do i need internet for the alessis multimix8 firewire
- Thread starter slappyjoe
- Start date
dainbramage
New member
Both our computers have been connected to the net whilst running music program. However we sometimes have pulled the RJ45 out for critical work, "just in case".
It would not be a good idea however to keep a laptop connected wirelessly! Not because of the internet itself but because wireless kit in the PC is a well know music wrecker!
However there is a big fly in the ointment that I can see! More and more companies will not give you direct access to software downloads. Instead they want you to have (or force you to have!) an "installer" or download "manager". Best case scenario is that you HAVE to be connected to get the software you need because the installer has to do it. Worser(!) case is that the installer/manager downloads and installs a load of crap programs you did not want and can't bloody get rid of!
Dave.
It would not be a good idea however to keep a laptop connected wirelessly! Not because of the internet itself but because wireless kit in the PC is a well know music wrecker!
However there is a big fly in the ointment that I can see! More and more companies will not give you direct access to software downloads. Instead they want you to have (or force you to have!) an "installer" or download "manager". Best case scenario is that you HAVE to be connected to get the software you need because the installer has to do it. Worser(!) case is that the installer/manager downloads and installs a load of crap programs you did not want and can't bloody get rid of!
Dave.
witzendoz
Senior Member
The ONLY time I got a virus (actually a Trojan) was when I absentmindedly opened what looked liked a very kosher email fro UPS shipping. I had to run a complete Recovery of my C drive to fix that (XP) but had I been more computer savvy at the time I probably could have fixed it with Malwarebytes or similar.
In the 2 years or so I have been running W7 with Msoft SE I have had no bother (I still run an XP machine but am VERY careful!).
There is no doubt that if I ran a commercial studio all the recording and post tracking machines would be internet free (on a copper network but no modem) but most of us don't have the luxury of multiple machines*
That said I know of at least one "pro" that has had all his kit "web aware" for many years without incident. Check out Martin Walker of Sound on Sound.
*Now that many people will be "shedding" XP machines do bear in mind that having a spare PC is VERY, VERY useful, especially in the even of a crash to the main machine. My remaining XP Pro PC is now hooked to my printer/scanner and thus is hardly ever on the web.
Dave.
Yes, you will get away with it most of the time, especially if the laptop is very powerful and if you are using large buffers (i.e. high latency).
I suggest you download "DPC Latency checker" and run that for 20 mins or so with and without the wireless feature turned on and see what sort of spikes you get.
Dave.
zekthedeadcow
New member
One of the things to keep in mind about keeping the studio PC offline is that you dont have to actually do anything to get infected... a lot of the botnets automatically scan ip ranges and do port scans looking for vulnerable computers. The main problem was that Microsoft would only do updates once a month so even if you kept up on the updates you could still get hit. Of course basic network security like using a router would help a lot. Also not keeping projects on the system drive in case you did get hit.
Also I remember with the Aardvark Q10 (and maybe the delta 1010 had this as well) but the DHCP service (the program that actually connects you to the internet) would think that the Q10 was a malfunctioning network card and cause lots of instability.
Also PCI Timing issues could cause buffer delays because the the extra hardware... though that was by far mostly a video card problem with VIA.
Also I remember with the Aardvark Q10 (and maybe the delta 1010 had this as well) but the DHCP service (the program that actually connects you to the internet) would think that the Q10 was a malfunctioning network card and cause lots of instability.
Also PCI Timing issues could cause buffer delays because the the extra hardware... though that was by far mostly a video card problem with VIA.
mogo22
New member
I'm not really into knowing that info. My ears will tell me if latency is an issue and so far it hasn't been on a mediocre Acer laptop with a 5400rpm drive and 6GB ram.
Guess yeah it depends on what you do but you don't need a dedicated high end laptop with no connection to the internet to make good home recordings.
As far as the virus thing goes I'm not really worried about that.
You are probably using "direct" or input (so called "zero latency") monitoring. Latency is most noticeable when playing a keyboard and generating the tones via the PC or singing with cans an having PC generated reverb in them.
If you are good...You're good!
Dave.
Yes but at what sample size are you running? You say "latency is always there". This is true of course but it is often possible to run few enough samples that you cannot detect it. I can run my KA6 at 64 samples and no glitching and that was with a fairly pedestrian W7/64 desktop 2core 2.7G with 8G ram and Cubase le6.
You might be able to do similar but I bet you would need the wireless kit off to stop clicks.
Dave.