Newbie Clubhouse

[Bro Shark]

First post here @ tapeop. I'm posting cuz I'd like some help in choosing which interface to purchase for my soon to be new home mini studio.

To start: I'd primarily like to record 1-2 tracks of audio at a time. no big deal. it will mostly be guitars and noises and vocals and shit like that. maybe sequence drum loops and what not on the compy. I do a lot of editing and mixing but not a ton of recording.

my new laptop arrives today. it's a dell inspiron 6000.
2.0GHz
1GB RAM
7200 RPM 60GB drive
windows XP pro

I've been looking at the Mbox 2 (I like Pro Tools and learned DAW stuff on PT Free over the years so that is what I "know"). However, user reviews of Mbox and USB interfaces in general are spotty, and everyone says PT and WinXP fight constantly. I don't want that.

I've also been looking at the Focusrite Saffire, which comes with Cubase LE. I've never used Cubase but from what I can tell, it doesn't shit all over your OS the way PTle does.

now here's where things get complicated. I want this to be my only computer. I want to put it online. I want to run antivirus and everything else. I don't want to buy another computer for internet and personal use. is that too much to ask? Did I fuck up royally?

Is one of the two above options gonna work better than the other? am I way off track and should look elsewhere? thanks.

[Phiz]

I want this to be my only computer. I want to put it online. I want to run antivirus and everything else. I don't want to buy another computer for internet and personal use. is that too much to ask?

I too have only one computer at home. I run anti-virus and it is on my DSL connection all the time. It's never been a problem for me. However, I don't run PT, I run Sonar. Which from what I gather isn't nearly as picky as PT about how your computer is configured.

[Bro Shark]

I too have only one computer at home. I run anti-virus and it is on my DSL connection all the time. It's never been a problem for me. However, I don't run PT, I run Sonar. Which from what I gather isn't nearly as pick as PT about how your computer is configured.

Thanks for the info, what are you using for audio ins/outs?

[Phiz]

I used to have a Tascam US-122, which worked great. I had that going into a Dell laptop. Then I wanted to go to 8 I/Os, so I got a Dell 400SC with a M-audio Delta 1010. Both were non-dedicated computers (anti-virus & DSL always on).

[John E. RokkeR]

i posted this earlier on another thread but i'll stick it here as well.

check out http://musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php and follow all the tips. this should solve most everything.

warning to windows users. motherboards with VIA or Nvidia chipsets (north and south bridge - not your actual processor) do have stability issues with recording applications. most of these issues have to do with the chipset handling the flow of audio data through the IDE bus. (the path the audio data must take to be written to your standard internal hard drive.)

solutions to this problem include using an external fire wire data drive. and remember the faster the drive the better.

Intel chipsets seem to handle recording applications a lot better with little to no issues using your internal hard drive. newer motherboards will have SATA drive ports. i recomend using these with an SATA drive for smoother and faster performace.

widows xp users will also find this tool very powerfull and very useful (windows app, not recording) it is german, and totaly safe. www.xpantispy.org download the setup version and check it out. it won't hurt your system. it is an easy to use tool to turn on and off different services of windows xp that use valuable system resources. complete with explanations of each service. so basically its an easy interface for sevicing your services.

gear importance:
quality converters (I/O's) and mic's 1st. preamps and monitors 2nd. quality cables 3rd.

software programs are always released unfinished to meet its pre-determined release date. so buying the newest recording sofware is not always the best idea. i recommend waiting until the manufacturer releases its first software update patch. 9 times out of 10 this fixes the all or most of the major issues and is now worth obtaining. before the patch is released, however, 9 times out of 10 they are virtually unuseable.

if you're on the net make sure you have up to date virus software and use programs such as adawear personal se and spybot search & destroy to keep spywear from bogging you down. (they are free and safe)

and as everyone else has said, back up and defrag often.

~jw

[linus]

One of the reasons that the Dell Poweredge 400SC server was (and stil is) a great machine to base a DAW on is the topography of the motherboard. The way that data is handled minimizes conflicts and crashes.

If you are looking for best bang for the buck it's hard to find anything better than that machine.

[John E. RokkeR]

Asus and MSI motherboards with intel chipsets fucking smoke and damn dell dude! granted that particuler dell has a very reliable board and all. but if you can put together your own. i recommend MSI or ASUS MB's. Asus' are more tweakable if you know what you are doing, and MSI are easeir to manage and have an excellent updater.
~jw

[linus]

i recommend MSI or ASUS MB's. Asus' are more tweakable if you know what you are doing, and MSI are easeir to manage and have an excellent updater.
~jw

Since this is the Newbie Clubhouse I'm guessing that most of us (myself included) don't know how to "tweak" or "manage" systems.


I realise that the Dell Poweredge 400SC is getting a little long in the tooth (but it works so well) so there must be a newer system that is fast, stable, and dead quiet.

If there is a specific computer system that can be purchased, add some fast harddrives, put in a soundcard or I/O interface then please share. THAT is the information about the Dell Poweredge 400SC that was in the "Ultimate PC DAW" thread I had mentioned. It's fast, quiet, and stable.

So bring us up to date. What system should a newbie buy? What harddrives should be added? Video card? How much memory? Will it work equally well for Firewire, PCI, and USB 2 I/O interfaces? Do any steps need to be taken to make this system quiet enough to be in the tracking room? (Some systems sound like a jet taking off...)
Where can these components be purchased and how much do they cost?

That specific information in simple language would be extremely helpful to Newbies. (And not-so-newbies that just need to upgrade without becoming a computer expert).

Thanks

[John Jeffers]

So bring us up to date. What system should a newbie buy? What harddrives should be added? Video card? How much memory? Will it work equally well for Firewire, PCI, and USB 2 I/O interfaces? Do any steps need to be taken to make this system quiet enough to be in the tracking room? (Some systems sound like a jet taking off...)

Linus, it's hard to answer those questions in specific terms, because everyone's needs are different. For me personally, here's a minimum configuration I'd shoot for:

2 GHz processor
1 GB of RAM
1 40 GB 7200 RPM drive for the OS and apps
1 100 GB 7200 RPM drive for audio files
AGP or PCIe graphics card
USB 2.0 and Firewire ports

That's my minimum based on what I know works for the way I record. Using a config like that, I could support a fair number of tracks and plugins at 24-bit/44.1. If you want to record at higher sample rates, need more tracks, use virtual instruments, etc. you might find that your minimum acceptable config changes. For instance, my minimum specs listed above wouldn't work very well if you record at 96K.

So, it's pretty much impossible to have a single thread that lays out exactly what you need, because those needs vary for each person.

[liftyrfists]

Hello,
Quite-a-green-one here. I just wanted to see if anyone had feelings/experiences with the lexicon omega. So...anyone?

This thread seems like it could be dead, but I wishfully think that it's not (perhaps this question will revive it....!)

I'm looking for a budget solution to, obviously, use my computer for recording (PC). As of now, I have exclusively used a minidisc in which I would record onto, transfer with an old version of cool edit, mix, listen, re-record and overdub, etc etc ad infinitum...placet ne tibi?

Anyway, the aforementioned process was overly-time consuming and rather needless, if I have other means of recording. Right now the omega seems pretty good, with the LE Cubase that comes with it and all. And a sweetwater tech guy seemed quite enthusiastic about it, but that's just one guy. To the best of my knowledge anyway.

If anyone is aware of any known problems with either the omega or the LE Cubase, please let me know! As always, thank you for your time, and hopefully the club house with have a prospect of being rebuilt. Maybe maybe.

[twinkletoes62]

Well,for whatever it's worth,I bought the lexicon omega together with a PC tower from sweetwater about 5 months ago.I bought everything from them actually(I like their services and warranties on their products).
I have had no issues with the omega.Keep in mind that it's a usb interface though.
It runs smoothly,is easy to install and sounds real good.
And if you have any issues,the tech department at sweetwater are friendly and very understanding.

Hope this helps,
william.

[tjcasey1]

Just in case you have an older Mac, I'd like to throw in my two cents:

I'm running a Mac 500Mhz G4 with 512 mB of RAM. I can record 16 24bit/44.1kHz inputs at a time (probably more, but I run out of inputs on my 2408s). I can mix at least 48 tracks with lots of effects - I've never had to do more, but I'm sure it can take it. This is while the Mac is also putting out video while I work on soundtracks in 5.12 surround sound. It doesn't even hiccup.

I'm using DP3.11.

The only reason I need more RAM and a faster processor is to run soft synths; I'm switching over to an iMac G5 in order to do this (my hardware synths are starting to crap out and I don't want to invest in them).

Audio is demanding, but not as demanding as you may think.