Any MOTU 1296 users out there?

[namelikemusic]

I'm thinking of getting a dual Ghz Mac G4 and a MOTU 1296 for my home recording projects, which will likely increase in complexity within the next year or so. Anybody have any words of wisdom? How's about recommendations for an affordable mic preamp, as I don't think the 1296 has built-in pre's (or does it?). I'm starting from scratch here, have about $5k to spend, not more.

Thanks.

 

[elevate]

Does that $5,000 include the Mac? If so, after the Mac and the 1296, you don't really have any money left for anything. Are you set on getting the 1296 (the 896 is almost a 1296 at almost half the price)? Are you set on getting the dual G4? Are you set on getting a Mac?

 

[SirRiff]

Well

greetings,

Just a tidbit of insight from hanging out there...there are guys here that make DAMN GOOD recordings with a PIII computer and a 4 input soundcard....

I came here so green I thought I needed $5000 to do what i wanted to...turns out I was just caught up with gear.

SirRiff

 

[namelikemusic]

Okay, here's where I'm at now...

Hey, thx for the replies...I guess I should've been more specific.

Ok, I've done some more snoopin' around , and I think I might go with a Dual Ghz Mac G4 and a MOTU 896 firewire unit, and Digital Performer 3. I already have a couple of decent mics, and I can grab some ok monitors reasonably cheap. I priced it all out to around $5500, which would include shipping and the Apple extended warranty.

The 896 has built-in pre's which will be good enough for what I'm doing, and the option of a 96k sample rate is nice to have. Quite a lot of impressive features on this unit. Some folks have told me to stay away from firewire, but nobody has been able to come up with a compelling explanation as to why, especially given the good results people have been having with new PowerMacs and home recording. If anybody has any opinions on the 896 either pro or con, please post.

I'll be working with acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass, perc, vocals, and loops and VST instruments. I was previously looking into the Digi and thought it was ok but that it would be too limiting in the long run.

As for PC, yeah, I was going to go that route. I've recently been playing with my buddy's G4 for some graphics and video, and let me tell ya there is no comparison. I'll still be keeping my existing PC for business apps and the like, but the new G4 will be about 80% for music and 20% for other stuff, which I can partition the hard drive for...

Thanks again...

 

[elevate]

As for PC, yeah, I was going to go that route. I've recently been playing with my buddy's G4 for some graphics and video, and let me tell ya there is no comparison.

I don't understand your reasoning, but whatever floats your boat.

 

[namelikemusic]

Well, I'm not really interested in the PC/Mac debate, because there are pluses and minuses with both platforms. I've been using PC's since the 1980s (scary, huh), have been thru just about every version of Windows since 3.1, including NT and 2000, and have dealt with the endless problems which occur. I will continue to use PCs for all my business-related stuff; I don't see that changing anytime soon. I was avoiding Macs for years due to the cost, the lack of software available, etc. But with the recent advancements in the music technology field, and after immersing myself firsthand in the possibilities of the new Macs, I've concluded that a Mac would be more stable and fit my needs better than a PC for these creative applications. I'd rather spend the extra cash (now that I can afford to do so) and just concentrate on making music first and foremost.

 

[elevate]

But with the recent advancements in the music technology field

That sounds like an endorsement for making music on a PC, you've always been able to do it on a Mac. Well, not always, but you know what I mean.

I'm not sure if you have any extensive experience with a Mac, but Mac OS < X is about as stable as Windows98. That's to say that if you have a well maintained box, it'll be relatively stable (not at all stable in comparison to OSX or Windows 2000). If it's not well maintained, it'll crash several times a day. I used to work for a graphics/web development company, and the Macs (OS 8.6 & 9) would crash between two and four times a day. We had two Windows 2000 boxes, and one would crash two to four times a month - likely as a result of overclocking, and the other never crashed in the one and a half years I was there. Just a little anecdotal evidence, for whatever that's worth.

I'm not trying to change your mind, just trying to point out that Mac stability isn't all that special.

 

[The Garage]

hopefully, that'll be a moot point when cubase sx and the other osx sequencers come out!

 

[M.Brane]

I used to work for a graphics/web development company, and the Macs (OS 8.6 & 9) would crash between two and four times a day. W

If your Mac is crashing that often in OS 9 you probably:

A: don't know how to manage your extensions or memory
B: don't do proper system maint.
C: bought cheap third party hardware
D: all of the above

BTW elevate I'm sorry about the snotty tone of my post in that other thread. I was having a bad day and a couple of things you posted tweaked me. When I saw you in here stumping for Windows again though I had to jump in.

name: if your interested in MOTU stuff check out this board: http://www.unicornation.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi

 

[elevate]

Brane - It's all good - I've been working with thin skinned Mac users for years. Anyway, I wasn't a heavy user of the Macs we had. I primarily used NT4 and then Win2k as I was doing mostly ASP development. I don't know how well the Macs were maintained, but they were all Apple-made boxes, and one of the users was constantly messing with extensions and memory settings (one of my main gripes about pre X Macs). Actually, it seems like the Mac that got the most maintainance was the one that crashed the most.

I guess my point is that any modern OS (Win2k, XP, OSX, various Linux flavors) can be made to be very stable. My platform bias really only comes into play when speaking of hardware.