Mac user with questions

[leucopogon]

This is my first ever post, and I'm a Mac user, so please go easy on me out there.

This is my situation:

I have a blue&white g3-300MHz with 192 MB's of RAM, and a 6GB hard drive (IDE). I don't have a specialised sound card yet but I'm currently doing my homework on this subject.

My questions:

1)Has anyone got suggestions/advice on any obvious deficincies in my computer setup for the purpose of sound recording? I know I should probably get more RAM.

2)What are the best hard drives to use for sound recording? SCSI, Firewire, IDE???? How much for the best?

3)What soundcards are good for my computer set-up in the $500-$750 (US) price range.

Let me also explain my musical set-up and what I would like to be able to do:

Basically I want to use the computer as a multitrack recorder (and finally get rid of my beat to shit 4 track tape recorder once and for all). I want to be able to record one(or two) instrument(s) directly onto hard disc, then have the ability to listen to that track and record other tracks live over the top.

This brings me to another question:

What limits the number of tracks one can put onto a software sequencing program? Is it CPU speed, Hard disc data read rates, or what?

Basically, if I had the ability to put down, lets say 24 tracks on a recording I'd be more than satisfied.

This has dragged on a bit so I better end it now. Looking forward to hearing from fellow MAC users out there.

Mark

 

[roso]

hi Mark,

I'm relatively new to the desktop recording world myself, but I think I'll be able to answer some of your questions.

I have almost the identical system: B&W G3-400Mhz w/192 MB RAM.

More memory lets you record with more effects. 192MB should be plenty for now (although too much is never enough...) Of all the purchases ahead of you (and there are many), more RAM shouldn't be at the top of your list.

As far as audio-only hard drives go, I've heard enough people say that fast ATA drives are fast enough to do quality audio. The faster the drive, the more tracks you'll be able to record. I went with the 30GB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM ATA drive. It's a real bargain ($200 at MacMall) and I'm hoping will do what it should. Maxtor makes drives that have done very well on benchmark tests (at xlr8yourmac.com) and are also highly recommended.

I'm going with an all MOTU audio hardware/software solution. The MOTU 2408mkII is a very highly regarded soundcard/IO device. It's got a whole mess of inputs and outputs, so it's great if you don't want to deal with a mixer (you will need something with mic preamps though, the MOTU doesn't have any).

If you buy the MOTU hardware, you can purchase Digital Performer at a competitive upgrade price (according to MOTU's website). DP is also very highly regarded. If you're not planning on doing any MIDI sequencing, you don't even need DP. The MOTU comes with a good audio recording program for the Mac called Audiodesk.

The 2408 goes for $850, which is a bit above your price range. There are plenty of good quality cards (Echo's Layla, for instance) that have been very favorably reviewed by other folks here on the forum.

Good luck sorting all this out! It can be very daunting. I can't wait to get my entire system together.

Let us know what you decide on.

-- Robert

 

[leucopogon]

Robert,

Tell me about it being daunting!! I've spent probably 20-30 hours in the last week and a half on the internet doing research trying to narrow down all my options. Spending a lot of time on this forum too (thanks to everyone out there who have given me info).

Thanks very much for your response. I never thought anyone was going to respond to this post. Sounds like you and I are very much in a similar position (in terms of computer gear). I'll still probably go for more RAM even though you said it wasn't a big priority. Reason: I also do quite a bit of desktop publishing work and film scanning so the RAM will come in handy in those departments. Also another person told me in the computer audio realm, RAM is life, the more you've got the better.

That was interesting what you were saying about the ATA hard drive. Have you got your system up and recording yet? If so, I'd like to know how that hard disc of yours is handling. How many tracks is letting you record in your songs? From what I've read, it seems like SCSI drives are definitely the preferred option but they are bloody expensive aren't they? Cheapest I've found is a 18 GB seagate internal Ultra SCSI for $300 at Computers4sure.com.

Have you got your MOTU 2408 yet? I've upped my budget and am looking at either this card or the Digidesign digi001. At this stage I'm leaning more towards the digi simply because of the fact that it has 2 in-built pre-amps which the MOTU lacks. I'm a bit concerned though about the capabilities of the digi card handling lots of tracks and also real-time plug in effects. I know that the pro tools le software that it is bundled with only lets you record 24 tracks maximum. At the moment this is the only software you can use with the card although I've been told that drivers are due for release very soon which will allow the use of more popular recording/editing packages like cubase vst and logic. However, if I do end up getting the digi and cubase for example, will the digi card be able to handle more than 24 tracks of audio in the one song or not? I suppose that's a question for the techies at Digidesign. These are the dilemmas that suck when you're in my position.

The layla 24 was another option I was looking into. At the moment this card can't be used on a Mac but I e-mailed Echo and they said Mac drivers are due for release at the end of August so, this card is another option but there aren't any pre-amps on it either.

Question: What are you using for pre-amps with the MOTU? Got any suggestions for a pre-amp that can handle minimum of 2 microphone inputs (don't think my budget will allow a mixing board at the moment, but feel free to suggest any decent mixers in the 8-12 channel range you've used. Eventually I'll have to get one, but I don't really need to until I get some more microphones.

Alright. This has dragged on a fair bit.

Looking forward to hearing back from you.

Mark