DAW MacBook Pro 2012, Fireface 800, HD USB 3.0

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pietrorocks

New member
Hi guys,

I finally want to get a more powerful DAW to record my projects. In short what I need is a computer that is able to record at least 16 tracks without having CPU problems or disk errors.

I'm going for the new MBP 15" 2012 which has: 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 4GB 1600MHz memory, 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive. It has 2 USB3.0 slots, FW800 and Thunderbolt, and maybe I'm going to add 4GB of RAM.

I know the Fireface 800 makes a lot of users happy because of its stability and conversion quality, and above all it uses FW800 connectivity.
On the other hand I've read that the Focusrite Liquid Saffire 56 is a pretty good interface to start with. But this interface has FW400 wich is not the fastest (at least I think so..).
Does it really matter if it's a FW800, FW400 or USB2.0?
Later I want to combine the two of them with ADAT and get to 16 inputs.

I have now a USB2.0 ext disk which seems too slow to run (mix) projects of 30 tracks with plug-ins.
Should I go for a USB3.0 disk then?

I want to be able to record live concerts from the console's outputs, maybe summing some, and record projects in the rehearsal room for local bands. All this in a professional way.

In short: I want a DAW that works fine without letting me down. Money is not a huge issue, but if I can reduce the costs I can buy few more mics.

Keywords: portability, stability, sound quality and of course reliability!

Do you have any tips or thoughts about this?
Thanx in advance

Pietro
 
As for the firewire question, its best to use the fastest transfer possible which would be the FW800. I never had a problem with my FW400 being too slow, however latency can be an issue with the slower transfer rates and that many inputs being brought in. I would recommend upgrading the drive to a solid state as well, this will assure your CPU from being bogged down by the amount of inputs your utilizing. The RAM on that machine should be suitable for what your doing. Not sure why you would want to connect to an ADAT if your Mac was your recording medium though. And finally the external drive should be a something more than USB 2.0 if your mixing that many tracks directly from that drive. Look into a second SSD on your Mac with a data doubler, this could be run with a SATA 3 cable and replace your optical drive, that would act as your external hard drive, only internally. These are just ideas, in short just get anything above USB 2.0 for an external drive, and FW800 would be my choice if I didnt already have a Digi 002. Good luck with whatever you come up with.
 
Thanx for replying,
why upgrading to a SSD? what do those drives offer basically? They seem lightning fast but I've noticed they're much more expensive and they offer little capacity.
Anyway I would use the internal drive only to use Pro Tools and plug-ins (like waves bundle or stuff like that), the data (.WAV) would come from the external drive.
I want to connect a second interface with ADAT to be able to get more inputs. With the Fireface800 I would only get 6 line + 4 mic pre's) with another interface with at least other 8 I would reach 18 inputs.
You actually got me thinking about these SSD's, thing which I didn't even considered yet but could be one of the keys to obtain a super-fast workstation...
 
For some reason I thought you meant an ADAT machine not a light pipe cable, sorry. The SSD can be had for about $200 for 256gb which is enough to do what your considering. Trust me I spent days looking into its benefits and found it to be the best upgrade to the macbook. Prices have dropped and they are on sale all the time. Look at the Samsung 830, Crucial M4, or the OCZ Vertex 4. The prices vary on these but are on sale all the time on Newegg and others.
 
Hi Apoczen,
thanx for replying.
For what I've read until now I understand that these SSD's are great, so I'm seriously thinking about getting my laptop with one of them. But I have a question: do you think that having a faster drive will run better the plug-ins as well? I normally use the Waves bundle (some SSL's ch strips, API eq's and compressors, maybe some CLA's, and sometimes even Amplitube for guitars) on projects of at least 30 tracks. Do you think that the fact I mount an SSDrive will let the CPU work lighter and thus better?
Thanx in advance.
 
i think you should go with the 7200 rpm not the 5400, but the solid state would be my first choice, i use macbook pro 7200 with an external glyph , my sessions are around 40 tracks ,maybe 10 plugin's no problems
 
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