GEAR UPDATE ADVICE

[windowman]

Sorry to everyone for taking so long to get back to this thread that I started. I’m usually pretty busy on the weekends & I wanted to give it some time for people to respond & to wrap my head around all of this. Anyway, thanks a million to everyone for sharing your priceless knowledge, albeit a little overwhelming.I’ve talked to a computer friend & have decided to go the custom built PC route with XP Pro for now. A MAC just isn’t in the budget. Great advice Mazz, about people knowing PC’s but not the DAW end of things. And thanks Matto & Liam; that’s more in line with what I was thinking. Which leads me to more questions….. I’m gonna lay this out in the most straight forward way I can, so please forgive my ignorance.For audio, I primarily record guitars & vocals. Almost never more than 4 mono tracks at one time, usually 2. Drums, keys etc. are almost always sequenced through my ROLAND MC-500. All of the recorded audio is recorded directly into my YAMAHA AW4416A using ¼ inch or XLR chords. I don’t have a preamp, but I’ve been told countless times to get one. At this point, I don’t miss it, but if I got one, what would an affordable decent one be? HARDWAREWhat kind of box (interface?) do I need that records my audio signals onto the PC?What kind of sound card do I need?Motherboard? (I’m being quoted a good price for a quad core, which can be added on to. I’d be starting with one or two.)Video card? (I’m not doing any scoring yet, so I can’t imagine this being an issue.)What about MIDI ports?Is there something I’ll need to convert my MC-500 MK11 files to files that I can still save with my new format? I’ll need a floppy drive if the MC-500 transfer is feasible. Burners?Hard drive- I’m looking at a 500 GB drive, but what about a backup drive, maybe a smaller one for now?Can I use my YAMAHA AW4416 with the PC software for anything? It has a digital in & out, no USB, MIDI, 8 ¼ inch ins, 2 XLR ins, 4 outs, word clock in & out, a to host thingy. I want to wean myself off of this board, but I can’t quit cold turkey. The 12 step program didn’t work either. Is there any important hardware that I’m leaving out here?SOFTWAREI need a decent DAW with good sequencing abilities. I’m thinking of Pro Tools or CUBASE, mostly because they seem to be industry standard. I don’t want something that other systems can’t read.My most important thing here is drums, drums, drums & drums. As mentioned earlier, Addictive Drums have impressed me thus far. Any other ideas?Next would be some decent, but not priority, pianos, organs, Rhoads, etc. Oddball sounds, F/X etc. Orchestral stuff too, but not that EWQLSO stuff at this point.Sorry for all of the idiotic questions; (I’m sure I’ll have more.) I know a lot of this must be obvious stuff & I thank you for your patience. Wade(Taking the short bus to recording school.)

[Mark Kaufman]

Let me offer a thought about this one:"I need a decent DAW with good sequencing abilities. I’m thinking of Pro Tools or CUBASE, mostly because they seem to be industry standard. I don’t want something that other systems can’t read."I've begun to think this whole "industry standard" thing is a load of hooey. In general, most high-end recording studios have ProTools HD...they really don't have much choice either...sort of a monopoly going on there. And ProTools has been operated in a way that you can only use certain interfaces and certain plug-ins with it.So we think, whoa!, then I had better get ProTools or I'm screwed! Well...really? Is it your intention that you will always have a high end recording studio import your ProTools files and work their magic? That is what I would call a "minor convenience", because any DAW can export all the tracks as WAV files and do the same thing. That's the only scenario I can think of that might limit your choice to ProTools...that notion of giving them your entire file in a hurry.ProTools is excellent. It also costs you because you need a proprietary interface to use it. I use Cubase now, but I find myself wishing I hadn't spent all that money...the new kid on the block is Reaper. You can download it for free--the entire unlimited program--and if you like it, you license it for $50. I wish I had known about this when I was in the market for a great DAW for the least amount of money--I would have gotten it. From all I've read, it holds its own against all the others, leaves a small processing footprint, and is possibly the easiest to learn and use. Why do these things always show up AFTER I make my choice...?Anyway, definitely worth checking out for free before you invest more.

[mazz]

Transporting Pro Tools files from one studio to another seems like asking for trouble anyway if you expect your plug-ins to show up in the session at the new studio. They may not have every plug in that you have and are used to using. The point of bringing the files to mix and/or overdub at another studio is to use, hopefully better gear (more expensive plug-ins) and a better room anyway. Since any DAW can export wav files as Mark mentioned, get what works and learn how to export the tracks and put them on a portable hard drive. Anything that can generate a wav file will work.Pro Tools is necessary to learn if you're going to be a free-lance engineer or if your studio is going to be bringing in outside engineers or clients. Otherwise, if you're a bedroom composer/writer like most of us, whatever you're comfortable with is what you should use. I've never had anyone notice that I didn't use Pro Tools when they listened to my music.MazzPS: Make sure your motherboard supports Firewire and check out the PreSonus Firewire interfaces. They just got a good review in Electronic Musician and they're not that expensive for what you get. I think they would serve your Audio and MIDI needs very well. You could integrate your Yamaha in using the digital interface or analog but for the amount of stuff you're recording at one time, the preamps on the Presonus would do well. You wouldn't need a soundcard because the FW interface would take care of that. A high end video card is certainly not necessary but I'd suggest getting one with 2 outputs for future expansion. I don't think it would add more than a few bucks to your budget. For scoring to video, you don't need anything at all, you can watch the videos inside your DAW if it supports video (and most do) right on your monitor. Really, the in the box world is pretty cool these days, no more syncing VHS tapes, etc.

[billg]

Jul 5, 2008, 10:28am, mojobone wrote: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. I agree about Tracktion. Fast, easy, lots of vst instruments & effects included, inexpensive.

[liamkelly]

WadeYou’re getting really good responses to your DAW and interface(s) questions. I have nothing to add there.I just wanted to say a bit about the PC that you’re having custom built. If your tech is an audio-head then this post is moot.There are some simple modifications you can do to render your PC more silent. They’re cheap and will help if you’re recording vocals or acoustic gtr in the same small room as your PC (as I am) and PC noise is an issue.i. Install a low noise power supply. Difference in price between this and a stock one was $ 50.Either the Enermax Modu82+ [or Pro82+] 425, or the Corsair VX450w.ii. Low-noise fan/heatsink on the mother board.iii. A video card that's fanless and cool running. Might be lower performance but I’m presuming you won’t be gaming or anything on the PC.iv. You can install the hard drive replacing its hard mounting points with suspended elastic straps to greatly reduce drive noise transmitted to the computer's chassis.You might be doing this already, or it might not be necessary for you. Just 2c.Finally, I’d just like to add that I got these tips from andreh here on the Forum so big thanks to him. They were specific answers he gave to specific questions I asked. Your situation may (or may not ) be different.Liam

[windowman]

Jul 7, 2008, 1:17pm, liamkelly wrote:WadeYou’re getting really good responses to your DAW and interface(s) questions. Exactly Liam. Everyone's been more than gracious. And thanks again, Mark & Mazz, that makes sense. I'll be doing my solo thing for the most part & anything else is usually sending WAV's anyway. I do have REAPER on this PC, but I haven't played with it much, mostly because I thought the free version would be limited. (Plus, I'm really getting sick of the demo, 'Brad Sucks'.)Bill- What version of Tracktion do you have? The audio quality of the demo wasn't great, so I'm not getting a great idea of how good the vst instruments sound.Wade

[billg]

Wade, I'm on Tracktion 2, haven't upgraded to 3. The vst instruments included are pretty standard ones, some third party name brand stuff & some off the wall but usefull stuff. It all sounds pretty good to me. I don't think sonically there is an advantage or disadvantage between most of these DAWs, it's mostly a matter of features & ease of use etc.

[milfus]

ah mazz, gotta ear mark, just jot down the whats, like EQ: 5k -5db, 1k +2 dbthats the easiest way to do it, I think, that way anything not compatible, you can just use a replacement, and its a good guide for rack mounts and what not too, some plug ins will actually export the settings for you too, so its not as big a pain as you would think. then you can just spend 5 minutes callibrating, and start right where you left off, on the better gear. For high end stuff, I would recommend pro-tools just because feature for feature I think it is a heavier hitter, but aside from that it is pretty even, I would go with pro-tools personally just because although its more of a pain to learn, proficiency in pro-tools can land you a job if someone is in a pinch.

[ibanez468]

Yeah Wade, I'll throw my .02 cents worth in, and agree that Tracktion, from my experiences, has been one of the easier DAWs to use (compared to Sonar, Cubase). And as Bill mentions, the plug-ins that come with are quite doable, I think. Billg says, "I don't think sonically there is an advantage or disadvantage between most of these DAWs, it's mostly a matter of features & ease of use etc." Based on my experiences, I'd have to agree once again. The easier, the better, the faster you navigate through the program and get your piece done. There is a small learning curve with Tracktion, but nothin' compared to the other 2 I mentioned.I-468

[mazz]

Jul 7, 2008, 3:32pm, milfus wrote:ah mazz, gotta ear mark, just jot down the whats, like EQ: 5k -5db, 1k +2 dbthats the easiest way to do it, I think, that way anything not compatible, you can just use a replacement, and its a good guide for rack mounts and what not too, some plug ins will actually export the settings for you too, so its not as big a pain as you would think. then you can just spend 5 minutes callibrating, and start right where you left off, on the better gear. For high end stuff, I would recommend pro-tools just because feature for feature I think it is a heavier hitter, but aside from that it is pretty even, I would go with pro-tools personally just because although its more of a pain to learn, proficiency in pro-tools can land you a job if someone is in a pinch.I suppose a screen dump of the plugin screen would be good too. If I were taking my session to another facility, I'd print the effects I wanted on separate tracks and leave the original tracks dry. The mixer could always turn off the effected tracks if they aren't working or whatever.I agree ProTools can get one a job as an engineer. I'm looking to get a job as a composer, not an engineer so I'll stay with Digital Performer because I can work in it quickly. It may not be "better" than ProTools but it's better for me because I know it. Besides, how hard can it be to learn if you already know the basics of recording and DAWs? It's just like anything else, practice makes permanent.Besides, when I'm a big time composer dude, I'll hire a ProTools whiz kid to work in my super cool studio!! Yeah! Dream Big!! Mazz