upgrading to pc recording from vs840

beezelbubba

beezelbubba

Shitty Buddhist
I'm thinking about upgrading from a roland vs840 to a pc system.I was thinking along the lines of an off the shelf celeron566,128mbram
15gig hd.soundblaster live(until I can afford a better soundcard)and n-track.Will this
system be at least as good as the vs840?Will I be able to achieve say,16 tracks?Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Thanx
 
Most modern PC's should support 16 tracks with no effects easily. With effects, it really depends on a LOT of factors, though. There's more to the PC than CPU speed, memory and size of the HD. The motherboard plays a big role, as well as other configuation issues. There's some good computer wizards around here who can give you details... I'm an idiot when it comes to hardware.
 
Thanx for the reply P.G.
Its encouraging to know I should be able to get more tracks.I print a lot of my effects as it is,so I'm not terribly concerned with that.
As far as the motherboard goes,couldn't I replace that later?Pro quality isn't my
first priority right now.I just want to learn how to lay decent tracks and edit them with
the same ease as i do with my vs840.
This forum really kicks ass.thanx for the
input
 
You may very well run into some compatibility issues with the wrong choice of motherboard. It's not so much an issue of "pro quality", it's an issue of "how much hair are you willing to lose while getting your system running".

There are some tried-and-true PC setups that many people are using for digital audio, and it's not generally the high-end stuff (except sound-cards, in some cases). Honestly, you can roll the dice on a lot of purchases and probably get by... but buy the wrong motherboard and you might be screwed. Other folks in the trenches are your only lifeboat (am I mixing my metaphors?). Getting a system that a lot of other people use successfully gives you a better shot at getting help if you do run into problems. Don't count on the folks that sell you the PC in most cases.

Do a search on motherboards here (check near the top right corner), and check the "Roll Your Own" article on www.prorec.com -- you may thank yourself later.
 
Now I'm scared again.What kind of compatability issues are we talking about?Soundcard?Software?My ignorance is profound.In the short term I pretty much will
have to get by with an off the shelf computer.Any brands or models I should avoid
Thanx for your help
 
Your hardware looks OK, but if you want this to be a dedicated audio machine with n-track, use Win NT instead of 98. I'm running a Win98 on a 400 Celery with 128 MB RAM, and can usually get about 12 tracks with a reasonable number of effects in n-track. Can someone wiser back me up about the wonders of NT for audio use?

MikeDog
 
Search in this forum... motherboad discussions come up all the time (there's even one here on the first page of topics).

Any particular reason you have to go with an off the shelf machine?
 
I'm selling my 840 to finance this little
fantasy.Dealing with $1000.00 or less.Is this a bad idea?I'm frightened.Hold me!
 
I'm selling my 840 to finance this little
fantasy.Dealing with $1000.00 or less.Is this a bad idea?I'm frightened.Hold me!
 
p.s.the model I' looking at is an HPpavillion 6645c.Couldn't find info on the motherboard on their web sight.Bastards!!!
 
p.s.the model I' looking at is an HPpavillion 6645c.Couldn't find info on the motherboard on their web sight.Bastards!!!
 
Check the "Roll Your Own 2000" article on prorec (link above). You can get a case, motherboard, 128M memory, a single hard-drive, and CPU for under $800. We're not talking "high-end", in fact, you're almost guaranteed to save money over buying a prefab machine.
 
Thanx P.G.you've really got me thinking(a very bad thing my wife would tell you).In my neurotic quest for frugality,where would be the least harmful place to cut corners(i.e.things I could make up the difference later).I hate to sound like such a tight wad,but I need to make this work on a rudimentary level first,then refine things as I go .
 
Let's look at what you'll need besides the bare-bones PC, though. Is $1000 the entire budget, or just the PC budget?

Don't forget that software is going to cost some bucks, too. You'll need an operating system (if you build your own), some multi-track software (can be expensive), and probably an audio editor.

On the hardware side, you'll have to have a sound-card and probably at least one mic pre-amp (most soundcards don't have built-in preamps).

If you want to build your own machine but you're not a computer techie, you should also figure in the cost of a 12-pack to have a friend who's savvy come by for an afternoon and help you get set-up ;).

How do you record things right now? I heard your tune in the mixing clinic, are you cutting all the tracks yourself... one at a time? If you run everything direct right now (not using any microphones), you could even get by without a preamp for a while. Let's figure out everything you'll need to be up and running. Finding places to cut corners will be easier then.
 
I record one track at a time. Thats the budget for everything (computer,moniter,software).I really don't know if I have the wherewithall to build this from the ground up.Will I be better off just keeping the 840?
 
Im pretty new to all this but I did learn, do
not buy a motherboard with an onboard soundchip. I found what I wanted and then went to a trade show and had them build the computer and put in what I wanted, 128meg ram
7200 rpm hard drive, plextor 8x4x32 cd burner, 50x cd rom, epson printer, 17 inch
monitor 25mm dot pitch, 10 gig hard drive,
amd k7 athalon 650mhz(there may compatability
issues between the amd and using a pentium but I have had no problem with the amd yet)
for 1300.00. I checked and called alot of places out of pc shopper and checked with local computer shops plus the bigg places,
circuit city etc. the plextor for example,
the cheapest price I could come up with was
249.00, at the computer fair it was 135.00
I figured I saved about 500.00 at least. The
shipping and handling fees from the ads in
pc shopper were atrocious, I could have driven to one place in Jersey from upstate NY
cheaper than they wanted to ship it for.
 
Thanx Eddie N
I've read that thread before,but I will read it again.I think I'll slow down a bit so I dont do anything I'll regret.The 840 will be adequate 'till I figure out what to do.Thanx to everyone for the advice and I wont hesitate to seek it again in the future.
 
Yeah, it's a good idea to take your time. Get the wrong thing, and you'll end up disappointed (seen it a million times). You could ease yourself into a PC setup, though. You're here... so you probably have a computer. You could learn the ropes a little by picking up a demo of n-Track or something and learn some of it "hands-on". I moved to the PC from a Fostex digital 8-track, and I've rarely regretted it. But I had the luxuary of keeping the Fostex. It's still nice as a "scratch pad" or to have in emergencies.

With a bit of planning, you could ease your way into the PC recording side without blowing all the cash at one time. Once you learn the pitfalls, it's easier to know what you need to buy. When I first started with PC recording I didn't have a clue and went in blind... I got lucky though. It's a roll of the dice that way.
 
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