I want to use my G4 for recording... help?

[edstate]

i know ther's a lot of pc people here, so apologies in advance

i currently have a 4-track setup with good mics, fx, guitars, a preamp/compressor, stands, cables... a desire to rock... and a dual 1.25 G4.

and about $1000 to spend initially.

1) do i need a new soundcard? or should i get a firewire/usb box? or both? if so, which ones are good? i don't plan on (yet) recording more than 1 instrument at a time, but i wouldn't necessarily want to be screwed later on with one mono input or something.

2) mainly i'd like to do loops/samples and then record guitar, vox etc, to go with along with it. i like the idea of being able to "play" the sequencer too... but is that a plugin?

3) and what's up with the plugins? vst? au? i've noticed there's some compatibility issues here...

4) while i've used protools before, i've been looking at cubase, logic and even albeton live. i've heard apple's soundtrack is a great sequencer/arranger (which i want) but can't record multiple tracks. reading the reviews and comments they all seem good in their own way... argh!

5) AND i just discovered i have peak 3 LE on my computer (it came bundled with something i guess), from what i understand it's an audio app for film? am i wrong? is this a good program? should i just upgrade this one?

again, some of these may be dumb questions... but it's info-overload out there! (which is a good thing i guess)

thanks in advance!

e

 

[Stealthtech]

1. I would suggest a breakout card/box combo like an m-audio delta 44 or 66.

2. Whatever mid to high end software you use will do the looping and sequencing audio/midi.

3. Once again most mid to high end programs will allow you to use VST (3rd party instruments or plug-in effects)

4. You will cetainly want multi-track capability. Logic & Cubase are both quite effecient. Dont know about ableton or apple soundtrack.

5.Peak 4 or bias peak may be suitable for your needs, but Im not a mac user nor have a tried this program so I cant elaborate much.

 

[Tonio]

what Stealth said +
Peak LE is a 2track (stereo) editor program, so obviously its not multi track. Its mostly used for soundbyte editing, alot of sampleheads use them, and it great for Mastering-but need the
3 party plug ins. It does have some, but LE is at the entry level. So you could upgrade to teh full flegded version, but may want to save your pennies for other things.
But before you decide on what multitrack program you want, you might look at what OS you plan to use, because of the 3 party plug ins are still lacking for OSX (au). But are coming out little by little. There are issues depending on your equipment and drivers
that may be required. some things are still better on OS9, but things are moving towards OSX-au.
Since Logic is now under Apple, you may look into that or look into Digital Performer by MOTU.
I couldn't recomend soundtrack, its prolly just alittle better than Peak LE (stereo only) unlees that's all you need.

 

[edstate]

thanks for the replies!

today i read up a bit on the m-audio firewire 410 unit? which methinks might be a "good for now, and the near future" kindof box. any comments/opinions on it? i know it jut came out.

as far as peak goes, yep, i did a little more reading today and you're right on. it's mostly a matering program... i though maybe i had a little gem there.

also, from what i can gather, and correct me if i'm wrong, cubase isn't so good on osx (which i am currently running, and like), and since apple bought logic, it might very well be the one to get. i DO like apples stuff in general, and their approach to things.

so... i looked at the big box bundle, but what it "throws in" are some synth plugins, and i'm not planning on getting a midi keyboard anytime soon... it does seem like a good deal though. also, it's not clear whether i get $$$ off of, say gold or platinum if i decide to bump up in the future.

from what i can gather, logic has good looping capabilities too and is pretty intuitive (which is why i was digging albeton's live 3)... but i'm be bummed about all the vst's i'll be missing, however i've also read that most of the good vst's are for pc only, and even then the one's for mac aren't for osx yet, if ever.

as for which logic to get (silver, gold, platinum) i really have no idea. i don't want stuff i won't use, but don't necessarily want to be limited either. and reading the comparison chart on emagic's site made my eyes hurt.

anyway, thanks again for your responses... i'm obviousy new to this, but learning everyday!

and more opinions are certainly welcome!

e

 

[Stealthtech]

so... i looked at the big box bundle, but what it "throws in" are some synth plugins, and i'm not planning on getting a midi keyboard anytime soon... it does seem like a good deal though. also, it's not clear whether i get $$$ off of, say gold or platinum if i decide to bump up in the future.



as for which logic to get (silver, gold, platinum) i really have no idea. i don't want stuff i won't use, but don't necessarily want to be limited either. and reading the comparison chart on emagic's site made my eyes hurt.



e

If you do go with Logic it will not matter too much as to what version (silver,gold,plat.) I would reccomend 6.0 for the mac.
The instruments are quite nice in the bundle package especially the EXS24 and ES2 but best used with a controller. Logic excepts almost all VST plugs some of which you can get for free on the web. And if you choose to upgrade in the future Emagic will discount the upgrade dramatically.