe you can sacrifice features for the ability to print good music quickly, easily and efficiently.Two of the most successful members here (Matto and Gitarrero) use fairly dated versions of Cubase on regular(ish) computers.Don't get side-tracked by processor power, by operating systems, by the vast selection of plug ins and so on. Get something that you can integrate easily into your current songwriting algorithm. Your chops will do the rest. Really.Liam

[billg]

Jul 4, 2008, 3:44pm, liamkelly wrote:WadeYou know.... when you're in the market for new gear sometimes it's easy to get distracted from what you need... and you end up going for what you want.Personally, I believe it's real important to identify what you need. And stick to that.If your real need is to keep writing the best music that you can, as quickly as you can, then maybe you don't have the time for a system with a steep learning curve. Maybe you can sacrifice features for the ability to print good music quickly, easily and efficiently.Two of the most successful members here (Matto and Gitarrero) use fairly dated versions of Cubase on regular(ish) computers.Don't get side-tracked by processor power, by operating systems, by the vast selection of plug ins and so on. Get something that you can integrate easily into your current songwriting algorithm. Your chops will do the rest. Really.Liamthat's great advice Liam.

[ggalen]

Yes, great advice, Liam. The challenging part is always real innovation using the tools at hand, I find. It's so easy to get sidetracked by new gear.

[mojobone]

Liam makes a good point, some of the older DAWs can be a byatch to learn, Cubase in particular, gave me nightmares, so I gave up. For speed and ease of tracking, I use Tracktion. Cockos' Reaper is an excellent DAW as well, and is also relatively simple to use, though neither is great for comprehensive MIDI editing, which may matter to you not one bit. Reaper is so small and lean, you can run it from a thumb drive. Download some demos would be my recommendation.

[milfus]

yeah true, it may not be warranted, I actually did my budget, and came out ahead this way, and I bought it knowing It would pay for itself, which it allready has, so you know. but yeah, I kind of graduated into it, rather than made a big leap, if you feel like you wanna just feel it out first, might wanna just stick with reading manuals and getting your daw skills up before ya actually start depending on a system.

[kouly]

Jul 3, 2008, 2:38pm, milfus wrote:plus a mac 8 core is like 8 grand, *shudder*Sorry to be argumentitive but an 8 core Mac starts at around 2800. USD