Members Fender&EHX4ever Posted February 26, 2013 Members Share Posted February 26, 2013 I've been using the following: PC operating on Win98SE and Cubase SX1 with dedicated drive for apllications and a dedicated drive for audio filesM Audio Delta1010 Soundcard and breakout rack I keep having the same issue over and over with the Delta 1010... the power light doesn't turn on on the breakout box when I boot up. I've tried everything... replacing the host cable, testing the power supply, changing PCI slots, reinstalling the driver... I've even tried replacing the capacitors. Nothing. So I am accepting defeat. Fortunately I can still export my audio files off of the old drive. I don't want anything fancy. I don't really use MIDI. I prefer recording to audio, which uses a lot memory of course. I don't want a mixing console. i'm content to do all the mixing within the software interface. I already have my preferred preamps, so I don't want an I/O with integrated preamps or any extra stuff. I want the analog interface to be robust, dependable, to have the balanced/unbalanced option, and 8 analog inputs. in other words I want quality and performance over features. I've also come to the conclusion that M Audio sucks, IMO, including their customer support. To send them my Delta 1010 for repair would cost me a minimum of $100 plus any additional bench time. As for the computer? I'm leaning toward MAC, but I'm open to suggestions that would best suit my purposes. I would use the computer for recording, but also for photos and video. No gaming. I want to be able to mix down 50 tracks of audio in a session with minimum latency. Please help me Obi Wan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BG76 Posted February 26, 2013 Members Share Posted February 26, 2013 Have you looked into an Apogee Apollo?If you really want guaranteed track count and minimum latency you may want to do what I did and look into a ProTools HD system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fender&EHX4ever Posted February 26, 2013 Author Members Share Posted February 26, 2013 Thanks for the suggestion! The Apogee Ensemble could work, but it includes extra stuff like mic preamps that I most likely won't use and don't want to pay for. Looking into Pro Tools HD now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members imbuedblue Posted February 26, 2013 Members Share Posted February 26, 2013 I use a Zoom R8 around the house because it's portable and I can get ideas down with minimal setup. For full band type stuff, I like the old Alesis HD24 hard disk recorder. I use them both like tape and just hit record and go. When I'm done tracking, I just dump all the tracks onto a Mac running either Logic or Digital Performer to do all my mixing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Texas Noise Factory Posted February 26, 2013 Members Share Posted February 26, 2013 I still use Acid 3.0 on XP. It's not broke, so I'm not fixing it. Yet. Just be careful to get your new system set up and get all of the bugs worked out before you abandon your old process. I've been stuck in limbo too many times with steep learning curves, bugs, and new software. That combined with flowing ideas makes for an ugly combination for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Fender&EHX4ever wrote: As for the computer? I'm leaning toward MAC, but I'm open to suggestions that would best suit my purposes. I would use the computer for recording, but also for photos and video. No gaming. I want to be able to mix down 50 tracks of audio in a session with minimum latency. Please help me Obi Wan! Let's start here. Latency is really only an issue when you're tracking, not really so much when mixing. In fact, I normally recommend selecting the highest / largest buffer setting you have available when you go to mix. Why? Because low buffer settings put more demands on the computer system, and limit the amount of CPU "horsepower" that is available for the DAW for such things as mix automation and plugins. IOW, use the lowest buffer setting that you can when tracking (without the system glitching and causing pops and dropouts and other sonic gremlins), and use the highest buffer size available when mixing. This is applicable regardless of whether you're using a Mac or a PC (for the record, I use both). As far as which interface to get, that's a bit of a tough one. There are certainly several options, although many of them are going to have onboard preamps - whether you need them or not. What kind of a budget are we working with here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted February 27, 2013 Members Share Posted February 27, 2013 Pfft, AAX isn't a plugin format. It's a line of cymbals. Stupid Avid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fender&EHX4ever Posted March 2, 2013 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2013 Phil O'Keefe wrote: Fender&EHX4ever wrote: As for the computer? I'm leaning toward MAC, but I'm open to suggestions that would best suit my purposes. I would use the computer for recording, but also for photos and video. No gaming. I want to be able to mix down 50 tracks of audio in a session with minimum latency. Please help me Obi Wan! Let's start here. Latency is really only an issue when you're tracking, not really so much when mixing. In fact, I normally recommend selecting the highest / largest buffer setting you have available when you go to mix. Why? Because low buffer settings put more demands on the computer system, and limit the amount of CPU "horsepower" that is available for the DAW for such things as mix automation and plugins. IOW, use the lowest buffer setting that you can when tracking (without the system glitching and causing pops and dropouts and other sonic gremlins), and use the highest buffer size available when mixing. This is applicable regardless of whether you're using a Mac or a PC (for the record, I use both). As far as which interface to get, that's a bit of a tough one. There are certainly several options, although many of them are going to have onboard preamps - whether you need them or not. What kind of a budget are we working with here? I'm broke. I could sell off a bunch of pedals and probably offset some expense, but I can't spend $5K on a setup right now. If I have to shift strategies and buy something used and dedicated, like an old used G4 or something like that, clean it up, and find a robust interface for it, then that's fine. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles, plug-ins, etc. I mostly just want to record up to 30+ audio tracks and be able to mix it all down smoothly without freezing tracks and all that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PKTrono Posted March 3, 2013 Members Share Posted March 3, 2013 if the DAW will be a whole new experience, you should also consider logic pro, which is $199 new and is fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Sure - Logic is a good program. For what Cubase costs, you can probably get Pro Tools too. There's also Reaper, which is uncrippled, non-expiring shareware and very inexpensive - only $60 if you like it and keep using it. Of course, there are other DAW applications too... and if he's unhappy with Cubase, or just wants to try something different, now would be as good a time as any to do so. My suggestion to stick with Cubase is mostly due to his familiarity with it, which would hopefully mean a somewhat reduced learning curve. However, I'd expect there to be some acclimatization involved even if he sticks with Cubase, simply due to the age of the Cubase software version he's currently running, and the large number of changes and new features that have been put into subsequent versions of the program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted March 3, 2013 Members Share Posted March 3, 2013 +1 for Logic. It's my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GREC Posted March 3, 2013 Members Share Posted March 3, 2013 Ever thought about a Portastudio?I have a 5yr old Tascam 2488. It can record 8 tracks at once & can record up to 24 tracks. 24-bit too! You can dump the files later into your computer. Excellent for a band because of it poratbility/ease of moving. Take it to any space record & mix it anywhere later. New versions don't even have hard drives -use some sort of flash drive.The onboard FX are meh but useable -easier to mix it in a computer.I would suggest a Mac too. Been using them for 30yrs -absoluely no complaints.Think this is the new version....http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/tascam-dp-24-24-track-digital-portastudio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PKTrono Posted March 4, 2013 Members Share Posted March 4, 2013 to phil: yeah i meant if he checks out the new cubase and it seems entirely alien anyway, logic is a great alternative. i don't know cubase's demo policy though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fender&EHX4ever Posted July 26, 2013 Author Members Share Posted July 26, 2013 Update since I started this thread.... The guys I'm working with have chosen Logic Pro X as the software, so that was an easy decision. Until I can afford a higher powered Mac, I will use my MacBook Air in the meantime. My concern now is the interface. Our keyboardist is using a Focusrite Saffire for his interface. Do you guys know if I can bypass the preamps on the Focusrite? I would prefer to have the option of using my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fender&EHX4ever Posted July 27, 2013 Author Members Share Posted July 27, 2013 Okay, I found my answer to my previous question at gearslutz http://www.gearslutz.com/board/5615141-post17.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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