Members CME Posted June 18, 2012 Members Share Posted June 18, 2012 I'm sure you probably already know but check out owc. I've had great experiences with them. Let us know what you think once you've player around with PT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aZnrockstar Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 So do all of the '11 mpb's technically handle up to 16GB? I remember seeing your post on the subject, Phil, but I don't remember which thread it was on. Do you have a judgement on where the extra RAM makes the biggest difference? I'm not one to use a ton of plugs, I will put compression and EQ on most tracks and run delay and reverb on busses. Most of my mixes so far have capped at around 30 tracks, assuming I'm doing a full band with overdubs. I've had my 2.5GHz quad i7 with 8GB of ram, but I haven't been able to get PT10 yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 I checked with Crucial's site and used their system scanner to see if my particular machine could handle 16GB. They said it could, and I ordered a pair of 8GB SODIMMs. Here's what I get when I run the scanner: Memory Type: DDR3 PC3-10600, DDR3 (non-ECC) Maximum Memory: 16GB Currently Installed Memory: 16GB You also get links to their recommended RAM and SSD offerings for your particular system. If it can handle 16GB, they'll tell you when you run the scanner. If not, you'll only see 8GB and smaller options on the results page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 As far as the extra RAM, I have been running the Mac Activity Monitor app to keep tabs of how I'm doing with RAM use, and running things that would have killed my previous system's 4GB and sent it running to the hard drive to do a swap file are still well below the available RAM. I have not really pushed it with plugins yet, although I have done some that were pretty heavy and it hasn't blinked yet. Right now I have a 40+ track session in Pro Tools 9.0.6, and Firefox 14.0.1 (with about six separate windows and about 40-50 total tabs) open at the same time, and I've still got 10.28GB of RAM "free" according to Activity Monitor. It's definitely faster when the system doesn't have to write things to the HDD. I am very tempted to get a SSD for the system drive... I imagine that would make the system "feel" even faster. If you're running with 8GB, you're probably fine unless you're using a ton of virtual instruments or large sample libraries. I'm sure that 2.5GHz quad i7's a powerhouse! How do you like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aZnrockstar Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 I will let you know as soon as I start running pt. I never thought a year ago that a $2k mac would be cheaper than the software and plugins loaded on it. It looks like my board will support 16GB as well, so I'll put that on my list for further down the line. Do you track directly to an external drive? I'm using a 7200 firewire 800 lacie for all tracking, but I'll have to try tracking to a thumbdrive one of these days, just for s&g. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aZnrockstar Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 So far, I've been running 40+ track sessions with heavy use of McDSP 6030 comps and Sonnox Oxford EQ, and one or two instances each of stock reverb and delay. As you can see, I've got plenty of headroom. Running on 3 of 4 cores, buffer of 512 cycles, barely pushing 10% most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 My new one will be here on Thursday. Retina... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 How much RAM did you get? Did you go with the 2.3GHz or 2.6GHz model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 I will let you know as soon as I start running pt. I never thought a year ago that a $2k mac would be cheaper than the software and plugins loaded on it. It looks like my board will support 16GB as well, so I'll put that on my list for further down the line. Do you track directly to an external drive? I'm using a 7200 firewire 800 lacie for all tracking, but I'll have to try tracking to a thumbdrive one of these days, just for s&g. I track to externals whenever I am using a laptop. I've got some older Oxford chipset external Firewire drive cases I bought locally and mounted 7,200 RPM drives into. I also recently purchased a Western Digital (WD) My Passport 1TB external firewire 800 drive that seems to be doing pretty well so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 So far, I've been running 40+ track sessions with heavy use of McDSP 6030 comps and Sonnox Oxford EQ, and one or two instances each of stock reverb and delay. As you can see, I've got plenty of headroom. Running on 3 of 4 cores, buffer of 512 cycles, barely pushing 10% most of the time. Impressive. :phil: I have to ask about your extra large amount of screen real estate too - how big is your monitor? Also, as long as I'm being nosy, how do you like the McDSP plugins? I really don't have much experience with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aZnrockstar Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 I think it's a 21", if IRC. I would have to say, if I had to pick one compressor plug, the 6030 would be it, just for overall versatility. I want a good fairchild and tubetech model for colouration, but I only had the budget for one, so I went for the utility of the 6030. There's a few vintage models, a tube compressor, an 1176, a limiter, british, and a few other good ones. Lots to play around with. McDSP's C1 and C4 are a few other good ones to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 How much RAM did you get? Did you go with the 2.3GHz or 2.6GHz model? 16GB and the 2.6Ghz. Will be a uge upgrade over my current Duo Core. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that I might have my first session with it next week. I've been trying to branch out into mobile recording sessions to fill a niche with bands that can't afford trips to the bigger studios, but still need some high quality demos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 You're upgrading from a Duo Core? That should be a considerable upgrade! It certainly was a big one when I went from a C2D to the MBP. Sounds like you have one sweet machine on the way - please let us know how it works out, and if those sessions happen next week, how it does on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 You're upgrading from a Duo Core? That should be a considerable upgrade! It certainly was a big one when I went from a C2D to the MBP. Sounds like you have one sweet machine on the way - please let us know how it works out, and if those sessions happen next week, how it does on them. Will do! Rig will be Apogee Ensemble w/ extra preamps (Focusrite ISA One and an FMR Audio RNP) into Logic 9. Tracking drums and bass simultaneously, overdubbing guitars, then doing vocals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 Do you already have the ISA One? How do you like it? I've been curious about it, as well as the ISA Two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 6, 2012 Members Share Posted September 6, 2012 Do you already have the ISA One? How do you like it? I've been curious about it, as well as the ISA Two. I do... have had it for a few years now. Mine doesn't have the digital card, which a lot of people seem to think is superior, so I can't provide a point of reference on that. I can say that it definitely has a bit thicker character than my Ensemble or Duet pres, but not API thick. The impedance switches are awesome and depending on the mic used you can hear a huge difference, especially i high-end response. The DI is a nice touch too, especially for players that like to play and sing at the same time. It certainly won't stop all preamp GAS (not that anything ever will...) but I can use it on almost anything and know I'll get a pretty accurate presentation of exactly what I'm recording. If you want to hear a clip: http://andymclain.com/mp3s/coverfests/Summersong.mp3 All vocals and guitar recorded with it and a Mojave MA-201fet and the bass and lead guitar were tracked with it's DI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 6, 2012 Members Share Posted September 6, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 11, 2012 Members Share Posted September 11, 2012 I actually haven't gotten any music DONE yet, but I've tested out my plugs and apps and so far compatibility is good. This weekend will be it's first run through, when my band records guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kerouac Posted September 13, 2012 Members Share Posted September 13, 2012 I spent some time playing through Guitar Rig 4 last night with it. I was able to get my latency setting down to 64 with no cracks or pops. Even the biggest patches in HQ mode were well under 20% of a single core of the CPU. When I pushed it to 32 though, I did have some occasional clicks and pops, even though the CPU load remained the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.