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trevorspencer
pluggin' in mics
Joined: 03 Feb 2012
Posts: 33
Location: PNW, WA
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 Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 2:38 am Post subject: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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I am, in essence, wanting quite a bit of flexible conversion for the practical budget of $2-3k. Here is the situation:
-I have Pro Tools 8 and a very recent Mac Book Pro, I could see updating my PT version, but I'd like to stick to the laptop
-I do 16 and soon 24 track tape recordings that I'd like to be able to convert A/D at a high sample rate and quality
-I'd like to be able to use the same converters to go D/A and do some mixing/summing on my analog console and outboard gear
Since I'm restricted by budget and firewire, what's my best option here? Is using aggregate firewire devices a good option? I'm really at a bit of a loss with my research...is my budget and platform for what I want unreasonable? |
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Nick Sevilla
cryogenically thawing
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 3643
Location: Los Angeles California USA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:33 am Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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All you gotta do:
1.- Find one or two Firewire interfaces that will bring your IO to 24.
2.- Update your PT to 10. 9 was ok, but not as stable as 10.
3.- Make sure that your laptop can run ProTools 10. You'll need at least 4GB RAM and OS Lion, which is 10.7.x
Cheers
PS If you can't do this, then call me, I have a 24 track 2" tape machine and 24 IO of PT HD. I am currently in the middle of a massive tape transfer job for the next couple of weeks.
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trevorspencer
pluggin' in mics
Joined: 03 Feb 2012
Posts: 33
Location: PNW, WA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:52 am Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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Glad to hear it so simply put. And yes, fortunately I've got 8GB of RAM and 10.7.3.
I already do the 16 track transfers with a 003 and a decent 8 track adat converter, but I'm making a step to invest in a very important part of the process  !
Any good suggestions for my pairings of audio interfaces? Seems that some of the "nicer" choices are slightly out of reach...apogee, lynx, rme - they might be a bit too much?
Seems that it would be nice to use a couple interfaces using analog i/o? |
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Nick Sevilla
cryogenically thawing
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 3643
Location: Los Angeles California USA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:47 pm Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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| trevorspencer wrote: | Glad to hear it so simply put. And yes, fortunately I've got 8GB of RAM and 10.7.3.
I already do the 16 track transfers with a 003 and a decent 8 track adat converter, but I'm making a step to invest in a very important part of the process !
Any good suggestions for my pairings of audio interfaces? Seems that some of the "nicer" choices are slightly out of reach...apogee, lynx, rme - they might be a bit too much?
Seems that it would be nice to use a couple interfaces using analog i/o? |
Unfortunately, it looks like, for Firewire you'll have to use two interfaces plus one more that converts into one of those via Lightpipe or some other 8 channel digital cabling.
I usually recommend Motu. They are very stable, and for example the 828mkiii has tons of options. Including two optical IOs for connecting dual band ADAT converters for use with high sample rates.
I have one of these connected to my Pro tools HD interfaces, and it sounds very much the same, at least to my ears.
The real question here is whether or not ProTools will see those two interfaces, and allow you to record it all at once, as if it were only one interface.
I guess I'll have to hook up my 828mkiii and my MBox Pro together to my laptop and experiment with this...
Cheers
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John Jeffers
buyin' a studio
Joined: 07 Jun 2003
Posts: 902
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:40 pm Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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| trevorspencer wrote: | | I'd like to be able to convert A/D at a high sample rate and quality |
Important question - how high do you want to go with sample rates? If you're talking 48K, it's pretty easy to get 24 I/O over firewire to a laptop, and you could do it for way less than $2000.
Just for example, you could pick up three M-Audio Profire 2626s, use one as your FW host, and connect the other two via ADAT in standalone mode. That would give you 24 I/O at 44.1K or 48K. However, if you go higher, you cut that down to 16 I/O at 88.2/96K, and 12 I/O at 176.4/192K. This is due to the limitations of the ADAT bus. If you want 24 I/O at high sample rates, I don't think you're going to get that for under $3K (Or at any price, over Firewire? Could definitely be wrong about that, though.)
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trevorspencer
pluggin' in mics
Joined: 03 Feb 2012
Posts: 33
Location: PNW, WA
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| Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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| John Jeffers wrote: | | trevorspencer wrote: | | I'd like to be able to convert A/D at a high sample rate and quality |
Important question - how high do you want to go with sample rates? If you're talking 48K, it's pretty easy to get 24 I/O over firewire to a laptop, and you could do it for way less than $2000.
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I would love to get 96K, but I understand my budget might not allow me to do so? I could deal with 48K - it's what I've been doing, and ends up being pretty okay at the end of the session. Still, I'm trying to upgrade.
I've been considering buying a G5 tower for $500 or so, and then getting a Motu 24 i/o - which seems to be a pretty good options Maybe there are similar or better options with getting a cheap G5 tower? |
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Nick Sevilla
cryogenically thawing
Joined: 03 Mar 2008
Posts: 3643
Location: Los Angeles California USA
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| Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:17 am Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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| trevorspencer wrote: | | John Jeffers wrote: | | trevorspencer wrote: | | I'd like to be able to convert A/D at a high sample rate and quality |
Important question - how high do you want to go with sample rates? If you're talking 48K, it's pretty easy to get 24 I/O over firewire to a laptop, and you could do it for way less than $2000.
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I would love to get 96K, but I understand my budget might not allow me to do so? I could deal with 48K - it's what I've been doing, and ends up being pretty okay at the end of the session. Still, I'm trying to upgrade.
I've been considering buying a G5 tower for $500 or so, and then getting a Motu 24 i/o - which seems to be a pretty good options Maybe there are similar or better options with getting a cheap G5 tower? |
24 bit 96 kHz is way overrated. I recently mixed three albums :
One at 24 bit 96 KHz, one at 24 bit 48kHz, and one at 24 bit 44.1kHz.
I had the same three artists listen to the albums afterwards, and no one asked "what sample rate was this or that one done at" because it does not matter much.
The drawback of working at 24bit 96kHz, is that you will not be able to run as many effects, insert plugins, etc, and you'll also need much faster computer and hard drives to be able to stream the audio to and from your system.
If I were you, I'd focus on 24 bit 48kHz, and make THAT sound great by doing a great job during the recording stage, with good mics, good gain staging, and most of all great performances.
Cheers
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John Jeffers
buyin' a studio
Joined: 07 Jun 2003
Posts: 902
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:45 am Post subject: Re: $2-3k 24 i/o PT Laptop Firewire Conversion Solution? |
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| trevorspencer wrote: | | I've been considering buying a G5 tower for $500 or so, and then getting a Motu 24 i/o - which seems to be a pretty good options Maybe there are similar or better options with getting a cheap G5 tower? |
Personally, I wouldn't spend $500 on a computer that's at least six years old (the last G5s were released in 2006) and isn't supported anymore. You'll be really limited in what software you can run if you do that. Save a little more money and at least get something with Intel processors.
Edit: this makes even less sense given that you say you already own a recent Macbook Pro. That is going to smoke a G5. I understand that the MBP doesn't have a PCI slot that you need for the 24 I/O, but given all the other factors, you'd be better off with the newer computer and a FireWire interface IMHO. Forget about higher sample rates. As other people have said, it's probably not worth it, and there are a bunch of other things that are way more important to making a good recording.
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