Recording setup advice, esp Creamware

[rokn4jc]

Hi all. I am new to this forum in terms of posting, but I read here quite a bit. Very good information.

 

I am looking to expand my studio a bit so I am researching alot of products. I wanted to get some advice from a place I feel I can trust.

My plan is to run Sonar 5 PE (upgrade from 2.2XL), expand number of inputs (currently Delta 66), get a better mixer (currently a small behringer 12 channel), so I can track at least 16 channels simultaneously.

 

Building a new computer ASRock 939Dual mobo, Athlon64 3800+ X2, 2GB Ram, WinXP Pro, dual displays (17" CRT for now)

 

I have pretty much settled on an A&H MixWiz 16:2 mixer. Is there a better 16 Ch mixer in this price range ~ 1000 ? The MixWiz comes highly recomended on the Live sound and recording forums.

 

Interface options:

2x Delta 1010 (I am very familiar with M-Audio gear so I know what to expect, decent but not outstanding quality, good driver support, very stable.

MOTU 24 i/o or HD192

Creamware Scope Home/Project (new 4.5 systems) + AD16

 

Seems like Craig is very familiar with the Creamware stuff, so I thought I would post this here as well as the recording forum.

 

How good are the DSP plugins ? About how many plugins can you run per DSP Chip ie home vs project or pro ?

What about the A16 ADDA box. What is the quality of the converters ?

The whole system seems to good to be true, but is exactly what I am looking for. Very flexible and expandable as my needs grow

[UstadKhanAli]

I don't know the answer to any of these questions. I just thought I'd give it a bump in case anyone else missed yer post (I know I did - didn't even see it until just now).

 

I've never used that A&H mixer before, but my guess is that it's quite good, and undoubtedly a giant step up from the mixer you currently have. A&H usually has good EQs for the money.

[Anderton]

 

How good are the DSP plugins ? About how many plugins can you run per DSP Chip ie home vs project or pro ?>>

 

First of all, the plug-ins and synths are excellent. Period.

 

How many you can get depends on which model you get. There has been a slimming down of the line, there used to be lots of permutations and combinations. I have a circa 2000 system (really) and it still rocks. It's the Pro version but still a single board.

 

What you can run varies a lot. A Minimax with a ton of voices uses a lot of DSP, a Minimax with a couple voices do not. But of course, you can always bounce to a track and keep going.

 

The processors don't take up much CPU power. You have a lot of choices in terms of mixers and such. Suffice it to say I've never run out of power, although I've come close But one of the BIG advantages compared to native is that you can red line the DSP without worrying that it will need to do some other process and cause a CPU overload. Unlike the CPU meter in a computer, with the Creamware DSP it hits a certain amount and STAYS there.

 

I think the Creamware stuff is absolutely brilliant. Even in these days when computers are powerful enough to run lots of plugs and instruments in native format, the Creamware "virtualized studio" really has no equivalent. Closest I can think of is the E-mu Emulator X.

[rokn4jc]

Thanks for the input. I guess i am mainly worried about getting the Creamware to work on my system, as I have reqad they can be a little finicky.

Maybe I'll post the question over on the planetz forums.

Thanks

 

Any comments on ther quality of the ADDA 16 converters ?

 

Thanks