Is this Imac G5 decent for light home recording?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DARKSHINE
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DARKSHINE

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Specs:
1.8Ghz, 1G RAM, 160G HD, Burr Brown PCM3052 sound card.?

It's all i can afford at the moment, but lets just say its waaaaaaayyy better then my PC at the moment.

I can buy this off my mate for $800AUD, is it worth it?
It's all I can afford as well.
Just wondering if i can get more ram as well, and more HD space?

Its only for light recording, not heavy studio recording.

Anyone help me out?
I'm kinda new to this site.

Cheers
 
I recorded quite a bit on a 2 GHz G5 iMac onto the internal hard drive with the built-in audio. the sound quality was decent for home recording and it was a very capable machine. I don't think you'll have any problems getting the 1.8 GHz to do what you want it to do.

$800AUS converts to about $700US, that seems like a decent deal. You can upgrade the RAM to 2 GB and the only way to upgrade the HD is to replace it with a larger one.
 
I'd say it would work very well for your needs. And it would also operate perfectly fine with a firewire or USB interface if you decided to go with such a thing. Just as a word of encouragement, I have a powerBook G4 with what I would imagine is a similar or lesser-quality sound card built in, and when I ran the output from my DMP-3 straight into the line-in on the soundcard, the resulting audio was perfectly fine sounding. Not the best in the world, but I also used that input when mixing live shows down from DA-38 digital tape decks, through a 24-channel mixing console, out to stereo, which went into the stereo line input. Also sounded very nice, even disregarding the technology used.

Edit: Sound Blaster line inputs, on the other hand, have always been noisy pieces of shit to me.
 
cusebassman said:
I'd say it would work very well for your needs. And it would also operate perfectly fine with a firewire or USB interface if you decided to go with such a thing. Just as a word of encouragement, I have a powerBook G4 with what I would imagine is a similar or lesser-quality sound card built in, and when I ran the output from my DMP-3 straight into the line-in on the soundcard, the resulting audio was perfectly fine sounding. Not the best in the world, but I also used that input when mixing live shows down from DA-38 digital tape decks, through a 24-channel mixing console, out to stereo, which went into the stereo line input. Also sounded very nice, even disregarding the technology used.

Edit: Sound Blaster line inputs, on the other hand, have always been noisy pieces of shit to me.
Click to expand...

Cool. Thanks
Sorry if I sound noob, but what do you mean by using a firewire or USB interface? Is that if I had a mixer or something, to go straight into my firewire or USB?

And at the moment im using GarageBand. I know it's not the most complex and top of the range software, but if i need something a bit more pro, should I get Cubase or ProTools?

Thanks again everyone
 
Imac G5

I actually started with the IMac G5. The sound quality was great but if I had to find a complaint it would be the loud fan. It's not so easy to move the machine since the monitor is built-in. It was very tough to record certain mics but all in all I managed.
 
DARKSHINE said:
Cool. Thanks
Sorry if I sound noob, but what do you mean by using a firewire or USB interface? Is that if I had a mixer or something, to go straight into my firewire or USB?

And at the moment im using GarageBand. I know it's not the most complex and top of the range software, but if i need something a bit more pro, should I get Cubase or ProTools?

Thanks again everyone
Click to expand...

Garageband is a good start but will limit you in the end. I moved into Logic Express and still use it today. It's very easy to import your GB projects into Express so you can further enhance the song. Version 8, from what I have heard is pretty tight. I use Cubase SX from time to time but would rather use the Apple Software.

As for the interface, you need a way to get the sound into your computer/software. Some people with a small budget go directly into the stock sound card on their machine but it often causes issues with sound quality. There's a lot of entry level to professional audio interfaces that plug-in via the USB or Firewire port on your machine. Go somewhere like musicians friends online and look under the recording section. That should get you started in the right direction.
 
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leaversday said:
Garageband is a good start but will limit you in the end. I moved into Logic Express and still use it today. It's very easy to import your GB projects into Express so you can further enhance the song. Version 8, from what I have heard is pretty tight. I use Cubase SX from time to time but would rather use the Apple Software.

As for the interface, you need a way to get the sound into your computer/software. Some people with a small budget go directly into the stock sound card on their machine but it often causes issues with sound quality. There's a lot of entry level to professional audio interfaces that plug-in via the USB or Firewire port on your machine. Go somewhere like musicians friends online and look under the recording section. That should get you started in the right direction.
Click to expand...

Ohh right I see.
Well I don't have heaps to spend, so can anyone tell me some good Interfaces that are good to start off with. I'm pretty sure I've used one before. So yeah, anyone give me some good models and the price? preferably in AUD. lol It'd be great as I'd want to get one soon.

Thanks again everyone.
 
I very much liked the Presonus Firebox - not sure how much they cost Australian unfortunately. Two mic inputs, two more line inputs, MIDI I/O and bundled Cubase software for 300USD. You can find em cheaper on ebay. Its a decent chunk of change, but worth it in terms of sound quality, especially since you get pres built-in as well.
 
ohhh nice

ill look into it.

anyone else have any advice?

I really want someone to post a picture of their studio room and label everything. I just want to know what the usual setup is for a studio, like how it's all connected. Like where the rack units connect, do the mixing tables control stuff on the computer, etc etc.

I just really need a massive overview of studio recording.

hmmm
 
If a new Mac Mini is cheaper, that would be a much better choice and investment.

Any current Core2Duo Mac will leave a G5 in the dust when it comes to raw CPU power. G5 towers are also EXTREMELY loud because they run so damn hot - loud computer fans are the last thing you want in a recording studio.

It makes no sense to buy a PowerMac at this point in time unless the software you use hasn't been ported to UB or Intel...
 
brzilian said:
If a new Mac Mini is cheaper, that would be a much better choice and investment.

Any current Core2Duo Mac will leave a G5 in the dust when it comes to raw CPU power. G5 towers are also EXTREMELY loud because they run so damn hot - loud computer fans are the last thing you want in a recording studio.

It makes no sense to buy a PowerMac at this point in time unless the software you use hasn't been ported to UB or Intel...
Click to expand...

True, the new Intel chips slay the old PowerPC chips, but he's talking about an iMac with a built-in screen, not the Power Mac tower.

iMacs can be loud when the CPU is pegged to 100%. Perhaps it will be loud while rendering a mixdown, but it was never a problem for me when I was recording.
 
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