I've got $2000! Help me make a studio

[Woody]

For graduation i'm getting $2000 to spend on building up my studio. I had a PC but it just burnt up and i'msick of having a PC and want to move to mac. I have the Roland Studio Pack rocking which is pretty nice. Has an 8 track mixer that plugs in to a PCI card allowing 8 tracks recording at the same time. i plan on incorporating this and my cheap condensor mic and sm58 into whatever new things i get.

i'm torn between getting a really nice Dual G5 loaded computer or downgrading a bit and getting an mBox too or some firewire interface. i'm just torn!

any input is greatly appreciated.

[yardleyone]

start with the g5, that way your getting somethign that will still be beneficail to you should you decide to get an mbox later.

[versuviusx]

stick with a pc. you'll be sorry.

[spectralgrey]

stick with a pc. you'll be sorry.

I made the switch to mac and haven't regretted it in the least bit.

[Randy]

Another voice for Macs. I have a 800mHz desktop and it rocks. Plug and play.

I got it when the next level Mac came out and it was $1200 bucks on sale. If you were able to get a new, but price reduced model it should do the job. That way you could use the money on a good versatile mic.

I don't know about other folks, but it seems that whatever computer you're gonna use is not as important as the mics. Macs might be a little more expensive, but my experience is that you have a lot less messing with the system and peripherals than a PC. If you can fix your PC with a new motherboard, and you are good at keeping in running, you could probably get a couple of really nice mics.

[theBlubberRanch]

stick with a pc. you'll be sorry.

Take Bill Gate's fist out of your ass.

[cgarges]

stick with a pc. you'll be sorry.

Hmmmmm. No viruses written for Macs in the last twenty years or so? I think I'll stick with my Mac.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[hammertime]

I've never had a virus. I've been on a zillion Russian porn sites. I've downloaded a ton of shit off of Kazaa. I've even opened emails with attachments (not with my music computers, though). And even if I get a virus -- I don't care. Because all I do is plop a cd image of my hard drive in, and, using Norton Ghost, restore my computer to perfect working order in about 20 minutes. Windows XP works great. I have four computers, and not one has crashed in over a year. A macintosh is a ripoff -- it's basically the America Online of computers -- it does everything for you, even when you don't want it to, and charges you too much money for it. For less than a thousand dollars, I can build you a top of the line p.c that will be rock solid -- and you pick all the components yourself. And if anything breaks -- just go to comp usa or Fry's or Wang Wong's computers and get another one.

[spectralgrey]

The great thing about Macs in regards to viruses is you don't have to worry about them at all. You don't have to waste your time loading a cd image of your hard drive or downloading pop up blockers or virus scanners or anything of the sort. That 20 minutes you spend restoring your computer with Norton is 20 minutes you could spend recording. If you have clients, this could make or break a session. I would rather sacrifice a little flexibility and be making music than spend my days watching status bars.

When one is choosing a computer for recording, the top priority should really be stability. I can really push the track limit in Pro Tools LE on my iMac DV and that's from five years ago. I'm not sure that you can even install Pro Tools LE on a five year old pc. You can buy a used mac and still have a solid system which will serve your needs for a long time. The new ones are even better. You shouldn't have to worry about your "Wang Wong" computer parts breaking down while you're trying to track some drums.

The simplicity of a mac is really to your advantage if your goal is to be productive and make some music. I'm assuming this is what the original poster in this thread wants to do with his computer. I've never noticed my mac do anything I didn't want it to do. It's simple, but that hasn't prevented me in any way from completing whatever tasks I've set out to perform. In fact, it has helped me in my daily work. You don't buy a computer for recording so you can spend hours tweaking every setting to optimize your system. While you can do this with a mac, you do so of your own choice, not out of necessity.

Simplicity and stability. It's really the key if you want to make your sessions run smoothly and remain productive as a recordist. Buy a mac. Plug it in. Install your software. Make music.

[spectralgrey]

...or you could just spend that money on a tape machine.

[hammertime]

You're wasting your money. Get your p.c. working. Do about 10 minutes worth or tweaking. Do a ghost image of your hard drive. Backup regularly. You're good to go. Rock solid. None of my music computers ever go on the internet anyway, so I don't have to worry about a virus.

The great thing about Macs in regards to viruses is you don't have to worry about them at all. You don't have to waste your time loading a cd image of your hard drive or downloading pop up blockers or virus scanners or anything of the sort. That 20 minutes you spend restoring your computer with Norton is 20 minutes you could spend recording. If you have clients, this could make or break a session. I would rather sacrifice a little flexibility and be making music than spend my days watching status bars.

When one is choosing a computer for recording, the top priority should really be stability. I can really push the track limit in Pro Tools LE on my iMac DV and that's from five years ago. I'm not sure that you can even install Pro Tools LE on a five year old pc. You can buy a used mac and still have a solid system which will serve your needs for a long time. The new ones are even better. You shouldn't have to worry about your "Wang Wong" computer parts breaking down while you're trying to track some drums.

The simplicity of a mac is really to your advantage if your goal is to be productive and make some music. I'm assuming this is what the original poster in this thread wants to do with his computer. I've never noticed my mac do anything I didn't want it to do. It's simple, but that hasn't prevented me in any way from completing whatever tasks I've set out to perform. In fact, it has helped me in my daily work. You don't buy a computer for recording so you can spend hours tweaking every setting to optimize your system. While you can do this with a mac, you do so of your own choice, not out of necessity.

Simplicity and stability. It's really the key if you want to make your sessions run smoothly and remain productive as a recordist. Buy a mac. Plug it in. Install your software. Make music.

[nacho459]

I've owned nothing but Apples all my life the worst problems I have had were with firmware needing to be reinstalled. I had a 1Ghz PC in my office at work, within 6 months I had wrecked a hard drive and somehow caused the processor to burn up. I replaced it with an old 300Mhz G3 iMac and it works like a dream.

[spectralgrey]

Exactly. I'm running Pro Tools on a 500mHz G3. that alone is pretty amazing. it slows down when you really lay on the plugins, but overall performs well for a five year old computer. On top of that, it was under $400. Mac is not necessarily the expensive way. Get a dual G4 tower and you should still have some money left over. You don't need the top of the line, because even at the bottom you'll still have a simple, stable system which you won't have to upgrade for a long time.

Do we sound like the angel and devil on each shoulder yet?

[Scodiddly]

There's a great thread on Linux audio over in the computers forum here... you could get a good fast PC, a decent 4-8 in/out pro soundcard, and then use Linux and ardour so you don't have to blow a big wad on software.

Plus with Linux you have the same no-viruses advantage that the Mac enjoys.

[phait]

Sigh.

What software do you want to work with? Choose that first. Ignore everything else suggested in this thread thus far.

Does the software belong to PC or Mac, or even both? Depending which it belongs to, go with that platform. If it belongs to both and you're very adamant about going Mac, nothing is stopping you.

I have no problem with either platform, personally. But I do use Mac for music, although PC's can be used just as well. Software first, hardware second!

Linux does seem like a nice compromise. I'm just getting into Linux too, just out of curiosity, don't see myself really using it.