Jump drive versus thumb drive

Delmont

Member
For storing and for moving digital recordings, which do you prefer and why?

And how many gigs do you like?
 
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These are virtually the same devices. I use a SanDisk thumb drive (same thing) to transfer all of my online gatherings from my laptop to my desktop, which only goes online for monthly Win 10 updates. It's always a smooth operation. I also use it to move mp3 and wav files back and forth.
 
These are virtually the same devices. I use a SanDisk thumb drive (same thing) to transfer all of my online gatherings from my laptop to my desktop, which only goes online for monthly Win 10 updates. It's always a smooth operation. I also use it to move mp3 and wav files back and forth.
Thanks! How many gigs do you like for storing or moving recordings? (I'm going to add that question to the original post.)
 
I'm not a big league user, yet.. Right now I'm using a 16GB drive, which is way more than I need. If you're going to be moving whole multi-track music projects from one DAW to another you'll probably want something larger - possibly an external SSD. But just for moving and storing finished songs as mp3 or wav files, not so much is needed.
 
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For storing and for moving digital recordings, which do you prefer and why?

And how many gigs do you like?
What is the precise usage here? What devices are you expecting to connect to, and what are their USB port types/speed? And, are you moving your personal music library of ripped CDs, Reaper projects, raw recordings off of a [Zoom, etc.] portable recorder, permanent backup? Etc...

I tend to use SD cards for most transporting because all my devices have a slot for them, and my Zoom recorder and camera/camcorders use/require them. For permanent attachment to my computer I've got larger spinning drives or in one case a 1TB SSD.

I carry a "thumb drive" if I'm going to some place to scan a multi-page document, because that's usually the one port I can count on being there. I never use them anymore, otherwise.
 
I had to google 'jump drive', but it looks like its just another name for a thumb drive? I use a USB thumb drive to transfer music files to my main desktop (where I also process my videos) from my studio PC. Size doesn't matter for that purpose, but I have a 64G thumbdrive that has over 450 CDs worth of music on it that I use in my car (which doesn't have a CD player).
I use USB backup drives (anywhere from 500G to 2T) to back up my files.
 
What is the precise usage here? What devices are you expecting to connect to, and what are their USB port types/speed? And, are you moving your personal music library of ripped CDs, Reaper projects, raw recordings off of a [Zoom, etc.] portable recorder, permanent backup? Etc...
I want to move WAV files from one place to another or store them on a thumb/jump/flash drive for permanent backup.

I don't know their USB types or speeds. I have a $20 adapter so I can use two different sizes of drives.

I'll connect them to an iMac, a MacBook, and a MacBook Pro.

I'll be moving my own audio recordings.
 
What is the precise usage here? What devices are you expecting to connect to, and what are their USB port types/speed? And, are you moving your personal music library of ripped CDs, Reaper projects, raw recordings off of a [Zoom, etc.] portable recorder, permanent backup? Etc...
I want to move WAV files from one place to another or store them on a thumb/jump/flash drive for permanent backup.

I don't know their USB types or speeds. I have a $20 adapter so I can use two different sizes of drives.

I'll connect them to an iMac, a MacBook, and a MacBook Pro.

I'll be moving my own audio recordings.
 
You will want a usb that is usb3 compatible. After that, you just need one with enough storage capacity to do what you want to do. I've seen them that hold 500gig, but that's a bit much for most transferring. I have a few 64 gig and a couple 32 gig for the car. That takes care of everything I need.
 
I have several 32GB flash drive. I used to have them for work. It was an easy way to transfer files, and I could keep it in my pocket when I traveled. They should be more than adequate for what you are doing.

If you need more space, just buy a 1TB Seagate USB drive for $50. That will hold everything you ever want to transfer, and you can stick it in a drawer for a back. Heck, 2TB is only $60 from Amazon. Unless you need the portability of having it with you at all times, this is probably a better option. You don't need ultimate speed for occasional transfers and storage.
 
16GB drives are pretty cheap now. I buy Integral ones for £3 each in a pack of 10 (and I see they've just gone down to £2.50 each). I also use similar Integral 128GB and 256GB drives for backup (plus a hard disk backup too). The newer ones are faster than the identically packaged older ones. I'd avoid any USB2 high capacity drives because they are often extremely slow - go for USB3 which aren't much more expensive.
 
16GB drives are pretty cheap now. I buy Integral ones for £3 each in a pack of 10 (and I see they've just gone down to £2.50 each). I also use similar Integral 128GB and 256GB drives for backup (plus a hard disk backup too). The newer ones are faster than the identically packaged older ones. I'd avoid any USB2 high capacity drives because they are often extremely slow - go for USB3 which aren't much more expensive.
Which makes me wonder: What's a USB2 and USB3? An what about USB1?

I didn't know they came numbered.
 
You won't find anything USB1, as that was released 25 years ago. It would reach 12Mbps transfer rates. USB 2 did up to 480Mbps. USB 3 does 5100Mbps. Most anything you find in the store today will be USB3. Unless your computer is 8-10yrs old, it should have USB 3 ports. You can often tell as it has blue plastic in the slot.

New computers will have either, or both USB 3 and USB C connectors. The speed should be the same.

iu
 
As Rich says, USB3 should have a blue insert, USB2 has a back insert and USB1 has a white insert. Unfortunately this colour code isn't completely universal. Dell ignored it on my 10 year old laptop and made everything black so I just have to remember that the USB sockets on the right are USB3.
 
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