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I feel like I'm beating a dead horse but all of this information is out there and has been for years. You can literally google any of the names I mentioned + bits + dynamic range + noise floor and you will get a tonne of useful information which (of course) is of engineering concern. Heres another one. Whilst its helpful for people with an interest in the science of sound and digital audio it is nonetheless almost completely irrelevant to average joe musician.
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Jul 9, 2010 20:38
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Well can anyone recommend a USB interface under $300? This Konnekt is a dead end, it even screws up on YouTube videos and their support isn't helping. The whole experience with the thing has been a disaster.
No. 9 fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Jul 10, 2010 |
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Jul 10, 2010 02:02
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How many channels do you need? Preamps? Does it have to be USB? etc. etc. You can probably get a second hand EMU 1820M or 1616M for less than 300 bucks and those things are amazing. 1820M is firewire and 1616M is PCMCIA though.
WanderingKid fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Jul 10, 2010 |
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Jul 10, 2010 04:02
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I just record mic for vocals and line in for guitar. I'd prefer it to be USB but I could try firewire. I just want something clean and gives me good sound with stability with phantom power. I give the Konnekt credit that it was clean, but there so many issues that I was getting and people on their forums were too with no support. I run Windows 7, 64-bit with Cubase 5.
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Jul 10, 2010 04:05
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Guess you should look at Echo Audiofire 4 then. Its firewire (6 pin bus powered) though. I guess I'm looking in the direction of Echo because they got proper 64 bit drivers, they have a pretty good rep for never having any problems and in most polls, Echo is miles ahead, at the top with RME in terms of most users that are happy with their purchase. So they have to be doing something right eh?
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Jul 10, 2010 04:17
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WanderingKid posted:How many channels do you need? Preamps? Does it have to be USB? etc. etc. You can probably get a second hand EMU 1820M or 1616M for less than 300 bucks and those things are amazing. 1820M is firewire and 1616M is PCMCIA though. I got a PCMCIA 1616m for sale. Somebody but that yoke
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Jul 10, 2010 10:51
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How much?
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Jul 10, 2010 15:48
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No. 9 - did you create an incident ticket with TC support? Create a support account and use the support interface to contact them. Are you using the latest drivers? http://www.tcelectronic.com/default.asp?Id=14030&AjrDcmntId=6310 What kind of firewire interface/chipset do you have? Check your device manager and post what you find.
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Jul 10, 2010 21:10
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Yeah I did, they havent gotten back to me after I had to send them a huge list of my specs. I installed the latest drivers and even tried the old ones. Now I can't even install the new ones without an error on the installer. I've switched back to the Fast Track Pro since. It's Ricoh-made, OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller. I had to go back to Legacy drivers per a problem addressed on the TC forums about getting BSOD with the regular driver.
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Jul 10, 2010 23:56
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How do SSD drives fare in the DAW realm? Would an SSD drive be preferable to a 7200 rpm hard drive? (In terms of performance, not loudness) Also do they use more power? It sounds like they would be highly preferable to a regular drive but I'm wondering if there's any downside to using one for recording. edit: What would be a greater aid to recording - having 8 gigs of ram and a 7200 rpm drive, or 4 gigs of ram and a SSD drive Nelsocracy fucked around with this message at 08:00 on Jul 11, 2010 |
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Jul 11, 2010 07:26
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No. 9 posted:How much? Do you live in Europe? If I have to ship to the US I probably can't give you that great a price...
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Jul 11, 2010 16:04
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If I have an audio file with craploads of stereo panning that I want to lessen, what is a good technique? I am playing around with collapsing the audio to mono and then selectively mixing the left and right channels but I am having to draw some serious fader automation to keep the levels consistent. Is there an easier/better way to do this? Re-recording isn't possible as it was an improv performance that I really dig.
Oldstench fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Jul 12, 2010 |
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Jul 12, 2010 03:33
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Oldstench posted:If I have an audio file with craploads of stereo panning that I want to lessen, what is a good technique. I am playing around with collapsing the audio to mono and then selectively mixing the left and right channels but I am having to draw some serious fader automation to keep the levels consistent. Is there an easier/better way to do this? Re-recording isn't possible as it was an improv performance that I really dig. http://www.fluxhome.com/products/Freewares/stereotool You can adjust left/right/center separately and automate if you need to.
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Jul 12, 2010 15:03
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Thanks Hogscraper. Do you use this in your mastering chain at all?
Oldstench fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Jul 12, 2010 |
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Jul 12, 2010 16:48
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Oldstench posted:Thanks Hogscraper. Do you use this in your mastering chain at all?
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Jul 12, 2010 20:38
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Nelsocracy posted:How do SSD drives fare in the DAW realm? Would an SSD drive be preferable to a 7200 rpm hard drive? (In terms of performance, not loudness) Also do they use more power? It sounds like they would be highly preferable to a regular drive but I'm wondering if there's any downside to using one for recording. SSDs load sample libraries (and programs) ridonkulously fast, are quieter than HDDs, and use less power than HDDs. Someone else will have to answer as to whether or not they write -- record -- faster than a good SATA drive, and whether or not that's a significant impact on its limited write cycles, according to the current technology.
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Jul 18, 2010 15:34
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So I am just building a new PC, and I'm wondering how much RAM is enough. The most demanding situation I can conceive of is: Superior Drummer 2 + 8 Guitar Rig/impulsed guitar/bass tracks + 6 vocal tracks + a good bit of EQ, chorus, delay, reverb across those as necessary + a couple mastering plug-ins.
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Jul 18, 2010 22:24
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I might put together a new PC at some point as well and would just love it if maybe two or three instances of SIR could run along with all the other VSTs during mixing; as it is right now, I have to export a .wav into a new project, play with the reverb and get something which MIGHT sound good, mix it down 100% wet, bring it back into the original project file where I'm mixing, and see if it works. This is fine for right now since I dont really use reverb all that much but now that I've learned just how much my kick can actually move air with reverb on it (same with the snare), uhh I'm sure I'll be using it more often. But a serious resource-hog like SIR won't work in a dynamic mixing environment right now, at least on this PC. So if you design Duck and Burger's PC, make sure it could do that as well so I could use it as a benchmark... thanks...
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Jul 19, 2010 00:28
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Duck and burger posted:So I am just building a new PC, and I'm wondering how much RAM is enough. The most demanding situation I can conceive of is: Superior Drummer 2 + 8 Guitar Rig/impulsed guitar/bass tracks + 6 vocal tracks + a good bit of EQ, chorus, delay, reverb across those as necessary + a couple mastering plug-ins. Plugins like Guitar Rig and EQs etc are more dependent on your CPU capabilities than RAM. If the system runs out of RAM it either hangs or more likely uses the hard disk more often. Programmers are pretty smart and you can do an awful lot with very little hardware. But the answer you seek is always as much as you can afford and your motherboard will support.
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Jul 19, 2010 05:06
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I probably can afford another hundred bucks for another 4gb, but I really don't want to, at least not yet. The samples should be pretty fast access being on an SSD, but I guess they'll still be eating up just as much RAM in the end, huh?
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Jul 19, 2010 06:01
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I've rarely had the need to completely load a Superior 2 kit into RAM, using the 'cached' mode is usually fine. Sure, the first playthru when I load up a project will be useless, but once the drums are more or less laid out, I don't change the drum programming much so its fine after the first playback.
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Jul 20, 2010 19:25
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So I'm trying to get started with recording equipment, and I'm bouncing back and forth between two packages. Both come with ProTools LE. The cheaper package is this one: quote:Studio package includes a Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini, Alesis M1Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Pair, MXL 990 condenser microphone with shockmount, 20' microphone cable, tripod microphone stand, and 3m RCA-1/4" dual patch cable. The more expensive one is this one: quote:Includes a digidesign Mbox 2 Factory Bundle, Fostex PM0.4 powered studio monitors, Audio-Technica AT2020 cardioid condenser microphone, 20' microphone cable, tripod microphone stand, and 2 - 10' (1/4 - 1/4") cables. I'm really just looking for a good starter system that I can learn on and hopefully avoid having to put a lot of money into upgrading in the future. I don't have any of the parts for either package, so I figure at least one of them would be a good deal. Should I spring extra for the pricier one? I'm also planning to buy the $299 edition of FL Studio, since it's my favorite DAW that I've used and I've used all the expensive plugins and whatnot. Should I buy one of these bundles for ProTools, then, or just buy some monitors, a condenser mic, etc. separately? I'm really trying not to sound all  here, but even though I've used other people's setups a little before, when it comes to actually building one for myself I have no idea what I'm doing.
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Jul 24, 2010 17:43
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CloseFriend posted:Stuff. What exactly are you wanting to record and in what genre? That would better help some of us gauge what might be a good fit for you mic wise.
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Jul 25, 2010 03:01
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Hogscraper posted:I personally think you're better off buying one good mic that you'll always find useful instead of buying a package with a cheap Chinese condenser mic that you'll outgrow very quickly. I'm also planning on doing some video game music (arranging and composing), but I have no intention of ever doing it as anything beyond a hobby. Given my tastes and stuff I've composed before, it'll probably be mostly trip hop or industrial, probably with fewer live instruments (hence me wanting FL Studio, which I've used quite a bit before), but I still want to fit some in there.
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Jul 25, 2010 03:25
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Are you planning on recording the instruments with your mic, or just vocals? If you're going to record the instruments, you'll probably want an SM58. If you're just going to record vocals (either your own, or someone else's), you're probably going to want to pony up a little more money. I started out with an AT2020 and it's... ok. It's not a bad starter mic, but you'll definitely outgrow it quickly. One thing that I'd highly recommend is spending money on acoustic deadening -- you'll get a lot further with the AT2020 that way. For a while I was recording in a duvet-lined closet, which was a step forward, but then I found this. If you can afford the extra $300 you absolutely won't regret it, and you'll get a lot more out of your AT2020.
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Jul 26, 2010 15:58
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Good starter mics that you'll probably always find some use for are an SM57 which is a good instrument and vocal mic. Studio Projects C1 which is probably the best starter condenser I've heard and there are a lot of good mods for it as well. The Shure SM7 is also a fantastic dynamic vocal mic. I also love my Electro-Voice RE-20 which is great for all kinds of stuff voice, instruments, bass, drums, etc. All of these mics are pretty sturdy too and I wouldn't hesitate to buy a used one.
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Jul 26, 2010 16:26
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Sigh. Built crazy new monster computer, and Sonar runs worse than ever. During playback, it's only using like half the RAM and maybe 20% CPU, yet I get massive dropout in two forms: drum machine has like 30, 40% of the MIDI sample calls not playing; and if I have a project that's just a single recording guitar track with absolutely nothing on it, the whole audio engine will simply die at random. I've tried every kind of optimization and nothing helps. I'm using the Pod as a sound card, which worked fine on the old machine... 
Duck and burger fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Jul 27, 2010 |
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Jul 27, 2010 00:47
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On the laptop hunt I've hit another dead end. Sooo many lappys have ricoh firewire chipsets with known DPC latency problems and it looks like the only ones that have TI chipsets are the HPs and Macbook Pros. We get screwed on HP screens over here so it looks like I'm just gonna have to bite the bullet and ewwww, buy a Crapple Mac. 
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Jul 28, 2010 13:36
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You can buy a firewire card and just stick it in, it's a little inconvenient but it works just fine if you get one with a TI chipset.
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Jul 28, 2010 15:30
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Apparently that still won't run well unless your all-in-1 express card chipset is TI also.
Nelsocracy fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Jul 28, 2010 |
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Jul 28, 2010 17:20
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That's still easier to find than an internal chipset that's not RICOH
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Jul 28, 2010 17:35
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Yeah, I guess, but it's still worth mentioning that you can't just stick a TI express card in any laptop and it'll work. It's more trouble than that. I really wish firewire was less of a big deal to work on Windows. Nobody can even tell me exactly what hardware I need to make it work, even from the companies making the FW audio interfaces.
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Jul 28, 2010 18:03
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<3 Mac. I was such a PC power user stalwart too. Seriously. I had a job in PC repair for awhile. I was a good PC user and was never infected with virii or malware and still had issues all the time. After using the girlfriend's mac for about a year and enjoying it I finally bit the bullet and bought a macbook to test the waters and haven't looked back since. Granted, I do still have windows installed on all my macs for a few programs when I need them, but price is no longer an issue with me. I'll happily pay the overpriced premium for a stable system. Even after I bought my Mac I was still plagued with the PC problems of my brother and my mother. My brother used to call me up at least twice a month with serious issues. I finally convinced him to buy an iMac back in December and was totally expecting him to come back to me a lot with questions regarding "how do I do this or that" but it's been total radio silence on computer issues. Seriously, not one. I convinced my mother to buy a Macbook Pro last night. She's a huge source of PC related headaches for me, I think she's bit retarded. We'll see how it goes. You will love it the first week, hate it for a month after that, and then stop using windows altogether once you've figured out what alternative programs you like and get it set up the way you like. GO MAC! Hogscraper fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Jul 28, 2010 |
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Jul 28, 2010 18:08
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In all seriousness I'd be just grand with a Macbook Pro. Build quality is excellent. Screen is excellent. Keyboard is excellent even if it has those terrible half sized cursor keys that are oh so fashionable nowadays and no numpad (so working excel is probably a nightmare). The thing that kills it for me is that its just so freakishly expensive. You can CTO a Dell or a Sony with better specs for half the money. You'll probably be in DCP hell unless you disable everything but think of what you can do with the cash left over. If necessary you can spend it on therapy or anger management or whatever else it takes to get through the day without taking a fat one up the bum from Steve Jobs.
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Jul 28, 2010 18:50
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'bout to get a TI expresscard, I'll let yall know how I get on when I cram it in my laptop
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Jul 28, 2010 18:57
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WanderingKid posted:
This is absolutely true. It is expensive--however, my $2000 Macbook Pro has, at this point, lasted longer than any PC I've ever owned. When I was using non-Apple laptops, I'd say I bought a new one about once a year. I've had my MBP for 3 years, it's been tank-like in terms of reliability, the OS is a lot more solid and reliable (from my perspective at least), and when I was running Pro Tools LE it always ran better on my MBP then it ever did on my Windows machines. I've since switched to Logic, which has a bit of a learning curve, but I'm liking it better than PT. If it matters, I too used to build my PC's, etc, etc, etc. I was shocked at how much more time I had when I switched to the Mac--I'd never realized just how much time I spent trying to get Windows to function correctly and play nice with any and all software I installed on it. Macs also tend to have a higher resale value than other machines.
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Jul 28, 2010 19:04
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El Miguel posted:This is absolutely true. It is expensive--however, my $2000 Macbook Pro has, at this point, lasted longer than any PC I've ever owned. When I was using non-Apple laptops, I'd say I bought a new one about once a year. I've had my MBP for 3 years, it's been tank-like in terms of reliability, the OS is a lot more solid and reliable (from my perspective at least), and when I was running Pro Tools LE it always ran better on my MBP then it ever did on my Windows machines. I've since switched to Logic, which has a bit of a learning curve, but I'm liking it better than PT. If it matters, I too used to build my PC's, etc, etc, etc. I was shocked at how much more time I had when I switched to the Mac--I'd never realized just how much time I spent trying to get Windows to function correctly and play nice with any and all software I installed on it. Macs also tend to have a higher resale value than other machines. Again, price was a huge issue to me and I thought exactly the same until I actually bought a mac and used it. Yeah, the price difference for pretty much the exact same hardware is ludicrous, but after using my mac for awhile I don't miss that extra money. My macbook is still going strong after 4 years and the only thing I've had to replace in it was a fan. A $4.00 part and about an hours worth of work. I've tried to gently caress this thing up on purpose. I really have. I've been to the shadiest parts of the internet. Gone to sites where people tell me my mac can be infected. Nothing. I can completely destroy a PC software side in less than 2 minutes even with a "safe" browser like Firefox. Seriously try it Google russian mp3 barn sex ringtone and just randomly click on every link and ad you can. You'll be beyond hosed real quick. Like Miguel my productivity is much higher because I've spent literally zero time troubleshooting my computer since I've purchased it. ZERO. I'm not going to come out and say that it never crashes or never locks up. It does crash from time to time. But there's something in the file system for every single program that I've ever used that is auto saving my progress always. Every time something crashes when I reopen the program my work is there exactly where I left it. I paid $849.00 for this computer new. I can get $400.00 - $600.00 out of it right now on eBay nearly 4 years later. loving crazy. I gig with my macbook. It;s an integral part of my live keyboard rig in a high energy beer slinging rock band. It's taken more 2 foot drops than I care to admit. I use it every single day. It's perfect in every way. A little rough looking, but perfect. It's worth triple the price I paid for it. Hogscraper fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Jul 28, 2010 |
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Jul 28, 2010 19:19
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Yes Macs are more expensive when compared to PCs with similar specs, but the performance and reliability are not the same at all. I don't miss the extra money I spent on the MAC, however now that I own the mac I DO regret buying a Toshiba laptop for $700 back in 2007. It was always causing me endless headaches from having to downgrade to XP so that it was compatible with my interfaces, to random crashes and glitches with my Onyx mixer, to the terrible plastic build quality, to the terrible heat dissipation issues. Two years later I couldn't sell that toshiba for more than $300, so I ended up giving it to a friend who uses it for email and netflix. That $700 was effectively wasted, and could have gone towards a MBP that I would still be using today. Both of the musicians I was collaborating with back then are still using their macbooks and both are still really happy with their performance as music machines.
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Jul 28, 2010 20:02
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So the M-Audio AV30 Monitors are up on woot right now... How are they?
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Jul 29, 2010 00:53
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I haven't heard those specifically but I always hated the M-Audio BX series, they had a very smiley face shaped EQ with no mids and way too much bass and treble. But who knows maybe they've improved with the new models.
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Jul 29, 2010 23:21
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