Track count in Logic pro 8?

[Sailor Ripley]

hi everybody...

i'm new on here. im about to make the leap into DAW land, and need some advice. initially i was going to go for a pro tools le based system, but recently Logic Pro 8 has appealed to me. heres my question: what kind of track count will i be able to achieve in logic pro 8 on a g5 2.4ghz imac?

i have many more questions, but best to go one at a time! thanks in advance...

[fuzzrhythm]

I'm not aware of a G5 2.4 GHz iMac, but I was getting 32 tracks at 24 bit/48 KHz on a G5 2.0 GHz iMac with Logic Express 7.

Learn to use sends and busses efficiently and you shouldn't have to worry about CPU power that much.

[Sailor Ripley]

cool, thanks. i meant a current imac 2.4ghz, sorry! so if i splash out on a mac pro, i should be looking at 40+ tracks?

[fuzzrhythm]

OK, a current Intel iMac. that's what I'm wanting to get!

Your track count would mostly be limited by your hard drive speed. It's common to have you tracks on an external firewire hard drive to get the most tracks. If you're not putting CPU heavy plug ins on every track (amp modelers, delays, reverbs, etc) I don't see why you can't get 60+ tracks if you also use a firewire hard drive.

A MacPro...go for it if you can afford it, but you won't have to worry about CPU power there. Honestly, unless you're making money recording people, it's overkill.

[Sailor Ripley]

that sounds great! my only concern is that there are only two firewire ports on imacs. i'm getting an Apogee Ensemble, which will take up the FW400, and i'm gonna have the external hard drive on the FW800. ideally i'd like another FW port, as i'm thinking of investing in the SSL Duende or something similar. is there a way around this or an extension of some sort?

[fuzzrhythm]

most Firewire drives and interfaces have 2 Firewire ports, so you can daisy chain them together.

for example, on the G4 PowerBook I use, I have 1 Firewire port with a cable going to the hard drive, then another cable from the hard drive to my interface. works flawlessly

[Sailor Ripley]

great, imac it is then! i can get a nice pre amp with the money i save by not getting a mac pro. exciting times.... thanks for the advice.