A few Digi 001 questions

L

leucopogon

New member
Anyone out there using the Digi 001?

If so you may be able to help me. I want to know if this system is full-duplex? How does it go with "over-dubbing" recording processes (i.e. listening to the tracks already recorded while recording a new track live)?

Also, is there any capability to control the speed at which the recordings (or individual tracks) can be played at?

One more: Where does the breakout box get its power from (AC, DC, or via the PCI card).

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with these queries.

leucopogon
 
Greatings my friend. The digi is absolutly full duplex. The breakout box is powered from the card. as far as playback speed I'm not sure what you mean.
 
G'day Track Rat,

Thats good about the box being powered off of the card, means I don't have to worry about using one of those voltage converters (if I decide to buy online that is).

That speed issue I was asking about: I just mean can you adjust the rate of playback of your tracks much the same way as if you switched your old turntable from 33 to 45 rpm. Reason I ask is, I've got this song (an mp3 file) by prince which is recorded at 45 rpm but is really a 33 rpm song but I don't have any mp3 app's that allow the rate of playback to be slowed. Was just wondering if this type of action is possible on the Pro tools le setup.

You were saying in your e-mail that there were latency issues, what do you mean by that?

Thanks for your help once again.
 
Latancey is non exisistint if used with out plug ins enabled.
With enabled - you can still work around it up to 2.5 MS.

You can record and playback at half speed any time you want and of course you can use a time shift plug in.
 
Thanks shailat,

Might be able to finally hear how Prince intended it!!!

TrackRat, if you're still following this string I've got another question for you:

I was reading some posts to the Digi 001 user forum (on the Digidesign website) and there was a lot of criticism from users with Macintosh g3's saying that the init files (or something along those line) weren't very compatible with the g3 and this caused frequent freezes and boot-lockups. Have you had any experience with this? I'm a little bit skeptical about the digi now after reading all of the posts (in fact I'm leaning towards the MOTU now I think, hell I'll admit it, I'm more confused than before). The scariest thing about all of the stuff I read was the replies given by Digi's techsupport people. Basically they told the frustrated users that there was a compatibility problem with digi001 and the g3 and there was nothing that can be done, except to put up with it!!!!!! Some people were saying there computer would crash up to 6 times a day (sounds like a nightmare of monunmentous proportions). Another problem I saw people discussing was a big delay when launching the protools software. They were saying that it sometimes took 30 minutes for it to finally be up and running (once again techsupport acknowledged the problem as a common one and offered no solution).

I think I might be better off without the digi now. So, its going to be MOTU or SeaSound Solo I guess>?>??????

The dilemma (ummm....make that debacle) continues.

I'll keep you posted.
 
Greetings

New to this forum (URL posted on the DUC today) but I was a pretty early adopter to the 001 (switched from a Roland VS and an AMIII card on a G3).

Your research at Digi caught only half the story. The ongoing G3 issue, I believe, primarily relates to the early release beige G3s. There is a fairly honest & straight forward write-up in the support area on Digi's web site under Compatibility Documents. Check it out. Also do a search on the DUC for beige G3s - you'll get a ton of info.

Remember that as you wade into the world of Mac or PC native audio processing, you're looking for a single CPU to do what we've been asking dedicated *expensive* DSP cards to do for the past three or four years. Trying to make do with an old and/or underpowered computer will only force you to concentrate on working around the lack of prcessing power instead of making music.Regardless of the system, MotU, Digi, etc., you're going need a G4/400 or equivalent if you plan on getting a decent amount of tracks, plug-ins or automation.

That being said, my experience with the 001 has been entirely positive. I've had it on 2 different Macs (G4/400 Yikes and my current box, a G4/500) and the installation was flawless. I take pretty good care of my system and I _never_ have any hang ups on boot up. I have a pretty good collection of plug-ins and the software launches in about 10 seconds. My only real gripe so far has beenthe lack of support for dual monitors on new G4s (well there is a really expensive video card that supposedly works). This problem seems to be equally an Apple and Digi isuue.

I'm sending this post after finishing up the first pass on a mix with 19 tracks, 8 Ren EQ's, 8 Ren Compressors, a couple of true verbs, a couple of delays with an L1 and a verb on the Master fader. I'll start some fairly heavy automation of the song tomorrow and the system won't flinch. I looked at MotU and I own LAP - for the stuff I do for myself (guitar based stuff, think Lou Reed meets John Hiatt), the audio editting capabilities in ProTools can't be beat. I loop a lot of drum/percussion stuff in PT and works like a charm. However, if you're looking to do heavy midi or Video/post work, you may want to look elsewhere.

Just my long winded .02. As always YMMV.

Cheers
K

[This message has been edited by BigCats (edited 07-28-2000).]
 
hi and thanks for those 2 cents (or more) bigcats,

I'm back on the digi001 bandwagon and it heads my list (again). However, I'm a little concerned about what you said regarding the limitations my cpu will impose on 1)# of tracks and 2)#plug-ins. Do you know of any other cards that might ease the burden on my poor old b&w g3? Something with an on-board chip for DSP (ie. echo cards mona, layla or maybe the motu 2408 with its VSLI chip?)

One more question not related to music. You mentioned a dual monitor set-up on your mac. I'm keen to get a dual monitor set-up myself. I know I need to get a 2nd video adapter card (any suggestions for a cheapo yet functional model????). Will only be using the 2nd monitor to put my trash, and palette windows for programs like Photoshop and Pagemaker (and audio software apps as well when I finally get around to buying them ;))

Would really appreciate some advice here.

Bye for now

leucopogon
 
Leu

Host based (or native) recording is just that - based on processing audio on your computer's internal CPU. While there are some hybrid solutions out there (Yamaha's DSP Factory comes to mind) the nature of all of the systems you've mentioned is native. All of these systems rely on the speed and power of the computer's CPU.

A couple of suggestions - Newer Technologies makes a great line of processor upgrades - check it out regardless of your system choice. Also take a look at RAM - 128 is the bare minimum (again on any system) and you'll be happier with 192. OTOH - I'd suggest you do a search in the Digi001 user conference for track and plug-in counts. There are a couple of threads that detail how far folks have pushed their "old" G3s. If I remember they're getting full track counts and a decent# of plugs.

On the dual monitors - the problem is with the new G4s w/AGP graphics. Fast video + complex audio = PCI bus errors. On older G3s and G4 Yikes motherboards the problem is non-existent. Go figure.

One other issue to look at is i/o. That cool looking break out box on the native systems (all of them) does not process anything - it handles a/d/a conversion, routing, analog and digital in and outs and, in the case of the Digi, houses a couple of decent mic pre's (bout like a Mackie 1402). Check each system's signal path - balanced or unbalanced analog - XLR's, 1/4" or RCA - digital i/o options - do you need external mic pre's with the system. I know for a fact that acouple of the "complete" systems are far from complete for anyone looking to do decent demo or project work.

Good luck. Any of the leaders - Digi, MotU, EMagic - is probably going to make you happy. This is a great time to be buying on of these systems. I'm not trying to sway anyone's buying decision - I've just been very happy with the 001 and wanted to pass it on.

Have fun. Remember, gear's cool but it's still all about the music.

K

[This message has been edited by BigCats (edited 07-29-2000).]
 
Big Cats. Can you tell me about the plugins? Are they only available through Digi or are there third party plugins out there? If so, where can I find them? Thanks.
 
Jeez, I feel like I'm on my e-mail at work. <g>

Digi has their own standard format for plugs called RTAS (Real Time Audio Suite) and their file based standard AudioSuite. Check Digi's web site if you want a more in depth overview. Every one of the major developers (pretty much) has RTAS versions. Waves, Bomb Factory, Antares, Kind of Loud, Metric Halo all have some pretty cool software. I currently run Waves NPP1 & 2 and find the Ren EQs and Ren Compressor essential (as do most users). Their TrueVerb is decent, but really no software verb will do what a good piece of outboard kit will do. Quite a few people swear by Metric Halo's Channel Strip.

RTAS is, put simply, the native version of the TDM plug-in standard that Digi established on their high end workstations (the platform that stared this whole DAW thing). As such it is pretty much "in for a penny, in a pound". RTAS is currently only supported in ProTools and ProTools doesn't directly any other plug-in format (ie VST). For me that's fine - I'm sold on and committed to ProTools as my tracking and mixing platform. I also like the fact that most commercial studios here in Chicago run full TDM systems and when I need to go to one, my RTAS plugs (with all of the automation I can apply to them) will directly translate to the TDM version. If you're heavily invested in VST stuff, you might want to think your purchase through a little more.

OTOH the 001 does support third party apps (DP, Logic, etc.) through a free plug called Direct Connect (again check Digi's site). Quite a few users choose LAP or DP as their midi app and then route outputs into PT using Direct Connect - this way you can use your VST stuff on midi and enjoy RTAS for audio. A few (very few) use LAP or MotU as their audio and midi platform and just use the 001 as an interface.

BTW - the system does ship with a set of Digi plugs - RTAS and AudioSuite. There's a time compression/expansion plug I use quite a bit on loops and a decent set of delays. There's also a full set of dynamics (real time EQs, compressors, limiters) and and, I think, they're still bundling their verb and a de-esser. It's a pretty respectable set to get started with although most people doing more serious stuff opt for the third party products. I hated the verb, don't really use their dynamics and the de-esser is okay.

I'm heading off to mix and as always, YMMV.

K
 
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