M-audio pro tools

[misterduck]

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I have an M-Audio Firewire 410 card and I've been contemplating getting the M-Audio Pro Tools software. I used to use Cakewalk Guitar Studio and lately I'm using PowerTracks Pro Audio 10 for recording; neither was a big financial investment. I'm wondering if paying nearly 300 bucks more for the Pro Tools software will get me subtantially better-sounding recordings. The biggest problem I get with my mixes is buzz and crackle in the vocals that develops as I add tracks to the mix, and the separation between tracks sometimes isn't too good--overlap sometimes submerges the audio and makes the total result sound muddy. Does anybody know whether Pro Tools might eliminate these problems, or are these problems not likely to be resolved by more expensive software?

[Angusdevil]

I don't think software is the answer to your problem. Sounds like either A) your computer isn't powerful enough (most likely small CPU) or B) your firewire chain is screwy. Most likely, it's A. When I used to be a PC guy, I would run into the same problems with Sonar when I started piling up the tracks.

As for the M-Powered, I've used it quite a bit at the school I work for and I really see no difference in it compared to Pro Tools LE other than a few cosmetic additions, Beat Detective and iLok (yes, you have to have it to start up the program and to run some plugins). If you have a buddy who is in school, have him use his education discount and then it's only $200 at http://www.journeyed.com

[Kansnatchas]

I wouldn't get any M-Audio hardware. You're better off getting an 002 rack or control surface if you're looking to get Pro Tools. The new Mboxes don't even have firewire, they're still on USB 1.0. Also, the 002s give you more flexibility. But if you fix your computer (assuming that's the problem) and you're comfortable with your current software, don't worry about getting Pro Tools.

[CarcPazu]

Originally Posted by Angusdevil

I don't think software is the answer to your problem. Sounds like either A) your computer isn't powerful enough (most likely small CPU) or B) your firewire chain is screwy. Most likely, it's A. When I used to be a PC guy, I would run into the same problems with Sonar when I started piling up the tracks.

As for the M-Powered, I've used it quite a bit at the school I work for and I really see no difference in it compared to Pro Tools LE other than a few cosmetic additions, Beat Detective and iLok (yes, you have to have it to start up the program and to run some plugins). If you have a buddy who is in school, have him use his education discount and then it's only $200 at http://www.journeyed.com

I would think the same as A) With Sonar (withFirewire 410) when I got a bunch of track with some plug-ins on it, at some point I see the CPU meter start to get in the red and when it's at about 85% and more I start to hear noise artifacts, wich means anytime soon the damn DROPOUT red sign show up and the sound stop. I guess if your software don't dropout and stop the music, then that's why you hear it constantly. A function I like with Sonar is the hability to "freeze" a track, it kinda apply the effects and plug-ins to the track (it kinda render the track) then it's greyout and take a lot less CPU power. Very very usefull. I seriously doubt that B) could be the answer, I never encountered this with my firewire 410. Not impossible but unlikely to happen.

[misterduck]

Originally Posted by CarcPazu

I would think the same as A) With Sonar (withFirewire 410) when I got a bunch of track with some plug-ins on it, at some point I see the CPU meter start to get in the red and when it's at about 85% and more I start to hear noise artifacts, wich means anytime soon the damn DROPOUT red sign show up and the sound stop. I guess if your software don't dropout and stop the music, then that's why you hear it constantly. A function I like with Sonar is the hability to "freeze" a track, it kinda apply the effects and plug-ins to the track (it kinda render the track) then it's greyout and take a lot less CPU power. Very very usefull. I seriously doubt that B) could be the answer, I never encountered this with my firewire 410. Not impossible but unlikely to happen.

Thanks for the advice. I'm using an emachines D6405 with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (512KB L2 cache, 2 GHz, 1600MHz System Bus). I made some false assumptions when I was researching the processor: the reviews that I read that claimed superior performance by the AMD processor were written by geeks obsessed with gaming applications (about which I couldn't care less); unfortunately that doesn't equate to better performance in recording applications. I have little experience with Apple, so I only shopped pc's; I would've been better off with a Pentium IV, which performs better running recording apps. Oh, well...too late now.

That Sonar feature sounds promising. If all else fails, I might invest in that. Pro Tools would probably run even worse than the sequencing software I'm using now, because it takes a lot of cpu power to run.

Anyway, thanks again to you and the others who replied.

[bennychico11]

Originally Posted by misterduck

Thanks for the advice. I'm using an emachines D6405 with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (512KB L2 cache, 2 GHz, 1600MHz System Bus). I made some false assumptions when I was researching the processor: the reviews that I read that claimed superior performance by the AMD processor were written by geeks obsessed with gaming applications (about which I couldn't care less); unfortunately that doesn't equate to better performance in recording applications. I have little experience with Apple, so I only shopped pc's; I would've been better off with a Pentium IV, which performs better running recording apps. Oh, well...too late now.

That Sonar feature sounds promising. If all else fails, I might invest in that. Pro Tools would probably run even worse than the sequencing software I'm using now, because it takes a lot of cpu power to run.

Anyway, thanks again to you and the others who replied.

not at all true, not at all true

AMD 64s are a hoss.....i have one running a Pro Tools TDM and it couldn't be better. There are many many tests that have proven this. Scan the DUC forum and you will see.
Pro Tools does NOT take a lot CPU power to run...I'm not sure where you read that BS at. PT comes with a CPU system meter and barely even registers anything on my 64. I can fill several tracks with plugins all over the place and run a video window along with it and everything is fine.

most of the problem is you're running an E-Machine. I haven't seen any e-machines lately especially with 64s, but these computers were NOT built to be used extensively for graphics or processor intensive applications. They were made for the small family that wanted to access the internet.

[misterduck]

Thanks to all who replied in a generous spirit without feeling the need to be overbearing or combative, or to dump on my equipment.

[hueseph]

My guess would be it's motherboard related. Also you might want to check your buffer settings. It's likely that your buffers are too small. The first thin I would do however, is update the motherboards drivers. Often this will aleviate many problems. Also make sure you disable and Hyperthreading capabilities(if AMD has such a feature).

[reshp1]

Try doing the tweaks listed here.
www.musicxp.net

[CarcPazu]

Originally Posted by misterduck

Thanks for the advice. I'm using an emachines D6405 with an AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Processor (512KB L2 cache, 2 GHz, 1600MHz System Bus). I made some false assumptions when I was researching the processor: the reviews that I read that claimed superior performance by the AMD processor were written by geeks obsessed with gaming applications (about which I couldn't care less); unfortunately that doesn't equate to better performance in recording applications. I have little experience with Apple, so I only shopped pc's; I would've been better off with a Pentium IV, which performs better running recording apps. Oh, well...too late now.

That Sonar feature sounds promising. If all else fails, I might invest in that. Pro Tools would probably run even worse than the sequencing software I'm using now, because it takes a lot of cpu power to run.

Anyway, thanks again to you and the others who replied.

If you mainly use your computer for music, maybe (I'm not really sure about it) you could buy WinXP 64 edition and make Sonar 5 run on it. I red somewhere that Sonar 5 is optimized for 64bits applications and it would run faster. Maybe that would do it for you.

Anyone tryed Sonar 5 with WinXP 64bits?

Check this out : http://www.boxxtech.com/applications/cakewalk_sonar.asp