GEAR UPDATE ADVICE

[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

[matto]

Hey Wade,I use a stock Dell PC. I've had it for about 3 years I think. Before that I had another stock Dell PC. Neither were the highest priced ones. I use my computers at least 12 hours/day, every day. They have been very reliable for me. Yeah they are a bit noisy but so are Macs. Maybe I'm just lucky...but in my humble opinion, you don't need the latest greatest fastest and most expensive equipment out there to record some good music. If you can't afford a Mac don't sweat it. If you can, then Logic *is* a very attractive DAW these days because of it's modest price and bundled software.But any of today's established DAWs, running on a reasonably current mid-prize computer will let you record plenty of quality music.If anything, I would look at the various DAWs and see which one seems to be the most straighforward to you personally, and your way of working. That way you lessen your learning curve. And I couldn't agree more with milfus about reading the manual. Makes a huge difference...Btw, my next computers will be one of those fancy purpose built music machines, now that I make decent money from music it makes sense to go with something more quiet. But back when money was tight I went with the least expensive solution that would let me get the job done. There's no shame in that...

[ernstinen]

Jul 3, 2008, 5:30pm, devin wrote:Jul 3, 2008, 2:34pm, ernstinen wrote: 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!**pst!*****ern!!!!*****my wife sometimes reads over my shoulder. PLEASE DON'T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT!!!!****the correct answer is "I don't know how anyone can live without a 24" monitor...and a Harley*****deal?***Um --- Most people doing music NEED a 24" monitor --- and a Harley.Deal! BTW, I agree with Matto --- I ALWAYS opt for the less expensive option as far as the latest processor etc. No need to go for the "newest" thing! Even the guys at VisonDAW told me that ---Ern

[sgs4u]

I also totally agree that buying the fastest, most current computer is unnecessary. A 3 year old computer with a 2 big, cleaned hard drives, is gonna blow your current system out of the water pretty quickly. Yes there will be lots to learn, but you're ready for it now, aren't ya! The stuff you are about to learn will be equally tough on a Mac or a PC, when you're not used to DAWs.I use a PowerMac G-5 1.8 GHz. 2 Gigs of Ram, with 2 hard drives, a 200gig and a 300gig. I have a 1000gig, extra external hard drive. It's about 3 or 4 years old. My DAW is Logic7. Logic 8 is the new improved (& easier to use) version. I'm not an authority on Macs, or PCs. I can tell you that I prefer Macs, and Logic is a truly amazing program. I've never been very patient at reading manuals. I prefer Macs for 2 important reasons. I've never gotten one virus in 10 years of Macs. nada And how a Mac's file system works, is more to my liking. It just seems more bulletproof. My studio is on the smaller end of the scale. An older Mac G-5 (like mine) might only cost $1000, and Logic might only be $500 or so. The lower priced version of Logic, is called Logic Express. I think Squids is using that. When you factor in the prices of all the extra items & software plug-ins that a PC will need, the prices are going to be very similar. Because you are a guitar based composer, you might find that ProTools suits your needs more. I had a Roland MC-500 for years, too. Being a geeky keyboard player, it was an easy choice to go from sequencing on a Roland to an Atari, and then to a Mac. At no time, have I ever wished I had a PC instead of the Macs I've owned. I'd like to have a PC in addition to my Mac, because of all the non-music things I learned to do with a PC. Whatever you choose, there's a learning curve. But you're smart. Dive in good luckJul 3, 2008, 8:41pm, matto wrote:you don't need the latest greatest fastest and most expensive equipment out there to record some good music. If you can't afford a Mac don't sweat it. If you can, then Logic *is* a very attractive DAW these days because of it's modest price and bundled software.But any of today's established DAWs, running on a reasonably current mid-prize computer will let you record plenty of quality music.

[devin]

Jul 4, 2008, 2:11am, stoney wrote:Milf: Interested to know what you are running on your 8 core PC and if you have any stability issues? Milf has been through a lot this year, and he's still solid as a rock. But I'm not sure about his software...have you loaded that new machine up yet Milfus? I thought I read you were testing it out...If you're thinking about the "less is more" approach Wade, I can host you at my place for a beer. I think we're about an hour away from each other.My 3 year old stock HP PC is whisper quiet for some reason...running Cubase with a MOTU 828 MK2 (via firewire) for A/D and midi interfacing.

[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.

[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

[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

[mojobone]

I'd be leery of solid-state drives; I'm hearing about durability issues, and magnetized mylar has been known to last upwards of fifty years. I tend to leave the bleeding-edge technology to gamers and n00bs, YMMV. For DAWs, the bottleneck is almost always RAM, BTW. A note on drums: My opinion is that 16 bits is plenty for drum sounds, but 24 bit cymbal samples sound far more realistic, if realism's what yer about. (I use 24 bit samples across the board, cuz I record at 24 bit) It's also important to use a sampler that can interpolate or alternate samples of the same velocity so you don't get the machine-gun effect on rolls and multiple strikes. Most do, these days, but you'll want to be sure. I really love the Larry Seyer drums, I want 'em dry so I can tweak 'em to taste. I'll be looking into the Andy Johns' Oceanway collection for BFD in the near future, I believe there's a deluxe 24 bit edition in the works.Last hard drive I bought was a Seagate Barracuda 320G. IMO, you're better off with three of those (@$99.95 US or thereabouts) than with one or two 500g drives.(Glyph and Western Digital make good ones, too) The more drive heads, the faster you can write data; you're not wearing out a single head that's both reading and writing, so the theory goes. Many music apps prefer 7200 RPM drives, though I've heard of lotsa folks with slower drives and zero problems.I'm pretty sure the MC-500 II reads and writes SMFs (that's standard MIDI files, for you smfs out there) so you shouldn't need anything additional, though you might want editor/librarian software for your synth patches if you haven't already.Motherboards I can't help with, it's been too long since I've done any research on 'em. (meaning the time to do it again draws nigh)MIDI ports, I do mostly small combos or simulations thereof; I've never used up 16 MIDI channels. Then again, I don't put each instrument in a kit on it's own channel. I've got four ports and doubt I'll need more than two, 'til I get as mighty as mazz. Burners, I can't tell you much, mine came with the Gateway. You might wanna go with a dual-layer DVD burner, some of the larger sample libraries are headed that way; Blu-Ray might be overkill. I'd actually like to hear some others' thoughts on the topic, myself.Some of the best oddball sounds I have, I found online for free. I've got an old Korg X5 I picked up for nearly nuthin' and took advantage of some generous programmers on the web. I've got dozens and dozens of banks of some pretty spectacular stuff, I just need a good librarian to weed out the dupes.What can I say 'bout those Jean-Michel Jarre fans, they're such a great and talented bunch a people. Disclaimer: I am not, nor am I the current pelvic affiliate of a computer expert, I'm jes' tryin' to pass on a little of what I struggled to learn. YMMV, moisten before use, not for use as a suppository, yadda yadda etc.