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Hello, I'm new to the home recording world. I thought I'd go a little overkill with my introduction, with the intention I can come back to this and use it for reference as I venture into the appropriate forums which will hopefully address some of the myriad of topics I've introduced below. I'm Hoping to find some help here using some older MAC technology that I recently purchased as my entry into a home recording studio. I should point out this is the first MAC I've ever owned, and I have that learning curve to deal with as well. I work in IT so that shouldn't be too much trouble.
I grew up and spent my gigging years playing electric bass guitar. My biggest strength (and somewhat biggest weakness) is learning by ear, and therefore was never interested much in music theory. I also owned/played electric guitar essentially my entire adult life, but it never clicked until about 5 years ago. I don't know what happened and I don't care, but I'm really enjoying exploring what I can do on 6 strings (I often joked I only used one of my bass strings), and have semi-retired as a bass player and am a guitarist now. I also am able to poke around a keyboard to make music. Most shockingly of all, I've even been able to get behind my Yamaha E-kit and bang out some renditions of songs on the drums. So I guess I'll be a solo artist who plays all the instruments, other than the special guests who join me for recordings.
My objective is to get my own playing recorded well enough for me to enjoy it and share with friends, learn about making beats, and incorporate video into my projects as well. I have dj lights/fog machine as well so the ability to create anything that could be used in a 'live' environment is of interest too. One specific thing I'm looking to do first is to create/record drum parts via software to accompany my current 2 man project which plays once a week (if my garage counts) and is me on guitar and a good friend playing bass. Currently we use the brain of my Yamaha DTXpress (except for about 10 songs I actually played on the kit and saved as songs) to play loops of some of the drum beats/songs. I'd also like to learn how I can record and then trigger additional sounds via footpedals/midi/etc. Things like a siren, sound effects, keyboard parts, a drum fill, etc. Do I have software to create light shows with appropriate LED lights? In general nothing I'll be recording will be intended for mass consumption or too concerned with maximizing/enhancing quality, more likely minimizing the things that significantly detract the 'casual' listener from what they are listening to. I spent $90 on the following system on Craigslist which should give a pretty good idea of the technology I'm satisfied using, and that this is somewhat of a exploratory look into home recording which I might find out within a year or so that I might not have the budget (some might call it interest) needed to achieve my objective.
This is a Mac G4 tower with monitor keyboard and mouse. The specs are OS X 1.2 dual-core with 1gig of ram. The computer also comes with digital performer 4.5, a very powerful recording program for musicians. It also has cubase le, garage band, reason and band in a box. Also a M-Audio Quattro usb audio interface for recording with Mac.
Prior to purchasing the system I emailed someone at the lowendmac website who kindly provided the following advice prior to me purchasing the system above: I have one of these. It was a real workhorse but needs new thermal paste so it stops overheating and locking up. Only other thing is that it's USB 1.1, so you might want to add a USB 2.0 card.
Here's some additional system specifications:
Mac OS X 10.4.11
Kernal version Darwin 8.11.0
CPU Type: PowerPC 60? (1.1)
Number of CPU's: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512kb
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 133 MHZ
Boot ROM Version: 4.2.8fl
ATA BUS: Has a 120 GB (WDC WD1200JB) and another 30 GB (WDC WD300BB)
Both drives are 7,200 RPM (nominal)
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-104
Built in Soundcard: Texas Instruments (lol I think)
Firewire bus: Max Speed Up to 400 Mb
Memory Slot: DIMM0-DIMM03/J21-J24
Now for my toys. These are all items I bought over time with either the intention of using for my home studio if/when I was ready to put together a recording system, or instruments I own which I think can be incorporated into recording (if only because I know they have midi capability).
Tools
Roland A-300PRO midi controller
2 Roland CM-30 Cube monitors
Yamaha MG10/2 Mixer
Digitech Vocalist VR vocal harmonizer
Sony MD walkman MZ-R70 (does surprisingly good live recordings of guitar/bass/drums which I'd like to import into the MAC for rough song ideas)
Edirol UA-4FX (I got this to try and get stuff recorded on my Sony Walkman onto a Windows VISTA PC...don't think this is MAC compatible?)
M-Audio Quattro USB Audio Interface
Tascam Digital Portastudio-01FX/CD (CD doesn't open operate; I think the rest functions...some usefulness as power/mixer ?)
Tascam Digital Portastudio-01 (older/basic version of above which I've used to import drum songs I recorded on the Yamaha DTXpress and/or record out to my PC).
Roland GS-6 Digital guitar processor (this sounded like absolute crap the 1 time I tried using it out of an amp...any potential for studio use? else trash)
Tech 21 Sansamp RBI
Antares Vocal Producer AVP-1 (I got this for $75 with a bunch of cables and phantom power box...didn't really understand what I was getting just thought it was a good deal....thinking this might be useful now).
Instruments (I'll skip the guitars/basses):
Yamaha DTXpressIII
Yamaha DD-50 (novelty factor/midi...maybe trigger pre-recorded sounds after I've recorded them)
Yamaha SY22 Synthesizer (midi)
Yamaha SH-10 Keytar (novelty factor/midi...maybe trigger pre-recorded sounds?)
Casio DH-100 E-Sax (novelty factor/midi...etc.)
Lights:
4 Chauvet HIVE LED DMX functionality
1 American DJ Quad Phase LED DMX functionality
1 generic Fog machine with one of those long remote controls/cable
Questions/topics:
What other system details can I provide about the MAC I purchased to assist in recommending what I need/can do to help maximize it's performance and utilize it as my dedicated home recording system.
Thermal Paste to prevent overheating? Can anyone direct me to a preferred webpage/youtube video?
Recommended USB 2.0 card to incorporate into this system? Any preferred reference web page/youtube?
Of the software that came with the system (and knowing my limitations indicated above) what would recommend I focus on using....which DAW?, which software?, to be honest, I'm not certain what is what...and if some of them serves more than one purpose.
Is this a system that is suitable for Firewire? If so, what Firewire is suitable for this system (I'm clueless about Firewire)
Recommended audio card (Internal/External/?) that would be suited for this system?
Recommended memory expansion (upgrade to 2 gb? / is this system cable of more than 2gb memory)? Any preferred reference web page/youtube?
Is the 120 drive and 30 gb drive enough room? currently the 30gb drive has nothing on it, and 120 gb drive is about half full.
Recommended external drive?
Is the Quattro Audio Interface suitable for this system?
There are only 2 USB ports in the back (there are also 2 on the keyboard, one of which has the mouse plugged in, and I'm guessing these shouldn't be used for audio interfaces or other midi devices?), the Roland A300 controller manual seems to indicate nothing else (besides a MAC keyboard) should be plugged into USB while it's in use? If so, and even if not true I think I'm starting off with a shortage of USB ports (not to mention they are 1.1). Is there some sort of external USB device that can provide additional 2.0 USB Ports (without compromising something else)?
Can is setup Firewire functionality to overcome USB port deficiencies?
Appreciate any and all help, especially if you can point me to the appropriate forum (Internal or external) which has an audience knowledgeable of a Mac G4 system and what it can do, and more importantly it's limitations.
Always looking at Craigslist so if there's any specific hardware/software/cables/accessories that are likely to be sold at large discounts because they are outdated, but might be solid candidates to use with my older system.
Hello, I'm new to the home recording world. I thought I'd go a little overkill with my introduction, with the intention I can come back to this and use it for reference as I venture into the appropriate forums which will hopefully address some of the myriad of topics I've introduced below. I'm Hoping to find some help here using some older MAC technology that I recently purchased as my entry into a home recording studio. I should point out this is the first MAC I've ever owned, and I have that learning curve to deal with as well. I work in IT so that shouldn't be too much trouble.
I grew up and spent my gigging years playing electric bass guitar. My biggest strength (and somewhat biggest weakness) is learning by ear, and therefore was never interested much in music theory. I also owned/played electric guitar essentially my entire adult life, but it never clicked until about 5 years ago. I don't know what happened and I don't care, but I'm really enjoying exploring what I can do on 6 strings (I often joked I only used one of my bass strings), and have semi-retired as a bass player and am a guitarist now. I also am able to poke around a keyboard to make music. Most shockingly of all, I've even been able to get behind my Yamaha E-kit and bang out some renditions of songs on the drums. So I guess I'll be a solo artist who plays all the instruments, other than the special guests who join me for recordings.
My objective is to get my own playing recorded well enough for me to enjoy it and share with friends, learn about making beats, and incorporate video into my projects as well. I have dj lights/fog machine as well so the ability to create anything that could be used in a 'live' environment is of interest too. One specific thing I'm looking to do first is to create/record drum parts via software to accompany my current 2 man project which plays once a week (if my garage counts) and is me on guitar and a good friend playing bass. Currently we use the brain of my Yamaha DTXpress (except for about 10 songs I actually played on the kit and saved as songs) to play loops of some of the drum beats/songs. I'd also like to learn how I can record and then trigger additional sounds via footpedals/midi/etc. Things like a siren, sound effects, keyboard parts, a drum fill, etc. Do I have software to create light shows with appropriate LED lights? In general nothing I'll be recording will be intended for mass consumption or too concerned with maximizing/enhancing quality, more likely minimizing the things that significantly detract the 'casual' listener from what they are listening to. I spent $90 on the following system on Craigslist which should give a pretty good idea of the technology I'm satisfied using, and that this is somewhat of a exploratory look into home recording which I might find out within a year or so that I might not have the budget (some might call it interest) needed to achieve my objective.
This is a Mac G4 tower with monitor keyboard and mouse. The specs are OS X 1.2 dual-core with 1gig of ram. The computer also comes with digital performer 4.5, a very powerful recording program for musicians. It also has cubase le, garage band, reason and band in a box. Also a M-Audio Quattro usb audio interface for recording with Mac.
Prior to purchasing the system I emailed someone at the lowendmac website who kindly provided the following advice prior to me purchasing the system above: I have one of these. It was a real workhorse but needs new thermal paste so it stops overheating and locking up. Only other thing is that it's USB 1.1, so you might want to add a USB 2.0 card.
Here's some additional system specifications:
Mac OS X 10.4.11
Kernal version Darwin 8.11.0
CPU Type: PowerPC 60? (1.1)
Number of CPU's: 2
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512kb
Memory: 1 GB
Bus Speed: 133 MHZ
Boot ROM Version: 4.2.8fl
ATA BUS: Has a 120 GB (WDC WD1200JB) and another 30 GB (WDC WD300BB)
Both drives are 7,200 RPM (nominal)
PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-104
Built in Soundcard: Texas Instruments (lol I think)
Firewire bus: Max Speed Up to 400 Mb
Memory Slot: DIMM0-DIMM03/J21-J24
Now for my toys. These are all items I bought over time with either the intention of using for my home studio if/when I was ready to put together a recording system, or instruments I own which I think can be incorporated into recording (if only because I know they have midi capability).
Tools
Roland A-300PRO midi controller
2 Roland CM-30 Cube monitors
Yamaha MG10/2 Mixer
Digitech Vocalist VR vocal harmonizer
Sony MD walkman MZ-R70 (does surprisingly good live recordings of guitar/bass/drums which I'd like to import into the MAC for rough song ideas)
Edirol UA-4FX (I got this to try and get stuff recorded on my Sony Walkman onto a Windows VISTA PC...don't think this is MAC compatible?)
M-Audio Quattro USB Audio Interface
Tascam Digital Portastudio-01FX/CD (CD doesn't open operate; I think the rest functions...some usefulness as power/mixer ?)
Tascam Digital Portastudio-01 (older/basic version of above which I've used to import drum songs I recorded on the Yamaha DTXpress and/or record out to my PC).
Roland GS-6 Digital guitar processor (this sounded like absolute crap the 1 time I tried using it out of an amp...any potential for studio use? else trash)
Tech 21 Sansamp RBI
Antares Vocal Producer AVP-1 (I got this for $75 with a bunch of cables and phantom power box...didn't really understand what I was getting just thought it was a good deal....thinking this might be useful now).
Instruments (I'll skip the guitars/basses):
Yamaha DTXpressIII
Yamaha DD-50 (novelty factor/midi...maybe trigger pre-recorded sounds after I've recorded them)
Yamaha SY22 Synthesizer (midi)
Yamaha SH-10 Keytar (novelty factor/midi...maybe trigger pre-recorded sounds?)
Casio DH-100 E-Sax (novelty factor/midi...etc.)
Lights:
4 Chauvet HIVE LED DMX functionality
1 American DJ Quad Phase LED DMX functionality
1 generic Fog machine with one of those long remote controls/cable
Questions/topics:
What other system details can I provide about the MAC I purchased to assist in recommending what I need/can do to help maximize it's performance and utilize it as my dedicated home recording system.
Thermal Paste to prevent overheating? Can anyone direct me to a preferred webpage/youtube video?
Recommended USB 2.0 card to incorporate into this system? Any preferred reference web page/youtube?
Of the software that came with the system (and knowing my limitations indicated above) what would recommend I focus on using....which DAW?, which software?, to be honest, I'm not certain what is what...and if some of them serves more than one purpose.
Is this a system that is suitable for Firewire? If so, what Firewire is suitable for this system (I'm clueless about Firewire)
Recommended audio card (Internal/External/?) that would be suited for this system?
Recommended memory expansion (upgrade to 2 gb? / is this system cable of more than 2gb memory)? Any preferred reference web page/youtube?
Is the 120 drive and 30 gb drive enough room? currently the 30gb drive has nothing on it, and 120 gb drive is about half full.
Recommended external drive?
Is the Quattro Audio Interface suitable for this system?
There are only 2 USB ports in the back (there are also 2 on the keyboard, one of which has the mouse plugged in, and I'm guessing these shouldn't be used for audio interfaces or other midi devices?), the Roland A300 controller manual seems to indicate nothing else (besides a MAC keyboard) should be plugged into USB while it's in use? If so, and even if not true I think I'm starting off with a shortage of USB ports (not to mention they are 1.1). Is there some sort of external USB device that can provide additional 2.0 USB Ports (without compromising something else)?
Can is setup Firewire functionality to overcome USB port deficiencies?
Appreciate any and all help, especially if you can point me to the appropriate forum (Internal or external) which has an audience knowledgeable of a Mac G4 system and what it can do, and more importantly it's limitations.
Always looking at Craigslist so if there's any specific hardware/software/cables/accessories that are likely to be sold at large discounts because they are outdated, but might be solid candidates to use with my older system.
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