computer advice...

[bmorris]

I am not tech saavy and curious to know what are the minmum specs that would allow for good pc recordings? what programs are available that produce good "next best thing to pro" sound (Sonar, Protools, etc.)? If I already have a 16 track multitracker, would pc/mac based recording be obsolete or would it actually enhance my current setup? Just a few basic questions.

Brian

 

[James Argo]

I am not tech saavy and curious to know what are the minmum specs that would allow for good pc recordings?

It's debatable questions. But to make it simple I'll go:

P4 1.5 GHz or above.
24/96 multi I/O soundcard.
512MB RAM (more is better)
dual HD 40GB 7200RPM or above.
CD Writer.
And you'll need MIDI interface if you do MIDI thingee.
The rest is vary...

what programs are available that produce good "next best thing to pro" sound (Sonar, Protools, etc.)?

It's also debatable... All nowdays decent audio apps are great. All have their own pros and cons. It's how do you use them that matter.

If I already have a 16 track multitracker, would pc/mac based recording be obsolete or would it actually enhance my current setup?

It wont obsolete. Since PC is very much upgradable, and it can do many things regular multitracker can do. It can be used for other purpose thingee (like audio editing, enhancing and mastering) with audio application programs like Pro Tools, Soundforge, CoolEdit, etc...

Once again, it's too general & vary. You better search infos in Computer recording & Soundcard forum...


Jaymz

 

[Jagular]

Just about any computer you would buy now would work for recording. The higher power computer you get the more tracks, effects...you can use. I was using a PIII 600 mhz w/ 128 mb ram to record and I could easily get 20+ tracks with real time effects on most. You can always print an effect to another track and archive the old one to free up resources. I was recording in 16/44.1. I now have a new sound card 24/96 and I will probably be recording in 24/44.1. I have upgraded to a 1 Ghz PIII processor, 384 mb ram & 80 gig hd with 8mb cache. I'm thinkg this should still work just fine, but we will see. Even if I have to do workarounds (like printing effects tracks) it's not the end of the world.

So I guess the moral is that most anything P4 or equivalent available out there now should work just fine. Just make sure you get enough ram & a fast HD.

 

[Gunther]

I have done recording on a p-2 / 233 using the current version of cakewalk at that time. The software was limited to 8 audio tracks at a time, and I did not use any real time effects... still, it worked like a charm.

Now I am using an XP 1800, 512 meg ram and win ME... I'm not even stressing my PC with the audio work I do. So I would say anything over 800 mhz, 128mb ram should work well... but you would probably need more if you plan to use high quality real time effects.

 

[DAFFYDRUNK]

I'm using my Athlon XP 1800+ setup with 512 and It can easily do anything I've tried. My recording machine is gonna be an Athlon 1300 512mb 40Gb 7200 that I'm making with a bunch of spare parts. A friend that has a nice home studio use to use a P3-800 512 MB with a Digi 001 running PTLE 5.3.1 and that worked fine. We made that the Acid/Cubase machine and upgraded him to an XP2000 for the Digi setup.
Anything over 1GHz at least 256mb memory and a 7200 RPM hard disk would be good enough for most stuff. You could probably get away with less, but that's the minimum that won't have you brainstorming for ways to cut resources if you use lots of tracks and plugins...
The friend that has the cool setup has 3 ADATS and links em opticaly to the digi and syncs the Acid/Cubase computer and ADATs via MTC out of the Digi computer. If it's an analog 16 track you could get an MTC converter and run time code on one of the tracks and slave sync everything to the 16 track. Just have to get your BPM where you want it before you "stripe" the track. Then you can use both 16 track and PC at the same time, or bounce stuff into the computer software in sync. That's what I used to do when I wanted to sync drum machines ect to an analog recorder.

Sorry for the book. I finally learned how to type and now I'm getting carried away