Members soundwave106 Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 A fully built system with a full garantee is often a slight bit cheaper than building your own anyway. Why fart around? Partially because, at least for certain *big* companies, your "system integration" point is not correct. In addition to P321's point, I would personally say that IMHO prefab systems (from at least certain companies) are made with relatively shoddy performing components compared to what you can buy as separates. In some cases (I'm looking at you, Dell), you actually get a worse problem -- non standardized, poorly performing parts that can only be replaced with stuff the manufacturer makes. If you are looking at a fully built system that is cheaper than a build-your-own system, chances are you are running into *something* that was compromised, whether it's the motherboard, ultra-slow hard drives, slow RAM, etc. Buying a prefab system is more convenient, true. Assembling a PC yourself does involves a lot more research. The better premade PCs *are* going to be more like PCAudioLabs. While it's pricey for someone like me who knows a lot about assembling computers, if time is money, I would instinctively guess that you are a helluv a lot better off with a company like that versus one of the big, cheap manufacturers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members r05c03 Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Sooooo I took a better look at Reaktor, listened to the demos, read the blurbs on how configurable and tweakable it is, how there's a gajillion ensembles, etc, etc... It sounds so fascinating that I'm convinced I'm not going to buy it. (lol wut?) Because the last thing I need is more ways to get lost and fritter time away just flipping through presets and messing around. What I really need is something that will help me compose and record easier, not make yet even more noises. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 I forgot the name of the KSS user who uses this signature, but it's both hilarious and true! "You will serve GAS. Resistance is futile", LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Personally, I dont believe in building PC's myself anymore. I have done that in the past, and its always a pain in the ass in the end. The main reason is a simple one: service guarantee. If I build my own machine, and something goes buggy, I have the Mother board MFR to deal with, who is going to tell me its the NIC card after the NIC card MFR told me it was the Motherboard. I have to collect all the drivers myself from a million different locations. I have to deal with troubleshooting *everything* myself. Now, on a hobby computer (which I have) this is fine. I dont need it to be running 24/7 and I can deal with it being out for a few days while I hack away at it trying to figure out what device doesnt like which other device(s). But on a production machine..a machine which I *depend* on to get my work done, I want *one* point of contact and *one* support number to call. I dont want to have to waste time playing phone tag with a dozen call centers in Taipei, or Singapore...or where ever they offshore to these days. I want one company who is responsible for every component, who provide a website where I can get all the drivers for my machine. Your thinking was sound ten years ago when the company from whom you purchased the machine was teh company who answered the phone when you called, but nowadays all calls that I make to Dell, for example, go to India, where I am usually greeted by someone named Eva who cannot pronounce my name after I spell it for them and troubleshoot via a flipbook. If anyone is going to repair anything less than a motherboard, it will be you anyway. Dell Onsite sends you the part and expects you to do it. Considering Dell was once considered the paragon of service and support, I would suspect that any of those other companies you named are as bad or worse. At least when YOU assemble the PC you have the choice of components, not whatever they got in the large closeout lot that was shipped the week your order was assembled in Singapore or Taipei or wherever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tony Scharf Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 To answer what a lot of people said at once: Yeah, if you buy the consumer level gear from dell, you get consumer level stuff. If you guy in the workstation domain (which costs a bit more) you get a significantly different experience. The NIC card was a bad example. I realize that they are usually built into systems now days. But you can have problems with RAM or motherboard bios issues that are very very difficult to sort out (particularly RAM issues). I had a problem with a case once that had a faulty switch that would randomly reboot the system for no apparent reason. It took forever to figure out it was the case and not a bad mother board. On a machine I depend on to get work done, I just cant be shut down or having random crashes like that and potentially loose work a client is actually paying me for. In the case of my current Dell workstation, its been very good to me. I have had to do nothing to it since I got it, other than my usual clean install of windows to ensure I had only the options I wanted installed and setup the way I wanted it (on a dell workstation, you can ask that they not install the OS, but send you the OEM disk for you to install). Another thing about home built systems. I have never been able to get one that was both quiet and cool. My dell is damn near silent, despite having dual quad processors and 32gb of heat generating RAM installed. In a studio environment, silence is golden. If building systems is something you enjoy doing, then go and have at it. If you think its a better value for you, and you dont mind doing all the leg work involved in getting the system up and running then go for it. For me, and for many, my time and my clients time doesnt allow me to be farting around with my computers. And if I might make a suggestion: if your buying a machine for your studio, and you consider your music making any kind of 'business' you should buy your computer through the vendors business division. In most cases, you will get signifcantly better support (dell, for example, doesnt offshore SMB support calls - you talk to a rep in the states). It might cost a hair more, but you get better machines and better value (IMHO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Does anyone know if these applications can be installed on one machine, then at a later date be installed on another? I am probably going to upgrade my music computer soon and would hate for the copy protection to forbid re-installation on my (soon to exist if all goes according to plan) new PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tony Scharf Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Does anyone know if these applications can be installed on one machine, then at a later date be installed on another? I am probably going to upgrade my music computer soon and would hate for the copy protection to forbid re-installation on my (soon to exist if all goes according to plan) new PC. in the past, NI has allowed for up to 3 installs on different machines. If you sell a machine you can uninstall the software and move it. I have never had a problem sending them an e-mail and asking them to clear my installs so I could do more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Thanks, Tony! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 I'm going to get Reaktor 5 real soon. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members evildragon Posted November 30, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 Quick, before the sands of time run out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 I'd been mulling adding Max For Live and Live 8 to my softsynth setup, but Squarepusher seems to get along just fine using Reaktor for synthesis, sample playback/manipulation, and sequencing - basically all those jobs at once. At this sale price, Reaktor has a more compelling case, and Live/M4L can be looked at in the future as a possible complementary solution, albeit at a cost greater than $99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members uvacom-rotatt Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 I thought about this long and hard but I already have synthmaker which I don't use enough, I don't feel short of sound possibilities with what I have, and $99 can buy me a nice handful of opamps and OTAs I'll need for some projects coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted November 30, 2009 Members Share Posted November 30, 2009 OK, so I bought Absynth 5 and Reaktor 5. At the end of the purchase process I was given a choice to download immediately from the final page in the onlline purchase process or via the link that would be emailed with my purchase confirmation. I elected to use the email link. Now, about 6 hours later, I have not received the email! Has anyone else experienced this? I notified NI a couple of hours ago and just hope they are speedy in resolving this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mediterranean Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 Now, about 6 hours later, I have not received the email! Has anyone else experienced this? I notified NI a couple of hours ago and just hope they are speedy in resolving this. Check your spam folder:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 Check your spam folder:) Thanks for the suggestion. Sadly, it's not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mediterranean Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 Thanks for the suggestion. Sadly, it's not there. PP, you should have received an email from "noreplyATnative-instruments.de" [replace AT with its symbol] with the subject line: "Your Order from Native Instruments". I hope you didn't misspell your email address when you placed the order. Did you have to register for the first time and create an account in order to place the order? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Awake77 Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 pulled the trigger on Reaktor right at the last minute! and PaleoPerry the email was sent instantly, I'd try emailing or calling NI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 I have contacted NI. They replied that "We are currently reorganizing our whole Order Management System in order to provide you with an even better and improved service. Due to the complex technical migration, delays in delivery and billing can emerge in individual cases." So I guess I will wait. I don't think I misspelled my email address, although I cannot be 100% sure of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 with the subject line: "Your Order from Native Instruments".I hope you didn't misspell your email address when you placed the order.Did you have to register for the first time and create an account in order to place the order? I did have to register for the first time to place the order. I also had some difficulty placing it before it was finally approved: NI seems to check bank info more carefully than other places do...at least I discovered that I had forgotten to update my phone number on my bank account. Most other places must just check the address. In any case I ended up paying through paypal because of the problem paying directly with my debit card. Thanks for all the suggestions! I expect it will all work out in the end. I just hope it doesn't take too long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fierywater Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 For what it's worth, I've found NI's support to be decently helpful in the past. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members THE_baldrick Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 Bugger, I seem to have just bought Reaktor... For some reason I also bought the Xils VCS3 softsynth offered on AudioMIDI... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted December 1, 2009 Members Share Posted December 1, 2009 I had some glitches with my order too - I was caught in an infinite loop in which I'd enter my city and state and the website would keep looping back. The system was confused because I'd registered FM7 under a different address years ago. I had to log out, then log back in and change my address. Then the order went through and I got the button to click to start the download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaleoPerry Posted December 2, 2009 Members Share Posted December 2, 2009 I did not hear back today so tomorrow I will find their phone number and call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fierywater Posted December 2, 2009 Members Share Posted December 2, 2009 Bugger, I seem to have just bought Reaktor...For some reason I also bought the Xils VCS3 softsynth offered on AudioMIDI... I felt like buying the VCS3 would've been a little excessive after grabbing Reaktor. That might've been my wallet talking, though. That said, the Blue Tubes effect plugin looks tempting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Space Peeps Posted December 2, 2009 Members Share Posted December 2, 2009 Has anyone else experienced this? I notified NI a couple of hours ago and just hope they are speedy in resolving this. i didn't have the same problem that you experienced, but i did experience issues when i ordered from them. i'm in the middle of dealing with them through email to correct the problem. they're being reasonable. i'm sure that they'll get you sorted out in a reasonable timeframe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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